Zebraman, directed by Takashi Miike (the "rabid dog of Japanese cinema", repsonsible for numerous brilliant oddities like Dead or Alive) and starring Sho Aikawa as the titular crimefighter, is probably one of the weirdest, most offbeat movies I've ever seen. The plot itself is relatively straightforward, if a bit unusual: the film tells the story of a timid schoolteacher who, to escape his dreary, unfortunate life (he gets absolutely no respect from his family, coworkers, or students) often dresses up as Zebraman, a costumed superhero whose show ran seven episodes many years ago before being cancelled. Eventually, with a real alien threat looming on the film's periphery, he grows even further into the role, finally inexplicably acquiring actual zebra super-powers and saving the day in the end. This crazy plot is certainly fun, and doubtless would have made a deliciously lighthearted movie, but Miike opted to turn it into a dark comedy, punctuated by frequent bizarre forays into the surreal, and in doing so characteristically created something totally unique and memorable.





Ichikawa, the film's schoolteacher-turned-superhero, has it bad: his wife barely notices him, his daughter has taken to selling herself to old men for money and baubles, and his young son is so embarrassed by him (he teaches at his son's school) that he virtually never speaks to him. The only escape Ichikawa has from this awful life is his nostalgic rememberance of an old TV show called Zebraman that used to air back in the 70's: he's gone so far as to construct a cosplayish outfit of the character to wear around the house. Coincidentally enough, he soon meets someone who shares his passion for all things Zebraman, a wheelchair-bound transfer student named Asano. The two strike up a friendship that evolves into a sort of father-son relationship -- Asano is fatherless and appreciates the company of an older man, and Ichikawa appreciates the fact that Asano is treating him with a measure of respect (something he's not getting at home).

Desiring to surprise Asano by showing him the Zebraman outfit he made, Ichikawa heads out into the city one night while wearing it, and inadvertently ends up encountering a scissors-wielding alien criminal with a crab for a head. Forced to fight, he finds himself somehow performing amazing acrobatic maneuvers (including the fabled "Zebra Bomber" and "Zebra Screw Punch") and, after successfully defeating crab-head with them, decides to embark upon a full-time crimefighting career. Green aliens made of green glop, attempting to replicate the schemes they saw on the old Zebraman show, prove to be his most potent enemies.

Miike is obviously playing with some classic themes here: Ichikawa is a browbeaten loser whose worth is, by the end of the movie, finally recognized by at least a few members of his family; this is a familiar theme that pops up a lot in Asian and even American movies (it's a fantasy of unexceptional browbeaten salarymen everywhere, I suppose). His direction -- predictably, if you're familiar with Miike's work -- takes it all into some pretty strange places, however: odd surreal moments abound, and these moments are not clearly delineated as dreams or fantasies apart from the main reality of the story very often. Ichikawa's daughter's activities, additionally, along with a few graphic moments (nothing on the level of Miike's Ichi the Killer or Audition, but possibly unsettling for folks who aren't used to these things) add a bit of darkness to what would otherwise be a fairly innocent story. And, of course, Zebraman is a pretty preposterous superhero (one of the movie's funniest moments comes when Ichikawa's "zebra sense" goes off while he's talking to his boss: his hair poofs itself up into something resembling a zebra mane, accompanied by a snorting sound).





Despite the absurd surreality of it all, though, the movie manages to maintain a reasonably coherent feel; it flows very easily and smoothly. More sensitive viewers, who may have shied away from many of Miike's earlier movies due to their sometimes shocking offensiveness (Miike is a director who has no qualms about showing...well, anything) are offered a rare treat with Zebraman -- a chance to experience his deft direction without also having to put up with the tons of blood and gore and sex and disgusting weirdness he tosses into most of his movies. An enjoyable story, some good action, plenty of good performances (Sho Aikawa could have hammed it up here as Ichikawa, but fortunately didn't), a bunch of hilarious scenes, and some skillful, unconventional direction courtesy of Miike: this is a damn good movie, and one you'll almost certainly never forget.

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