Rape and it's consequences as the film follows a reporter, Nami Tsuchiya(Eri Kanuma) seeking, it seems, to exploit rape victims for their stories because they sell well in her magazine. It seems, however, that she also gets turned on by these stories, as we watch her often pleasure herself while bathing. Meanwhile, she soon discovers a man following her, Tetsuro Muraki(Takeo Chii) who so happens to be(..after she uncovers his identity)a former editor whose own wife allowed a burglar to rape her over and over, night after night, due to his impotence. Soon Nami crosses paths with a target who actually agrees to be interviewed, a nurse who was committed and recently released, & she gets a taste of what it's like to feel savaged and victimized. Muraki attempts to become Nami's savior, but once she's been treated as those she exploits, the psychological trauma is too much to bear.I'll say that the film features several disturbing rapes, relived by those who suffered them, including once where a woman is brutally pummeled before being ravaged on top of a car hood. Another victim(..who had become a recognized model), who successfully had her attacker imprisoned, must endure further sexual molestation at his hands once he's released(..to make the scene even more chilling, Nami watches, transfixed, from another room, silently, as the model surrenders to him). One powerful sequence of events features a victim(.. who had moved on with her life, raising a child and seemingly happy) refusing to interview for Nami, her photo taken, constantly harassed, eventually attempting to stab the reporter with a knife out of rage for her exploitation(..and, the fact that she had to relive that horrible memory over again, while also feeling humiliated for being put in the paper).The film doesn't let Nami off. She is rigorous in her pursuit for the rape story, intrudes into the lives of those who wish for such horrifying memories to remain in the past, unable to because the reporter is unwilling to let them off peacefully. Nami was bound to suffer for her sins. The fact that the movie shows how Nami finds the stories erotic is another rather unsettling element that plays out once she herself becomes a story. The relived memory of the psychotic nurse, who was rendered unconscious(..by anesthesia), raped, her stomach opened by a scalpel so the attacker could see her intestines, followed by a chase into the autopsy room where the poor girl is sexually molested in a formalin tank next to dead bodies(!)is really shocking. The overwhelming fantasy that erupts once Nami has been sodomized(..concerning her office of co-workers including her boss, also featuring her violent outburst towards Maruki who wishes to save her from it)is quite strikingly shot, using rain, light, wind(..look at how the papers get caught within a gust when they're not beating her across the skull/face)and the hypnotic, spellbound eyes of our protagonist..I guess, like her subjects, she becomes consumed by the assault. The director Noboru Tanaka is actually able to relate Takashi Ishii's unpleasant subject matter in a stylish, effective way, showing a high degree of nudity without the sex elaborated too explicitly.

NAMI is more "story-oriented" than some of the other ANGEL GUTS films, and that works in some ways, and not in others. There are some strong themes that make this one enjoyable, but also seemed a bit "tame" on the sleaze and rape fronts that I typically expect from these films. The scenes at the end were suitably "interesting" - but I felt that this one dragged at points.Nami is the new hot-shot reporter at her magazine, The Woman - and has been doing some expose's on rape victims. Her investigations get her entangled with sleazy sex-show workers, a seemingly sleazy but ultimately "heroic" male reporter, and a couple of crazed ex-rape victims, including one nurse who gives Nami exactly what she's always been subconsciously wanting...Though not as sleazy as a lot of other Nikkatsu films (or even some of the other AG films for that matter) - where this one lacks in sleaze, it makes up for in plot. The transformation within Nami is interesting to behold as she becomes exactly like the damaged victims that she's studying. I could have used some stronger sexual content, and as I noted before, the film seemed to drag at points - but those that dig pinky or roman-porn material should definitely check it (as well as the rest of the AG series) out...7.5/10

This third entry in the "Angel Guts" films is as different to the "Red Classroom" as that one was to "High School Co Ed". This film has Nami, a reporter for a popular womens' magazine, doing a series of stories on rape victims. The film draws parallels with the sensialistic exploitative treatment that rape victims, whom just want to forget and move on from the tragic event in their lives, get from the media and how in some ways that can be as bad or worse than the act itself. Nami is willing to do anything to get these victims to tell about their rapes, with all the juicy lurid details, all in the name of the dubious sound-byte "saving other girls from having to go through it". Director Noboru Tanaka took over for the director of the two previous films, Chusei Sone. Tanaka's style is decidedly more visually harse as I found myself squirming in my seat numerous times, this outing is NOT one for the faint of heart. Furthermore, to my horror, I found myself wanting for Nami to be inevitably raped herself for the awful treatment of the victims. Suffice it to say I needed a shower to clean the grime off me after this one.My Grade: B- DVD Extras: Commentary by Jasper Sharp; Bio/Filmographies; a 40 minute interview with Noboru Tanaka; Original Sleeve art; and Trailers for this and 4 other Angel Guts Films (High School Co Ed, Red Classroom, Red Vertigo, & Red Porno) all available in Artsmagik's Box-set, but for some reason the 6th film "Angel Guts: Red Flash" is not in the set

Third and superb installment in the ANGEL GUTS series takes a tonal leaf from the pages of director Koji Wakamatsu.Eri Kanuma is sensational, beautiful and a smoldering figure of naive sexuality as Nami, a woman who is writing a series of articles on women who have been raped. Although she is a pushy, insensitive reporter, her writing has raised the circulation of "The Woman", the magazine she writes for, so she is given carte blanche to take her journalistic ambitions where her heart desires.While watching this outing, it is inevitable that Nami herself will be raped; much of the film's suspense is borne out of this erotic inevitability. Moreso than the previous two episodes in the series, the relentless raping here is highly eroticized and depicted with high style. The imagery is never less than fascinating and provocative, and the morality presented is certainly worthy of debate.Director Noboru Tanaka conveys the underlying surrealism of Takashi Ishii's screenplay effortlessly and inventively. The choice of angles, lighting, constant use of rain and attention to carnal detail makes for a wild, purifying experience.Ms. Kanuma more than adequately portrays a woman drawn to the "horrors" she reports. Initially repulsed by the details of the sexual assaults, she, ultimately, becomes fascinated by the imagined sexual frisson of the crimes.Takeo Chii turns in a worthwhile portrait of an ex-book editor (Muraki) who is searching for a woman who left him for her rapist; Muraki's relationship with Nami possesses an uneasiness that adds a good deal of suspense to their many scenes together. A pseudo-office rape is a stand-out sequence, as is the molestation of a nurse by a man in a grotesque mask.Tanaka creates a carnal carnival of forbidden delights and pushes every aspect of every scene to the limit with worthwhile results.A lengthier installment than most, ANGEL GUTS: NAMI possesses a courage rarely seen beyond the perimeters of Japanese cinema.