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<\/p>\nOne of the things I don’t talk about too much on this blog is that, while I talk a lot about music and the music industry, my real expertise is in the area of film. I was a Film\/TV\/Media studies student in college, and while I haven’t had a chance to use this (yet), I tend to focus on music on this blog.<\/p>\n
However, when thinking of things to review for Mondays, I had an idea. And that was…<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sukeban Deka: Codename = Asamiya Saki<\/p>\n
Background Knowledge:\u00a0<\/strong>While I think that films should have to stand on their own, a little bit of the background can be interesting. Sukeban Deka was a fairly long running manga series. Asamiya Saki was delinquent high school student who starts to work for the police, investigating\/fighting crime in high schools with her weapon as a metal yo-yo.<\/p>\n The series has since been adapted into multiple TV shows and movies, usually starring a popular idol as Saki. The first Saki, Saito Yuki, comes back into this movie as Saki’s mother. So this is a series with a lot of history that got resurrected, starring solo idol Matsuura Aya and also featuring Ishikawa Rika (and the rest of v-u-den) from Hello!Project.<\/p>\n Review:\u00a0<\/strong> One of my favorite film reviewers was the late Roger Ebert. Now I know this is kind of a stereotypical answer; he happens to be the most famous film critic. However, the reason I really loved reading Ebert’s reviews is because he took into account questions of genre and intent. Not every film aspires to be high art, and not every film can be Citizen Kane. Ebert was aware of this, and took it into account when writing his reviews.<\/p>\n The reason I started off with this is because Sukeban Deka is the type of movie that you know what you’re getting when you go into the movie. The American title is “Yo-Yo Girl Cop” (which might just win the title for “most phoned in movie title,” but it gets the job done). When I bought this movie on DVD (yes, I own a physical copy) I knew I wanted exactly three things.<\/p>\n 1. Badass Matsuura Aya<\/p>\n 2. Badass Ishikawa Rika<\/p>\n 3. Badass Yo-yo fighting.<\/p>\n I mean, I hoped that there would be a half-decent story, that the cinematography wouldn’t suck and that the acting wouldn’t be terrible. But this is the type of movie where that type of thing is not quite as necessary to my enjoyment. This doesn’t mean my standards are low, it just means that I have expectations as to what type of film this is. This is a fairly cheesy action movie, and that’s what I want from it.<\/p>\n Story:\u00a0<\/strong>For being a story about a girl in a high school outfit wielding a yoyo as a weapon, the film takes itself surprisingly seriously. The plot hinges around Saki going undercover in a high school. She has 72 hours to uncover the meaning of a countdown on a website promoting illicit activity, and if she does so she’ll save her mother. Really, the entire storyline featuring Saki and her mother is the best part of the movie.<\/p>\n The rest of the storyline isn’t perfect but is serviceable. The only explanation for the high school being such a terrible place where you’re allowed to assault other students is “adults are useless,” which was obviously a way to lampshade that most high schools aren’t hellholes in the way this movie would like us to believe.<\/p>\n The overall theme of bullying and depression works, and I think they did it fine. They gave concepts like suicidal thoughts and self-harm the gravity they deserve. However, certain bits detract from the story. The whole storyline between Yui and Erika, while sweet at times, feels cliched when they adopt the names of Juliet and Romeo, respectively. I also didn’t like how the new Romeo, the main person behind the site, is somehow this enthralling person for no apparent reason. This felt forced, and frankly uninteresting.<\/p>\n The tone of the movie varies a lot. On the one hand it’s trying to be serious, and on the other hand there are silly sound effects when Saki opens her eyes and there is some (albeit poor) comic relief with the chemistry club. The movie wants to take itself seriously, but is often held back. It would be possible (though hard) to do this completely straight and serious and it would be possible to make it a giant camp fest, but making it a bit in the middle hurts the film overall.<\/p>\n I also wish the pacing was slightly different. I get that they wanted to impose an arbitrary time limit to add tension, but it feels kind of rushed. One minute Aya is bloodied and running from the cops, the next she’s getting a school uniform and her yoyo, the next she’s chasing down a kid with a bomb and throwing a yoyo (albeit imperfectly). The movie also drags a lot in the middle when they’re explaining the origins of the Enola Gay website. There’s a surprising lack of yoyo fighting.<\/p>\n All in all, the story is mostly serviceable, but certain parts drag the whole thing down and end up being uninteresting. A little better pacing, give it more in the way of action, either make it more serious or more cheesy, and it would be a lot better. The movie is at it’s best when it’s centering on Saki vs Reika (Rika’s character), Saki comforting Tae (Okada Yui), and Saki thinking on her mother. If the movie had focused more on Saki’s growth as a character and focused on these things, it would have been a much better movie.<\/p>\n Acting:\u00a0<\/strong>You know, for being two novice actresses (unless you count blatant H!P stuff like Hello!Morning), Ayaya and Rika do a really great job. They both throw themselves into their roles. Matsuura Aya isn’t what I would classify as badass, but she makes a believable delinquent, and I root for her. She plays a good stoic character and quickly I forget that this is Ayaya, the charismatic idol singer. Rika does a fatnastic job too, balancing fake smiles with cold glares. In her first scene, when she and Aya first meet, there is one shot where her smile slowly turns into a glare. She does a very good job, and it’s no wonder that Rika’s had a good amount of acting in her post Hello!Project career.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the acting beyond Ayaya and Rika is a bit iffy. Okada Yui and Miyoshi Erika do decent jobs, but don’t quite deliver on the emotional resonance that they’re meant to. Okada in particular; she’s the character we’re really supposed to feel for, but she doesn’t quite deliver emotionally. Her acting doesn’t feel natural. Erika is in the movie much less and does a whole lot less and does a fine enough job for what she has, but isn’t a particularly talented actress.<\/p>\n The rest of the actors range from poor to acceptable. I don’t particularly care for the guy who plays Jiro, the new Romeo, who hardly seems like the charismatic ringleader that the movie makes him out to be. The rest of the actors are fine, though often erring on the side of cheesiness.<\/p>\n Cinematography\/Editing\/Aesthetics:<\/strong>\u00a0One of the first things I noticed is that the title sequence is really pleasant. It’s simple, but the use of the silhouettes of Saki\/Ayaya look quite nice.<\/p>\n From then on out the film looks fine, but nothing to really write home about. The one thing that really grabs my notice is just how dark and depressing this movie looks. The lighting is drab, and it’s rare that this movie is bright. I wish they had used the lighting a bit better; for the most part the lighting is pretty flat; even in the darkness, there’s no real sense of light and shadow. It makes the movie feel kind of bleak and dismal, which I assume is what they were going for, but the movie could have done better with some more dramatic lighting.<\/p>\n There are a few lovely shots; the contrast of Aya, with a red umbrella in a sea of white, comes to mind. Nothing in this movie looks particularly terrible, except for some of the special effects. But nothing stands out that much.<\/p>\n The one thing that bugs me the most is some of the shots do weird things. There are fast zooms and pans over to things (with an accompanying sound effect) and lots of fast paced editing. But among all that fast editing there is some weird slow motion bits that don’t really justify being in slow motion and occasionally some still frames that just distract. For the most part the cinematography is serviceable and adequate, but these moments detract from even that.<\/p>\n Audio:\u00a0<\/strong>The main audio concerns are the two songs by GAM; Shinkirou Romance (featured in the film itself) and Thanks! (in the credits). I’ve always liked GAM as a unit, and both of these songs are quite good. I kind of wonder why they went for a unit as opposed to doing two songs by Aya as a soloist, but if this movie gave me GAM then I’m not complaining.<\/p>\n Shinkirou Romance \u00a0is a good song, but feels a bit out of place. It’s a bit too loud, and doesn’t quite fit the scene. I feel like they wanted to get the song in the movie but they just ended up forcing it, hurting the movie. Why else would they stop the movie to a halt to have Aya and Yui looking at their phones for a good section of the song?<\/p>\n Other than that, the background music is fine but not extraordinary. Some of the sound effects are a bit exaggerated and a bit much, but for the most part they’re fine.<\/p>\n Overall:\u00a0<\/strong>This is a pretty solid movie. Some of the aspects are a lot better than expected, some are just weird (just how slow the movie can get in places) and some are regretable. I think there’s potential in here for a better movie. However, that said, this movie can be a lot of fun, and it’s one that I enjoy watching. 6.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the things I don’t talk about too much on this blog is that, while I talk a lot about music and the music industry, my real expertise is in the area of film. I was a Film\/TV\/Media studies … Continue reading