Rika (1972)

Director: Ko Nakahira

Starring: Rika Aoki, Kazuko Nagamoto, Masami Souda, Michi Nono, Fuminori Sato, Ryohei Uchida, Masane Tsukayama

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  The shocking story of a juvenile slut named Rika!

Plot: First film of a trilogy following the dramatic life of Rika, a half-Japanese/half-American woman who becomes the tough-as-nails leader of an all-girl crime gang.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Absolutely...and bring on the sequels!

Man, was that fun!  Rika Aoki doesn't seem like she can carry a Pinky Violence movie but that all changes once she starts kicking ass.  She doesn't have the acting chops or charisma that Reiko Ike & Miki Sugimoto (THE two biggest stars of the genre) have but she's more physical than they were so it's a nice trade off.  The story is all over the place with lots of flashbacks that aren't always so easy to follow.  If you pay close attention you'll figure it out or maybe my brain was slowing down last night.  Regardless, there is A LOT of action and it's loaded with some great, unexpected arterial sprays, not to mention some great kills...and thrills!

While it's not as polished a film as my favorite (so far), GIRL BOSS GUERILLA (1972), it makes up for it with some off the charts action sequences and they continue all the way to the end.  I'm such a fan of the genre that I made a blind buy recently on the Rica Trilogy DVD set and it turns out to be a great purchase. The picture quality on this first film (I haven't see the other two yet) is very grainy, grainier than most older films I've seen.  Don't let that discourage you because you'd miss out on one hell of a good time.  I hope the two sequels are as insane as this one.