Yattâman (2009) User Reviews

A lot of fun but a little overlong.

[ChungMo · 7/10 · 10 October 2009]

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.

Miike Takashi's "Yatterman" is a wacky and goofy fun-ride!

[jmaruyama · 7/10 · 12 July 2009]

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)!

Do the Pose of Victory for Takashi Miike

[hellalluj · 7/10 · 11 April 2010]

A must see for any fan of Yatterman and Takashi Miike. If you like Miike's work but haven't seen the Yatterman anime or don't really care what's it all about?, avoid this movie by all means, you won't like it.

The reason why the not-fans won't like it: It's too close to the source, the movie is as weird as the anime and it has that childish humor that some love. But, this childish humor is not for children, in Japan some gropping is seen as kiddie, but for us westerns the movie should be PG-13 for a couple of scenes that I won't spoil.

The whole atmosphere and dialogue feels exactly as the anime should feel when taken to live action, this is a perfect example as how a cartoon should be translated, no matter how silly it could look. Too bad we westerns won't see a proper anime to movie translation, the Wachowskis tried it and most people bash their good effort.

Anyway, the movie is just a fun ride and it's worth a fair 6 outta 10, but it grows to a 7 because of the faithfulness to Yattâman.

A Fun Film

[dballred · 6/10 · 29 March 2009]

Yatterman is one of those films that is best appreciated by fans of the very funny animated television series. I can't give it more than a six for that reason, but I happen to be one of the show's veteran fans and would rate it much higher at a Yatter-convention. The story is about Gan Takada, a mechanically-inclined boy and Ai Kaminari, his cute cohort who, in the original 1977 television series and its 2008 reprise, do weekly battle against the forces of evil--namely a woman named Doronjo and her two male cohorts, Boyacky and Tonzler. Behind the scenes on the evil side, there's an unseen character named Dokurobe who sends the trio through time and space on a quest for items which, if assembled, will allow him his dream of ultimate power. Each side pits a humorous array of robots and mechanisms against each other. Besides the obvious improvements in animation technology over the last thirty years, there are other differences between the two series. Gan is lazier in the new series, Ai is more possessive, and Doronjo's outfit is sexier. However, I still prefer the original series--and I'm not alone. Doronjo is the main difference. She was a much more likable character in the '70s version--and I have to admit she was one of the draws that kept me coming back to the TV every week. Takashi Miike did his best to follow the original series and, in doing so, kept the target demographic in the teen to adult range. Miike made Donojo a very likable character--and the drop-dead gorgeous Kyoko Fukada fills that character--and (you've got to see it to believe it) costume--very well. Miike also restored Boyacky to a pathetic genius with an unrequited crush on a Doronjo who plays him like a fiddle. He also restored Gan to status of willing hero and lowered Ai's maintenance level a notch. He also restored the '70s Yatter-policy of not providing real names of people or places. In this movie, for example, they travel to Ogypt and the Southern Halps. All in all, it's a fun movie and is worth seeing if it passes through your town or your video rental store.

Live action anime, with heavy feedback applied.

[rjm-geo · 7/10 · 9 May 2011]

So the challenge is to make a full length live action movie from an anime series which did not stray too far from "Dudly Do-Right" in scope.

One way, and this is what director Miike chooses, is to keep the visuals and story at the original "Loony-Tunes" level, but make the characters and subtext more adult. This will either work for you, or leave you aghast, depending on if you expected a kids movie or not.

It's obvious from the opening shot of Doronjo where Miike is headed with this movie. It's a kids movie for adults, not to be confused with a kids movie with jokes thrown in for adults. I enjoyed it.

Kyoko Fukada as Doronjo is hot enough to burn celluloid; the rest of the Dorombo gang is well cast, too. The Yatterman side is weaker, but probably deliberately so. The running gag of the movie is that the Dorombo gang must always lose, this is funnier if the good guys don't really seem to be worthy opponents.

There is a lot of CG animation in this movie, and while it's well done for the most part, the extended CG fight scenes get less and less interesting as the film rolls on into the second half.

It is true this is famous and popular, but I cannot recommend very much.

[le1163 · 5/10 · 17 June 2009]

This movie is based on the Japanese comic whose name is same the movie. It includes many genres which are action, comedy, and romance a little. The basic story is a conflict between the hero of this story, Yatterman, and the notorious group of thieves, Doronbo. In this film, they fight over mysterious treasure Scull Stone. The treasure is said that it grant any one's wish if he or she get all tips of the stone which there are all over the world. Doronbo aims at getting the treasure, so that Yatterman chase them to save it. Through chasing, Doronjo as the leader of Doronbo carelessly falls in love to Yatterman.

I'm sure that this original comic has been famous and popular. It is also true the casts are famous and magnificent. for example, Sho Sakurai as Yatterman, Kyoko Fukada as Doronjo, and so on. you could enjoy seeing this movie if you like the casts in this film or this kind of comedy. But I'd not like to give more than 6 stars for this movie. This movie includes some bad expressions. Moreover, casts' acts are childish and nonsense a little. I don't recommend having small children watch it.

Glorious, joyous, bonkers mayhem

[eannamac · 9/10 · 11 June 2010]

Gan and Ai (who together are Yatterman) battle Mistress Donjuro and her fiendish assistants Tonzra and Boyacki for pieces of an ancient skull.

In the hands of someone other than Takashi Miike this would be a conventional adventure thriller with car chases,snappy one-liners, explosions and a love interest.

However this is Takashi Miike. He pokes a finger in the eye of your pre-conceived ideas, flicks v-signs at the standard film conventions while dancing on the seat of a unicycle.

Naked.

On Fire.

And upside-down.

If Luis Bunel and Dali dropped acid and spent the weekend drinking Absinthe and eating crayons this is the kind of madness that would ensue.

This is huge spoiler for the opening, just to give you a flavour for what the film is like:

***Spoiler***

We open to a scene of devastation, a huge teddy-bear robot is rampaging though Tokoyoko armed with a frying pan and cleaver. They are confronted by Yattaman and a fight ensues, which has people climbing out of what appears to be deep-fat fryers, fighting with giant spoons and forks versus someone armed with a a ball and cup, throwing cars at each other, kung-fu moves, more robots, a cute Japanese woman dressed as a leather- clad dominatrix, electrocutions, slapstick, a soundtrack that sounds like a mixture of bad 80s pop and German power metal guitar, then followed by a battle between a robo-dog and the original teddy-bear kitchen utensils robot, the losers make their escape on a bicycle that talks to them and throws them off by exploding the saddles as punishment... and that is just the the first 10 minutes.

I've no idea if this is true to the original cartoon series and to be honest I don't care - it is well done, funny, appeals to both the adult and 5-year-old in me and very entertaining.

non Miike flick

[trashgang · 6/10 · 29 June 2011]

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.

A Good But Wild Ride

[crossbow0106 · 20 September 2011]

This is a long form sentai (Power Rangers etc) episode, with the premise being good versus evil. The story revolves around obtaining the four pieces of the Skull Stone which, when possessed, will make dreams come true (one character wants to be with every high school girl in Japan. Its not bad). An archaeologist found one piece in Norway and was abducted, prompting his daughter Shoko to enlist the help of the two heroes in this film (one is Saki Fumada, so evil in the drama "Life" but good here). They have to beat three others with the help of Yatterman, a giant dog like creature straight out of sentai scripts. The film is good, a bit over the top, but fun. The special effects are great and the colors are vivid. Not for children, but teens and adults will like it.

The visuals and the motion are all

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 4 November 2009]

I finally get to see this film which premiered earlier this year at the New York Comicon. I was upset at not being able to secure a seat, however in retrospect that may have been a good thing.This is a great looking musical comedy action children's film based upon the anime series of the same name. I'm at a loss to say more than that. Its pretty much an over extended children's program pumped up (with adult references) to almost two hours where Yatterman (Number one Number two and a couple of robots) taking on a bad guy team all over the world. I'm guessing you need to know something about the series since it starts in mid action and just goes. Its a frenetic mess. Its great eye candy but anything having to do with the plot kind of was lost to me. I'm a huge fan of Miike's films and of the directors ability to confound expectations, the latter of which the director does here in spades, but out side of the motion and the visuals there isn't much here. I'm guessing that Miike enjoyed his work on one of the recent Ultraman series and wanted to continue on something similar. While this is better than Ultraman series (which was a mess) its still all form over content to the point that you really don't care about the plot. On the other hand the visuals and the sense of anything can happen is so strong the film is worth seeing at least as a rental.

Nice effort, but still disappointing

[KineticSeoul · 6/10 · 22 August 2013]

This is another weird and bizarre Japanese superheroes movie by Takashi Miike. And that is the main drive of this movie, which is the weirdness. So this is basically a live action adaptation of a 70's cartoon show. Kind of like "Gatchaman", except way more cheesy. I don't know how close of an essence this movie has with the cartoon. But despite the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon vibe going. Most of the humor and focus is actually on the adult themes. Especially with the direct or indirect sexual references. The plot is about these duo that goes by Yatterman. Which is composed of a male and a female characters that is dressed in a superheroes engineer costumes and masks. One wields a kendama and the other a electric stick. And has a sidekick giant robotic dog with them that gets beat up constantly unless it gets a mechanical bone from Yatterman. And goes around trying the save the world once a week. By these team rocket duos. Except it's a trio in this one, which is composed of. Wario and Waluigi with Batwoman as the leader. Or at least looks like it. The plot is narrow, predictable and very childish. It's like a script for a children's video game. Which is fine for a video game, but not much for a live action movie. Despite the wackiness, it felt like I was just sitting through this movie just to pass the time. In another words, it's kinda dull. I am not sure if the cartoon this movie got adapted from is weird, bizarre, and has that adult themes to it. But those elements is what saves this movie from being just plain bad. Since I couldn't tell sometimes if this movie is directed towards kids or adults. The production value is decent for these types of movies from japan. Although the CGI can be awful at times(I guess that sorta adds to the cartoony feel of this flick though). Maybe fans of the cartoon show this movie is adapted from might enjoy this. Overall this movie is a very simple movie that has a lot of stuff going on. It's a passable movie but not that entertaining or enjoyable. There simply isn't a moment in this film that would wow or amaze anyone or even simply find it cool. It's basically like watching a passable episode of a children's cartoon show. Except it's drawn out with bunch of weird, bizarre imagery with adult themes. And that basically sums up this disappointing movie. That is just maybe worth a rental and nothing more.

6/10

Teletubby level content + slight irony + sexual content + teenage love

[eskil-j · 1/10 · 29 March 2011]

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.