The first Baby Assassins (2021) follows two girls fresh out of school trying to navigate the responsibilities of life while also operating as highly skilled assassins. Filled with well-choreographed action sequences and a humour that sometimes got lost in translation, Baby Assassins 2 (2023) picks up from the prior’s ending. Once again starring Akari Takaishi as Chisato Sugimoto and Saori Izawa as Mahiro Fukagawa. Yugo Sakamoto directed the film.

New Kids in the Playground

Picking up where the last film ended (more or less), the leading ladies are finally growing accustomed to life as assassins. Due to a series of mishaps involving an unpaid gym membership and bank robbery, the duo end up getting suspended from their organization. As a result, these two assassins must once again set out in pursuit of normal jobs in order to pay for their lifestyles. While the plot may seem like a repeat of the first film, they manage to keep things fresh by introducing another set of protagonists/antagonists (played by Tatsuomi Hamada and Joey Iwanaga)  who are trying to rise through the ranks of the assassin organization that the original duo is a part of. It’s kind of obvious from the get-go where the story is trying to head, but they still do a good job of it. Essentially, the audience can expect two diverging plot lines that eventually meet up (or crash into one another) towards the end. Viewers can also expect to see characters from the first film appear once again and get fleshed out more. From their handler (Tsubasa Tobinaga) to the organization’s cleaner (Atomu Mizuishi), the characters seem more alive this go around.

Righting Wrongs

The additions of Tatsuomi Hamada and Joey Iwanaga, who act as both antagonists and protagonists, keep the film from feeling like a recycled clone of the first film. While the first may have had a similar setup where it followed the antagonists, the sequel feels like it’s almost setting up for a new set of protagonists. Despite it being kind of obvious that the four characters would eventually come head-to-head by the end of the film, it was still hard not to root for these new characters. Also, Yugo Sakamoto, who directed the first film, has seemingly learned from his experience for the sequel. The previous entry, well choreographed as it was, had a severe shortage of actual action. With only two notable action scenes, the first movie felt like it was trying to keep the viewer entertained in between the sparse action scenes. While there’s still less action than a Jackie Chan movie, there are thankfully more action sequences this time around, and they seem more well-thought-out, which is great since Saori Izawa, who doubles as an actress and stuntwoman, gets to shine. Both she and Akari Takaishi still share great chemistry on screen, with them maintaining a serious versus wacky dynamic.  On a side note, Izawa recently starred in a live-action collaboration video in celebration of the Sakamoto Days Volume 18 release, which further showcases her skills in action.