A sleazy bordello/church offering S&M services is visited by a particularly rough, woman-hating client who it turns out is really looking for someone to help him rescue his gay lover from the clutches of a sex-starved sukeban gang. In comes the titular hero, the S&M Hunter, whose snazzy attire--consisting of a duster jacket, bowler hat, and skulls and crossbones eyebatch--makes him look like a bizarre cross between an extra from a spaghetti western set and John Steed.

The S&M Hunter is one part superhero and one part Sherlock Holmes, using his superior powers of deduction and mastery of bondage to solve sticky situations like that of Joe's abducted lover.

Clocking in at the pinku standard of 61 minutes, "S&M Hunter" never gets dull and constantly amazes with its over-the-top bondage-heavy set pieces and proliferation of popular Japanese fetishes. More amazing still is that the sexy stuff never distracts the viewer from the movie itself.

I dare say the sex feels like a perfectly natural part of the narrative, as opposed to a genre-imposed trope. Mind you, seemless integration of softcore sex scenes isn't completely absent from the pinku genre as a whole, but the skill level of the directors too often came in the way.

Or maybe it's just that the sex comes with a good mix of humour, playfulness, and stone-faced seriousness that just works. Obvious care was given to the bondage sequences as the complex knots and rope structures clearly demonstrate.

As stated in the introduction, the outside scenes were shot at the crack of dawn or just before dusk, giving us some of the most gorgeous photography in the genre. Someone out there went through a lot of trouble to make the most out of the imposed limits.

The oddball "S&M Hunter" is likely to please fans of pinky violence and/or bondage fanatics more than the casual pinku boosters.

ALL ABOUT S&M:
Naturally, everybody has both senses of sadism and masochism. However, only a few people have only one side. The ultimate sadist has only sadism. The ultimate masochist has only masochism. The ultimate sadist is extroadinarily aggressive, but it is their expression of love. The main character of this film, the S&M Roper, is such an ultimate sadist who has genteleness and love in his sadistic action. He never defeats enemies but lets them succumb by arousing their masochim.

IS HE A GENTLEMAN?
The Roper ties girls up and tames them. It lools like crazy bullying, but it is not. In fact, the girls who are tamed by him fall in love with him and his rope. He tells the leader of the girls' gang that indulging desire is not a sin because God created everything in the world, and desire is also a part of the world. The girls are relieved by his words. He is not only a sadist but also the ultimate gentleman.

At the last battle scene, he is smashed in both eyes; however, he can still capture the girl, tie her up and finally indulge her with his love and gentleness.

S&M Hunter is not brutal like any regular heroes. His violence is not violence but love. Violence doesn't resolve any problems, only love can do it. This film and the Roper are the strong antithesis to any kinds of heroes.