Girls' Junior High School (1970-1971)

[Takuma]

I finally watched this series a few months ago. Those interested in Pinky Violence and girl gang movies have probably heard of these films, although the Pinky Violence classification really only applies to the first film and even then by the loose definition of the term  (i.e. including non-Toei films). But the series is included for example in Hotwax's Queen of Japanese Movie book on Japanese bad girl cinema alongside Sukeban, Stray Cat Rock etc.

So, let's start with the first film:

Girls' Junior High School: Dangerous Games  (1970)

Nikkatsu's lesser know bad girl series lacks the excessive sex and violence of its Toei rivals, which is probably a good thing for the series being set in a junior high school. There's no lack of bad behaviour, though, from shower room fights to strip gambling (none resulting in anything more than young girls in underwear). Junko Natsu stars as a new student who enter a school where the girls are framing their poor teachers for rape and hanging out with a silly a yakuza gang running a strip club. There's a lot of good stuff going on during the first half, but the film somewhat runs out of steam towards the end. Also, it should be mentioned the film is just as much a comedy and drama as it is a bad girl flick. Still, it comes with many good moments, plenty of nostalgia, and an excellent, energetic turn by Natsu.

Enter Junko Natsu

Chieko Matsubara, who was a prominent Nikkatsu star the 1960s and is still acting in TV

Jiro Okazaki as silly yakuza

 

 

[Takuma]

Girls' Junior High School: Trouble at Graduation  (1970)

This second film in the series was released mere five weeks after the original - and oddly enough, produced by a different studio (Academy Pro). The latter may explain why the supporting cast is mostly different, while the former is likely the reason why the film isn't all that good. This time the girls are given homework regarding sex education, which results in a couple of fun but not-all-that-naughty jokes. The film mostly plays out like a mediocre schoolgirls coming-of-age comedy. There's a bit of anarchy at the climax when the girls let the teachers have what they deserve, but this scene too pales in comparison to what would come in Toei's exploitation films in just a few years. The real highlights are the opening scene and a great montage later on, both utilizing the terrific song 'Seishun no uta' by Takuro Yoshida (who is also known for the theme song for the classic hanger nunchuku series Keiji Monogatari). Director Yukihiro Sawada had a talent for creating that kind of cool scenes, as evidenced by several other films he made (e.g. Melody of Rebellion, 1970; Sex Hunter: Wet Target, 1972; Assault, 1976).

Takuro Yoshida

Sukeban montage

In case anyone is wondering what the DN logo at beginning of each of these films stands for, that's Dainichi. Dainichi was a distribution company joint venture by Daiei and Nikkatsu. Both companies were facing financial trouble in the early 70s, and probably because the standard back then was to release films as double features, they thought it would be a good idea to join forces. They would be able to distribute double features that contain Nikkatsu and Daiei films rather than trying to produce enough films alone to make a Nikkatsu double feature or Daiei double feature. Obviously the attempt failed: Nikkatsu shifted to Roman Porno in late 1971, and Daiei went bankrupt around the same time.

 

[Takuma]

Girls' Junior High School: Too Young to Play Like This (1971)

The last film in the series is a slight improvement over the previous movie. This one, too, is pretty much a schoolgirl drama/comedy from start to finish with little in terms of bad girl action. The most amusing part involves three school boys sneaking into the girls' bathing facilities. There's a highly politically incorrect (by modern standards) joke when a big breasted girl gets up from the bath tub and a subtitle saying "15 years old, and she's got such big..." appears. Another good, and completely ridiculous, sketch features the girls fooling two teachers into believing the other person's got a crush on him/her. Star Junko Natsu also gets her share of the cameraman's love, especially during the last 15 minutes, which feature plenty of idol-like footage of her walking on the streets. Despite these strengths, however, the film isn't all that exciting and far outstays its welcome even at just 82 minutes. But, you gotta love the title!  

The DVDs by Nikkatsu look fine other than being interlaced (odd for a 2013 release). My screen captures somehow look a little inferior; I may have screwed up some compression setting, or maybe I'm just imagining things. The DVDs include original trailers as well as cast and crew info. There's also a Junko Natsu interview divided into three parts, apparently conducted via phone because there's no video footage other than clips from the films. The DVD covers are not reversible, btw. Original artwork would have been preferable. There's also a photo booklet which is a box set exclusive but frankly, unless you're a huge fan I don't think you would miss it so much. The box set design, while ok, isn't that special in my opinion either.

I'd probably recommend purchasing the first film first, and then deciding whether to get the rest or not, unless you think these films sound exactly like your cup of tea. I already sold my DVD set, but if I had owned them separately I probably would have kept the first film.