Review of Zebraman (2004) by Jason T — 07 Oct 2008

This is a movie where the true value is very easy to miss, because it is subtle. While watching it I thought it odd and a little disjoint and yes, maybe campy (a ZEBRA man?? c'mon ...) but then it hit me: We don't know what is 'real' in the action, we don't know what is the objective narrative, and what is only a fantasy in the mind of poor Shin'ichi -- at the end, is he a hero? Then why is he being arrested? Did he save the planet? Or did he murder innocent people in his deluded schizophrenic state? Did the crowd even cheer him? Why is his slick suit suddenly natty again?

This movie is so well threaded, all the way you think he's a triumphant avenger hero living his dream, but right after, as the credits roll, you are left to wonder if he wasn't trapped in a terrible dream. You want to watch it again to look for clues.

I found a great parallels to "A Beautiful Mind" and "Fight Club", only with this one, it is wrapped in an action movie as enjoyable to the "shounen" (young boys) as it is to the thinking parents.