The late 2000s and early 2010s were an interesting time for Japanese genre pictures. One of the most prevalent subgenres was the gory, the goofy, and the perverse. Films like Tokyo Gore Police (2008), The Machine Girl (2008), and today’s movie, Noboru Iguchi’s RoboGeisha (2009), reinforced the cultural stereotypes of the time. When people thought Japanese cinema this was often the mainstream perspective. This is unfortunate as these were not the norm, they were just what was getting international distribution at the time. Luckily time enough has passed and things have changed. As such we can view this movie for what it is and not worry about its international ramifications.
RoboGeisha is a truly odd film as you’d expect it to be a series of wacky hijinks, but it tries to have a heartfelt story alongside the hijinks. I am happy this was not just a series of perverted sword stabs, but it really messes with expectations. The film opens with a robot geisha getting a buzzsaw for a mouth and attempting to assassinate a political figure. He is saved by the titular RoboGeisha who decides to give him her backstory for an extended flashback.
Here’s the thing: WE NEVER get back to the point where this flashback begins. Furthermore, if the story she relays is true the flashback should be impossible. The story ends with characters who appear in the opening dying horribly. As such it is never clear why this opening was even conceived. Was it to add another action sequence? You could have easily inserted this scene into the middle of the picture. Having seen Noboru Iguchi’s other work (such as the previously mentioned The Machine Girl and 2011’s Zombie Ass), I suspect that this is one great big joke to the audience. Which would be all fine and good if the film didn’t also try for serious emotional beats.
The core story of the movie is between two sisters who have an abusive relationship. The older sister is an accomplished Geisha and the younger sister is the put upon housekeeper who must keep the elder’s studio in pristine condition. The sisters are recruited for a Geisha robot assassin crew (typical) who are hellbent on cleaning up the world but are actually an evil organization who wants to kill all of Japan and rule over the ashes. 
Before the sisters become wise to this situation we are given the inverse of their geisha life, as the titular RoboGeisha is, in fact, the younger sister. Her greater skill causes the two to switch places. Eventually, this leads to them realizing that sisterhood and family are what is actually important. This is all backdropped by a series of robot ladies with acid breastmilk, butt swords, armpit swords, throat swords….look there’s a lot of swords and boob guns.
The film is just a-rife with perversion as the aforementioned films and it is clear Iguchi is no stranger to adult films. This is the type of movie that noted lovable pervert, and Scriptophobic’s founder, Zack Long should have in his collection as it typifies his tastes. The action is for the most part well shot, however, if there’s a joke to be had at the action’s expense Iguchi will take it. 
The film wears its influences on its sleeves and this is never more clear than in the music department. When RoboGeisha gets particularly Robocop-y the music will play a very similar sounding tune to Basil Poledouris’s amazing score for the original Robocop (1987). In the same vein, when the film randomly introduces the last minute giant robot castle we get a tinge of Ifukube’s Gojira (Godzilla, 1954) score. Both tracks veer off enough so that they aren’t whole ripoffs, however, it really helps to expose the film’s influences.
Weirdly enough, as influence heavy as the film is, it appears that the film has gone on to be an influence itself. The final act which introduces the giant castle robot has more than a few similarities to Pacific Rim (2013) and its sequel. To start it would seem at first glance that the method of controlling the robot was a parody of Pacific Rim, if not for the fact that this came out four years before. Along these same lines, the robot’s plan is to drop a big bomb in Mt. Fuji and destroy all of Japan, which is EXACTLY the plan of the megakaiju in Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018). I would not be surprised if this is parallel thinking.
RoboGeisha does beat Pacific Rim in its ‘Mech Puking’ quotient, of which this movie has plenty and Pacific Rim has none.
If you’ve seen any of Iguchi’s work then you know what you’re getting into. This is an absurdist gore-filled romp that is as perverse as it is goofy. What it has that the other entries in this weird subgenre don’t is a heart. Sure a lady gets stabbed in the butt while in disguise as a Japanese schoolgirl, but much like a Fast and the Furious film, it’s really about FAMILY.
. The only movie that has an acid breastmilk scene.){kind=link}