Tennen shôjo Man next: Yokohama hyaku-ya hen (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Itaru Era (screenplay)
Yuji Ishida (story)

Release Date:

25 November 1999 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Horror

Plot Keywords:

Fashion Model | Teen | Teen Idol | Kung Fu | Vampire

Cast

Ayana Sakai	...	Man Kôda
Takashi Nagayama	...	Yuuya Narui
Chiaki Ichiba	...	Riona Mishima
Erika Yamakawa	...	Chiaki Amamiya
Eri Nomura	...	Maki Nishida
Chikako Ôba	...	Yukari Eda
Shiori	...	Maria Kanzaki
Aya Makinoda	...	Azumi Takizawa
Sayaka Kamiya	...	Sena
Hitomi Oota	...	Ayumi
Yuuki Fukuzono	...	Kenjirô
Satoshi Matsuda	...	Satoshi (as Tomonori Masuda)
Kazuhiro Sakai	...	Taichi
Sara Matsuzaka	...	Minako
Megumi Yasu	...	Eimi

Also Known As:

Man, Next Natural Girl: 100 Nights in Yokohama (literal English title)
N-Girls Vs Vampire (USA) (informal English title)

Runtime:

202 min (2 parts) | Japan:160 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

WoWow

Movie Connections:

Follows "Tennen shôjo Man" (1999)

A Takashi Miike vampire film!

This sequel to Miike's own "Tennen Shojo Mahn" (literally "Heavenly Girl Mahn") was filmed in 1999, the same year Miike did "Dead or Alive" and "Ley Lines". It couldn't be more different from his yakuza offerings though! "Tennen Shojo Man Next" differs from the first film in the series in that it has supernatural elements - vampires to be exact! The plot concerns a group of schoolgirls (led by the cute Mahn) who confront a modeling agency run by bloodsuckers. The vampires are, of course, only after virgins, which leads to some typically (for Miike) offbeat humor like the scene in which a father tries to rape his daughter while she's sleeping in order to keep her save. That and a discussion about vibrators is further proof that Japanese TV and US TV are not very much alike. As far as I'm concerned that's a good thing.

With a running time of nearly 3 hours the film does get a bit boring at first but a fast-paced finale make up for that. Also quite noteworthy are the SFX which are pretty impressive for a made-for-TV flick.

While "Tennen Shojo Mahn Next" is definitely not as demented as "Audition", "Dead or Alive" or "Ichi the Killer" the open minded Miike fan should find lots of things to like here. Great fight choreography (the girls fight the vampires with kung-fu), decent acting, cute girls, some gothic atmosphere and the typically crazy sense of humor Miike brings to almost all his films. If you ever find a copy with English subtitles make sure to check it out!