Zebraman

This is an odd little movie. Some nebbishy teacher sews a recreation of a suit from a short-lived superhero show, and find himself dealing with aliens. The movie doesn't make a lot of sense, unless it's all this guy's fantasy, and the movie doesn't really play much with that possibility, instead just letting it all unspool. I like some sort of rationale for what happens in a film, but the audience is expected to just accept that all of this happens for no good reason at all. The silliness of the aliens and a few other things give it the quality of a kid's movie, but even kids movies generally make some attempt to explain stuff.

There are some cool things in this movie. The dead-on recreations of a cheesy Japanese TV show, the relationship between the low-key teacher and the disabled child, the final amusing superhero battle, but I was never fully invested in the story, perhaps because it lacked rationality or perhaps because it was just kind of slow moving and a bit muddled.

Neither as weird or as good as Miike's Happiness of the Katakuris, Zebraman is acceptable but not much more.

Being a pushover as a teacher and family man, the true humble, mild-mannered identity of our hero tries to escape everyday life by dressing up as Zebraman, a superhero from a TV series that was canceled after only a few episodes. But escaping into his fantasy world in a self-made zebra-suit is the only thing keeping him going. But when he discovers that the Zebraman show was a prophecy of a true alien invasion, disguised as the show's hero he is the only person who can stop it.

Miike always chooses material not only with an unusual premise but with over-the-top details that are slowly, gradually revealed to us. Aside from the way in which its plot unfolds, the film's real charm is in what decides to show us about superheroes, why we identify with them on such a whimsical level and how the ridiculous mentality of a superhero could be formed in a man's solitude. The movie is not serious though. It has Miike's sometime stoic feel, but what we are shown is often hilarious, like the non-sequitary title shot of a fat woman in a beauty parlor who is passed by a sauntering zebra, or Radioactive Ranger, a perfect rendition of a TV show not unlike Power Rangers and its various, progressively obscuring incarnations, or countless others.

Even if Miike's more studious sense of pace is a hindrance to the potential impact of the film, leaving it without a tone and thus making the memory of the movie pretty fuzzy over time, it reflects very benevolently vivid childhood memories controlled by our superheroes. Where the film's spirit hits the nail on the head is in its blurring of zeal and absurdity. The film knows escapism because it's acuity in what it evokes really allows you to escape back into that unadorned young spirit. And what's the point of escapism if you're not truly escaping?

Great for the first hour and 20, but needed some serious editing.

A normal family man and school teacher, who is despised by his family, enjoys one thing in his free time. Putting on his specially made Zebraman suit, to celebrate the brief canceled TV-show of the same name he watched as a child. When not being insulted by students, strangers, family, and friends, our hero likes to wear the suit in his bedroom alone and practice his super movies, which is all oddly endearing and funny enough, until townspeople begin showing signs of possession by a mysterious, possibly alien force. Stranger still, it all already happened in the Zebraman TV show, in the 70's. Our school teacher finds himself putting on the suit and attempting to fight crime, failing in spectacular comic fashion at first, before going into "Kung Fu Hustle" overdrive.

The aliens themselves resemble Flubber, except when their possessing innocent people and forcing them to commit crimes for some reason. What begins as a dark comedy about hero-worship, becomes a feel-good over the top find the hero within action comedy.

The problem is it's just too long, it's charming and unique, but the charm just doesn't hold past an hour and a half. One of Miikes more accessible movies, but still chalk full of the absurd images and surreal humor fans have come to expect. Good watching for Miike fans, and those interested in the lighter side of super-heroes and nostalgia, others stay away. Recommend | add comment

After Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa), a nebbish schoolteacher with a cheating wife and resentful kids fashions a cheap-looking replica of the costume of 'Zebraman', his favorite childhood super-hero, he discovers the black-and-white outfit actual gives him superpowers, which become useful when he is forced to battle some gooey, green nose-goblin aliens who are taking over people's minds for nefarious purposes. The story makes little sense (note: I have not read the antecedent manga) but Aikawa's character is likable, the 'action sequences' are fun, there are some comical scenes (I particularly liked the victim of Zebraman's deadly back-kick) and the film has a goofy low-budget appeal (especially for viewers who pick up on the meta-humour and the tokusatsu in-jokes).

Well, you probably know by now whether you like Takashi Miike or not, so that's probably the first thing to consider. If you do, Zebraman is sure to please, being a very fun yet dark spoof of superhero films with high production values and the ever-wonderful Sho Aikawa.

There's nothing in Zebraman that would class as particularly shocking or offensive, if you've only seen ICHI THE KILLER or VISITOR Q before and that's your only objection to Miike, but the mix of dark, deadpan humour and absurd silliness probably aren't going to win any new converts. It's a very Japanese film in style and tone, and though still doubtless low budget by Hollywood standards, has impressive special effects and a good feeling of quality. Except when it doesn't want to :)

If you're an undecided, Zebraman may well be one of the best Miike films to sample to help make that decision :)