The sequel to the brilliant Lady Snowblood (1973) sees assassin Kashima Yuki (Meiko Kaji) on the run from the law, chopping cops and slicing sergeants along the way.

Yet as the odds of her capture become increasingly insurmountable, she has no choice but to surrender and is consequently sentenced to death.

On the way to the gallows, Kashima is rescued by the secret police who intend to use her murderous skills to help them eliminate an anarchist making life difficult for the government.

Love Song of Vengeance is a perfectly enjoyable sequel but doesn’t quite have the diamond sharp edge of the first installment.

Unlike the first film where Kashima had a pre-ordained mission of revenge to carry out, this…

Lady Snowblood II: Love Song of Vengeance is not immediately satisfying like the original, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. I liken the experience to Sanjuro. The films are nothing alike, but when I first saw Sanjuro, I was initially disappointed in how it differed from Yojimbo. But as the running time ticked by, I grew used to its different tone and slower pace. I ended up liking it as much as its predecessor - in the case of Lady Snowblood II, I like it almost as much as the original. The first Lady Snowblood is a straightforward revenge flick. It touched briefly on ideas of political corruption. Here corruption and its unbalanced society is the central theme. The…

the most gorgeous reds, blues and oranges you ever did see. of course meiko is doing what she does best (killing men) and i eat that up like nothing else. i also actually liked the political aspects of this 

going into this with not very high expectations maybe helped because all i’ve ever heard about it is that it’s not as good as the first (which it isn’t, but to me that’s not saying much considering the first is a favourite of mine) and i also knew that some people who liked the first either only find it okay or just outright don’t like it at all. it’s also been over a year since i watched the first one so…

Opening up the canvas and reducing the presence of its titular figure, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is an act of ambition by its filmmaker, Toshiya Fujita, who saw the extensive appeal of its titular character, utilising her as an explorer of the shifting times. Through her view, it attempts to expose the corrupt, suffering, vengeful, and desperate conditions of the era, advancing the story almost passively as she takes on the curious and persuaded outlook of the audience, a need to understand the situation at hand.

Unfortunately, it also a film that seems to show limited interest to the character that built its foundations, unwilling to construct an arc that would amplify and validate the internal transformations…

Sequels can be a tricky matter. This holds particularly true when a film feels so accomplished that it’s practically impossible to make a follow-up without disappointing a great amount of people. The original Lady Snowblood ended on such a high note that there was no need whatsoever for a second film. Yet despite Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance being an unnecessary addition which isn’t quite on the same level as the prequel, it is still a worthy successor to the first movie.

What makes this film differ the most from the prequel is the fact that this time around, the plot is more heavily centered on the political situation in Japan during the late Meiji period. Taking place…

I started this movie expecting a typical revenge sequel with a badass woman fighting against corrupt villains – something along the lines of Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song which I watched just beforehand. And while it definitely does fit that description, it also is more than that. The storyline and characters have much more depth than I expected. The fuzzed out ’70s soundtrack is awesome (even if a slightly odd match for a movie set at the turn of the 20th century). The fight scenes are entertaining in a satisfyingly cartoonish way, with Meiko Kaji mowing down her adversaries like blades of grass, spraying unnaturally bright red blood all over the place. And then perhaps most notably is the…

This disappointing follow up to the classic Lady Snowblood lacks the style and engagement of the original and allows the on screen action to be swamped by heavy handed political commentary that ultimately makes for an unsatisfying, boring experience.

Saved from the gallows by corrupt officials who wish her to recover sensitive information from a prominent anti government figure, Snowblood spends the majority of the film in a passive role.

It's not until the last part of the film we see her in action but by that point your attention will have wavered.

There are some gutsy and astute commentaries on Japanese atrocities in WW2 (mainly a manufactured outbreak of plague, in reference to the the infamous Unit 731) that…