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Zebraman (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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18 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
"Black and white ecstacy!" A must see Miike film., 17 September 2004
9/10
Author: johnnybender from Toronto, Canada

Takashi Miike never disappoints. His latest film to the Toronto Film Festival is ZEBRAMAN, a story about a father (Shinichi) who no longer has a family, or a life. His wife is having an affair, his daughter is a slut (no wonder, she's cute as hell), and his son is bullied at the school where he teaches. Even the other students think he is a geek. Shinichi spends all of his free time fantasizing about a show he watched as a kid called Zebraman, that was cancelled after only a few episodes due to low ratings. He even goes as far as to make his own Zebraman costume, and that's when the fun truly begins.

As the Earth is invaded by aliens (what did you expect) Shinichi is called into action as Zebraman and he transforms from mild mannered teacher to Earth's last hope. Think PowerRangers but with odd and hilarious dialogue ("Don't stand ... behind me."). But first he spends some much needed time in front of a mirror practicing his shouts ("Black and White Ecstacy!"), costume spliting poses, and signature attacks like the "Zebra Double Back Kick". I admit I was sold as soon as he beat the crap out of a guy wearing a giant crab mask on his head. I laughed the hardest at the introduction of ZebraNurse, though.

This is a different kind of film than what you'd expect from Miike. The characters are warm and lovable, and no one gets injured (with the exception of an easily re-grown arm, "Thanks ... ZebraNurse!"). Which shows the kind of range this cult director has. My only regret was that Takashi Miike wasn't present to witness a world class response to this outrageously funny film. (9/10)

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15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun Miike comedy with good special effects, 31 October 2004
8/10
Author: Simon Booth from UK

Well, you probably know by now whether you like Takashi Miike or not, so that's probably the first thing to consider. If you do, Zebraman is sure to please, being a very fun yet dark spoof of superhero films with high production values and the ever-wonderful Sho Aikawa.

There's nothing in Zebraman that would class as particularly shocking or offensive, if you've only seen ICHI THE KILLER or VISITOR Q before and that's your only objection to Miike, but the mix of dark, deadpan humour and absurd silliness probably aren't going to win any new converts. It's a very Japanese film in style and tone, and though still doubtless low budget by Hollywood standards, has impressive special effects and a good feeling of quality. Except when it doesn't want to :)

If you're an undecided, Zebraman may well be one of the best Miike films to sample to help make that decision :)

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
The softer side of Miike, 13 March 2005
8/10
Author: lonewolf_and_cub from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

With ZEBRAMAN Takashi Miike proves he can do anything. This film is quite possibly the best feel good movie I have seen in 10 years, and this from a director best known for graphic violence, moral ambiguity and razor-booted kung fu kicking crybaby psychos. The movie has a simple and universal message: you can make a difference if you believe in yourself. It's sweet, poignant and Hilarious(The scene with the Sentai show Shinichi is watching on TV had me laughing so hard I almost choked on my cup of tea). The final scene with Shinichi transforming into a "real" hero is amazing and had me cheering more than any movie I watched as a kid. If that scene fails to stir you then I guess you're dead inside. Miike produces more solid gold cult classics in one year than Hollywood makes in five - he's the king in my eyes: long may his reign continue.

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11 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
ZEBRAMAN is brilliant., 18 September 2004
Author: anthrapoid from California, USA

I saw Zebraman for the first, but surely NOT the last time today. I had read that it was a "spoof of the super hero genre", but I strongly disagree; Zebraman IS a true superhero, and this film is not a spoof of any kind. Sure, there is very mild slapstick, but it works perfectly well. The heart of the film is tender and hopeful, and at the end I was left in that rare state in which I could deny no possibilities. I was laughing and crying at once, knowing no boundary between the two. I love this film. The message is a simple one, but given the age in which we live, vitally important: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. I will offer no details regarding the plot or the technical innovation of the work; I only hope that this wonderful film will be seen by all, with a truly open heart. Thank you Takashi Miike...

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Zebraman kicks!!!, 6 February 2004
8/10
Author: sauron-15 from Netherlands

I watched Zebraman at the IFFR in Rotterdam, and it was a coaster ride from beginning to end. I've seen a view movies by Miike Takashi, and they all had elements of gore and typical Japanese-over-the-top-violence. Not this one though!!! From the first second up it's totaly wicked. It has all the elements you've already seen in this sort of action-figure-based movies, but in the hands of Miike it turns into movie magic. In a nutshell: Goodbye Hollywood! Sadako rock's! America doesn't!

The story about a failed teacher/familyman, daydreaming about his alter-ego Zebraman who after construction of his ducktaped superhero outfit gets more then he could ever hoped for, will keep you on the edge for the entire length of the movie.

Those of you familiar with Miike's previous work do not need to dispare: It wouldn't be Miike if there wasn't any blood, body fluids or slurry involved, but I can't tell you anything without spoiling, so: GO SEE!

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
The Lighter Side Of Super-Heroism, 23 June 2008
5/10
Author: Joseph Sylvers from United States

Great for the first hour and 20, but needed some serious editing.

A normal family man and school teacher, who is despised by his family, enjoys one thing in his free time. Putting on his specially made Zebraman suit, to celebrate the brief canceled TV-show of the same name he watched as a child. When not being insulted by students, strangers, family, and friends, our hero likes to wear the suit in his bedroom alone and practice his super movies, which is all oddly endearing and funny enough, until townspeople begin showing signs of possession by a mysterious, possibly alien force. Stranger still, it all already happened in the Zebraman TV show, in the 70's. Our school teacher finds himself putting on the suit and attempting to fight crime, failing in spectacular comic fashion at first, before going into "Kung Fu Hustle" overdrive.

The aliens themselves resemble Flubber, except when their possessing innocent people and forcing them to commit crimes for some reason. What begins as a dark comedy about hero-worship, becomes a feel-good over the top find the hero within action comedy.

The problem is it's just too long, it's charming and unique, but the charm just doesn't hold past an hour and a half. One of Miikes more accessible movies, but still chalk full of the absurd images and surreal humor fans have come to expect. Good watching for Miike fans, and those interested in the lighter side of super-heroes and nostalgia, others stay away. Recommend | add comment

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Super Sentei man GO!, 30 December 2004
10/10
Author: xsempaix from Portland Oregon, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If you're familiar with the genre that's spawned Hakaider, Guyver, Kamen Rider and many a movie based on the TV show harking back to the seventies then a Dirt-bike riding Zebra judo-chopping aliens won't seem quite out of the ordinary.

The story approaches the genre in the uniquely Miike fashion, and like a good editor he knows which parts of the story to emphasize.

The story starts off with a socially impotent father figure who seems to be failing as a role model to his children, spouse, and community...he gets no respect from anybody. He makes up for it by dressing up as a cosplay geek reliving his childhood by taking on the role of his idol of manly virtue, Zebraman. His costume is crude and fragile, his martial arts pantomime only causes personal injury...When suddenly we learn that the school where he teaches has become an alien epicenter for green jellybeans hellbent on corrupting the youth of today into untameable savages. What is at stake is the total degeneration of Japanese society as we know it, after everyone over ten dies of some kind of jelly bean intestinal disorder. There's a secret gay agent unrequited love subplot that doesn't pan out, and a chaste love story involving our protagonist and a single mom who provide the family oriented support Zebraman needs to attain his destined power.

I felt sympathetic for our clutzy protagonist all the way through, i laughed at his foolish behavior and empathized with his despair. The "destroy alien invaders" genre-plot did not get in the way of the characters expressing themselves, and gave structure and conflicts where needed. Even so, the human condition shone through as a worthless feeling man redeems him self in the eyes of everyone he cares about, claim his right to basic human happiness.

Actually, the whole cosplay transition to costumed hero thing gets more believable (er, suspension of disbelief that is,) as the story progresses. The action is excellent and over the top as usual, but still family oriented you could say (ichi the killer was NOT a good first date movie). I could accept that Zebraman got his powers from pretty much out of the blue (and because it was fated to him) the same way I can except Godzilla without knowing where he came from (other than the sea of Japan) Die Green Jellies! Watch This Movie.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
"Go get em!", 30 June 2007
8/10
Author: JackGattanella from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Zebraman is at its best when Takashi Miike kicks back and lets his mania go at its most fun. This isn't your typical ultra-violent or taboo smashing fare from the director; if anything, it's Miike at his most playful- if you can call a man in a zebra costume fighting little green men from outer space in Power Rangers style as playful- and actually hearkens to his mode of nostalgia that happens in his work, that the characters have for past events that have shaped them, or let them slip by.

Sho Aikawa, in his funniest performance in a Miike movie, plays a man who is hapless school-teacher by day, and Zebraman by night. He's inspired by a TV show from when he was a kid (which in turn was inspired by real programs like these in the 70s), and to see flashbacks to this show, with Zebraman fighting a crab man and other nefarious figures, is unequivocally hilarious, and exciting in the same way that Power Rangers could be in the cheesiest ways possible as a kid. There's also government agents tracking down alien presences, of which there are many, a secretive principle at the school, and most importantly the teacher's good friend, a 3rd grade student bound to a wheelchair, who is also a huge zebraman fan, and who's interest is heightened when seeing his hero out and about in the city streets at night.

The first half of Zebraman, needless to say, is vintage Miike, and save for the one government agent who has his own crab problem (and not from a man in a costume, which is hysterical in its own right) and a couple of curse words could be appealing to some youth round the world. What Miike has in mind as a kid's movie, however, is also greatly accessible to adults, and to see both the scenes of the 'present-day' (err, 2010) Zebraman fighting against his opponents, saying his moves before doing them, as well as the usual lot of scenes where Miike just lets the camera stay still on the characters in an interesting position as some development goes on, is to see a filmmaker at the peak of his own powers.

Although it starts to a lag a little in the second half- I didn't care too much for the conspiracy let out about the principle and the script and the whole flying thing, albeit the end result of zebraman learning to fly is a truly mouth-gaping moment- Miike doesn't let up for the wildness that comes out of the climax, and how Aikawa, probably taking a bit of a cue from his DOA days, is all game for whatever comes next, even if it means literally turning into a flying zebra!

There's little-to-huge visual gags (Zebraman falling out of a tree, the alien-possessed kids going ape over a guy and his eggplant stand, simply watching the suit tear up on the first tries to just put the suit on, the first battles), and little dumb gags as well, but they all build up. It really provides a level of enjoyment that can be equated with the wackiest superhero adventures of childhood, and with a level of innocence to the proceedings, while also a good bet for avid fans of the director. You want something a little more 'different' from this madman of Japanese cinema, here you go.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
That special something beneath that special something Miike has., 15 June 2005
8/10
Author: upendra-1 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Zebraman: yes, it's a superhero movie nipping at the heels of a glut of recent superhero movies. And yes, it conforms to every trope of the superhero movie genre: loser gets superpowers, triumphs over an unstoppably evil menace, gains love and admiration, etc. And yet, Zebraman has a quality which is more endearing than any other superhero movie of recent memory (even Tobey McGuire's Spiderman, God love him, doesn't elicit as much sympathy as Zebraman).

This may be due to Sho Aikawa's affably inept hero: even in grislier Miike films, Aikawa's quirky sputterings and perpetually buggy expression are hard not to like. But even more relevant to Zebraman's success is its director, Takashi Miike.

Of course Miike made his reputation as director of the most unbelievably violent films ever put to screen, but the truth is there are plenty of slasher flicks out there gorier and more depraved than even Ichi the Killer (hard to believe, right?). What makes Miike's work so enduring (and the rest dusty bargain-bin items) is something which underlies all the shooting and stabbing and torture: a palpable human thread which somehow pierces right to the heart. Miike's philosophy seems like that of a war-film director: humanity is more sharply noticeable when contrasted against inhumanity.

But in Zebraman, we have a new entity for Miike, or at least an entity he only occasionally trots out: a film which goes straight to the humanity in lieu of the usual bloodletting. What violence there is tends toward the comic, and rivals the worst in a PG-13 movie.

Needless to say, Ichi-junkies will find Zebraman too tame for words. The arterial-spurt crowd should stick with Fudoh or Gozu for their freaky horror fill. But for the crowd that found Ichi hard to stomach, give Zebraman a try: it's much more palatable.

On the negative side, the film does run overlong, and slows down considerably toward the end. But don't despair: Zebraman's ending is well worth the wait. Black and White Ecstacy!

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Benevolently Reflects Vivid Childhood Memories Controlled By Superheroes, 18 February 2009
7/10
Author: jzappa from United States

Being a pushover as a teacher and family man, the true humble, mild-mannered identity of our hero tries to escape everyday life by dressing up as Zebraman, a superhero from a TV series that was canceled after only a few episodes. But escaping into his fantasy world in a self-made zebra-suit is the only thing keeping him going. But when he discovers that the Zebraman show was a prophecy of a true alien invasion, disguised as the show's hero he is the only person who can stop it.

Miike always chooses material not only with an unusual premise but with over-the-top details that are slowly, gradually revealed to us. Aside from the way in which its plot unfolds, the film's real charm is in what decides to show us about superheroes, why we identify with them on such a whimsical level and how the ridiculous mentality of a superhero could be formed in a man's solitude. The movie is not serious though. It has Miike's sometime stoic feel, but what we are shown is often hilarious, like the non-sequitary title shot of a fat woman in a beauty parlor who is passed by a sauntering zebra, or Radioactive Ranger, a perfect rendition of a TV show not unlike Power Rangers and its various, progressively obscuring incarnations, or countless others.

Even if Miike's more studious sense of pace is a hindrance to the potential impact of the film, leaving it without a tone and thus making the memory of the movie pretty fuzzy over time, it reflects very benevolently vivid childhood memories controlled by our superheroes. Where the film's spirit hits the nail on the head is in its blurring of zeal and absurdity. The film knows escapism because it's acuity in what it evokes really allows you to escape back into that unadorned young spirit. And what's the point of escapism if you're not truly escaping?

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