Assassin for hire Ogami (superbly played by the husky Tomisaburo Wakayama) battles a group of deadly female ninjas led by the ruthless Sayaka (a deliciously vicious portrayal by Kayo Matsuo) and accepts an assignment to kill a traitor who's planning on selling his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.Director Kenji Misumi keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, delivers oodles of outrageously excessive blood-spurting violence, and stages the exciting sword fights with rip-snorting aplomb, with the climax set in the desert in particular rating as an absolute corker. Writer Kazou Koike not only sets up several formidable opponents for Ogami to deal with (the Hidari brothers with their huge hats and colorful weapons are some seriously nasty dudes), but also offers several touching moments between Ogami and his loyal son Daigoro (adorable Akihiro Tomikawa). Moreover, Daigoro actually kills a few people himself thanks to his booby trap equipped baby cart (!). Hideaki Sakurai's sumptuous widescreen cinematography presents a wealth of striking visuals. A fine follow-up.

In this, the second in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, ronin Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) and his son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) continue to wander the land as assassins for hire, all the while keeping an eye out for members of the nasty Ragyu clan, who want them dead.When the wealthy Awa clan approach Itto, offering him 500 gold pieces to kill a man who might be able to ruin them financially, he accepts; in order to complete his mission, he must face many dangers, including a team of vicious female warriors, and the highly skilled Hidari brothers, also known as the Gods of Death.Baby Cart at the River Styx sees director Kenji Misumi delivering a breathtaking sequel to his excellent Sword of Vengeance. Like a Japanese Sergio Leone, he once again uses extreme close-ups, rapid zooms, sparing use of a haunting soundtrack, and superbly choreographed violence to continue his epic tale of a man and boy on a gore-spattered journey through 'hell'.From the opening scene in which Itto quickly dispatches of two Yagyu clansmen, through to the stunning climax which sees Lone Wolf and Cub battling the Hidaris in a desert, this film is a stunning and often beautiful display of carnage. Battles take place in complete silence, with the vanquished always taking a second or two before they fall to the ground, blood gushing from their wounds. Daigoro also gets in on the act, activating spring-loaded blades in his cart to slice off the feet of the enemy. Misumi's handling of these scenes is superb, with some great use of innovative and ground-breaking visual techniques (one great fight scene has images superimposed onto each other to give the action a surreal and dreamlike quality).But it's not all mindless violence. There are occasional moments of tenderness too, with the close bond between father and son displayed in a couple of notable scenes: Ogami gently bathes Daigoro, with one hand on his sword in readiness for trouble; and Daigoro nurses his injured father back to health, trading his jacket for food.My only gripe with Baby Cart at the River Styx is that the film is often very dark, and it was extremely hard to see what was going on, particularly during the many night scenes. Whilst this may be due to my DVD being a bad transfer, it did affect my enjoyment of the film (I had to re-watch the gory dismemberment of one unfortunate shinobi at the hands of the female ninjas with my TV's brightness and contrast whacked right up), which is why I give it slightly less than Sword of Vengeance—7.5/10 (although I have to round my rating up to 8 for IMDb, which technically puts it on a par with the first one).

I've been watching the TV series (imdb says it was released in 2002, but it looks a lot older than that, don't know if it's just my copy). This is the one directed by Kôjirô Fujioka. I love the writing and casting and, since I haven't seen the films yet, cannot imagine anyone else playing Daigoro with as much charm and quiet grace as Tsubasa Kobayashi. The writing credits still include Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. I know I should've seen the films released beginning 1972 but I didn't know about these until recently. Is there continuity between the film and the series or is it a for-TV remake? Hard to believe this was for TV though--it's got nudity.

It was this film that converted me to the joys of blood spattered gory Japanese epics. The action is amazing - each fight scene a gem. The main characters take everything so calmly that I began to see Blues Brothers-esque deadpan humour in some of the more gruesome sequences. Watch this film with your friends so you can all scream at the TV each time a fight kicks in. It worked for me.