Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Starting off were the first part ended, Azumi has one last target, a target who possesses an army of ninja's, armoured from head to toe, possessing skills to match our very own Azumi.I did not enjoy the first part, very much...I felt the fight scenes were all over the place, while the story-line was sketchy at best and the wrong actors were selected...But in this second instalment's, the production team and cast have found their place.From the first second, the action begins and it does not waver as we follow Azumi through a beautiful forest, with ninja's hot on her tail, but what I found quite satisfying with this second part, was Aya Ueto's improved acting skills...and fighting skills...She is Azumi!The side stories, were just as entertaining. But the honest truth is that this is a hack/slash movie and just like the first, the slicing and dicing comes in bunches..Fantastic.

Despite the success of Azumi the makers appear to have cut back on the budget for this sequel and as a result we get much less in the way of innovative action and a LOT more of wandering around in the forest.The story picks up not long after the first with Azumi and Nagara still going after the warlords intent on seizing Japan. She soon meets a rowdy young rebel called Ginkaku who looks a lot like her dead boyfriend Nachi (a weird plot that goes absolutely nowhere) and joins forces with them to fight evil.Some nice fight scenes follow but they use waaaay too much CGI blood effects (a horrible trend that is becoming more and more popular) and none of them have the eccentric flair of the original movie. The ending doesn't amount to much either but I'd still watch a third if they were to make it.

This Azumi achieves it's props by different means than the first movie. In the first movie viewers were sucked in by the action scenes, in this one however the main content of the movie focuses on emotions the characters to through the way of making Azumi and co (well mainly Azumi) think weather the mission she and the others on is acceptable. The final fight scene (well most fight scenes are weak. To make this movie something (well worth a ten) you would need to merge Kitamura's one track action mind with the new directors feel for making the audience read between the lines. I wont try and spoil the end for you but i ticked the spoiler box just in case. I hope to see an Azumi 3 in a few years but this time with Kanbei and Azumi fight within the climax of the film.You can feel a sort of tension between them. (If any directors read this make Azumi 3 and include an Azumi & Kanbei fight.)

It's been a long wait for me for the continuation of the original Azumi. Azumi ended at such a crucial point that as soon as an English subbed version of the sequel was available, it was in my hands.Azumi 2 is every bit as touching, amazing and downright brilliant as the first instalment. The characters are as easy to attach to as those in the original film, the battle sequences just as brimming with amazing CGI and breathtaking choreography (the human spider sequence in the bamboo forest will have you gripping your palms 'til they pour with sweat).With a new director on board it was easy to mess this one up, but it shines just as well as its predecessor.Azumi 2 is without a doubt one of the best sequels made for a Japanese film. Lets just hope Hollywood don't buy the rights to create another shoddy remake.