ACF 1583: SULTRY ASSASSIN - NINJA BRAINWASH reviewed

Sultry Assassin - Ninja Brainwash / Tsuyakenkaku 2: Kunoichi iro sennô

Directed by Ken'ichi Fujiwara

Starring Akiho Yoshizawa and Yoshihiro Sato

Japan, 2011, 72 minutes
Japanese language with English subtitles

Sultry Assassin - Ninja Brainwash, the second film in the Sultry Assassin series (following Sultry Assassin - Aphrodisiac Kill) is being released today. It continues the tales of Rin Saejiima, who is both the master of the Shin Kage Itto-ryu Dojo and a Secret Guard of the Inner Garden for the Tokugawa shogunate. Yui Kusunoki, another secret guard, has gone on assignment to investigate disturbing activity in the Hikone fiefdom, the village of the nefarious Koga ninjas.

Yasoburo and Rin head for the Hikone fiefdom

When she does not report back, Rin becomes concerned and again enlists the aid of Yasoburo, a peasant with aspirations of becoming a swordsmen, to assist her. Traveling as husband and wife, they become embroiled in the Koga ninjas' plans to overthrow the shogunate. Unfortunately for Rin and her associates, the Koga are in possession of a moxa whose smoke is a powerful aphrodisiac. Its ability to provide pleasure beyond comprehension renders anyone who breathes its smoke to become a sex slave to it.

A young woman named Mio is attacked by a bandit

Sultry Assassin - Ninja Brainwash is a clear improvement over Sultry Assassin - Aphrodisiac Kill, which I found to be passable. This second offering is still a low-budget soft-core romp, but the story, acting, and sets are all significantly better. The nudity and simulated sex scenes are still there in ample supply and still quite pleasurable, but the film as a whole provides a much more satisfying overall experience.

While bathing, Yasoburo is approached by Mio

There are some issues with the DVD that should be mentioned. The English subtitles are non-removable, which is only an issue if you understand Japanese and don't need the English subtitles or if you hate having to work round the subtitles to get your screen captures. While the relatively short feature is divided into chapters, there is no chapter select option. And the only "special features" consist of trailers for some of the other films from Switchblade Pictures and the DVD credits.

Rin has a compound of a powerful moxa inserted in her netherregion.

Still, when all is said and done, I found watching Sultry Assassin - Ninja Brainwash a quite enjoyable experience. If a fun, soft-core romp with a decent narrative and a bit of comedy and action appeals to you at all, I'd say, "Go for it!" As for me, I'm assuming there are more Sultry Assassin films to come, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment in the series.