Hey folks, Valkor here. And I welcome you to TOV's "30 in 30",
where I'll review 30 unique film and maybe some not so unique,
all in 30 days. What's cool for most of the flicks, is that I
know nothing about em. So this should be a real treat not just
for you guys, but for me as well. Good or bad, this is gonna be
a fun month. It all starts today July the 4th and ends on Aug
the 3rd. Can I make it through? We'll know soon enough!
I've hit Korea, I've hit Hong Kong, but how could I ever forget my favorite spot for films – Japan!! For number 22 we delve into a anime gone live-action, brining most if not all of its wackiness with it, check it out, it's Yatterman!!
The story behind Yatterman finds Yatta #1 and Yatta #2 helping young Shoko (Anri Okamoto) find her father, who went missing on an expedition to search for the fragments of skull. When he found a fragment, he was approached by the king of thieves Dokurobei (and his body stolen. Now Yatta #1 – Gan (Sho Sakurai) and Yatta #2 – Ai (Saki Fukuda) are lending their help with the assistance of Yatterwan who will later become YattaKing. But finding the skull pieces or the missing dad won't be easy; getting in their way is long time rivals Doronjo (Kyoko Fukada) and her minions Boyacky (Katsuhisa Namase) and Tonzuraa (Kendo Kobayashi), who will do whatever it takes to get the skulls. Oh and I should also mention there is a bit of a love triangle between Doronjo, Gan, and Boyacky… and I won't go any further than that. Will our heroes be able to help Shoko rescue her father Dr. Kaieda (Sadao Abe), get back the skulls and stop the skull squad?
The answer is an obvious yes, but… this is one anime that needs to be watched because if I try to explain any of the scenes, you might find me quite mad.
The Good:
Yatterman is probably two hours of the goofiest fun I've ever had to watch! It's like a 70's anime come to life with singing, dancing, bad guys go boom! Good guys make goofy poses, there's small talking robots, and one very large… uhhh… horny mech…, boob grabbing, nose bleeding, crazy transformations, everything you know about anime, it's in this film; it's all over the place and I loved every minute of it! The acting is cheesy and over the top, especially on the villain's side, but it's supposed to be. Boyacky stands out as being the best, over the top actor in the film, while Doronjo is the sexiest; too damn sexy… PerfectView sexy… *Valkor nose bleeds just thinking of Kyoko Fukada* Ahem! Yatterman is also a treat to behold, visually! There are tons of bright colors, especially in the main city but you get super cheesy gloomy skull world that just a visual tour de force. Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into watching this film. And now that I have, I have to say – Yatterman is one damn goofy, wacky, sexy film!
The Bad:
Yatterwan and Virgin Roader…. Uhh….. goin at it. I hit the floor when Yatterwan was turned on by Virgin Roader, but to go so far as to have them simulate sex… sorta… with a climax of Roader yelling out "Yes! I'm Coming!!" I completely lost it! It's just… so… so…. Bad! Fun, silly, goofy, but still so bad! Oh and the film is needlessly too long. I mean yea its two hours of goofy fun, but two hours? Yea that could have been chopped down to one and a half.
The Ugly:
Valkor's face checking out Doronjo's skull-laden toes. It wasn't a pretty sight! But those toes... I just wanted to lick em all day...
Yatterman live-action is based on the original 1977 – 79 anime series (and if I'm not mistaken, the original voice actors make an appearance in the film?), and while I have not seen it, I can honestly say it stays true to 70's anime cheese right down to the look and music. And can you believe this was directed by Takashi Miike (director of Ichi the Killer)? Wow!! So out of 5 stars, I gotta give Yatterman 4 stars.