Even detractors admit: Kite is gorgeous. Umetsu, a legendary character designer and animator ( Megazone 23 Part II, Cool Devices ), crafts a decaying, neon-drenched cityscape reminiscent of Blade Runner but grungier. Gunfights are balletic. Blood sprays in slow-motion arcs. Sawa’s signature move—a diving, two-handed pistol shot while falling—has been referenced in The Matrix (the Lobby scene) and John Wick.
The animation is fluid at a time when most OVAs were cutting corners. Faces register micro-expressions: a twitch of disgust, a flicker of lost childhood. The soundtrack, a mix of trip-hop and ambient sorrow, amplifies the loneliness.
Kite (1998) is a masterpiece. It is also repellant. It is beautiful and ugly, tender and brutal, poetic and profane. It is a film that understands the terrible truth of its own metaphor: a kite cannot fly without a string, but a string is also a leash. Sawa cuts hers. Whether she soars or falls is a question the film leaves, deliberately, unanswered.
Rating (Artistic): ★★★★½
Rating (Content Warning): Extreme violence, explicit sexual abuse of a minor, psychological trauma.
Recommended for: Adult viewers only; preferably with prior familiarity with arthouse exploitation cinema.
If you need a direct link or specific legal source to view the "full" 1998 version, I cannot provide pirated content. However, the uncut version has been released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media (North America) as Kite: Complete Collection, which includes both the uncensored director’s cut and the edited version.
A Kite (1998): A Look Back at the Ultraviolent Masterpiece of Cyberpunk Anime
In the late 90s, a specific wave of anime began to crash onto Western shores, defined by its "extreme" aesthetic, high-octane violence, and dark, urban atmospheres. Among the most infamous and visually stunning of these was Yasuomi Umetsu’s A Kite (1998).
While often categorized alongside other adult-oriented titles of the era, A Kite stands out for its high production values, fluid animation, and a narrative that balances cold-blooded assassination with a tragic, coming-of-age core. The Plot: A Cycle of Violence a kite 1998 full
The story follows Sawa, a young orphan girl who has been molded into a lethal assassin by Akai, a corrupt detective who also happens to be her guardian. Sawa's life is a grim cycle of high-profile hits and psychological subjugation. Her only solace comes from her interactions with Oburi, a fellow young assassin who shares her desire to escape the blood-soaked world they inhabit.
The film is less about a grand conspiracy and more about the intimate, claustrophobic reality of Sawa’s existence. It explores themes of exploitation, the loss of innocence, and the desperate hope for redemption in a world that offers none. The Vision of Yasuomi Umetsu
What truly separates A Kite from its peers is the direction of Yasuomi Umetsu. Known for his meticulous attention to detail and kinetic action sequences, Umetsu crafted a film that feels like a fever dream of late-90s Tokyo.
Visual Style: The character designs are iconic—Sawa’s schoolgirl uniform juxtaposed with her custom explosive-tipped pistol became a lasting image in anime fandom.
Action Choreography: The gunplay in A Kite is legendary. The animation is fluid and visceral, utilizing creative "camera" angles that make the action feel cinematic and immediate.
The Soundtrack: The moody, electronic score perfectly complements the neon-lit, rain-slicked streets of the city, grounding the hyper-violence in a somber, melancholic atmosphere. Controversy and "Director's Cut" vs. Censored Versions
It is impossible to discuss A Kite without mentioning its adult content. Originally released as a two-part OVA (Original Video Animation) in Japan, the film contained explicit scenes that led to significant censorship in various international markets. Even detractors admit: Kite is gorgeous
Over the years, fans have sought out the "full" or "uncut" versions to see Umetsu’s original vision. While the graphic nature of the film remains polarizing, many argue that the violence and grit are essential to portraying the harsh reality of Sawa’s exploitation. The Legacy of Sawa
The influence of A Kite can be seen in various corners of pop culture. Most notably, filmmaker Rob Cohen directed a live-action adaptation in 2014 starring India Eisley and Samuel L. Jackson. Furthermore, rumors have long persisted about the film’s influence on Hollywood directors like Quentin Tarantino, particularly regarding the aesthetic of the "O-Ren Ishii" sequence in Kill Bill.
Today, A Kite remains a landmark of the "Cyberpunk Noir" subgenre. It serves as a time capsule of an era where creators pushed the boundaries of what animation could depict, resulting in a film that is as beautiful as it is brutal.
It seems you’re looking for a guide to access or understand "A Kite" (1998) – likely the anime short film Kite (stylized as A Kite), directed by Yasuomi Umetsu.
Here’s a useful, practical guide covering what “full” means, content warnings, where it’s legally available, and how to approach the different versions.
One cannot write about A Kite without mentioning its monumental influence on Hollywood. The Wachowskis, creators of The Matrix, were massive fans of Umetsu’s work. They hired the team behind A Kite (specifically the animation studio) to produce The Animatrix. Furthermore, the 2009 live-action film Ninja Assassin, produced by the Wachowskis, is essentially a beat-for-beat live-action homage to A Kite, featuring a similar backstory of a child turned assassin escaping a corrupt master.
Most famously, the hallway fight scene in The Matrix Reloaded (the Château fight) borrows its kinetic flow and "floating" gravity from Sawa’s final gunfight in A Kite. If you need a direct link or specific
Warning: The uncut Kite is not pornography—but it uses explicit imagery to tell a story about abuse. If that distinction is too fine for you, watch the edited version or skip it entirely.
Legitimate streaming services do not carry the uncut version due to its content. However, you can find:
🔍 Search tip: Use “Kite 1998 uncut Blu-ray” or “Kite Director’s Cut DVD” on eBay or anime specialty stores.
Kite has multiple versions due to censorship and later re-releases:
⚠️ Important warning: The uncut version depicts sexual violence involving a minor character (the protagonist is a schoolgirl). This content is illegal to possess in many countries and is considered highly disturbing even where legal.
If you proceed:
In 2014, a Hollywood-Japanese live-action remake titled Kite was released, starring India Eisley and Samuel L. Jackson. It was a critical and commercial bomb. Why? Because it attempted to tell the story without the "full" context. The remake sanitized Sawa’s trauma, turning her into a standard "bad girl" action hero. It proved that Umetsu’s controversial "full" version was not exploitative; it was the essential engine of the plot. Without the lows of the 1998 full cut, the highs of the assassination finale are meaningless.