trashgang Was I fooled by seeing the name of Takashi Miike on the sleeve of this DVD. i thought, well, we are going to have a hell of a time seeing bodies explode and other gory shots but was I wrong. This was just an animae made into a feature. And it is done in a typical Japanese style with all the flying things and close ups. Did I like it, yes, because I don't have problems with their culture and because it was so full of effects that it even remind me of Lazy Town, yes, that child thing. It's a weird flick full of CGI effects and no gore at all but you can see the love through it in the way it was made for this flick. If you think it's going to be a typical Miike than just leave it. If you have no problem with things said above, watch it.

eskil-j I usually fancy Japanese films. This one was an unexpectedly big disappointment. The storyline is like what you normally see in a 25min children's TV-show. The acting is very much like teletubby's. Very colourfull, cute figures push each other, and sit down with a fart. A little bit of irony-spice lightens it up: The happy song about the ever strong and wonderful times for the hero's is performed, while the hero's don't enjoy life. There are just a few moments of it, though. There's a little bit of first innocent love in the film. And then there's several heavy sexual hints, like a robot getting orgasm and cum'ing (and telling about it), while it's attacked.Most of the content and the story looks like it's aimed at small children. It doesn't have the sub-layer aimed at the adults, like in most family/children's films. But then it has a layer of sexual jokes, making it unsuitable for small children.I haven't seen anything this bad for a long time.

Chung Mo Once again somebody let Miike get a hold of something originally intended for children and family audiences and let him go with it. Once again, as in "The Great Yokai War", he manages to stay true to the source while having some fun with it. There's a decent number of funny scenes and the look of the film is imaginative. While I'm sure Japanese audiences who remember the original television series can appreciate it more, other viewers can enjoy the silliness regardless.The actors are having fun with their roles and the effects (while frequently cartoony) go with the self-conscious storyline. The few downsides are the editing which slows down by the second half and the inevitable Miike-isms which get through in this movie a bit more than "The Great Yokai War". While most of this movie can be considered a family entertainment at one point the Bad Guys create a female robot with exposed breasts that shoots bullets and missiles out of it's nipples. Whenever the robot fires, it goes into increasing orgasmic convulsions. Some might laugh that off but soon Miike has mini ant robots bite the female robot's left nipple off which results in a spray of oil out of the gash along with more orgasmic vocalizations. Suddenly the Good Guy's dog robot gets sexually aroused by the mutilation and leaps over to passionately kiss the female robot. Ichi the Killer anyone? Anyway, aside from another scene involving a girl's inner thigh (he did this in Yokai War as well), the film could have been a fun family entertainment. As it is, it's recommended for adults.Overall it's good and be sure to watch through the credits.

jmaruyama Miike Takashi's live action adaptation of Tatsunoko Pro's landmark "Yatterman" cartoon of the 70s is a lovingly faithful and fun tribute that will have fans of the original series giddy but gets too overly silly and goofy at times. "Yatterman" (a Japanese wordplay for "yatta" (we did it) and the English word "Man") was the 2nd in Tatsunoko Pro's long running comical adventure series which started with the first series called "Time Bokan" and included various yearly sequels including "Zenda Man" (1979), "Otasuke Man" (198), "Yattadetta Man" (1981) and "Ippatsu Man" (1982). Unlike Tatsunoko Po's more dramatic and straightforward action anime like "Gatchaman" and "Casshern", the "Time Bokan" series of anime were more comical and focused more on madcap humor, visual sight gags and ridiculously warped characters. While each of the "Time Bokan" anime were visually different from each other, they all shared the same story elements and included a very similar trio of goofy villains. While the heroes of "Yatterman" (Yatter Ichi Go and Yatter Ni Go) and their incredible mecha "Yatter Wan/One") were the main characters, it was the "Doronbou Ichimi/Clan" - Doronbou being a Japanese perversion of Dokuro (Skull) and Dorobou (Robber)- that were the most interesting characters. Doronjou, Boyacky and Tonzuraa were indeed the stars (the closest American equivalent would be Dick Dastardly and Muttley from Hanna Barbera's "Wacky Races" and "Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines"). Each week these incompetent criminals would strive to create the ultimate mecha to defeat their rivals and get the legendary "Dokuro Stone" that would make all their dreams come true. Miike Takashi wisely decides to keep this simple premise and set it firmly in place in his film. J-Pop boy band member Sakurai Sho of the group Arashi and Fukuda Saki from the J-Dorama series "Life" are cute as the heroic "Yatterman" duo of Gan and Ai respectfully but it is again the casting of the Doronbo Ichimi that is truly inspired - The tall and lanky Namase Katsuhisa (20th Century Boys, Gokusen) is dead-on perfect as the big-nosed Boyacky whose twisted inventions and mecha are as brilliantly flawed as their inventor. The stout and dimwitted henchmen, Tonzuraa is perfectly captured by chubby comic Kendo Kobayashi (the J-Dorama Boss)and he does a good job of playing the character as less a third wheel and more a contributing player in the madness. And of course not enough can be said of Fukada Kyoko's gorgeous and busty "Doronjou". Fukada (Kamikaze Girls, Inugami Ke No Ichizoku, Dolls) is clearly having fun playing the sexy villainess and she easily steals the movie. Even with the outrageous costume, Fukada still manages to illicit sympathy and emotion from the audience in her candid scenes. Her Doronjou is not really an evil character but just a woman longing for love and the means to lead a normal life. Not just another pretty face, Fukada continually surprises with her comic/dramatic range and unconventional roles.Th SFX effects are a mixed bag. Like the Wachowski Brothers' recent "Speed Racer" (another Tatsunoko Pro property), Miike's "Yatterman" does seem a bit too involved and reliant on CGI to tell the story. While the mecha and other robot effects are truly impressive and eye catching, scenes in which the mecha inhabit the real world seem fake and contrived.While Miike kept most of his darker sensibilities in check for this family oriented film, he did manage to sneak in some truly hilarious adult humored sight gags in the film (the scene in which the Yatter Wan robot mecha and the Doronbou Gang's "Virgin" robot making out whilst the Virgin robot screams "I'm cuuuming" is truly a must be seen to be believed...)."Yatterman" is definitely enjoyable and while those unfamiliar with the original cartoon will find it a fun film, those who have seen the original series will find "Yatterman" to be a nice, nostalgic trip down memory lane (fans should have fun finding all the nice visual references to the original anime and other Tatsunoko Pro anime). "Yatterman" is not a perfect film but Miike definitely succeeds in making a worthy tribute/adaptation. Yatta, Yatta, Yattaman (you did it man)!