Zebraman (Takashi Miike, 2004)
"Don't stand behind me!"
Director Miike's earlier output was so prolific, I'm sure that at certain points, he had barely any idea what in blazes he was doing. Some of his films range from terrific (Audition) to dire (Sukiyaki Western Django). And then there's his work for TV and straight-to-video. The guy never stopped! 2002 had spawned no less than 8 Miike movies! Thankfully, 2004 was a much quieter year (only 4 films that year! Phht!), And Miike's Zebraman is easily one of his most entertaining films and also one of his most accessible.
The story concerns Shin'ichi, a teacher who has no respect from his students, and even less respect from his distant family. His wife is having an affair, his daughter is dating an old pervert, and his son barely says a word. Shin'ichi's only escape is to make believe he is Zebraman, a super-hero from 1970s TV. The (fake) TV series was cancelled after several episodes due to poor ratings, and remains very obscure. Then, a disabled child arrives at the school, who also happens to be a fan of Zebraman! And at this point we also learn the school has an infestation of aliens, who are taking over people's mind & bodies, in turn wreaking havoc in the normally quite suburb of Yokohama. Riiight.
Tongue firmly in cheek, Miike crafts a super-hero parody that could potentially entertain the whole family. Sure, it's low(ish) budget, but Miike's direction is very polished, and the effects are just about good enough to match the required silliness. Zebraman is also a very funny film, at times parodying not just super-hero movies, but Japanese horror movies as well. Ringu gets the piss taken out of it. Marvelous.
For some reason, Zebraman is set in 2010 (the future, don't you know!) Which ties it quite nicely with the J-2010 project! Zebraman is recommended for all types of people... It's not one of Miike's horrific, weird outings, that's for sure. I think that the key to Zebraman's success is that everybody takes it seriously, none more so than Actor/Superstar/Miike regular Shô Aikawa. A sequel appeared in 2010, which I hope to review soon!
