Guro Meets Grindhouse — ‘Kite’ Mini-Review
by Tito W. James
Every so often, we like to look back at anime before it became an economic engine in the United States. Once upon a time, importing and subtitling work from Japan was the passion of enthusiasts instead of a profit center. Meanwhile, in Japan, a new outlet for animation was emerging in the late 1980s and into the next decade: the original video animation. It is from this milieu that Kite emerged.
The 1998 OVA is about a sexually abused assassin who kills her targets with explosive bullets and wears earrings containing the blood of her murdered parents. Kite is a mix of sexploitation and splatterhouse that’s sure to make audiences both cringe and gag. That being said, Kite isn’t just “edgy on purpose.” There are subtle atmospheric scenes and and a few empathic characters to really sell the story. For fans of darker, experimental anime like Devilman, Crybaby or Ninja Scroll you can’t miss out on Kite.
