I wasn't really sure exactly what to expect when I started this. It was essentially a blind watch. The first impression, from the dream and the kata in the apartment, was pretty positive. Instantly love most of the girls, especially Satsuki and Mayu, and how you can sort most of them by M/S and amateur/pro. Mayu, for her part, almost instantly bonds with the dominatrix, who is very sweet to her and pretty quickly falls in love with her.

I went and looked at stuff about this movie during a break from it, and found that it's based on a woman's work, and I feel like you can sort of tell. So, while this film is pretty aggressively objectifying in the way pinky violence movies tend to be, I feel like there's something really, deeply warm at the heart of the film. It's perverted and very trashy, but there are certain details you don't often see in films like this, like the care Miko has for Mayu, in one scene stepping in to break up a rather severe beating and ask her if she's alright during the match. There are some incredibly delightful beats in here, and a bit of transmasculine representation (your mileage may vary on that, but I didn't find it offensive at all).

As in all good erotic films, there is a certain play with consent in both the erotic scenes and the girl fight scenes. The erotic scenes themselves aren't particularly creative, but have a sort of lingering sentiment built up (even over several minutes), since each of them is a major emotional development, characters realizing their own desires and needs. The sensuality, sentimentality, and warmth of the love scene between Satsuki and Chinatsu is also a strong counterpoint to the brutal rape she suffers after her husband takes her home later in the movie. And the craven sexualization of the early girl fights serves to underscore the sincerity or the intensity of later fights, like the sparring match between Miko and Satsuki where we learn what Miko's fighting style would be if she could decide for herself.

Kind of amazed with the boss as a character, and weirdly loved how badass he looked when he humiliated the rapist pedophile karateman.

I'm not ashamed to say that I cried a little bit when Mayu came back. The ensuing training montage is also kind of awesome for what it is.

I also cried at the final few shots, actually.

This movie is weird, weirdly queer, sentimental despite its exploitative nature and approach, and traverses a really, really wild variety of moods. The choreography is usually way better than it has any right to be, and the entire cast of Girl's Blood weirdos is pretty loveable. Weirdly close to the erotic wrestling movie of my dreams, actually. In the end, sincere and beautiful violence reveals the true feelings of our main characters.

If you think girls fighting is cool, or if you think violence can be both oppressive and liberatory, or if you're really into erotic mud fights for some reason, you could watch this movie and maybe have a blast.

"If you don't like it, then I won't look." "Get out. Get out!"

alt. quote: "I'm back. It's good to see you again."

I wasn't really sure exactly what to expect when I started this. It was essentially a blind watch. The first impression, from the dream and the kata in the apartment, was pretty positive. Instantly love most of the girls, especially Satsuki and Mayu, and how you can sort most of them by M/S and amateur/pro. Mayu, for her part, almost instantly bonds with the dominatrix, who is very sweet to her and pretty quickly falls in love with her.

I went and looked at stuff about this movie during a break from it, and found that it's based on a woman's work, and I feel like you can sort of tell. So, while this film is pretty aggressively objectifying in the way pinky violence movies tend to be, I feel like there's something really, deeply warm at the heart of the film. It's perverted and very trashy, but there are certain details you don't often see in films like this, like the care Miko has for Mayu, in one scene stepping in to break up a rather severe beating and ask her if she's alright during the match. There are some incredibly delightful beats in here, and a bit of transmasculine representation (your mileage may vary on that, but I didn't find it offensive at all).

As in all good erotic films, there is a certain play with consent in both the erotic scenes and the girl fight scenes. The erotic scenes themselves aren't particularly creative, but have a sort of lingering sentiment built up (even over several minutes), since each of them is a major emotional development, characters realizing their own desires and needs. The sensuality, sentimentality, and warmth of the love scene between Satsuki and Chinatsu is also a strong counterpoint to the brutal rape she suffers after her husband takes her home later in the movie. And the craven sexualization of the early girl fights serves to underscore the sincerity or the intensity of later fights, like the sparring match between Miko and Satsuki where we learn what Miko's fighting style would be if she could decide for herself.

Kind of amazed with the boss as a character, and weirdly loved how badass he looked when he humiliated the rapist pedophile karateman.

I'm not ashamed to say that I cried a little bit when Mayu came back. The ensuing training montage is also kind of awesome for what it is.

I also cried at the final few shots, actually.

This movie is weird, weirdly queer, sentimental despite its exploitative nature and approach, and traverses a really, really wild variety of moods. The choreography is usually way better than it has any right to be, and the entire cast of Girl's Blood weirdos is pretty loveable. Weirdly close to the erotic wrestling movie of my dreams, actually. In the end, sincere and beautiful violence reveals the true feelings of our main characters.

If you think girls fighting is cool, or if you think violence can be both oppressive and liberatory, or if you're really into erotic mud fights for some reason, you could watch this movie and maybe have a blast.

"If you don't like it, then I won't look." "Get out. Get out!"

alt. quote: "I'm back. It's good to see you again."