Yakuza Hunters: The Revenge Duel in Hell (3 Stars)

At least there isn't any confusion about the name of this film, unlike the first film. It's only known as "Yakuza Hunters: The Revenge Duel in Hell". Having said that, the film's title doesn't make sense. In the first film Asami was assisted by a gang of female fighters, but in this film she's fighting alone, so "Hunter" should be in the singular.

The second film takes place three years after the first. Asami has been wandering around the country. The wounds she suffered at the end of the first film have miraculously healed. Maybe meditation was all she needed to make her hand grow back. On returning to Sagawa she finds that the Yakuza has grown strong again, and they are evicting everyone from the town centre to build a new casino. Those who don't agree to leave are tortured or killed. The Yakuza bosses know from experience that the men in their organisation are no match for a beautiful woman, so they hire another woman to battle against her, a killer called Akira.

In the first film there were visual references to spaghetti westerns, but it's even more obvious here. Asami is a brooding character dressed in black, looking as much like an Italian gunslinger as a Japanese girl can. Unfortunately the sequel is spoilt by silly scenes, just like the first film, and there's no gratuitous nudity to make up for it this time.