Ask John: Are There Any Grindhouse Anime?

Question:
What anime movies would you think would be suitable for grindhouse viewing?

Answer:
Applying the term “grindhouse” to anime, or any Japanese cinema, is a bit problematic because the “grindhouse” moniker specifically refers to films, or the type of films, screened theatrically in the sleazy, dirty American theaters and drive-ins of the 1970s that made their money on unspooling battered prints of domestic and foreign exploitation films. Japan has its own variety of vintage exploitation cinema, and certain Japanese films do qualify as genuine “grindhouse” pictures, but generally the term doesn’t apply to conventional anime. However, there’s no shortage of anime that would comfortably fit the bill for any modern convention scheduler or film festival planner’s need for “grindhouse” style anime.

Unlike refined, respectable films, grindhouse fare is typified by its exploitive sex, violence, action, and its eagerness to defy convention, morality, and good taste. The opposite of conventionally “good” cinema, grindhouse cinema is the epitome of exquisite trash. Select live action Japanese films gained distribution in American grindhouse distribution during the 70s and early 80s, including “Shogun Assassin,” (a re-edited version of Toho’s first two Kozure Okami movies from 1972) and Sonny Chiba’s Streetfighter movies. Possibly the only anime film to legitimately qualify as a “grindhouse” picture is Osamu Tezuka’s 1970 film Cleopatra, which was distributed in America with a self-imposed X rating and the title “Cleopatra: Queen of Sex.”

While there aren’t many anime productions that were literally distributed as grindhouse fodder, there are countless anime that exhibit the trademark characteristics of grindhouse cinema. In fact, there are too many for me to recall and name, but I can cite a few excellent examples of anime that adhere to the grindhouse aesthetic.

In fact, many anime productions from the 1980s and early 90s would feel at home in a grindhouse film festival. Battle Royal High School remains one of the finest examples of sheer bizarre 80s anime that concentrated on assaulting viewers with violence, action, horror, sci-fi, pro-wrestling, and not the slightest bit of narrative cohesion. Similarly, Bavi-Stock supplies the requisite amount of ridiculous, awful sci-fi action. The Mad Bull 34 OVA series is ripe with gratuitous sex and violence, with plenty of ethnic and national stereotypes. Violence Jack, Riki-Oh: Violence Hero, and Maryuu Senki serve up extreme violence with minimal story. Oryuu no Mimi and Kizuoibito stress stylistic sexist chauvinism. Kyofun no Bio-Ningen (“Ultimate Teacher”) features plenty of ridiculous action and a near indestructible bio-engineered cockroach man. Butt Attack Punisher Girl Gotaman (yes, such an anime does exist) delivers exactly what it promises – a scantily clad girl imbued with the divine power to defeat evil with her buttocks.

Taking a bit of a higher artistic route, but no less grindhouse worthy, the 1973 art film Kanashimi no Belladonna includes enough psychedelia, taboo challenging, and shocking sexuality to feel right at home in grindhouse company. The original Urotsukidoji trilogy also features exceptional craftsmanship, and enough exploitive violence and sex to feel like a suitable grindhouse picture. 1985’s Lupin III: Golden Legend of Babylon motion picture is also psychedelic and crazy enough to qualify as a grindhouse worthy head trip.

And just to prove that contemporary anime still occasionally recalls the trashy, exploitive excess of the grindhouse, modern works like Afro Samurai, Dead Leaves, Trava: Fist Planet, Tokko, Catblue Dynamite, Naikaku Kenryoku Hanzai Kyosei Torishimarikan Zaizen Jotaro, and Souten no Ken, to name a few, exhibit the unconventional, retro, and exploitive characteristics typical of grindhouse cinema.