Yo-Yo Girl Cop

Introduction

The demise of Tartan earlier this year was surely a blow for fans of world cinema, having such a proponent of alternative film vanish from shop shelves left a gaping hole for many fans. But where there is a need, there is someone to fill that need, and it wasn't long before new labels arrived to pick up the slack. A newcomer to the scene is 4Digital Asia, who made an impressive debut with the first Death Note live action feature. Their opening salvo to the market consists of even more Japanese cinema, and I get Yo-Yo Girl Cop to review, directed by Kenta Fukasaku (Battle Royale 2), son of Kinji Fukasaku. But every silver lining has a cloud, and my first encounter with 4Digital Asia consists of the dreaded blue of a DVD-R. Single layer, stereo sound, no menus, certainly no extras, this is as far as you can get from a retail release as possible. In fact, this isn't a DVD review, it's a movie review, and we can dispense with the pretence…

The Movie

Japan is in trouble. An anarchist website named Enola Gay has sprung up, which is targeting teenagers and teaching them how to make bombs and blow themselves up while inflicting maximum damage. The trouble has been narrowed down to Seisen Academy, but an attempt to infiltrate goes wrong when the agent is detonated in the middle of the city. At the same time, a countdown starts on the Enola Gay site, although to what is a mystery. The police get desperate, they need someone on the inside, and their last chance appears to be 'K', a delinquent girl who has just been deported from America, where her mother stands trial for spying. The police make her a deal, her mother will be exonerated if she goes undercover into Seisen Academy as student Saki Asamiya, and finds out who is behind the Enola Gay plot. The catch is that she has only 72 hours to do it. At least she's not unarmed… she has a yo-yo.

The Verdict

Yo-Yo Girl Cop is a nice enough title, descriptive and succinct, and it certainly catches the imagination. In Japan though, it's known as Sukeban Deka, or Delinquent Girl Detective, and it really ought to have kept that name here, especially as Sukeban Deka is a story that stretches back to the 1970s when the manga first appeared, and it has spun off three television series, an anime, and it turns out that this is the third Sukeban Deka film. That's a lot of history to casually erase with a name change, but considering that up to this point, I had never even heard of the Delinquent Girl Detective, it was probably the prudent decision. This is a film that really has to stand on its own.


Going into this cold, I was unsure of what to expect, but the James Bond style opening sequence certainly grabbed the attention. The entrance of the central delinquent was memorable too, owing more than a little to Hannibal Lecter. But it wasn't long before I was having Battle Royale 2: Requiem flashbacks, unsurprising given the director. The premise is interesting enough, with an uncontrollable girl sent undercover into a school that is a no-go area for the police, to unveil a conspiracy with only an ominous website as a clue, in a race against the clock. The title implies yo-yo combat of the sort never before seen on film, walking the dog with razor blade edges, and lets face it, it's also a premise that you'd expect to be utterly tongue in cheek, the sort of exploit-o-pic that had theatres packed in the seventies. To be fair, Yo-Yo Girl Cop has its moments, the opening sequence is entertaining enough, and some of the character exchanges will put a smile on any face. But this is a film that grabs onto a theme and wrings it to death. In this case the central theme of the film is bullying, Saki has a hard enough time when she enters the school, but as she investigates, she learns that it's bullying that is at the heart of the conspiracy. Those victims who want to fight back are targeted by the website as ideal suicide bombers, kids in class torment each other as a matter of course, and if the teachers aren't turning a blind eye, they're taking part. It feels like being pounded into the floor with a thematic mallet, and a film that should be enjoyable and light, becomes ponderous, unsubtle and self-important. It's about a girl who fights for justice with a yo-yo for Pete's sake.


If you want delinquent schoolgirls, I'd be more apt to recommend a St Trinians movie. They're more fun. But Yo-Yo Girl Cop does have its moments. Some of the characterisations were interesting, some moments did entertain, and while it may be difficult to do so with the director hammering the 'message' home with every beat of the film, it's possible to enjoy the film by just switching off the intellect and marvelling at the absurdity. Questions like why the bad guy is wearing a disguise when no one has ever seen him are far more worthy of debate. The climax is good old over the top action as such a film deserves, although the dark abandoned factory setting doesn't make it all that clear, and the VFX are distinctly lowest bidder. It's worth considering for a rental, although I do hope it gets a decent DVD release.