Kite

Original Title: カイト
Romanized: A KITE
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

The setting is the near future. We are introduced to a college girl who is far more than she appears on the surface. Below her cute exterior beats the cold heart of an assassin, trained by a disillusioned coroner since the death of her parents to be the ultimate justice for men who elude the law. But her caretaker may be no better than those he hires her out to kill, and when she meets a young man in the same situation as her, she starts thinking about a normal life for the first time...

Quick Review

Rating: 3 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2005-12-02

Kite is probably the best-known production by Yasuomi Umetsu, known for his stunning artwork and dark hentai stories. Borrowing heavily from stylized modern assassin films like La Femme Nikita, Kite plays the hard-boiled, neo-noir game well. It almost succeeds as a grim assassin psychodrama but in the end the characterization and short length end up dragging it down to the point of being little more than a plot-heavy action movie. Or, in the case of the uncut version, a plot-heavy action movie flirting with pornography thanks to gratuitous XXX-grade sex and rape scenes. On the bright side, the art is characteristically beautiful, and the over-the-top action is spectacular.

Kite might be worth watching for the remarkable visuals and extreme action, but unless you're very into psychological neo-noir or a disturbing-sex-and-violence shock cinema fan, it probably won't cut it otherwise.

US DVD Review

The DVD is available in three editions, all of which include English and Japanese dialogue and English subtitles. The standard edition is the shorter edited version, and includes a gallery of cel art and storyboards. The Director's Cut version is the full uncut version and doesn't have much in the way of special features. And the Special Edition Uncut version, the newest of the three, is the same as the Director's Cut with the addition of Interviews and other extras.

Content Guide

Even with the worst edited out it is most definitely not for kids, garnering an 18-up from Media Blasters (though 16-up wouldn't be unreasonable). The uncut version borders on pornographic, and is unquestionably adults only.

Violence: 4 - Lots of exploding bullets and the resulting gore. Add sanitized rape-as-erotica in the uncut for a 5.

Nudity: 2 - One scene in the edited version. Extremely detailed nudity in the uncut version for a 5.

Sex/Mature Themes: 4 - Serious but unexplicit adult themes in the edited version. Extremely graphic sex/rape in the uncut version for a 5.

Language: 3 - Strong language in the dub, particularly in the first scene.

Notes and Trivia

Kite was originally produced by hentai studio Green Bunny, and had something of a reputation right after its release of being an unusually shocking film. In reality, while graphic, there are other hentai films that are just as bad, although few could pass for a legitimate drama if you edit the sex out. One of the reasons cited has to do with the age of Sawa during some of the graphic sequences, but whatever the quoted age in the story it is only theoretical--she is drawn with a physique fitting for an adult film star.

Availability

Available in the US from Media Blasters on an edited hybrid DVD, and on two uncut versions--a Director's Cut and a Special Edition with added features--from their adult division, Kitty. Was originally available on VHS in subtitled and dubbed versions, each coming in both edited and Director's Cut flavors.

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