The Girls of the "Rape Zombie: Lust of the Dead" Trilogy

What could be a better piece for Halloween than a feature on the female cast of another zombie splatter movie from Japan? A feature on the the female cast of a zombie splatter movie trilogy* from Japan. Naoyuki Tomomatsu's Rape Zombie: Lust of the Dead trilogy, the first part of which was featured at the 2012 Yubari Fantastic Film Festival, is as wonderfully gory and tasteless as the title implies and it should go without saying that the cast is chock-full of JAV (Japanese Adult Video) alumnae.

There are over a dozen former and current gravure, pink film, and JAV idols who appear in this 2012-2013 three-part splatterfest (some in "blink-and-you'll-miss-her" parts), but the focus here will be on the four ladies in the more prominent roles and a few honorable mentions. The "nurse" at the forefront of all three of the above posters for the films, is the trilogy's main heroine, played by JAV idol Alice (Arisu) Ozawa.

*So far, this is a trilogy. There could be a part 4 in the works and possibly an intent to make this a franchise, but as of this writing, the "Rape Zombie" movie count stands at three.

 

Alice (who's looking a little trimmer in this film than she has in some of her previous AV appearances) as Nozomi, a nurse who befriends a cute young female patient whom she feels a common bond with. Alice's adult video titles include the gems Big Tits Diagnosis, Show Girl!, and Alice Ozawa Will Visit Your Home Unannounced. (Yeah, like she should call first to make sure it's okay if she comes over.) Above left is from part one. In parts 2 and 3, she sports shorter hair (right).

Saya Kobayashi (Please do NOT confuse with the robot "Saya" created by professor Hiroshi Kobayashi, which is bound to turn up if you do a Google search on her) plays the passive Momoko, who's the cute, young patient Nozomi takes under her wing (and eventually, takes under her entire body). At left is from part 1, just after she survives an attack from one of the horny ghouls. At right is from part 2, where she shows off her singing talent and longer hair than she had in part 1. The most outstanding of Saya's not-too-many JAV titles is 2011's Beautiful Young Lady Shaved Pussy Club, in which she played a beautiful young lady who's a member (maybe even the founder) of the club. An interesting footnote is that Saya reportedly speaks passable English, having spent some time with a host family in Texas.

Nozomi and Momoko (Alice and Saya, in a behind the scenes shot at left) form a very close bond in one of part 1's more dimly-lit and touching (yes, pun intended) scenes. An interesting footnote here is that the two portraying actresses had never done such a scene, nor even appeared together, in an adult production.

Asami as Kanae, a housewife who sure picked up some pretty impressive fighting and weaponry skills at some point in her life. Kanae kills her husband after he attacks her at the beginning of the outbreak in part 1, and makes her way to a Shinto shrine, armed and bent on survival. Asami, who went by Asami Miyajima in her JAV days and has more recently gone by Asami Sugiura, retired from AV in late 2008 to focus on more mainstream acting. Having appeared in such films as The Machine Girl (2008), RoboGeisha (2009), and Horny House of Horror (2010), she's currently considered one of Japan's premiere splatter movie actresses, and has even earned a growing fanbase outside of Japan. Among her AV titles, In Love (her 2005 AV debut), The Naked Asami (2006, softcore), and the almost award-winning Three Sisters Ninja Sex (2008) are worth checking out.

Yui Aikawa is Tomoe, a high school student with a Gogo Yubari-type of sadistic demeanor and leopard-print underwear beneath her school uniform. At left in part 1, Tomoe realizing that she's about to meet with pretty much the same fate as Trash (played by Linnea Quigly) did in The Return of the Living Dead (and if you have to Google her or "Gogo Yubari," I'm surprised you're actually reading this). She sports a new look (right) in parts 2 and 3. Still active in AV, Yui's been featured in several B&D videos such as Asian Lady Tied With Ropes Bondage, as well as Super Heroine Yui Aikawa, in which she played a memorably molested Japanese Wonder Woman.

Bent on survival, Kanae and Tomoe form a sort of team who are initially at odds against Nozomi and Momoko when they meet up with them at the Shinto shrine, where the four main characters find refuge at the beginning of the outbreak in part 1. However, the foursome soon realize they're better off banding together to fight against the hordes of rapist zombies they fear will soon be knocking down their door. Momoko is actually an office worker in the film, and Kanae, as previously mentioned, is a housewife. The maid outfit Momoko wears here was given to her by the head of the shrine. Having a thing for ladies in costume, the guy also gives Kanae a traditional shrine maiden's outfit, and thus the movie's main four characters (dressed as a schoolgirl, maid, nurse, and shrine maiden) now provide the films with a sort of cosplay theme.

Miho Wakabayashi (left) plays one of the female scientists, who try to explain the phenomenon that is causing Japan's male population to turn into bloodthirsty rapists. Certainly it couldn't be from watching too much porn that ladies like Miho have starred in, particularly her MILF-themed gems like Dirty-Minded Wife Advent Volume 28. Jun Tomita and Ren Miyamura (pictured at right, with Alice) first appear in part 2. Jun's seemingly few AV roles also have been of the "mature lady" niche, as in Crayon Copulation of Maturechick-to-cutie. Ren's adult video credits include Poor Couple Fucking Everyday, in which she played one half of the poor couple who fucked everyday (and no, I am not making any of these titles up).

Veteran JAV and "pink film" actress Riri Kōda (left, backstage at the part 2 and 3 premiere last March) also joins in the fun in part 2. With over 200 adult video appearances to her credit, she has her own Wikipedia page. Of course, we best remember Riri from the 2008 JAV classic, Molester's Train: Melody of Wriggling Fingers. Shungiku Uchida (right) appears in a cameo in part 1 as a sort of "doomsday" television preacher. A lady of many facets, and one of the few non-JAV actresses featured in any of the three parts, she has a very interesting bio at her Wikipedia page.

The main four actresses and several (but certainly not all) of the other ladies in the cast, at the March 2012 initial screening of part 1 at Tokyo's Theater Shinjuku. Left to right: Riri Kōda, Ami Onizuka, Yoko Satomi, Saya Kobayashi, Yui Aikawa, Alice Ozawa, Asami, and Miho Wakabayashi.

Part 1 Trailer
Since Parts 2 and 3 were shot, as well as shown, back-to-back, this is the combined trailer for both.

Hat tip to Norman England.