Fuyuhiko Nishi's "High Kick Girl!" is a sometimes interesting throwback to 70's martial arts films like "Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken AKA The Street Fighter" and "Onna Hissatsu Ken AKA Sister Streetfighter" but ultimately fails to provide enough thrills or drama to keep viewers entertained. What we are left with is a plot-less and somewhat boring film whose only trump card is watching cute new comer Takeda Rina kick-ass quite impressively.
Takeda Rina is the latest in a wave of cute, martial artists breaking into the movie scene. In the last couple of years we saw the debut of two similarly lithe and deadly cuties in Luxia Jiang (star of "Coweb" and winner of Jackie Chan's "The Disciple" HK reality show) and Jeeja Yanin (Thai martial arts phenome and star of "Chocolate" and "Raging Phoenix"). Takeda certainly has the skills of an up-and-coming martial arts star being a 1st degree (Ichi Dan) Black Belt in Karate with the Ryukyu/Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Genshin Kai. With her tall lanky frame and long legs, Takeda's specialty seems to be high kicks to the heads of opponents, earning her the movie's title.
Takeda's impressive high kicks and cute face however can't save this "one trick pony" of a movie which suffers under the weight of a weak story and some terrible acting.
The story is lethargic at best and revolves around Takeda's character Tsuchiya Kei, a skilled albeit brash Karate student who spends her time challenging other Karate school students to test her prowess. She is a student of famed Karate instructor, Matsumoto Yoshiaki (portrayed by real life Japan Karate Association lead instructor and former All Japan Karate champion Taka Tatsuya) who is unimpressed by her abilities and who chides her for exploiting her training.