Zeburâman: Zebura Shiti no gyakushû

It is interesting to see this title got less points than its prequel. It should have been the opposite.

First movie was not very Miike-like. It looked just a movie for children. However, the second title was very different, and it was very Miike-like. You don't need to watch the first one and don't do so if you don't have time to waste. But watching Zebraman 2 is really fun.

Now, the reason I wanted to write a few things about this movie was Riisa Naka. There are a few roles that fit perfectly to its actor or actress. Or shall we say, there are few players who can carry a role perfectly and after watching, you can not think of anyone else acting that role. Riisa, playing Zebra Queen is one of those. Just like Brando as Godfather, Hopkins as Hannibal.

Zebraman 2 can not be compared with these movies definitely. No way! You will not even miss anything by not watching this movie at all. However, you will be sorry to miss Riisa in her Zebra Queen role. Watch the movie and you will be disappointed if you are a Miike fan, but you will become a Riisa-fan.

Zebraman sequel is just as weird as the first, but you can tell it was made on a bigger budget than the first one. There're lot more CG scene, on this one.

Tokyo has been renamed Zebra city. The world is an apocalyptic place where corruption and violence rules supreme. It's a dog eat dog world where its survival of the fittest. Zebraman gets put on a centrifuge machine to get his black and white parts separated. The result is good white Zebraman, and evil black Zebra Girl.

The plot is still like something done by an elementary school kid, but there are lot more actors, and staged shots in this one compared to the first movie. I've seen other weird movies, but this one takes the cake. First Zebraman was cheese and you can easily dismiss it as just another campy movie, but this one has lot more resources behind it making it a seriously weird movie.

I love Zebraman for its weirdness. If you're aboard with the first Zebraman, this one will entertain you too.

Okay so Zebraman became a zero to a hero in the first movie and in this one it's about watching the developed hero in action. This time there is more action and much better special effects, probably because this movie had a bigger budget than the previous Zebraman movie. As silly as the first one was, the plot takes place in the year 2025 and takes place in a area called Zebra City. The main conflict is a reform called "Zebra Time" where police are allowed to commit any crimes they want for 10 min a day on a specified time, mainly shooting random people. But this just doesn't apply to the police but other people as well, so they can commit any crimes and get away with it. This time the antagonists actually sort of stands out, especially Zebraqueen(Riisa Naka) who is a idol singer in this story and also the evil governor's daughter. Also seemed to be influenced by the style of Lady Gaga, except Zebraqueen is more real. Riisa Naka played this psycho girl character pretty well in this and actually made the character believable for the most part. Even if the villain's so called master plan is just plain stupid, especially when it comes to the motive behind it. Takashi Miike is known for using pop culture references in some of his movies and that applies to this movie as well, but it's done in a way where it doesn't feel forced. The plot isn't better this time around but it's a bit more entertaining than the first movie. The action sequences actually gets pretty good after a hour into the movie although the build up is kinda slow and boring in some aspects. Everything is more ridiculous this time around and it really isn't a great sequel, but it's still much better than the first Zebraman movie. This sequel fixes some of the flaws from the previous movie, but it isn't a amazing sequel or anything like that.

7.5/10

Sequels are often poorer when compared to the originals. Zebraman is an exception. The second movie builds an entire world around the Zebraman concept to the point that the color scheme is almost entirely black and white. Instead of weaving the superhero aspect into present day Japan Zebraman 2 takes place in a strange future with plenty of Orwellian vibes. Dystopia matched with oppression of the vaguely Fascist kind are brought to life with flashy visuals and fast paced scenes.

The movie takes Zebraman and turns it into a mythology of sorts with a strong polarity between good and evil. The campy aspect of the franchise is upgraded to include a lot of sexiness and tight music videos spliced into the video and even connected with the plot. At points this sequel's main point seems to be to promote the music but strangely enough it works remarkably well.

There is still plenty of corny humor but the overall tone is serious with even something like social critique with 'Zebra time', five minutes per day in which any violent act is permitted. The greatest innovation has got to be the new villain, a very attractive girl with black latex outfits worthy of any dominatrix worth her salt. She is also responsible for delivering the song around which so much of the story revolves. Her performance adds a flair of traditional comic book evilness and spices things up.

Some points do not seem to jive all that well with the original, back is Asano, the little kid befriended by Zebraman, now all grownup but for some reason Zebraman's family is never of again nor does he even ask about it. The final battle is as epic as it to be expected but followed by an hilarious conclusion.

Zebraman 2 is everything that the first one was and then much more. It is bigger, louder and maybe even crazier. Recommended for fans of the original but avoid the spin-off at all costs.