"Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City" Japanese Teaser Poster
Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Kankuro Kudo
Cast: Show Aikawa, Riisa Naka, Tsuyoshi Abe, Masahiro Inoue, Naoki Tanaka, Guadalcanal Taka
Running Time: 106 min.
By HKFanatic
No matter what, you can always count on Takashi Miike to do the last thing you expect of him. Just a few months before “13 Assassins” hit theaters in Japan, becoming yet another benchmark in the director’s storied career, Miike directed a sequel to his (relatively) obscure 2004 superhero parody “Zebraman.” Now, nearly two years later, the film arrives on blu-ray and DVD in the States from Funimation, just as US audiences are riding high on a post-“13 Assassins” Miike buzz. The good news is that “Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City” is more than a worthy sequel to the first and should definitely please the Miike faithful looking for their next dose of extreme Japanese cinema.
“Zebraman 2” follows the familiar sequel adage of “bigger is better.” The film employs a much larger budget than the original and as a result moves at a faster pace, with numerous special effects shots, more fight scenes, and city-wide destruction. Escalation of this order is often a superhero sequel’s downfall as filmmakers toss in everything but the kitchen sink to the detriment of the story – “Spider-Man 3,” anyone? – but “Attack on Zebra City” is kept on track thanks to a solid script and Miike’s skilled directing.
The only downside to the plot is that it’s quite dependent on viewers having seen the original “Zebraman.” Although you could theoretically start fresh with the sequel, your understanding of the plot will greatly increase with a viewing of the first film. “Zebraman 2” starts just a few days after the events of its predecessor, though it doesn’t take long before we’re whisked to the future – the year 2025, to be exact, where Tokyo and its surroundings districts have been merged into an area known as Zebra City.
Here in Zebra City, the government provides two five-minute periods each day known as “Zebra Time” when the police are allowed to shoot anyone on sight and people in power (doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc.) can commit any crime without fear of being prosecuted. The new Governor and his daughter, the Zebra Queen, believe that merely ruling by justice is not enough; only by providing an outlet for humanity’s innate evil via Zebra Time will they achieve societal peace. Into this dysotopic vision of Tokyo’s future, the original Zebraman is tossed – older, beaten down, and stripped of his memory. Will he recall his heroic origins in time to suit up and save Zebra City from its diabolical rulers?
This film runs the risk that many of the Batman films do, in that the stoic main hero is very nearly upstaged by his more outlandish villain. Sho Aikawa is great once again in the role of Zebraman but this time he’s out of his element in a totally new world and can’t remember a single thing about his past. He gets minimal dialogue and usually just physically reacts to what’s going on around him. In contrast, the Zebra Queen is like any great Batman villain: colorful, over the top, and impossible to take your eyes off of. And much like Catwoman, she’s sexy as hell. There are a few instances in “Zebraman 2” where the story almost comes to a grinding halt and the film segues into a music video – a tactic that Miike has employed before in movies like “Andromedia.”
The Zebra Queen sings and dances while dressed in elaborate costumes, very much like a J-Pop version of Lady Gaga. In fact, if I had to describe the film as a whole, I’d be tempted to say, ‘Imagine if Lady Gaga directed ‘The Dark Knight,’ with a dash of ‘Blade Runner.'” Fortunately, Riisa Naka is a natural scene stealer in the role of the Zebra Queen. The film is more or less constructed around her gleeful and twisted take on the character. If her demented pop star shtick is not your thing, the movie will probably be that much tougher to sit through. Give in to Miike’s futuristic spectacle and you’re in for a wild ride.
If there’s one area that the sequel undoubtedly proves on, it’s pacing. The first film was the story of a karmic-ly crapped on school teacher discovering he was a superhero just in time to stop an alien invasion. The emphasis was on quaint humor and poking fun at Japanese “Super Sentai”-style TV shows (“Power Rangers” for us American audiences), which lent itself to a more leisurely paced film. The sequel jettisons most of those elements in favor of a much darker and more epic story, although the humor is certainly still there.
Somehow Takashi Miike is able to tease at the extreme violence and sexuality of his earlier work while still navigating a PG-13 territory. Several times Miike goes right up to the edge and then scales back, toying with the audience. The fight scenes are certainly amped up, with Zebraman dishing out “The Dark Knight”-style beatdowns to several armed Zebra Police. With a faster pace and more action and special effects, “Attack on Zebra City” might just be the movie that some folks were hoping to see when they watched the original “Zebraman.” Of course, there are those who may wish for the more laid back charm of the first movie.
The film arrives on blu-ray from Funimation and the transfer on this disc is stunning. Detail levels are extremely high – I dare say this is the nicest looking blu-ray of a Japanese film that I’ve encountered. It probably helps that the film was shot on HD video but I still found “Zebraman 2” to have a very cinematic look. The Zebra Queen’s outlandish costumes and make-up really pop out of the screen.
If you’re a fan of Takashi Miike, gonzo Japanese movies, or large-scale superhero flicks, you really can’t go wrong with “Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City.” Once again, Miike proves he isn’t content to merely repeat himself, by delivering a sequel that is an entirely different animal than the first “Zebraman.” This flick is loud, outrageous, sexy, and just plain fun. Overall, it entertained me more than the first. The focus on special effects and the Zebra Queen’s preening might mean that there’s less of a spotlight for Sho Aikawa’s quirky acting, but I can still highly recommend this film for fans of Miike and the first installment.
HKFanatic’s Rating: 8/10
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