, a.k.a. ''Koichiro Uno's Wet Strike'', is a 1984

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese film in

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

's '' Roman Porno'' series, directed by

Shūsuke Kaneko is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Shūsuke Kaneko was born in Tokyo on June 8, 1955. According to the biography on his official website Kaneko was interested in science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films, from a young age. H ...

and starring

Natsuko Yamamoto Natsuko Yamamoto (山本奈津子 ''Yamamoto Natsuko'') is a Japanese actress. Filmography #セーラー服百合族 (''Seiraafuku yurizoku'') (1983) #セーラー服百合族2 (''Seiraafuku yurizoku 2'') (1983) # (1984) #夕ぐれ族 (''Yuugu ...

and Arisa Hayashi. It was the 21st film in Nikkatsu's series of films based on the works of author

Kōichirō Uno is a Japanese author of erotic novels. His works have often been filmed, most notably by Nikkatsu studio in a prolific series of '' Roman Porno''s giving the author's name in the title. He also won the Akutagawa Prize for ''Kujiragami'' (鯨神). ...

Synopsis

The film is a parody of , a tennis ''manga''. Similar characters to that in the ''manga'' include "Madam Butterfly", a rich snob of a professional tennis player, and Hiromi, her suffering opponent.Weisser, p. 448.

Cast

as Hiromi Hosokawa * Arisa Hayashi as Madame Butterfly * Yūgo Sawada * Satoru Harada * Rika Ishii

Critical appraisal

won the

Yokohama Film Festival The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...

award for best new director for this film.Weisser, p. 448.

Legacy

''Kōichirō Uno's Wet and Swinging'' was

's directorial debut. He turned his early success in the ''Roman porno'' / ''

pink film refers in Japan to movies produced by independent studios that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. Many pink films would be a ...

'' genre into a mainstream directorial career. Today he is best known for his films in the ''

kaijū is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju ...

'' film genre, such as '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'' (1995) and '' Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack'' (2001).

Availability

''Kōichirō Uno's Wet and Swinging'' was released on DVD in Japan on October 21, 2005, as part of

Geneon (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Tokyo ...

's first wave of Nikkatsu ''Roman porno'' series.

References

Bibliography

English

* * * *

Japanese

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koichiro Uno's Wet And Swinging Films directed by Shusuke Kaneko 1984 films 1980s Japanese films 1980s Japanese-language films Nikkatsu films Nikkatsu Roman Porno Tennis films