Review: Zebraman (2004)

ZEBRAMAN
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: An elementary school teacher sews for
himself a suit of a 1960s superhero and through
a weird chain of events accidentally elects
himself to become that superhero. This is a
dark and yet playful look at the superhero genre.
ZEBRAMAN is a kick. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10

The year is 2010. Shinichi (played by Sho Aikawa) is a second-
rate third-grade teacher who gets no respect from his family and
little from his students. It is not a pleasant life and he
escapes it with his hobby, a sort of media fandom. It seems that
in 1978 there was a TV superhero named Zebraman on a show that
was cancelled after only seven episodes. But unlike most of the
rest of the world, the young Shinichi became fascinated by the
hero. The show was set in 2010 so Shinichi is particularly
fascinated this particular year. He sews himself a makeshift
Zebraman costume. All this is intended to be just a little
harmless escapism allowing him to dress up like a superhero. But
he did not know that the stories of Zebraman and his strange
alien enemies were actually prophecy and that by making his
Zebraman suit he elected himself the fulfillment of those
prophecies. Now he must be the super-hero of his fantasies or
let the Earth fall to cute little green aliens bent on conquering
our green world. In a way the plot is reminiscent of GALAXY
QUEST. Somehow his story ties in with a series of crimes
perpetrated by an evil man in a crab mask. The two connect with
a secret government investigation into little green alien men who
are just head, arms and legs and who can melt into a sea of
protoplasm. What can it all mean? In some ways the film's
surreal style evokes a sort of BUCKAROO BANZAI feel.

This is a film that takes a psychologically dark yet whimsical
(and sometimes very funny) aim at Japanese superhero films and
comics with a well-placed zebra hind-kick. The world it is set
in straddles the gap between a realistic one and the world of
Japanese superhero TV, a gap similar but much bigger than the one
our Spider Man bridges. Watch for some little film references
for films like THE RING.

Takashi Miike directs from a screenplay by Kankuro Kudo. Miike
has directed a multitude of films in many styles, but most
recently bizarre and tongue-in-cheek films that are popular in
Japan. Until now his best know film from the United States has
probably been the really bizarre satire THE HAPPINESS OF THE
KATAKURIS though several of his (yakuza) crime films are also
popular, including ICHI THE KILLER. Most of his films seem to go
in for graphic violence. Here the violence is more comical and
never graphic enough to be more disturbing than what is in a
Roadrunner cartoon. Toward the end of the film the words stop
coming and the story is told mostly by images. My recommendation
is not to expect too much logic. Just take the ride for the fun
of it.

This film is a lot of fun and deserves
to be seen in release. I rate it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale or
7/10.

Mark R. Leeper
mleeper.DeleteThis@optonline.net
Copyright 2007 Mark R. Leeper