Japanese comic-book craziness abounds in this manga-based movie from director Kenta 'BR2' Fukasaku, and whilst it might not be the greatest action flick ever made, it does feature a yo-yo duel between two sexy babes sporting leather and PVC outfits. That in itself is a reason to watch as far as I'm concerned!
Aya Matsuura stars as Saki, a (hot) rebellious teenager who is recruited by a special law-enforcement agency to work undercover in a school where students are being being turned to anarchy by a mysterious website that is counting down to an unknown event. With only 72 hours to go, Saki must try and find out who is behind the site (named Enola Gay, after the plane that dropped the H-bomb on Hiroshima), and what is due to happen when the counter reaches zero.
Saki befriends Tae, a (hot) nerd (Yui Okada), who she defends from a group of (hot) school bullies, led by (the very hot) Reika (Rika Ishikawa). And it is Tae who helps Saki discover what exactly is going on, who is responsible, and why.
Yo-Yo Girl Cop is an incredibly stylised movie: it begins with some impressive opening credits (in which the silhouetted title character flings her spinning weapon across the screen) and the 'artistic flourishes' continue right up to the finalé. Sometimes the trendy editing gets a bit annoying (particularly with irritating sound effects accompanying every cut or zoom), but it generally suits the subject matter, so I'm willing to be a little more forgiving about this particular bugbear of mine in this instance.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't really get going until towards the very end, when Saki gets seriously miffed and dons her sexy getup. Up until that point, she only dabbles in a bit of generally unimpressive yo-yo flinging and gets involved in a couple of brief dust-upsnothing too spectacular. Much of the time prior to this is spent on developing a plot line about bullying in the schoola commendable bit of social commentary which is vital to the plot, but not exactly riveting stuff.
For many western viewers, Yo-Yo Girl Cop, with its OTT action and convoluted plot, might be too much to handle. But for those who have learnt to appreciate the manic style of eastern fantasy cinema, it is passable entertainment.
It's also recommended viewing for those who dig Japanese cuties in PVC hot-pants.
Aya Matsuura stars as Saki, a (hot) rebellious teenager who is recruited by a special law-enforcement agency to work undercover in a school where students are being being turned to anarchy by a mysterious website that is counting down to an unknown event. With only 72 hours to go, Saki must try and find out who is behind the site (named Enola Gay, after the plane that dropped the H-bomb on Hiroshima), and what is due to happen when the counter reaches zero.
Saki befriends Tae, a (hot) nerd (Yui Okada), who she defends from a group of (hot) school bullies, led by (the very hot) Reika (Rika Ishikawa). And it is Tae who helps Saki discover what exactly is going on, who is responsible, and why.
Yo-Yo Girl Cop is an incredibly stylised movie: it begins with some impressive opening credits (in which the silhouetted title character flings her spinning weapon across the screen) and the 'artistic flourishes' continue right up to the finalé. Sometimes the trendy editing gets a bit annoying (particularly with irritating sound effects accompanying every cut or zoom), but it generally suits the subject matter, so I'm willing to be a little more forgiving about this particular bugbear of mine in this instance.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't really get going until towards the very end, when Saki gets seriously miffed and dons her sexy getup. Up until that point, she only dabbles in a bit of generally unimpressive yo-yo flinging and gets involved in a couple of brief dust-upsnothing too spectacular. Much of the time prior to this is spent on developing a plot line about bullying in the schoola commendable bit of social commentary which is vital to the plot, but not exactly riveting stuff.
For many western viewers, Yo-Yo Girl Cop, with its OTT action and convoluted plot, might be too much to handle. But for those who have learnt to appreciate the manic style of eastern fantasy cinema, it is passable entertainment.
It's also recommended viewing for those who dig Japanese cuties in PVC hot-pants.