Kite (16+ Rated) DVD

Sawa is a schoolgirl. She is also an assassin. When she was a child, her parents were brutally murdered — and the two detectives assigned to investigate the case, Akai and Kanie, became her legal guardians. For years since, they have used her as a weapon: training her, directing her at targets they select, and promising her that one day they will give her the revenge she wants. Her signature method — hollow-point bullets that explode inside the body on contact — has made her something of a ghost story among the city's police. The targets are always framed as criminals outside the reach of the law, monsters who deserve what they get. Whether that's true is not always clear. When Sawa encounters Oburi — a young man of similar age working for Kanie under identical circumstances — something shifts. They recognize each other. And for the first time, Sawa begins to consider that escape might be possible. It is not an easy thought to hold onto.

Kite is a landmark of late 1990s anime — a tightly constructed noir action thriller written, directed, and storyboarded entirely by Yasuomi Umetsu, who brought the same obsessive visual craftsmanship to its action sequences that he had previously demonstrated in Black Magic M-66 and New Hurricane Polymar. The fight choreography, explosive practical effects, and kinetic editing remain genuinely striking, and the film's bleak moral atmosphere — corrupt authority, cycles of abuse, the question of whether a person manufactured as a weapon can choose anything else — gives it weight that outlasts its short runtime.

The original Japanese release in 1998 consisted of two separate OVA episodes. All North American DVD releases compiled the episodes into a single film. This general release version (rated 16+) retains all violent content while removing explicit scenes, running approximately 47 minutes. Released on DVD in North America by Media Blasters / Anime Works in 2000.

Quentin Tarantino recommended Kite to actress Chiaki Kuriyama as preparation for her role as Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill. 

Notable Staff

Director / Writer / Character Designer / Storyboard: Yasuomi Umetsu (Black Magic M-66, Mezzo Forte, New Hurricane Polymar)
Studio: Arms Corporation / Green Bunny

DVD Features

- Media Blasters / Anime Works Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: A カイト (A Kaito)
Runtime: ~47 Minutes (General Release Version — Episodes Compiled into Single Film)
Director: Yasuomi Umetsu
DVD Release Year: 2000 (U.S. General Release DVD)
Original Release Date (Japan): February 25 & October 25, 1998 (2-Episode OVA)
Publisher: Media Blasters (Anime Works)
Rating: 16+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Version Note: General Release — sexual content removed, all violent content retained. Three U.S. DVD versions exist: this General Release (16+), Director's Cut (18+, 2002), and Special Edition Uncut (18+, 2004).
Genre: Action, Dark Thriller, Noir
Themes: Child Assassin, Corruption & Abuse, Revenge, Exploding Bullets, Escape from Control

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.