OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Kite

To make one thing clear, I'm only reviewing edited version of this, not the uncut versions which were mostly gratuitous hentai. Kite was a 2-episode OVA series by Yasuomi Umetsu, mostly known for a segment from Robot Carnival, that was later released in the States as a combined anime, with several different releases in the States. It's a high-action crime drama, but included with some pointlessly added sex scenes in some cuts. The anime is intended for mature audiences in any incarnation, mostly due to the gory fight scenes and explicit content. Very much like an animated La Femme Nikita.

Orphaned schoolgirl Sawa secretly leads a double life as an assassin, part of an underground vigilante society that targets rich celebrities and upper class deviants that prey on young victims. Sawa's boss is Akai, a police detective that covers up the assassinations, who also plotted the death of Sawa's parents in order for her to join their cause. Akai's partner is the scarred unblinking weirdo Kanie, who he also shares Sawa in bed with inbetween missions. Kanie is the handler for another teen assassin, the lonesome Oburi, and both young killers develop a short romance. However, Sawa gets in way over her head when she has to take out one of two famous twins in a bathroom, which leads to one of the most bombastic sequences outside of a Road Runner cartoon. Despite surviving the ordeal with the sort of luck lottery winners couldn't even wish for, she ends up getting blamed for the screw up, and has a falling out with Akai, then goes to Oburi. Akai later finds Kanie murdered by Oburi, and has a final confrontation with Sawa where she reveals she knew about his deception the whole time. There is a secret almost Sopranos ending letting viewers know that the vigilante organization is still active.

The success of the gritty OVA lead to a sequel titled Kite: Liberator which adds a whole new science-fiction element to the story with nothing less than space monsters, plus a third installment is in the works. There was of course an American live-action remake starring Samuel L. Jackson which went on to be one of the most panned anime adaptations ever made. For the original anime release, Media Blasters had the edited version, a Director's Cut, and a Special Edition, the latter two are usually labeled under "hentai". Kite is also a shared universe with Yasuomi Umetsu's other OVA series, Mezzo Forte, which eventually got its own television spinoff titled Mezzo TV. Obviously not intended for kids, but Kite is great for a fan of Tarantino's splatter fests.