Lady ninjas. Go-go clubs. Dream sequences. Lots of primary colors. These wonderful things await the first-time viewer of Black Tight Killers, the directorial debut of Yasuharu Hasebe, who would go on to make other stylish gangster films for Nikkatsu such as Bloody Territories and the Stray Cat Rock series. It comes from right smack in the middle of the 1960's, with all the creative flourishes and experimentation that one expects from a young beginning director, even one working within the confines of a tight Japanese studio system.

A summation of the plot is probably beyond me - there are a few things I still haven't reasoned out even after two viewings - but it's something like this: a handsome young photojournalist - just back from VietNam, I think - meets a lovely young stewardess and takes her out to dinner. In a series of mishaps he encounters an all-girl squad of assassins, dressed all in black, and is arrested for the murder they committed. They also kidnap his girl, as if the rest wasn't bad enough. So, our hero begins a search for them that entangles him in a gang war, something involving stolen World War II gold, and the girls turn out not to be so bad once you get to know them, etc., etc. Who cares? The movie looks great and it's a lot of fun. The plot is just there to get the set-pieces before our eyes.

What we end up with, though, is a fun, stylish film that resembles something of a comic book thrown up onto the screen. While most of it is indeed serious, the campy aspects keep us from becoming too involved in the dangerous aspects. The director's style, and the competence of the actors involved, keep things interesting once the story gets going.

Star Akira Kobayashi is certainly good enough in this film, though he's never been one of my favorites. (He was also good in Bloody Territories.) But for me personally, his almost-pop-star-perfect good looks keep me from thinking of him as a tough guy. Indeed, early in his career he was groomed to be a matinee idol of some degree, and ended up starring in the Wandering Guitar series. Hasebe would continue to make films - indeed, he's still going strong today. But none of them would be as stylish and original as his first, the one with the cute girl ninjas clad in tight black leather.