Robo-Geisha [DVD] [2009]

Robogeisha is the touching story of some geishas that just also happen to be robots. With a sweet plot trailing their reasons for abandoning the weak human flesh for steel beauty, Robogeisha is heartwarming and inspiring. I bought this movie very much in the expectation that this would be about geishas and about robots in some kind of mix - I was not disappointed. The plot is seemingly there so that it can string together a series of increasingly bizarre fight scenes involving bum-shuriken, armpit swords, castles that punch buildings to death, and fried shrimp - but it manages to pull this off with quite endearing charm. If you're looking for deep, thought-provoking plots and a dissection of the issues we as a society face with moving towards technological dependence for social acceptance or a treatise into the human condition under increased cyborgisation then this may very well disappoint, however if you're the kind of person who buys a movie called Robogeisha looking for such a thing then you may very well need to re-evaluate your life.

SYNOPSIS:

A megalomaniac Japanese man and his son recuit carefully selected women with certain qualities in order to surgically modify their bodies with mechanized parts to insist them with their evil scheme to take over the world. They enlist two sisters drenched in personal rivalry but the "good one" refuses to slaughter an innocent group of ex-employees. Instead, she joins their ranks and spearheads their mission to bring down the dastardly establishment and regain her sister's affection before the whole of Japan is annihilated by a giant stink bomb.

THE REVIEW:

Director Noburo Iguchi, the man behind Machine Girl, returns with an even more outrageous feature loaded with inventive ideas and taboo humour which slips into the realms of slapstick on serveral occasions. Admittedly, Robogeisha doesn't have the best of starts; the substandard acting and poor script had me feeling robbed and wanting a refund; but, having become a big fan Yoshihiro Nishimura's special effect/gore factor, i wisely invested in some perseverance. Around scene 9, the pacing and action gets turned up a notch and, from hereonin, i was hooked. I found myself laughing at all the sheer stupidity of all the weaponry on display, ranging from butt blades, rectal missiles of mass destruction, wig napalm and gatlin gun breast, to shamisen powered tanks, giant castle robots and buildings that bleed; all rounded off neatly with a strong wiff of "fan service" - know whatta mean?... No?... Well, heres a clue: Asami "tent pitching" Miyajimi (aka Asami Suigiura) is a porn star/J-sploitation actress and despite her face being covered in a Tengu mask, there's plenty of delicious flesh on display along with the obligatory gusset shots... oo-er farmer Giles.

THE VERDICT:

Personally, i wouldn't place Robogeisha in the same league of excellence as Hard Revenge Milly, Meatball Machine, Vampire Girl V Frankenstein Girl or Tokyo Gore Police, its more on par with Samurai Princess, Machine Girl and, the lesser known but equally as good, Sukeban Boy. It's very funny but a little annoying in places - worth a watch if you like this type of J-sploitation flick, which this warped individual clearly did... indeed!

It's Cinderella via geishas, robots, and gore. The plot is meant to be stupid, that's the whole point - it's a vehicle for absurdity, a satire of cinema from first principles, an assault on all good sense and reason. Which is why it's great! Japanese humour at its finest, or not far off it anyway. Still not as much fun as MACHINE GIRL, but well worth having in the collection.