Kimika Yoshino plays Misa Kuroi again in this prequel telling us how Misa became a witch. Flashbacks even show her as a child. Saiga (Wataru Shihodo) was appointed to become her protector, and he also teaches her the first lessons in magic. "Eko Eko Azarak 2: Birth of the Wizard" gives more space for mystery than "Eko Eko Azarak 1: Wizard of Darkness" did. It also focuses its attention on characters and story somewhat better. No other part of this horror series has more warmth and feeling. The best example is in the scene when Saiga is wounded and Misa discovers she has the powers to heal, as she repeats the words of the magic spell after him. Only the situation of being stalked and locked in by evil forces is a bit repetitive. Voted 7/8/5/6 for part 1-4.

I have never read the 70's manga by Shinichi Koga, so I cannot say how well the film follows its source.STORY: This film is a prequel to the first one. This time around, Misa Kuroi is just a normal schoolgirl hanging out at her parent-less house (they're abroad). She's drinking with her friends, totally unaware of her powers, when tragedy comes into her life and she is mercilessly hunted by an evil witch desiring her power. Her friends are killed by a body jumping unstoppable force (think "The Hidden", but with a resurrected witch substituted for the alien life-force) and she must go on the run while she is endlessly pursued. A wizard tells her of a village of witches that was slaughtered back in the 1880's and informs her of her occult powers and the reason she is being hunted by this evil resurrected witch as he tries to protect her (against both her pursuer and her own flawed judgment).Like EEA: Wizard of Darkness, EEA II: Birth of the Wizard it is still a relationship film with horror/occult elements, but this is quite a bit more action-packed and involves many more location shoots than its predecessor despite a limited budget. There is also a lot more spell casting involved this time and some decent FX considering the budget. Kimika Yoshino returned in the role and director Shimako Sato returns as well for a film that I found more entertaining than the first installment. I also thought the lack of any lesbian schoolgirl subplot this time around helped remove the cheesy sleaze element and let us concentrate on the story better.***SPOILER WARNING*** It was interesting to see Misa before she becomes the powerful yet somewhat inept witch. After watching all 3 films, I have to say that Misa Kuroi seems to be the type of character who triumphs over evil…once everyone else around her is already dead. I wonder if the manga was the same way. Sure, it keeps the story going longer, but doesn't give you too much confidence in her abilities to help others, now does it?

Version: Japanese, with English subtitles (by SBS)SBS' Cult Movie time-slot is awesome, for the simple fact that most of the movies shown aren't actually about anything, but manage to be awesome anyway. In this tradition, they showed 'Eko Eko Azaraku: Wizard of Darkness'. It was pretty cool, and so they showed 'Eko Eko Azaraku II: Birth of the Wizard', and it was also pretty cool.Kimika Yoshino returns in this prequel to 'Wizard of Darkness' to play Misa Kuroi before she was famous, or at least before she realized she was a witch. 'Birth of the Wizard' begins in Meiji-era Japan, in a village of former witches and wizards. I say former, because someone seems to have slaughtered them. Skip to the present day, and an archaeologist discovers a mummy from the village. Blissfully unaware that the mummy is, in fact, possessed by an evil spirit (naturally), he runs off, leaving his assistant alone. The mummy comes to life, kills her, and the evil spirit takes over her body.This evil spirit is now searching for Misa, who is protected by Kyle Reese, who goes by the name of Saiga in this film (I thought I had made an original joke, but then I noticed the other reviewer caught the same connection six years ago). It is Misa's destiny to defeat this evil spirit, but she needs Saiga's help to do it.'Birth of the Wizard' ends up playing a lot like 'Wizard of Darkness'. Again, the story isn't original, but it is entertaining. Similar stylish and gory horror, a nice fast pace, and some pretty good special effects. Although, it is a prequel, so despite excitement, you can have some guesses as to Misa's fate (and if you guess wrong, you really need help). That aside, it is an entertaining horror movie.The only thing missing in this from the original is the Japanese-style unusual situations involving lesbians. If that was your main reason for watching 'Wizard of Darkness', then you may be disappointed with this. Finally, I swear there were several plot-elements and moments in the movie that were lifted from 'The Terminator'.8/10 - For fans of 'Wizard of Darkness', Japanese horror, or horror in general. I'll have to check out the third movie sometime.

Somewhat of a letdown after the exceptional "Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard Of Darkness", but if you like the genre, it's still worth checking out. Our favorite high school witch, Misa Kuroi, is being pursued by a nasty demon who keeps jumping from one host body to the next (like "The Hidden"). She is forcefully protected by a mysterious stranger (like Kyle Reese in "The Terminator"), and together the two of them find love and courage, and face the demon. As a sci-fi/horror film it's rather plodding and unremarkable, but what it does succeed at is creating an interesting character study of the melancholic plight of Japanese teenage girls. The entire film just looks and feels like shojo manga. Tragically beautiful Kimika Yoshino has matured as both an actress and a woman, and seems more confident in her abilities and more convincing in her role as Misa. The movie shares the same high production values and gory special effects as the first film, but without the sexual content.