Zebraman
by Takashi Miike
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DVD details
Actor: Akira Emoto, Atsuro Watabe, Kyoka Suzuki, Makiko Watanabe, Sho AikawaDirector: Takashi Miike
Brand: Media Blasters
Cinematographer: Kazunari Tanaka
Composer: Koji Endo
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-19
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Tokyo Shock / Media Blasters
DVD Reviews of Zebraman
DVD Review: ZEBRAMAN is definitely a Takashi Miike film alright.
Summary: 3 Stars
I consider myself to be a pretty well seasoned movie "guru" and I take pride in voicing my personal opinion whenever the moment arises. For the most part, I can watch any type of movie (unless I find it to be truly awful) but Horror is really my genre of expertise. I enjoy finding strange and obscure films all the time, many of which happen to be foreign movies. I'm pretty familiar with the works of Takashi Miike, AUDITION being my absolute favorite. It's a shocking film that was only topped (in my opinion) by another movie called STRANGE CIRCUS, directed by Sion Sono. In regards to Miike's AUDITION, I had never seen a movie so twistedly demented in my whole life! I won't go into the details of that film (we're here to talk about ZEBRAMAN after all) but I will say that it's very good! AUDITION is the type of movie that leaves a lasting impression on you for many days after watching it. Hopefully you remember it for the rest of your life, although I'm sure there are some people who wouldn't want to. Takashi Miike's films speak from the heart, even if they are dark and terrifying in subject matter.
I happened upon a copy of ZEBRAMAN at my local used DVD store. The copy I acquired ended up being a "bootleg" version made by some low rent company. Normally I don't purchase underground copies of movies I intend to add into my personal collection (especially since the American subtitles for this one seemed to be a little off) but ZEBRAMAN isn't the type of film that you just run into on a daily basis. In a case such as that, you buy it as you see it. I was familiar with the movie prior to purchasing my copy but it never struck me as one of Takashi Miike's films that I just "had to own." After watching this movie I can safely say that my assumptions were more or less right about it. This isn't the best film he's ever directed. Yet, at the same time, it does seem to be a "deep" movie in it's own off beat way. I will say this, ZEBRAMAN is a very strange film indeed!
As I watched this movie I couldn't help but ask myself, "who is this film made for?" It's very much far removed from Takashi Miike's more visceral works like ICHI THE KILLER, SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, VISITOR Q and the above mentioned AUDITION. Heck, it doesn't even come close to his horrifying "made for television" episode "Imprint" for MASTERS OF HORROR. Yet, it's also very unconventional all around on a "main stream" level. I'm not talking about Pop culture main stream either. What I mean is if you're just a passing Miike fan, ZEBRAMAN will definitely weed out the uninterested no matter what. You either enjoy subject matter such as this or you don't. Plain and simple. Also, this is considered one of his more comedic outings, which he's been known to do. Yet I still asked myself, "Who is this movie made for?" Well, it seems to made for Takashi Miike himself and those who understand his off beat sense of humor only.
ZEBRAMAN is about this guy named Shinichi who also happens to be a school teacher and a family man. His personal life is anything but happy considering almost every member of his family seems to think he's a loser. His wife cheats on him, his daughter sleeps with much older men and his son is harassed at school because Shinichi is his school teacher. Life couldn't get any more depressing for our main character it would seem. Whenever he's not trying to gain approval from his cold hearted family, he retreats to his study and dresses up in a mock superhero outfit of a guy named "Zebraman." This fantasy seems to be Shinichi's only escape from the drudgery of his everyday life at home and he does it often. Meanwhile, his family doesn't seem to notice. The character of "Zebraman" happens to be from one of Shinichi's favorite childhood television shows, which was cancelled after only seven episodes. This seems to resemble how Shinich's private life is. Cancelled before it even really got started.
Meanwhile, a serial killer wearing a crab mask has been slaughtering people in the local area. It would seem this guy has some kind of connection to our "hero", although the two of them are unaware of it at first. Through out the course of the movie, we watch as Shinichi eventually gets enough courage to go out one night while wearing his Zebraman outfit. On the first night, while sneaking off the roof of his house, he slips and falls in a very painful fashion. This happens to Shinichi a few more times to much comedic effect.
After a few more attempts at being a "hero in the night", Shinichi eventually runs into the crab mask wearing lunatic down a dark alley way. It would seem that he's in a bad situation here (after all, he's not really a super hero) but only after a few attacks, Shinichi realizes that he does have powers! Out of nowhere he's able to dodge punches and kicks with ease, while exhibiting the ability to jump at great distances. After defeating the "crab man", Shinichi understands what he was meant to do with his life. He must become ZEBRAMAN!
*Whew!* Talk about the plot being all over the place! Well my friends, that isn't half of it! There are a few other random sub plots running rampant in this movie too. ZEBRAMAN is a hard film to describe, no doubt about it. Even if I tried, my review might come off more confusing than it already is! For the sake of my review and longevity, I'll do a "foot notes" version here real quick. On top of Shinichi thinking he's "Zebraman" and some other random guy dressing up as a crab (not to mention all of his family issues), there's a plot for an alien invasion (they look like "flubber" of all things), a little boy who thinks he's the real "Zebraman" from the TV show and a love interest for our hero to boot! This movie is filled to the brim with seemingly random plot twists and a lot of it doesn't make sense.
It's hard for me to rate and review ZEBRAMAN because I was indifferent about the movie from the get go. I'm a huge fan of Takashi Miike and the obscurity of this film in my local area helped convince me of the sale. Yet in the end, I can't help but think that something was lost in translation for me in this movie. The character of Zebraman is kinda' based on superhero's like ULTRAMAN (something I'm not really familiar with), so I tried to imagine the concept through one of my own favorite hero's like SPIDERMAN or BATMAN. By doing this, I think I got a greater appreciation for the over all artistic perspective behind this film. A lot of the enjoyment to be had with ZEBRAMAN is if you personally know and love comic books and their heros. If you don't, the over all message will become lost in translation I think. Super hero's have never truly been embraced by society, even if they do become successful like SPIDERMAN or THE DARK KNIGHT.
One thing I didn't like about this movie is how long the middle seemed to drag on. After a some what interesting and enjoyable beginning, things slow down to a snail's pace because the movie starts to take itself far too seriously. Maybe that's what Takashi Miike wanted (he is the director after all) but I really think it hurts a good portion of this film. Things start to pick up towards the end but by then I think it's too late and the damage has already been done. A lot of this movie is just kinda' boring. I can see movie buffs everywhere (usually it's guys who like this type of stuff) renting this film and collectively becoming bored with their girlfriends while watching it. Which is sad really because there seems to be a lot more beneath the surface here. It does have it's "Miike" moments (general strangeness) and his trademark commentaries about family, isolation and perversion are as poignant as ever. It's just too bad that it all gets lost in a rather boring execution and it's unusual plot.
Gore Hounds, I don't know if I can recommend this one to 'ya. Sure, there are some bloody moments (not to mention a really nasty alien melt down scene) but they happen few and far in between. That on top of the long and boring moments become this movies "kiss of death." Add the strange plot and a few scenes with some incredibly bad looking CGI effects into the mix and I find myself hard pressed to recommend ZEBRAMAN to anyone. I personally thought the movie was just okay but that might not be enough for some people. If you read between the lines, there's a lot of social commentary here. It's just too bad that it gets lost in the clutter.
For only the most die hard of Takashi Miike fans.
Just rent or buy AUDITION instead. It's much better.
I hope I've been helpful.
Over and out.
More Zebraman reviews:
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Description of Zebraman
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