Warning: If someone reports an instance of "abuse" again where none is obviously present, than I will personally email the administrators here and ask them to suspend your IMDb account. And yes, they can find out who you are.
A deadly yo yo throwing girl goes undercover at a high school in an attempt to stop a terrorist organization. The lead actress has the charisma, and time is spent developing some of the characters. The action is few and far between, but suddenly the pace explodes as the viewer is treated to a laudably creative schoolgirl yo yo duel to the death. A showdown between the yo yo girl and half a dozen heavily armed madmen quickly follows. The score (especially the theme song) is excellent. Finally a schoolgirl fight movie worth watching.
To elaborate on my summary paragraph above, let's do a quick contrast between Sukeban Deka: Kodo Nemu Asamiya Saki (aka Yo Yo Girl Cop) with the much touted and highly overrated Hollywood epic 300. While they are two very different films in terms of storyline and setting, they are both firmly fixed within the encompassing genre of Action.
That said, the action in Sukeban Deka is far superior to anything seen in 300 in terms of choreography. I never knew there were so many ways to use a steel yo yo to capacitate an enemy straight shots, arm wraps, floor bounces, object manipulation, etc. 300 showed us nothing we haven't seen before in terms of choreography, because it focused (too much) on photographic tricks rather than on weapon movements, which makes the experience tiring and repetitive. Such repetition can be avoided in two fundamental ways: exceptional diversity of choreography (e.g., Tom Yum Goong) and situational excellence (e.g., Sky High). 300 has neither, but Sukeban Deka uses the latter, because the first 75 minutes are used to set up the 15 minute finale.
Now, there's nothing particularly groundbreaking in terms of the general storyline or dramatic elements, but they do provide a series of effective anti-climaxes that taunt the viewer into doubting the existence of a grand finale. This is a good technique because when the showdown between the two schoolgirls finally makes its appearance, the excitement and intensity is enhanced due to the character interaction that preceded it. This makes for interesting comparisons to 300, which has almost no intensity whatsoever since antagonists are introduced mere seconds prior to getting slaughtered which explains why critics get bored DURING the battle scenes in 300. A major "no no" for an action film.
It took me two viewings to come to these conclusions, because Sukeban Deka provides a different type of action experience that may leave the viewer in a bit of shock after an initial viewing. The opening hour may seem weak at first, but is much better following a repeated watch because the viewer now aware of the grand finale can appreciate the build-up even more so. This is good stuff! I now wish to respond to some IMDb comments that I find grossly inaccurate. Jmaruyama points out some obvious references to American films (i.e., 007 opening credits, Silence of the Lambs restraining mask, etc.). However, this commenter makes a major mistake in claiming that the showdown "seems like a copy of the Bride's showdown with Go-Go Yubari in Kill Bill Vol. 1." Um, huh? The fight in Kill Bill involved a sword and a meteor hammer while the fight in Sukeban Deka involved two steel yo yos. How on God's green earth are these duel's even REMOTELY similar? The only possible similarity is that a yo yo and a meteor hammer are marginally alike in structure a blunt object at the end of a line which means that the characters must swing or sling them in vaguely similar ways. Other than that, there is absolutely NOTHING comparable between the two scenes, so the claim that Sukeban Deka copied from Kill Bill is unwarranted. And considering how this film is a spin-off of other Sukeban Deka movies made in the 1980s makes the assertion even more ludicrous.
Oobleckboy criticizes the action unsuccessfully by pointing out that the scenes are "too infrequent", but he doesn't seem to understand the concept of build-up and intensity detailed above, which more than adequately explains the infrequency of the action as a positive element. He complains that the schoolgirls are too "thin and soft", apparently expecting some butch, 200-pound lady body-builders instead. Let me go out on a limb and say that such casting would have been a really bad idea. He then claims that the editing was "quick and choppy", but he provides no specifics as to what he's referring to. I never found the editing to be overtly choppy because the timing of the cuts were all logical in that they enhanced the action. I suppose that Oobleckboy expects Japanese actresses to be able to kill someone with a yo yo at 30 yards or throw a bladed yo yo so perfectly that it barely grazes the other actress's cheek. For the rest of us who live in the real world, such cuts are expected.
Make no mistake about it. Sukeban Deka requires a suspension of belief, but that's one of the reasons it's such a fun experience - another being the outrageous, over-the-top, and frequently cheesy premise. You may need to exercise a bit of patience for the first hour because the action is laid on thick and heavy at the very end, but I highly suggest you give this one a shot considering the currently pathetic state of American cinema.
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