Fantastic Fest 2024: Baby Assassins Nice Days
by Tito W. James
Professional assassin duo, Chisato Sugimoto (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro Fukagawa (Saori Izawa), are going on a mission the same day as Mahiro’s birthday — and Chisato didn’t have time to get a present! A simple assassination job takes a turn when a lone wolf assassin, Fuyumura Kaede (Ikematsu Sosuke) appears and seeks to kill 150 people and become strongest assassin in history.
Baby Assassins: Nice Days pulls out all the stops and upgrades everything that makes the series so endearing. From the film’s opening scene, we’re treated to a much darker antagonist that sets the tone going forward. The relationship between Chisato and Mahiro continues to be the heart of the story and it’s always a joy to see them kicking butt or just hanging out.
Chisato and Mahiro also have to contend with senior members of the assassins guild including the icy Iruka Minami (Atsuko Maeda). Each fight scene is expertly choreographed and creatively combines hand-to-hand combat with gunplay.
Kinetic martial arts fights, gallows humor, and a touch of cuteness all make this film a blast to watch from beginning to end. Baby Assassins: Nice Days is the strongest entry to the series and director Yugo Sakamoto has everything fans could want and more.
