Freed from the black hole pull of their two-seater couch, Saori Izawa's Mahiro and Akari Takaishi's Chisato have taken a trip to the beach, specifically the subtropical city of Miyazaki. In Baby Assassins: Nice Days the murderous duo take in the sights, daydream about sampling local delicacies and find themselves double-booked for a hit. Rival button man Fuyumura, played by Shin Kamen Rider's sweaty, filthy Sosuke Ikematsu, isn't affiliated with the same mob union as Mahiro and Chisato, he's a freelancer with vague ties to arms dealing co-operatives ran by mean old men. The danger that this scab represents is political as well as physical then, his continued existence an insult to this setting's highly structured departments of youthful contract killers. As with the previous film, Baby Assassins 2 Babies, Nice Days is confident enough to let the girls take a back seat, with Fuyumura's perspective rationed out to us as Mahiro flicks through his diary-cum-serial killer scrapbook. Like the Baby Assassins, Fuyumura feels basically nothing about the people he eliminates. He catalogues them, talking about each experience as a repetitive step in creating a complete, working sense of self. The flashback crimes we see are often amateur and cumbersome in execution, with Fuyumura straining against the limitations of his body to snuff out his targets. A fluency obviously emerged though and, at least when this film begins, he's a more than credible threat to both of our leads. The damage this character represents goes a little deeper than beautifully fluent counter-striking though. Mahiro, simultaneously the more physically accomplished and socially awkward of the Baby Assassin pair, senses something of herself in this tome; a path she hasn't had to walk, thanks to her anxiety dispelling partnership with Chisato.
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