Ikko recalls being rescued by Mayo, alias: Black Angel (Takashima), the statuesque hit-woman called upon by her dying father to get his little daughter to safety, so the grown-up Ikko uses her saviour's nom de guerre to get the attention of Yakuza bosses. However, the years since she saved Ikko have taken their toll on Mayo, and now she's a dope-fiend whore. But, when the bad-guys hire Mayo to find and dispose of her young namesake, the stage is set for armed confrontation between the women and, later, their respective employers and enemies. Got all that?

Startlingly aggressive imagery and imaginative set-piece shootouts take place in a futuristic shadowy technopolis - clearly inspired by the hellish noir of Blade Runner, where sexy girls with guns happily splatter the blood of an army of dark suited henchmen across the brushed steel and faux marble décor. There's female defiance, moral depravity and twisted misunderstandings in abundance. So, if you liked The Long Kiss Goodnight and Nikita, this one is a must-see!

The "Black Angel" stars Riona Hazuki as Ikko, the most powerful female action heroine ever to hit celluloid. At age 6 Ikko was safely put on a plane to Los Angeles by underworld hitman Mayo, who goes under the nom de guerre Black Angel--but not before seeing her Yakuza boss father and mistress mother killed before her eyes.

Flash forward 14 years, Ikko returns to Tokyo seeking revenge for the killings. She too calls herself the Black Angel, styling herself after Mayo, whom she remembers as a towering almost superhuman figure. When her target realizes that she is after him and his gang, he enlists the original Black Angel to wipe out Ikko, and the stage is set for a violent reunion.