The Queen of Villains

The Queen of Villains (Japanese: 極悪女王, Hepburn: Gokuaku Joō) is a Japanese sports drama Japanese Netflix streaming television series planned by Osamu Suzuki,^[1][2] wrote the screenplay Osamu Suzuki and Junya Ikegami, directed Kazuya Shiraishi and Katsuhito Mogi.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} The series consists of five episodes, all first released on 19 September 2024.^[8]

The show stars Yuriyan Retriever in the role of Dump Matsumoto,^{[3][8][9][10][11][12][13]} Matsumoto Kaori was a kind girl aiming to become a female professional wrestler in order to become stronger, however, she became hated by all the Japanese people, the most famous heel in the history of Japanese women's professional wrestling, "Dump Matsumoto."Friendship and struggle with friends. Various conflicts. And salvation.This Dramaseries depicts these unknown true stories of "Dump Matsumoto".^[8][14][15]

This drama is a fact-based fictional story that depicts the madness of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling in the 1980s, centering on the rivalry between Dump Matsumoto and Nagayo Chigusa, the protagonists of the famous "Hair-Cutting Death Match : hair vs. hair match " in Japanese women's professional wrestling history.^{[4][16][5][6][15][17]}

However, due to the production process of the drama, it also contains elements of non-fiction and documentary.^{[18][19][5][15]}

• Yuriyan Retriever as Dump Matsumoto^{[11][4][12][13][19][15]} : A kind-hearted girl, Kaori Matsumoto grew up in a horrible home with a father who was addicted to alcohol, violent, in debt, and had an affair. She happened to saw Jackie Sato practicing in the ring of "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling", and was captivated by her. She aspired to become a female professional wrestler. After much deliberation, Kaori auditioned and enrolled. However, unlike Tomoko Kitamura and Yukari Omori, who debuted earlier, Kaori, along with Chigusa Nagayo, fell behind. However, Chigusa, along with Tomoko, who changed her name to "Lioness Asuka", became popular as part of the "Crush Gals." Kaori became a heel wrestler at her company's command, but struggled to make a breakthrough. One day, her friendship with Chigusa fell apart, and she exploded with hatred for her sloppy father and anger at her unsympathetic mother and sister. She awakened as "Dump Matsumoto," the "most terrifying and evil heel wrestler, hated by all of Japan." Then, Dump Matsumoto, who formed the "Atrocious Alliance," came into conflict with Nagayo Chigusa,who had become a charismatic and popular member of the "Crush Gals," and became Chigusa's greatest enemy. Dump Matsumoto then goes on to fight Chigusa in a "legendary fierce battle" and loser's hair-cutting death match "Hair Cutting Death Match" that will be talked about for generations to come.

• Erika Karata as Chigusa Nagayo^{[18][12][19][16][15]} : When Chigusa Nagayo was a child, her parents disappeared due to debts, leaving her to be passed around among relatives. She joined "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" with Kaori Matsumoto, but like Kaori, she ended up falling behind. As she lived with Kaori in the dormitory, they became best friends. She had experience in karate, and after using a karate technique that was banned in "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" at the time, she was bullied by senior female wrestlers and decided to quit wrestling. However, Lioness Asuka, who she had chosen as her final opponent, invited her to "do the wrestling we want to do," so she challenged her to a match. As a result, she and Lioness Asuka hit it off, were recognized by the company, and formed the tag team "Crush Gals" with Lioness Asuka. They became popular throughout Japan, releasing songs and more. However, Chigusa's best friend, Kaori Matsumoto, became "the most terrifying and terrible heel wrestler, hated by everyone in Japan," known as "Dump Matsumoto," and became Chigusa's biggest rival. Chigusa and Dump then face off in what will become a legendary match "Hair Cutting Death Match".

• Ayame Goriki as Tomoko Kitamura, Lioness Asuka^{[18][12][16][15]} : Tomoko Kitamura joined "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" alongside Matsumoto Kaori and Nagayo Chigusa. She was living in the dormitory with Kaori and Chigusa. With exceptional athletic ability and an immediate debut, Tomoko was a promising female wrestler, earning her the nickname "Jackie Sato II." However, seeing the bullying and attitude of her senior wrestlers, Tomoko began to feel a sense of crisis about the future of "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling". Thinking that this would be her last match, Chigusa challenged her, who had changed her name to "Lioness Asuka," and Tomoko suggested, "Let's have the match we want to have." After the match, the two hit it off, were recognized by the company, and formed the tag team "Crush Gals." The two even released a song and became popular throughout Japan. However, Asuka, who wanted to pursue her career purely as a wrestler, gradually began to drift apart from Chigusa, who believed that entertainment activities were also part of "Professional wrestling" process. In the "Hair Cutting Death Match" where Nagayo Chigusa challenged Dump Matsumoto, she fought as Nagayo's second, throwing towels into the ring to stop the *match, but was unable to prevent the "horrific ending." Then, in the "Dump Matsumoto Retirement Match," she gave a microphone performance in which he asked Dump, who was trying to retire as a villain, "Is that all there is to pro wrestling for you?", which led to an "extra match."

• Ebi chan (Marie marie) as Crane Yu, Yukari Honjo^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]} : Yukari Honjo passed the same audition as Kaori Matsumoto and later became a member of the "55-year-old group," a classmate of Kaori Matsumoto's. She lived in the same dormitory as Kaori. Before her debut, Honjo was one of the "dropouts" along with Kaori and Chigusa Nagayo. At the agency's request, she joined the heel group "Black Devil" led by Devil Masami. Then, under Devil Masami's orders, she became a masked wrestler called "Masked Yu." Unlike Kaori, who was kicked out of "Black Devil," Honjo became a heel wrestler in her own right. However, after Kaori awakened as "Dump Matsumoto," she and Kaori left "Black Devil." She then removed her mask and changed her name to "Crane Yu." She then formed the "the Atrocious Alliance" with Kaori, becoming their No. 2 and facing off against Nagayo and Lioness Asuka's "Crush Gals." However, Yuu is naturally a kind-hearted person, and when she's off the ring, she gets along well with babyface wrestlers like Yukari Oomori, which causes a rift with Dump Matsumoto, who tries to be a heel even in his private life. Yuu is then expelled from the "the Atrocious Alliance" after a brutal bloodbath, which could be considered punishment from Dump Matsumoto. She then reverts to her real name, Yukari Honjo, and becomes a referee for "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling". After the "Hair Cutting Death Match," she attended "Dump Matsumoto's Retirement Match" and participated for Dump Matsumoto and the "55-year Pro Wrestling Group."^[a]

• Momoko Hori as Bull Nakano, Keiko Nakano^{[20][22][21][23][29]} : Keiko Nakano was a junior wrestler with the ambition of becoming a babyface, joining Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling after Kaori Matsumoto and Chigusa Nagayo and others. However, as a member of the "Black Devil", she was tasked with handing over weapons to the heel wrestlers. She was generally unattractive in appearance and had a dull personality. However, when Dump decided to expel Crane Yu, she was forcibly shaved off half of her head with clippers, giving her a "one-sided mohawk." From the "Crane Yu Expulsion Match," she became Dump Matsumoto's new partner, taking the ring name "Bull Nakano," and becoming the No. 2 in the "the Atrocious Alliance." She then transformed into a vicious heel wrestler wielding nunchucks in the ring.^[b][c]

• Sayaka Tobe as Kahoru Kage^{[20][21][30][31]} : Kahoru Kage served as a body double for Dump Matsumoto in the "Hair Cutting Death Match." From then on, she accompanied Dump Matsumoto and "the Atrocious Alliance" until "Dump Matsumoto's Retirement Match."^[d]

• Kyouka Sumida as Yukari Oomori^{[20][21][22][32]}

• Urara Aryu as Jumbo Hori^{[20][21][22][32]}

• Ryoka Neya as Devil Masami^[20][21]

• Kamoshida Hiromi as Jackie Sato^{[20][21][5][7]}

• Haruka Imoo as Maki Ueda^{[20][21][5][7]}

• Elina Mizuno as Jaguar Yokota^[20][21]

• Eri Kamataki as Lovely Yoneyama^[20][21]

• Jun Murakami as Takashi Matsunaga^{[20][21][16][6][13][7]}

• Daisuke Kuroda as Kunimatsu Matsunaga^{[20][21][16][6][7]}

• Takumi Saitoh as Toshikuni Matsunaga^{[20][21][16][6][7]}

• Takuma Otoo as Shiro Abe^[20][21][32]
• Akapen Takigawa as Nobuo Usui^[20][21]
• Shigeki Kiyono as Haruo Shiono^[20][21]

• Atsuko Sendo as Satoko Matsumoto^[20][21][15]

• Marin Nishimoto as Hiromi Matsumoto^[20][21][15]

• Takamitsu Nonaka as Goro Matsumoto^[20][21][15]

• Tomu Miyazaki as Shigeru Nagayo^[20][21][15]

• Michie as Sueko Nagayo^[20][21][15]

At the end of 2019, Osamu Suzuki, who was then a broadcast writer and staff member of the TV program "I'm a Sujigane Fan!", aired footage of the "legendary match" between Dump Matsumoto and Chigusa Nagayo, the "Hair-Cutting Death Match." At the time, Osamu Suzuki saw Nagayo Chikusa fans crying tears of frustration after watching the footage. This made him want to create a work themed around the "craze of women's professional wrestling in the 1980s."^{[1][2][33][34][35][36]}

Osamu Suzuki created a proposal with only a few pages on the cover, with a photo of Dump Matsumoto and Nagayo Chigusa's "Hair-Cutting Death Match" and the title "The Queen of Villains," and took it to Netflix. The proposal for "The Queen of Villains" was then adopted by Netflix.^[1][2][37]

Takahashi Shinichi, who became the producer of this film, invited Kazuya Shiraishi, the film director behind the "The Blood of Wolves" series, to direct. Kazuya Shiraishi was such a big fan of professional wrestling that he was aware of the craze of "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" in the 1980s. Shiraishi was also skilled at portraying the passions deep within the human heart. Based on Shiraishi's research, it was decided that "The Queen of Villains" would be produced as a "story of fighting girls" starring Dump Matsumoto and female pro wrestlers from her generation.^{[4][5][6][38][39][40]}

All of the actors playing the female professional wrestlers, including Yuriyan Retriever, were selected through auditions.Each actor auditioned with their own determination.^{[38][18][16][41]}

All actors playing female wrestlers were required to gain approximately 10 kg of weight to build muscle. This weight-gaining method was inspired by the Netflix drama "Sanctuary." Netflix provided various support, including financial and food support, to help them gain weight. At this point, Yuriyan Retriever had successfully lost about 45 kg, but in order to play the role of Dump Matsumoto, she gained about 40 kg of muscle mass and built a strong physique.^{[11][10][38][39][40][18][41]}

Then, female wrestlers from "Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling ", led by Chigusa Nagayo, who acted as the super professional wrestling advisor for "The Queen of Villains," served as trainers, and the actors playing the female wrestlers received "pro wrestling training." The training started with bump and ropework, and progressed to learning various professional wrestling techniques, making it as rigorous as joining an actual professional wrestling organization.^{[8][42][11][5][39][18][16][41]}

Through these activities, the actors playing the female professional wrestlers developed close relationships and built friendships.^{[1][11][39][18][16][41]}

"The Queen of Villains" began filming in July 2022. Filming began primarily with the match scenes. The scenes were shot in sequence.^[5][12]

The professional wrestling match scenes were arranged by Chigusa Nagayo, who was appointed as a professional wrestling super advisor. And while consideration was given to the physical condition of the actors, almost all of the match scenes, 99.9 percent, were performed by the actors playing the female wrestlers, putting their bodies on the line.^{[8][5][18][39]}

Chigusa Nagayo also gave acting lessons to the actors about real-life characters from "All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling" who she had been involved with, such as the three Matsunaga brothers and Dump Matsumoto.^[39][1][43]

The art staff for "The Queen of Villains" worked hard to recreate 1980s Japan, down to the costumes, props, All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling building, and Dump Matsumoto's old house, to recreate the world of the film.^{[8][5][13][44]}

Thousands of extras were involved in filming the match, totalling 25,000, the largest number in Netflix history.^{[8][5][18][13]}

The production of "The Queen of Villains" required various funds. It is said that about 100 million yen was spent for each episode, and about 500 million yen was spent for the five episodes in total.^[45]

When filming a match, the actors playing female wrestlers would say to each other, "I'm off to the match." Even actors who weren't competing would go to the set and actively act as seconds. Leading actors Yuriyan Retriever, Erika Karata, and Ayame Goriki also cooperated with filming in their own ways. Yuriyan and Karata even deliberately allowed themselves a period of "bad relations," just like Dump Matsumoto and Nagayo Chigusa in the past. Thanks to the efforts of these actors, staff, and extras, realistic professional wrestling match scenes were filmed.^{[1][11][4][18][5][19]}

In October of the same year, Yuriyan Retriever failed a fall and hit her head and back. Although she was not seriously injured, she was given two weeks of complete bed rest just to be safe. After that, the girls were given approximately six months of additional wrestling training to allow for an interval. Filming of the series was suspended during that time. However, during that time, slanderous articles were published that inflamed the girls' reputations. The actors playing the female wrestlers were unable to refute these articles, which only made them more frustrated. This awakened a rebellious spirit in them, determined to show the world what they were made of by completing the "The Queen of Villains."^{[11][3][18][46]}

The "Hair Cutting Death Match," the climax scene of "The Queen of Villains," was filmed over a period of about one month, with various scenes being shot. The scene in which Yuriyan Retriever, who played Dump Matsumoto, actually cuts the hair of Karata Erika, who played Nagayo Chigusa, was filmed in one take on July 7th of the same year. Yuriyan, who actually cut Karata's hair, burst into tears and her hands began to shake uncontrollably. The two people involved, Chigusa Nagayo and Dump Matsumoto, hugged each other and shed tears as they watched The "Hair Cutting Death Match".^[18][1][47]

Then, going back to that day, on a certain day in June of the same year, filming of "Dump Matsumoto's Retirement Match" took place at Korakuen Hall, the "holy ground of Japanese professional wrestling." Not only Dump Matsumoto and Nagayo Chigusa, but also female wrestlers who had previously belonged to All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, such as Lioness Asuka, Jaguar Yokota, and Bull Nakano, gathered together. The filming was done nonstop in one long take. During the filming, the participants felt as if the entire venue had traveled back in time, as if they were actually there at that time. When filming finished, everyone involved, from the cast and staff to the extras, reportedly shed tears and stood up in applause.^{[13][18][22][23][43]}

The actors who played the female wrestlers used parts of their own lives to take on the "battle" of filming "The Queen of Villains," and simulated the life of a female wrestler. By the time filming finished, she had become a female professional wrestler.^[5][7][15]

Through the filming of "The Queen of Villains," Chigusa Nagayo relived and reassessed the craze of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling in Japan in the 1980s that she herself experienced. After filming finished, Nagayo said, "Our story, which began in that era, has finally come to an end." She also began to express her gratitude to the staff, cast, and the series itself on every occasion.^{[8][16][5][48][43][49]}

Since its release, "The Queen of Villains" received a huge response from viewers. The hashtag "#極悪女王" became a trending topic on social media. "Very Evil Queen" became a hot topic in Japan.^[13][50][51]

"The Queen of Villains" reached number one on Netflix's weekly rankings in Japan during its first week of release, and remained at number one for three consecutive weeks.^[52][53][54]

• The Queen of Villains on Netflix
• The Queen of Villains at IMDb