Oneechanbara: The Movie (2008)

Zombies, bikini's... om nom nom. Who doesn't want a taste of that? I know I do! These are just some of the ingredients that come to show in this fun Pinku Violence meets Japanese Splatter fest called Oneechanbara! I've already played the game endlessly so I was really excited to go see the first Chanbara movie. Does it live up to my expectations?

Yeah, it does! There are tons of game-influence to be found, we have the cute outfits, the flashy effects and the bloody fountains. We have Eri Otoguro as Aya, a tough chick but not really the social type. alongside her there's a fat Japanese guy looking for his sisters and later on we meet a few other (coincedentally) hot samurai women. It has the attitude, the 'tongue in cheek' approach and over-the-topness that I expected from it.

It has a pretty straight forward revenge plot that takes place in a world filt with hordes of zombies. So, you know what time it is: it's time to show some skin, pull out your sword and decapitate the undead. Wait, show some skin? But why? Well, because they're Japansese, that's why! It's not something you'd often find here in the west, half-naked samurai chicks are an eastern trademark.

I guess you could say I have a weak spot for the Oneechanbara franchise. But then again I have a weakspot for all half-naked-japanese-women. The best thing about this movie is that it finds a fine balance between gore, game influences and just enough skin. It doesn't exploit one aspect in particular, so it makes up for a fine mix. It will definetly satisfy all the fans of the game. Although that's an easy thing to say, it definetly is true. You'll benefit from it.

Oneechanbara became almost invisible amongst the tons of crazy splatter movies released the last couple of years. With movies such as Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl, Machine Girl...it's not really something to be ashamed of. Speaking of Vamp girl vs Frank girl... Eri Otoguro (Aya, remember?) plays the Frankenstein part. Just thought you should know... I didn't want to compare this film with any other, since it's definetly not the best.. I just wanted to keep my enthousiastic approach alive and forget about everything else.

The final scene, though, is a perfect one. Awesome location, great choreography and plenty of cool looking effects. The 1 vs 1 battle is even more epic than the giant fight that took place right before that. I hope I'll find the time to watch the second movie, and after that even the third (Oppai Chanbara) because I think they deserve much more attention. I'm a fan, and although it isn't the best of the best... it still is: cooler than cool.

Score: 82/100