Review: Yo-Yo Girl Cop

 

(No spoiler version)

This 2006 film stars Aya Matsuura as a delinquent girl named K. After being arrested for beating up 11 policemen, she is told that her mother will be deported to Japan for brutalizing a mugger and living illegally in New York, unless K accepts to work for them in the reactivated Sukeban Deka program.

Although her relationship with her mother is strained, K agrees and is code-named Saki Asamiya.

She is given a high-tech yo-yo, but it is different from the one owned by the original Sakis and Yui. It performs the same duties, but looks cheap and plastic-y, almost like a toy (I mean, yo-yos are toys, but they should have just stuck with one of the original ones).

K is told to infiltrate the elite Seisan Academy, as it is believed to be the source of Enola Gay, a website rallying suicide bombings among high schoolers.

The website also has a mysterious timer for 72 hours set, and K must figure out the meaning of that as well.

After she saves a sweet girl named Tae from the evil queen bee Reika, K begins to unravel the secret behind the website.

My Thoughts

 Aya Matsuura stole the show here. Her performance was impeccable, and she channeled the true Sukeban Deka energy, making her worthy of the title.

The movie is lacking in other ways though. A Sukeban Deka should always fight in a traditional sailor suit, of course, and the Dark Agency seemingly agrees with me. They give K a normal blue sailor suit to fight in (although the skirt is much shorter than it needs to be). Cool, except for one thing: Seisan High's uniforms are completely different. While I'll take a sailor collar over a preppy blazer any day, K stands out dramatically, which is silly since she's supposed to be an undercover cop.

The story also doesn't totally make sense. I'd elaborate, but I'm not really sure how. It gets pretty messy and hard to follow.

I know that there was a time limit (the 72 hours on the Enola Gay website), but it's strange that K was just given a yo-yo and told what to do with no prior training. Sure, she's strong and dangerous, but she gets her butt kicked quite a few times throughout the movie, not to mention having trouble using the yo-yo. She also isn't briefed on anything beforehand, as has to figure it all out herself.

The first Saki had Jin, Yoko had Nishiwaki, and Yui had Yoda, as mentors. All three men were employed by the Dark Agency to give the girls information on their missions and orders from the Dark Director, while also acting as dad/uncle figures to the girls, all of whom had lost their own dads.

K gets Kazutoshi Kira. Kira isn't as helpful as he could be, and is, in my opinion, inept for the role he occupies. K deserved a better mentor and would have thrived under Jin, Nishiwaki, or Yoda's guidance.

Well, K figures things out eventually, of course. The ending is sloppy and I don't fully understand it, so I won't confuse you by trying to explain it.

There is quite the epic yo-yo battle at the end, which is quite enjoyable.

To conclude my spoiler-free review (spoiler version is below), I'll say that the movie is definitely worth watching for anyone who likes a film with lots of over-the-top action, because this movie is full of it. That being said, expect to get pretty confused.

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Warning: spoilers below

One thing that excited Sukeban Deka fans about this movie was the return of Yuki Saito, playing the original Saki. Although I love Saki and Yuki's portrayal of her, I didn't like why she was in this film.

Apparently, K is Saki's daughter. Which sounds cool, but the life that Saki is said to have following the events of the original show is quite depressing, when I had always imagined a happier ending for her. I feel like this movie did OG Saki dirty, which is the biggest thing that bothered me about it. I mean, the whole reason why K is even recruited is to release her mother. I do like how this mirrors the original TV show, where Saki becomes a Sukeban Deka to free her own mother, Natsu. It could have been done quite well actually, but it just wasn't. Kira being K's father still could have worked (even though I don't like the idea of it), but the element of him being her father feels rather forced throughout the movie.