Toshimichi Okawa

V-Cinema Essentials Bullets & Betrayal Toshimichi Okawa Limited edition

Collection of nine Japanese direct-to-video crime thrillers from Toei Company. In 'Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage' (1989) Detective Joe Kawamura (Masanori Sera) joins forces with a nun called Lily (Minako Tanaka) to exact revenge on the criminal who killed Joe's partner Ahiru (Riki Takeuchi) and stole millions from Lily's church. 'Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet' (1990) follows low-level yakuza Junko (Shô Aikawa) who is called upon to avenge the murder of a high-ranking member of their family and must decide if he will act or flee and risk the consequences.

In 'Stranger' (1991) Kiriko (Yûko Natori) works as a taxi driver at night and finds herself pursued relentlessly by a mysterious enemy. In 'Carlos' (1991) the eponymous Brazilian-Japanese criminal travels to Japan and becomes embroiled in the conflict between two warring yakuza families. 'Burning Dog' (1991) follows a gang of thieves who plan to rob an American military base in Okinawa but the heist ends in disaster and betrayal.

In 'Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat' (1991) an elite assassin tasked with entering a women's prison and eliminating an infamous prisoner encounters more than she bargained for during the course of her mission. 'The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses' (1991) follows Yuichiro Takanashi (Hideki Saijô) who takes on the yakuza in a desperate, revenge-fuelled frenzy after his fiancée is shot and killed. In 'Danger Point: The Road to Hell' (1991) yakuza hitmen Joji (Jô Shishido) and Ken (Aikawa) embark on a mission to locate a large amount of missing money and find their partnership tested in the process.

Finally, 'XX: Beautiful Hunter' (1994) follows Shion (Makiko Kuno) who was raised to be an assassin but rebels when she is tasked with killing Ito (Johnny Okura), the man she loves.