Blade Licking Thieves

The bionic superhero of science, Inframan, must save the planet from the evil Princess Dragon Mom and her gang of wicked monsters in Super Inframan (1975) Shaw Brothers Studio's terribly fun knock-off of the popular tokusatsu genre. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + R.I.P. Akira Toriyama [Check out Grant's article: "Who Can Beat Goku? The Monumental Legacy of Akira Toriyama"] [27:40] Review - Super Inframan (1975)

The Blade Licking Thieves podcast has hit 100 episodes! Thanks to all the listeners out there that have taken the ride with us. Please keep sending us your comments, feedback, and suggestions for new films or shows for us to watch. This being the 100th episode, we thought what better time than now to finally break the glass and at long last tackle a work by Akira Kurosawa, arguably, THE Japanese film maker. Kurosawa's first film to achieve critical recognition in the West, Rashomon (1950) tells the story of an encounter in a bamboo grove between a bandit (Toshiro Mifune), a samurai (Masayuki Mori), and the samurai's wife (Machiko Kyo) ending with a rape and murder, yet the narrative is fragmentary, as the story is retold multiple times, through various eye witness accounts, often varying and contradictory, forcing the audience to judge "the truth" of the story for ourselves. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro [24:14] Review - Rashomon (1950) [2:31:35] Twitter Questions

BLT Team B return with a review of the schlocky, horror movie Humanoids from the Deep (1980) in which a small fishing village is laid siege by mutated fish-men intent on rape and murder.

We review Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), from acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, a visually arresting, erotically charged, and boldly operatic retelling of Stoker's classic gothic horror novel that remains just as spellbinding a cinematic vision today as it was upon release. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + The Human Target, Brave Bang Bravern, Delcious in Dungeon [36:33] Review - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) [2:43:05] Twitter Questions

Tragic space vampires, sabre tooth tigers with laser beams, terminator-esque death machines, enough F-bombs to pop your explosive cyber collar, and more delightful nonsense abounds in Yoshiaki Kawajiri's classic cyber punk OVA: Cyber City Oedo 808! Tune in for the full review and your twitter questions! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Kaiju No. 8, Fist of the North Star, The Boy and the Heron [48:24] Review - CYBER CITY OEDO 808 [2:25:58] Twitter Questions

We're starting off the new year with a review of Shin Kamen Rider (2023), the third film in Hideaki Anno's Shin series of remakes of classic Tokusatsu franchises. This latest entry, with a plot heavily inspired by Shotaro Ishinomori's original Kamen Rider manga, finds man turned cyborg Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu), as the titular Kamen Rider, squaring off against the villainous organization SHOCKER and its rogues' gallery of evil animal cyborgs; along for the ride is his beautiful but icy partner Ruriko Midorikawa (Minabi Hanabe) and a mysterious rival Kamen Rider (Tasuku Emoto) whose allegiance is unknown. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Baldur's Gate 3, Berserk, The Knick, Mad Max: Furiosa, Onimusha, and Symphogear [27:48] Review - Shin Kamen Rider (2023) [2:17:07] Twitter Questions

A hard boiled yakuza fresh out of prison and a beautiful and mysterious young woman seek out high stakes thrills in the illegal gambling dens of Tokyo in Masahiro Shinoda's film noir Pale Flower (1964). Plus impressions of the anime Hell's Paradise and Onimusha. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Hell's Paradise, Onimusha [45:55] Review - Pale Flower (1964)

We review Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto's A Thousand and One Nights (1969), the first film in Mushi Production's Animerama trilogy, billed as the world's first work of "adult animation". We also discuss the news of Cobra creator Buichi Terasawa's passing, Rightstuf's transition to the Crunchy-roll store, the decline of physical media, and Grant's impressions of Netflix's live action One Piece series. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, RIP Buichi Terasawa, Rightstuf's closure, decline of physical media, and live action One Piece impressions [45:55] Review - A Thousand and One Nights (1969)

Join us as we celebrate Halloween with a review of a little known Golden Harvest cult horror film: The Seventh Curse (1986). Loosely based on the popular Dr. Yuen series of Chinese novels about a globe trotting wealthy doctor, versed in the martial arts, and his confrontations with the supernatural, this highly entertaining adventure film from director Lam Ngai Kai (best known for the infamous Story of Ricky) features a talented cast of Hong Kong stars such as Chin-Sui Ho, Chow Yun-Fat, and Maggie Cheung; however, the real star of the show is arguably the picture's wild, thrill a minute, never ending spectacle, in which truly anything goes -- over the top martial arts and exciting gun play, anxiety inducing stunt work and cool creature effects, and a vast assortment of pulp adventure and horror tropes, from exotic locales, alluring damsels, trashy nudity, and insensitive stereotypes, to deadly blood cults, ancient curses, child sacrifices, and HR Giger inspired monsters -- anything goes so long as it entertains! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro / Discussion - Ragna Crimson, Homer's Die Hard (750 B.C.), Scavengers Reign [26:00] Review - The Seventh Curse (1986)

We review Stephen Chow's 2013 action comedy, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, loosely based on the 16th century Chinese literary classic. The film stars actor Wen Zhang as the famous Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang, Huang Bo as Sun Wukong, and Shu Qi as the love interest Duan. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro / Discussion- The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn, Turn A Gundam, The Grandmaster [48:48] Review - Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)

Super agents, sleazy soft-core, skateboarding assassins, and one stupendous snake. BLT Team B are back with a review of director Andy Sidaris' trashy 80's action flick : Hard Ticket to Hawaii(1987), touted by some as "the best B-movie of all time".

The Thieves review our first Indian film, the insanely bombastic, international blockbuster, RRR! Plus, a brief chat about Naoki Urasawa's ongoing Kaiju manga Asadora!, audio book light novels, the Ranking of Kings anime, and serious answers to your most important twitter questions! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Asadora, Ranking of Kings, Faraway Paladin [41:41] RRR Review [2:14:25] Twitter Questions

When the world's greatest athletes are infected by a deadly unknown virus, the mysterious, genius doctor for hire, Black Jack, is forced to find a cure, in this over the top, medical thriller, directed by the singular Osamu Dezaki, that brings to life the iconic Osamu Tezuka character with flamboyant confidence. Tune in for the full review of Black Jack: The Movie! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Gamera, Turn A Gundam, Konosuba Season 3, Boiling Point [51:10] Black Jack: The Movie Review

The Thieves are back with another Shaw Brothers kung fu classic! On today's show, we are reviewing director Lau Kar-Leung's spectacular Eight Diagram Pole Fighter. Released at the tail end of the Shaw Brothers era, the film stars the iconic Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu, and Kara Hui as the last surviving members of the Yang family who pursue a bloody, teeth shattering, revenge against the Khitan invaders that defeated their clan in battle. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Mario & Sonic movies, more Showa era Gamera talk [34:40] The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter Review

We review Masaaki Yuasa's 2017 anime film, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, a bold and breezy romantic comedy based on the light novel by Tomihiko Morimi about a young college student pursuing the girl he fancies while she carouses around the city on an endless night of adventures. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Showa era Gamera, Technoroid Overmind [36:50] The Night is Short, Walk on Girl Review Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Showa Gamera, Technoroid Overmind [36:50] The Night is Short, Walk on Girl Review

We review John Boorman's classic fantasy film, Excalibur (1981). Tune in to hear us chat for admittedly way too long about the legends of King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, Percival, and the Knights of the Round Table, plus our thoughts on why the stories and themes still resonate and why the power of the myths continue to endure. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Wonder Egg Priority, Demon Slayer, Gaogaigar [40:10] Excalibur (1981) Review

Infused with an irreverent, chaotic energy, reminiscent of Monkey Punch's original manga, director Soji Yoshikawa's completely madcap Lupin the Third: The Mystery of Mamo (1978) sees Lupin and the gang, in their first animated theatrical outing, face off against a mysterious villain plotting to takeover the world while seeking to obtain from Lupin the philosopher's stone said to possess the secret to immortality. Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Garo, Naruto [21:15] Review of Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo (1978)

In Korean director Jae-hoon Choi's period action film, The Swordsman (2020), a retired master swordsman (Jang Hyuk) is forced into action when his daughter (Hyeon-soon Kim) is placed in mortal danger by Qing invaders, lead by the merciless Gurutai (Joe Taslim) relative of the Qing emperor, who seek to complete their subjugation of Korea's Joseon Dynasty through subterfuge, threats, and force if necessary. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Yamato 2202, Parasite Dolls, Kamen Rider Zero-One, Vinland Saga, [37:22] Review of The Swordsman (2020)

We review Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000), an intimate, heartbreaking, and emotionally simmering peek into the lives of two forlorn souls (actor Tony Leung and actress Maggie Cheung) who seek companionship with one another after discovering that their spouses are having an affair together. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball GT, Yamato 2202 [26:45] Review of In the Mood for Love

We review the 2001 anime TV series Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, a zany coming of age comedy from famed anime studio Gainax and director / writer Hiroyuki Yamaga, about two young teenage friends, Sasshi and Arumi, on a slapstick filled series of misadventures through parallel worlds, dished out as hilarious spoofs of young Sasshi's geeky obsessions, from Dragon Quest to Dating Sims, Giant Robots to Prehistoric Monsters, to Martial Arts, Sci-Fi, Hollywood movies and more. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Jujutsu Kaisen, Pokemon Adventures, Gun X Sword, Atom the Beginning, Lupin World's Finest Manga [45:26] Review of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi