“Assault Girls” / 「アサルトガールズ」, Original First Release Japanese Movie Poster 2009, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) ZA699
This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 2009 for the first release of Assault Girls / 「アサルトガールズ」, the visually audacious science-fiction feature directed by Mamoru Oshii and starring Meisa Kuroki, Rinko Kikuchi, Hinako Saeki, and Yoshikatsu Fujiki.
A distinctive late-period Oshii project, Assault Girls occupies a fascinating place within the director’s live-action work. Set within a stark virtual battleground and built around atmosphere, design, and action imagery rather than conventional narrative momentum, it has become a cult title admired for its world-building, futuristic iconography, and unmistakable auteur sensibility. This original Japanese poster is especially striking in person and displays superbly.
Film background
Released in Japan in 2009, Assault Girls was written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, the celebrated filmmaker behind Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, and Avalon.
The film is set in a desolate, post-apocalyptic virtual combat zone known as Avalon(f), where players hunt giant creatures in order to advance through the game’s deadly hierarchy. The story follows a small band of hunters—three women and one man—equipped with sniper rifles, heavy weapons, and advanced battlefield gear as they confront enormous sand-dwelling monsters in a barren futuristic landscape.
The principal cast includes Meisa Kuroki as Gray, Rinko Kikuchi as Lucifer, Hinako Saeki as Colonel, and Yoshikatsu Fujiki as Jäger. Long admired for its design ambition, the film is particularly noted for its atmospheric visual effects, surreal combat imagery, and music by Kenji Kawai, one of Oshii’s most important collaborators.
Though critically divisive on release, Assault Girls has since drawn appreciation from viewers interested in Oshii’s more experimental work, especially for its visual imagination and its continuation of themes explored in Avalon.
Poster design
The poster is a bold and densely layered composition, entirely in keeping with the film’s stylised futuristic world. Dominating the upper register is a chaotic battle montage: a roaring giant creature, attack aircraft, mechanical drones, missile trails, and explosive sky effects create an atmosphere of near-apocalyptic intensity.
At the centre sits a large circular HUD-like targeting interface, within which are stacked, close-up images of the lead actresses’ eyes, giving the design a distinctly cybernetic and surveillance-driven character. Beneath this interface stand the armed hunters in silhouette, positioned against a monumental science-fiction landscape and reinforcing the film’s themes of combat, game-logic, and virtual identity.
The right side carries the enormous calligraphic slogan:
「ぶっ放せ。」
“Fire away.”
On the left, a yellow text block promotes the film as a large-scale SF entertainment in which three beautiful female hunters clash with gigantic monsters on a virtual battlefield. Across the top, the leading actresses’ names are printed prominently in bold black and red text, while the bottom is anchored by the large English title ASSAULT GIRLS in white and red, with the Japanese title アサルトガールズ beneath. The overall result is aggressive, graphic, and unmistakably late-2000s Japanese science-fiction design.
Condition
Excellent condition. A very attractive example, with strong colour, clean paper, sharp printing, and excellent overall display presence.
Please review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.
This is an original 2009 Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is now over 15 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
