The slacker comedy comes in many shapes and varieties. You’ve got rom-com Mallrats (1995), straight comedy Friday (1995), dramedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), and comedic thriller The Big Lebowski (1998). Each one uses the slackers at their center to tell stories of love, adventure, excitement, and, in some cases, survival. Putting his own twist on the subgenre is Yûgo Sakamoto with his Baby Assassins series starring Saori Izawa (RE:BORN) and Akari Takaishi (My Happy Marriage) as two young ladies working within a Japanese-based assassins guild who prefer to be stuffing their faces with food and laying on the couch when not completing contracts. The first film premiered in 2021 and the second, Baby Assassins 2 (previously titled as Baby Assassins: 2 Babies), released in 2023 and now comes to physical formats in April in the U.S. before joining action streamer Hi-YAH! in July. The U.S. edition of the home release contains not a single piece of making-of information, but fans of this particular action comedy series will delight in being able to reenter this world of ridiculousness whenever they like.
If you’re looking for a spoiler-free review of Baby Assassins 2, head over to the initial Fantasia International Film Festival 2023 review. Moving forward, there will be explicit discussion of the film.
L-R: Akari Takaishi as Chisato and Saori Izawa as Mahiro in BABY ASSASSINS: 2 BABIES. Photos courtesy of Well Go USA.
Despite being exemplary at their jobs as assassins, Mahiro and Chisato (Izawa and Takaishi) still haven’t recovered their reputation within the Assassins Guild for the mess with the yakuza. To make matters worse, they discover that not only do they owe nearly four million yen for failing to cancel their monthly gym membership (They used it once!) after several years, but they also never paid the bill on their new insurance policy after it switched to new coverage. If they fail to pay all that they owe, not only will the amount increase by 30% with additional late fees, they’ll be benched from the organization. What they don’t realize is that there’re two up-and-comers who subcontract for the Assassins Guild, Yuri and Makoto (Joey Iwanaga and Tatsuomi Hamada, respectively), who believe that if they take out Mahiro and Chisato while they’re on the outs with the organization, the two will be able to take their official slot in the guild. Mahiro and Chisato think that being forced to take regular jobs to pay their bills is the worst thing they could deal with until they find themselves with targets on their backs, too.
L-R: Tatsuomi Hamada as Makoto and Joey Iwanaga as Yuri in BABY ASSASSINS: 2 BABIES. Photos courtesy of Well Go USA.
One of the best things about Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins series is how it doesn’t look down on the characters, ever. There’s no misogyny, no sense that Mahiro and Chisato are incapable, and, whatever choices the other characters make, our central duo are never reduced to raise another up. One of the biggest struggles within the John Wick series is making it such that Keanu Reeves’s titular assassin always lives up to the reputation established in the first film, and that’s a common problem for any film in a larger series. Gratefully, that’s not an issue here and any moment when it starts to feel like it could lean that way, it quickly reveals itself to be otherwise. In the sequence when Mahiro and Chisato are finally approached by Yuri and Makoto, the two young men trying to sneak up from behind, the young women are in the throes of conversation, not exactly bickering, but so focused that audiences might find themselves thinking “look behind you!” as the men grow ever closer. Except, as we learn, both woman had clocked them earlier than we had and for very different reasons, prepared and ready to take them both down before the men could attack. Later, after having gotten free from their capture, Yuri and Makoto don’t speak of Mahiro and Chisato with venom, but admiration. Game recognizes game, as it were. In every conflict we see Mahiro and Chisato in, not a one attempts to reduce the assassins by gender, calling into question their skillset within their occupation. Instead, the majority of the humor (for us) and conflict is born from their inability to function within the real world and the responsibilities that come with being an adult existing within it. You want to take down a yakuza hideout with zero prep? Call Mahiro and Chisato. You want someone who’ll get a cover job, pay their taxes, and generally accept responsibility? You’ll need to find someone else. Like main characters in many other slacker comedies, neither Mahiro nor Chisato are likely to change, even if Sakamoto were to create a third adventure. (And some of us want that, please and thank you.)
Adding to the enjoyment are the little details that make the experience of Baby Assassins 2 stand out. Consider the approach to the fight sequences in the bank versus the head-to-head fight at the junkyard in the end. In the former, in order to avoid suspension, the women have to fight the armed bank robbers without killing moves. While they don’t necessarily have a problem with killing, they aren’t uncaring and thus actively seek to move the fighting away from the customers-turned-hostages. Noticeably, the music here is playful, almost theatrical, as if what’s occurring is a dance between partners — no tension, just silliness. In concert, the action choreography from Kensuke Sonomura (Baby Assassins; Bad City; HYDRA) matches the music, with character movements designed to go in motion with the music, Chisato pushing off astride a rolling chair to avoid a shot blast, the debris flying up from her location as if she tossed it from her hands. Meanwhile, Mahiro glides under and around desks as she moves to secure the robber she’s targeted. The whole sequence is almost balletic in nature. In contrast, the music of the final confrontation could be the audio track underscoring a boss sequence in a video game or, to reference something within the film, “Puzzles & Dragons.” Both sets of assassins want to win, they recognize the skills of the others, and even feel like they would’ve been friends in a different situation, but that doesn’t mean that (a) the women don’t want revenge for the men shooting their work colleague Tasaka (Atomu Mizuishi) and (b) neither side will pull their punches. This means that each side is going to go for broke and the music choice reflects this, even if it carries a bit of whimsy with it. Likewise, the action from Sonomura raises the bar, creating opportunities for each of the four to have moments to shine, even as it narrows the focus to a head-to-head match between Mahiro and Yuri that’s ::chef’s kiss: in execution. Not only is Iwanaga given ample opportunity in this sequence to create a fantastic highlight reel for future action roles, it helps to convey what other parts of the film haven’t done as well — Yuri is a proper force to be reckoned with. Of course, Izawa doesn’t disappoint as Mahiro and decimates the poor dude, but she does it with the style that’s endeared Izawa as a capable action star in her own right and Mahiro as a character cannot be stopped due to grit and determination.
Perhaps the best thing about both Baby Assassins films and the major reason why they bring so much joy is the presentation of the characters by Izawa and Takaishi. There’s this great contradiction that inspires much of the hilarity in the films in the way that they almost snap physically from one side of themselves to the other. The version of Mahiro not in the process of trying to kill someone is small, awkward at being around people, and generally prefers to lay on their couch covered in a blanket sleeping. She’s so person-phobic that even with them waiting until they have 30-minutes to the payment deadline will still hold up Chisato from going into the hallway because their neighbors are in the hallway already and Mahiro doesn’t want to give the false sense that they wait for the neighbors to come out to leave their apartment, too, thereby setting the expectation of desired social interaction. Compare that to Mahiro who is about to engage in combat at the bank — she breaks her own restraints as she mutters “Power!” (feels very My Hero Academia by way of character Lemillion) and then lifts herself up with her own leg strength. These are two distinct people. Similarly, Takaishi’s version of Chisato is sociable and doesn’t mind putting herself out there (despite enjoying being a homebody with Mahiro), often speaking with a calm and light tone. But when it’s time for combat, it’s like the gentle light leaves Takaishi’s eyes and a Wednesday Adams-like coldness replaces it, a maniacal energy replacing that good will. Look to the sequence at the restaurant when Mahiro and Chisato accidentally (or is it?) grab food at the same place where Yuri and Makoto are eating. When Mahiro and Chisato decide to take action and make their deadly intent known, Takaishi shifts from light volume and smiles to an intensity that radiates off the screen. Of course, considering it looks like the actor is trying to hide her laughter as Hamada’s Makoto attempts to flirt with the waitress, it could also just be the rapid shift in scene tone that makes it stand out further.
L-R: Tatsuomi Hamada as Makoto and Akari Takaishi as Chisato in BABY ASSASSINS 2. Photos courtesy of Well Go USA.
As mentioned in the headline, there’s no bonus features to go along with this release. The only behind-the-scenes glimpses we get are the still shots during the credits before another credit-based sequence featuring the two women lounging on their couch (just like the end credits of the first). Considering the evident work on-screen to make the action happen, it feels like a missed opportunity not to include something for home viewing audiences to explore. At the very least, for North American viewers, the on-disc presentation from Well Go USA is fantastic, an HD presentation that upscales via 4K UHD players nicely in both audio and video.
L-R: Saori Izawa as Mahiro and Joey Iwanaga as Yuri in BABY ASSASSINS 2. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
If you saw the original Baby Assassins and enjoyed it, checking out the sequel is not a question of “if” but “when.” Now that it’s going to be available to own, the answer is going to be “whenever the heck you want.” Having now seen the original five times and the sequel twice, it’s a testament to Sakamoto, Izawa, Takaishi, and Sonomura how rewatchable these films are to the point that they not only bring about the same joyful glee, but that you can find new things to appreciate. Next time you feel like slacking, at least you’ll have this to explore while you do.
Baby Assassins 2 Special Features:
- Trailer
- Three (3) Well Go USA Previews
Available on Blu-ray and digital April 2nd, 2024.
Available on Hi-YAH! July 2nd, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Well Go USA Baby Assassins 2 webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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