Bodyguard Kiba 1 (4 Stars)

This 1973 film has been released with different names over the years, including "The Bodyguard". "Karate Kiba" and "Karate Killer". Today it's best known as "Bodyguard Kiba 1".

Naoto Kiba is a member of the Tesshin Karate School. A few years previously his master emigrated from Japan to America, but now he and his school have come into disrepute. There was some sort of incident in which his master killed a bull. It's not specified any closer.

When Kiba is flying to America there's an attempt to hijack his plane. Kiba easily overcomes the armed hijackers, using only his bare fists. In America he holds a press conference, in which he offers his services as a bodyguard. A day later a mysterious Japanese woman approaches him and hires him for four days. Despite repeated questions, she refuses to say who she is or who is trying to kill her. Kiba realises it's serious when four masked men attack her on the first evening.

Kiba accompanies her to Japan, and the attempts on her life continue. Finally he finds out what's happening. She was the lover of a Mafia boss in New York. After he was gunned down in public she stole a suitcase of heroin and has arranged to sell it to a Japanese gang. Kiba doesn't take a moral standpoint. He's been hired as a bodyguard, and he'll do his job whether or not he approves of his client.

I've long known about "Bodyguard Kiba 1", but today is the first time I've seen it. I was surprised how trashy it is. The soundtrack is brash and aggressive, like the blaxploitation films of the 1970's. If anything, I'd call it a Japsploitation film. It's enjoyable, but at several points I had to shake my head in amazement. Was this typical of early 1970's Japanese martial arts films? I don't know.