A friend recommended the film to me solely on the basis that it contained some of the most extreme violence and gore that he had ever seen. I, being curious about such things and respecting his recommendations, gave it a shot, even though I should have learned my lesson after every other ghastly Miike film I’d seen ("Audition", "Happiness of the Katakuris", "MPD Psycho"). The main problem with "Ichi the Killer" is that it contains absolutely nothing else but violence and gore. And of course, plenty of rape and sexual brutalisation of women. I’ve heard some folks feebly argue that a film like this can’t really be labelled misogynistic, because everyone in it is treated appallingly, including men, and is more accurately described as being simply generally misanthropic. This defense is nearly as moronic as the content of the film. The women are specifically *sexually* violated and tortured, because they are women. The men are not. End of story. There really is a marked difference between the way violence directed towards men and violence directed towards women is depicted in these films, you know.

But the whole thing is so boring I couldn’t even bothered to get offended at the ludicrous tortures and mutilations. Some cretins find this sort of thing edgy, creative, outrageous and daring. They are wrong. It is weak, shallow, vacuous and mind-numbingly tedious. It could be easily whittled down to a much shorter compilation comprised solely of the various rapes and tortures and distributed accordingly as a pseudo-snuff showreel and nothing would be lost. In fact, much would be gained, as this interminable bore bafflingly last over two hours.

Throughout the series the teacher offers up some choice monologues outlining her position and viewpoint on the teacher’s role as an educator and what she is there to do, and these scenes were fascinating and maddening, as in every conceivable way I’m philosophically opposed to her perspective. Which is fine, as she is the villain of the piece. We’re not meant to like her. (Although the end credits to each episode are quite funny, as it shows the actress who plays the teacher, Amami Yuki, literally letting her hair down and relaxing, smiling and dancing, things her character never does in the show.)

I enjoyed this series a great deal and was perhaps taking it too seriously, but there are many affecting moments and heart-breaking situations, but then it’s easy to be moved by the plight of children, especially those forced into repressive educational regimes that may not fit their individual modes of learning, a ‘liberal’ conceit that Maya-sensei would dismiss as foolish and lead to a society breaking down and becoming weak. As someone who resented every second of their ineffective and rigidly inflexible high school education, I can empathize greatly with Kazumi and the other students and fume with rage at the Maya-sensei’s Wicked Witch style approach to teaching.

The incredibly adorable Ei Morisako stars as Maruko, a cheerful but lazy, disorganised, mischievous, sardonic nine-year old who lives with her scolding but loving okaasan (mother), easygoing otousan (father), smart and sensible oneechan (big sister), silly, absent-minded and emotional ojiichan (grandfather) and wise, sensible and genteel obaachan (grandmother).

Other regular characters are Maruko’s classmates, including her best friend, the very sweet Tamae-chan, the very rich Hanawa, roguish Hamazaki, and the wonderfully creepy Emiko Noguchi, who I wish had more screen time, as she reminds me of a comical version of the archetypal creepy long-haired ghostly Japanese girl familiar from so many J-horror films.

As with the previous special, there are three 30-minute stories, all about Maruko getting herself into some form of tomfoolery. The best segment is the first, with Maruko having to write an essay on her family life, which leads to an unexpectedly moving conclusion. The funniest scene in this episode involves Maruko and her grandfather going to eat at an expensive sushi restaurant. Some priceless double takes here from Maruko’s grandfather.

I haven’t had the opportunity to see the anime, but this live action version of Chibi Maruko-chan is a total delight, overloaded with mind-boggling cuteness and genuinely funny moments. Morisako and all the children are wonderful performers and uniformly portray their characters with confidence. Be aware that this is a very silly show with broad humour and simplistic situations, but it is carried off with a great deal of skill and charm.

It’s often fascinating to see shows made wholly for a monocultural audience. Neither this show or the anime are likely to ever gain much attention in the west because of how distinctly "Japanese" it is (although apparently the anime series aired in Germany). This is a shame, as I feel shows like this provide a more interesting insight into typical Japanese culture for a non-Japanese audience than the more marketable-to-the-west anime fare, which is far less popular in Japan than a show like Chibi Maruko-chan (or the single most popular animated show in Japan – Sazae-san, the longest running animated TV show in the world, beating "The Simpsons'" 18 year run by about 20 years).

While I don’t speak Japanese, I love hearing the language. As this is a show generally aimed at children, the language is a bit simpler and you can pick up many common words from watching the show. The English subtitles on [the Malaysian DVD by Ember Power] are hardly perfect, but as far as I now it’s the only non-bootleg subtitled version available. It’s doubtful anyone will ever release this series in an English speaking market, so grab this disc while you can.

Kuo, Lu and Chiang are the Venoms present for this instalment of bloody mayhem, and each delivers typically impeccable choreography. Personally, I could watch Kuo and Chiang flip over each other all day.

As Venoms fans know, a detailed review distilling the story is wholly unnecessary, as these films were not made with plots to be pondered over (Read Tony Mustafa's review for more detailed background info). While "Masked Avengers" strictly adheres to the perfunctory formula Chang had streamlined by this time in his waning career at Shaw Bros., it is still an invigorating and rousing piece of ludicrous mayhem, with the ever-villainous Lu Feng and the ever-heroic Kuo Chui doing what they did best. The action builds to the amazing climactic fight, in which various laws of physics are hilariously defied and more of that glorious Shaws fake blood is spilled. The deadly serious tone makes the action more compelling than the kung-fu comedies which were so popular at the time of the film's release. I prefer martial arts films to be serious, even if I don't take all of them seriously.

While this and many Venoms films may leave some dissatisfied at their blatant shortcomings, there is a unique quality to nearly all Shaw Bros. films, even ones made in the 80's, which I find endlessly endearing and fascinating to behold. Maybe it's the film stock they were shot on, which makes films shot even in 1984 look like they could have been made in the 1950's. Seeing those distinctive sets, costumes, camerawork and even the editing makes me feel like I'm welcoming in old friends whenever I sit down to watch another Shaws film. "Masked Avengers" maintains that warm cozy feeling with every bloody impalement.

This longer second series of 45 minutes episodes starts off perfectly, with more silly moments and situations from Maruko’s everyday life with her family and school friends. Unfortunately, after the first three or four episodes, more and more screen time is given over to various variety show hijinks involving games and celebrity guests, which might provide some initial interest for their insights into Japanese culture, but are far less involving than the dramatic segments, which comprised the entirety of the 2006 series.

It reaches the point where some later episodes have almost no drama segments at all and are entirely about the live segments, which often descend to the level of infomercials. Some segments, such as those involving science experiments, are genuinely interesting though, and more of those would have been preferable to the interminable episode about preparing fish dishes. Although that might have been made insufferable due to the incredibly annoying and genuinely creepy guest on that episode.

But still, for plenty of warm-hearted wackiness and unbelievable cuteness this is still a super happy smile fun time!