The Machine Girl
Encyclopedia
is a 2008 Japanese action shock/gore film written and directed by Noboru Iguchi
with special effects by Yoshihiro Nishimura
(who went on to direct Tokyo Gore Police
). The film stars Minase Yashiro
in the lead role as Ami, Asami in the role of Miki, Kentarō Shimazu as the yakuza leader Ryūgi Kimura and Honoka
as his wife, Mrs. Kimura. It is about a young orphaned Japanese schoolgirl whose life is destroyed when her brother is killed by a the son of a Ninja
-Yakuza
clan. When her hand is cut off, she replaces it with a makeshift machine gun and seeks revenge.
prosthetic. Together with Miki (who uses a chainsaw
), Ami proceeds on a killing spree against the murderers of their loved ones.
Eventually, they reach the place where the yakuza are hiding. As the fight continues, Miki loses her right foot and eventually dies. Ami loses her machine gun doing her fight with Sho's father Ryūgi Kimura but gets Miki's chainsaw. Finding Sho with hostages to keep Ami at bay, his mother Violet Kimura manages to disarm Ami while attempting to kill her with her drill bra. However, noticing one of the student hostages wet himself, Ami takes advantage and trips Violet onto the urine to cause the mother's electrocution as Ami manages to kill Sho. Though she attempts to commit suicide
with nothing left for her, Ami hears noise behind her and the film ends as Ami turns, sword at the ready.
, with several well known anime voice actors such as Jason Griffith and Dan Green
.
in March 2008. It was released theatrically in the United States on May 23, 2008 and on DVD June 3, 2008. The first theatrical release in Japan was on August 2, 2008. The Japanese DVD from Nikkatsu came out January 23, 2009 as a 2 disc set including the short . Tokyo Shock, the Media Blaster label which released the original US DVD announced that they were bringing out a 2 disc special titled The Machine Girl Remix on August 4, 2009. The set includes the Shyness Machine Girl short renamed as Machine Girlite.
Planet Terror
by critics. It currently holds a 63% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
from 8 reviews. It has developed a cult following
in America.
Noboru Iguchi
is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and actor. He has worked as a director in adult video as well as in the horror and gore genres.-Life and career:Iguchi was born on June 28, 1969...
with special effects by Yoshihiro Nishimura
Yoshihiro Nishimura
is a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as "a legendary director and effects artist" and "the Tom Savini of Japan" with "talent to burn"...
(who went on to direct Tokyo Gore Police
Tokyo Gore Police
is a 2008 Japanese gore film co-written, edited, and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and stars Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer.Tokyo Gore Police was released to several film festivals in North America...
). The film stars Minase Yashiro
Minase Yashiro
is a Japanese gravure idol, actress and TV personality.-Life and career:Minase Yashiro was born on February 3, 1985 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. She debuted as a gravure model in 2006, releasing her first DVD MINASE Minakuru! February 17, 2006 just after her twenty-first birthday, and by mid-2009...
in the lead role as Ami, Asami in the role of Miki, Kentarō Shimazu as the yakuza leader Ryūgi Kimura and Honoka
Honoka
is an award-winning Japanese adult video actress and popular TV personality and actress. She retired from the AV industry in 2008.-Life and career:...
as his wife, Mrs. Kimura. It is about a young orphaned Japanese schoolgirl whose life is destroyed when her brother is killed by a the son of a Ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
-Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
clan. When her hand is cut off, she replaces it with a makeshift machine gun and seeks revenge.
Plot
Ami Hyūga was an average high school girl, trying to lead a normal life but her world came crashing down when her brother Yu and his friend Takeshi Sugihara were killed by bullies led by Sho Kimura. As Ami tracks down Sho, she is surprised to discover the bullies' association with a sinister ninja yakuza family. When she goes after her revenge, she soon finds herself in over her head with her left arm lost as a result. Barely surviving, Ami escapes and seeks out shelter from Takeshi's parents Suguru and Miki Sugihara, two kindly garage mechanics who fit her with a multi-barrelled machine gunMachine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
prosthetic. Together with Miki (who uses a chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
), Ami proceeds on a killing spree against the murderers of their loved ones.
Eventually, they reach the place where the yakuza are hiding. As the fight continues, Miki loses her right foot and eventually dies. Ami loses her machine gun doing her fight with Sho's father Ryūgi Kimura but gets Miki's chainsaw. Finding Sho with hostages to keep Ami at bay, his mother Violet Kimura manages to disarm Ami while attempting to kill her with her drill bra. However, noticing one of the student hostages wet himself, Ami takes advantage and trips Violet onto the urine to cause the mother's electrocution as Ami manages to kill Sho. Though she attempts to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
with nothing left for her, Ami hears noise behind her and the film ends as Ami turns, sword at the ready.
Production
According to writer and director Iguchi, the idea for The Machine Girl went back to a simple idea he had about a one-armed girl in a bikini looking for revenge. The idea for the machine gun arm came later.Cast
- Minase YashiroMinase Yashirois a Japanese gravure idol, actress and TV personality.-Life and career:Minase Yashiro was born on February 3, 1985 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. She debuted as a gravure model in 2006, releasing her first DVD MINASE Minakuru! February 17, 2006 just after her twenty-first birthday, and by mid-2009...
- Ami Hyuga - Asami - Miki Sugihara
- Yūya Ishikawa - Suguru Sugihara
- Kentarō Shimazu - Ryūgi Kimura
- HonokaHonokais an award-winning Japanese adult video actress and popular TV personality and actress. She retired from the AV industry in 2008.-Life and career:...
- Violet Kimura - Noriko KijimaNoriko Kijima-Life and career:Noriko was born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan on March 22, 1988. She was one of the winners at the 2005 Seikore competition, short for Zenkoku Joshikousei Seifuku Collection , a Japanese national contest for high-school girls modeling school uniforms and bikinis...
- Yoshie - Ryosuke Kawamura - Yu Hyuga
- Nobuhiro Nishihara - Sho Kimura
- Taro Suwa - Kimura gang member
US Version
The U.S. Version was dubbed at NYAV PostNYAV Post
NYAV Post is an American recording studio founded by Michael Sinterniklaas in 2000. The studio is located in New York City, with a West Coast branch located in Los Angeles, California...
, with several well known anime voice actors such as Jason Griffith and Dan Green
Dan Green (voice actor)
Daniel Alexander Green , is an American voice actor, voice director and script adapter who has worked for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, NYAV Post and Central Park Media...
.
- Brina PalenciaBrina PalenciaBrina Michelle Palencia is an American voice actress, singer, and ADR director who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series.Apart from her adult female voices, she has been cast in younger...
- Ami Hyuga - Evelyn Lanto - Miki Sugihara
- Kevin CollinsKevin CollinsKevin Collins may refer to:*Kevin Collins , American actor in theatre, film, television and radio drama*Kevin T. Collins, American theatre actor and voice actor*Kevin Andrew Collins, child abducted from San Francisco in 1984...
- Suguru Sugihara - Charles Bunting - Ryūgi Kimura
- Stephanie ShehStephanie ShehStephanie Ru-Phan Sheh is a Chinese-American voice actress, a writer, and a story editor who has worked for Geneon Entertainment, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment, Media Blasters, NYAV Post, FUNimation Entertainment, and Viz Media...
- Yoshie - Michael SinterniklaasMichael SinterniklaasMichael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions...
- Yu Hyuga - Christopher Kromer - Sho Kimura
- Drew Aaron -Takeshi Sugihara, Teppei
- Wayne GraysonWayne GraysonVinnie Penna is an American actor and voice actor who is mostly known for voice over under the name Wayne Grayson and has worked with 4Kids Entertainment, NYAV Post and DuArt Film and Video....
- Kitamura - Dan GreenDan Green (voice actor)Daniel Alexander Green , is an American voice actor, voice director and script adapter who has worked for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, NYAV Post and Central Park Media...
- Yusume - Jason Griffith - Ryota, various
- Bella Hudson- Masako
- Herb Lawrence- Sushi Chef
- Brandon PotterBrandon PotterBrandon Potter is an American voice actor, ADR director, and script writer who works for Funimation Entertainment. He currently resides in NYC where he does additional voices for NYAV Post projects such as Gundam Unicorn & Freedom.-Anime:...
- Kaneko - Dara Seitzman- Sumire
- Robby Sharpe - Hiroshi
- Christine Shipp- Yumiko, Old Lady
- Tom WaylandTom WaylandTom Wayland is an American musician, actor, voice actor, ADR director, producer and dubbing supervisor who works for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, NYAV Post, Real Recording LLC, Matlin Recording LLC, Beatstreet Studios and Audioworks Producers Group. He previously worked for Central...
- Shinsuke - David WillsDavid WillsDavid Wills is one of the founding members of Negativland. He was a cable repairman when he joined the group with a then-teenage Mark Hosler and Richard Lyons, until he retired in the '90s...
- Suguano
Release
The movie premiered at the Yubari International Fantastic Film FestivalYubari International Fantastic Film Festival
The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Film Festival.-History:...
in March 2008. It was released theatrically in the United States on May 23, 2008 and on DVD June 3, 2008. The first theatrical release in Japan was on August 2, 2008. The Japanese DVD from Nikkatsu came out January 23, 2009 as a 2 disc set including the short . Tokyo Shock, the Media Blaster label which released the original US DVD announced that they were bringing out a 2 disc special titled The Machine Girl Remix on August 4, 2009. The set includes the Shyness Machine Girl short renamed as Machine Girlite.
Reception
The film's reception has been mixed. It has many times been compared to Robert Rodriguez'sRobert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
Planet Terror
Planet Terror
Planet Terror is a 2007 American action horror film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, about a group of people attempting to survive an onslaught of zombie-like creatures as they feud with a military unit, including a go-go dancer searching for a way to use her "useless talents." The film, a...
by critics. It currently holds a 63% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
from 8 reviews. It has developed a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
in America.
Rating
The film was rated 18 in countries such as Chile, Peru and Spain because of nonstop gore, bloody action sequences and a suggested necrophilia/rape scene.Sequel
A direct to video sequel called was released on January 23, 2009 along with the Japanese DVD of The Machine Girl.External links
- Trailer at YouTube
- MachineGirl.net
- Internal Bleeding
- Nippon Cinema