Zebraman

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Movie
German title Zebraman
Original title ゼ ブ ラ ー マ ン
Country of production Japan
original language Japanese
Publishing year 2004
length 115 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Takashi Miike
script Kankurō Kudō
production Akio Hattori
Makoto Okada
music Kōji Endō
camera Kazunari Tanaka
cut Yasushi Shimamura
occupation

Zebraman ( Japanese ゼ ブ ラ ー マ ン , zeburāman ) is a Japanese action film belonging to the science fiction film by the director Takashi Miike from 2004. Miike's staging, based on a script by Kankurō Kudō , is also an exaggerated parody of the popular superhero films . The film is about a family man who disguises himself as the superhero “ Zebraman ” and successfully stands in the way of an alien invasion.

action

In the Japanese metropolis of Yokohama , a UFO with green, slimy aliens that has hardly been noticed by people crashes . Later, in the presence of another, extraordinary human-like alien, a school is built at the crash site, where the stranger works as a teacher and later as a school director. The pedagogue tries completely on his own to warn mankind about the small newcomers whose goal it is to conquer planet earth, subjugate it and ultimately destroy it. For this purpose, he wrote scripts for a largely neglected television series called "Zebraman", which was discontinued due to a lack of audience interest. His warnings are barely heard, and the massive invasion does not take place at first.

34 years later, we are in 2010, there is an enormous increase in surreal incidents and general criminal offenses with a violent background. One of the most wanted sex offenders at that time is a strange man who, wearing a mask in the shape of a crab, commits various crimes in the greater Yokohama area. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense is accidentally informed of the existence of alien life forms in a district of the metropolis. Since one does not want to panic the population unnecessarily and one is interested in a complete investigation of the incidents, two young agents are sent on a secret mission: the rather clumsy Segawa and Oikawa.

At the school in question, Shin'ichi Ichikawa, who is poorly educated, also teaches as a primary school teacher and grade leader. Ichikawa, who is considered a sissy, is a simple family man with all kinds of personal problems. His young son Kazuki is regularly teased by his classmates, his wife is unfaithful to him and his underage, pubescent daughter Midori passionately indulges in older men. Ichikawa secretly dreams of escaping everyday life and takes refuge in his self-made superhero costume of the now-forgotten serial character Zebraman, whose biggest fan he is. One day the teacher made the acquaintance of the wheelchair-dependent student Shinpei Asano and his single mother Kana, a nurse. Ichikawa is fascinated by the little eccentric because he is a big fan of Zebraman despite his childhood. An intense friendship connects the two from then on.

When Ichikawa disguises himself as a zebraman at night to visit Asano in costumes, he happens to run into the "crab man", his daughter's friend, who previously assaulted a female victim. The hair on the back of his neck stands up like a zebra , a visible sign that extraterrestrial life forms are nearby. There are fistfights. In a resulting duel, the educator kills the one possessed by an alien in front of Asano and flees. He sees how the masked man disintegrates into a slimy mass. A little later he kills another alien in his superhero costume, so that the two secret agents Segawa and Oikawa start investigations. The city is literally overrun by aliens in human form and Ichikawa intervenes to help and regulate.

As Ichikawa is aware of his teenage friend Asano's respect, he becomes more and more of a zebraman. Even his own son Kazuki, who up to this point had become estranged from him, becomes an ardent admirer. Previously, Ichikawa had succeeded in freeing him from his aggressive green man who abused him as an “infected person” for acts of violence. Later he reveals himself to his son, as well as to Kana, Asano's mother, who thus know his true identity. In the further course of the plot, Ichikawa, who actually has superpowers, learns that there are parallels between him and the fictional hero figure of the 1970s. He takes up the fight against the alien invasion. Soon, crowds of people will be controlled by them. The government plans to completely wipe out the contaminated districts with a neutron bomb by the Americans, as they are unable to take action against the aliens. Ichikawa does not give up, however, penetrates the cordoned off zone, saves Asano and fights a giant with his newly acquired flying skills. He succeeds in branding the giant alien with an oversized "Z" on his forehead, which ultimately means its destruction. The neutron bomb is then not used, the aliens seem banned.

At the end of the film, Zebraman is led to a cheering crowd in the presence of Agent Oikawa, who also knows his identity, who gives him a triumphant welcome. In a parade march, he passes his family, Asano and Kana and other people who loudly thank him.

Awards

Reviews

“A crazy parody of popular superhero stories that adheres to all the rules of the game in the genre. In the work of director Miike, the film has a special status due to its relative freedom from violence. "

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Zebraman. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used