Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010) Zeburâman: Zebura Shiti no gyakushû (original title)

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writer:

Kankurô Kudô (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 May 2010 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Zebraman awakens 15 years in the future, unclear on what has happened to him, and quickly discovers that the evil Zebra Queen has a hold on Tokyo. |

Plot Keywords:

2025 | Sequel | Animal In Title | Place Name In Title | Character Name In Title

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Shô Aikawa	...	Zebraman
Riisa Naka	...	Zebra queen
Tsuyoshi Abe	...	Niimi
Masahiro Inoue	...	Shimpei
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Makie Amimoto
Cynthia Cheston	...	Foreigner reporter
Miki Inase
Leslie Kee	...	Photographer
Hôka Kinoshita	...	Rapist
Ken Maeda	...	Congressman
Nana Mizuki	...	Alien (voice)
Naomasa Musaka	...	Doctor
Hideo Nakano
Katsuhisa Namase	...	TV Reporter
Kazuki Namioka
Sayoko Ohashi
Masako Sakamoto
Yûko Shimizu	...	Policewoman
Suzanne	...	Mika
Gadarukanaru Taka
Naoki Tanaka	...	TV Zebraman
Mame Yamada	...	Nu

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits
Kankurô Kudô		(screenplay)

Produced by
Akio Hattori	....	producer
Takashi Hirano	....	producer
Arimasa Okada	....	producer
Makoto Okada	....	producer

Original Music by
Yorihiro Ike
Yoshihiro Ike

Cinematography by
Kazushige Tanaka		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Kenji Yamashita

Casting by
Yoshiko Arae

Art Direction by
Akira Sakamoto

Visual Effects by
Ting-Ni Chiu	....	visual effects production assistant
Don Ho Han	....	visual effects production assistant
Ryu Harada	....	digital artist
So Hashimoto	....	compositing supervisor
Miki Kinoshita	....	r&d developer
Hiroshi Matsumoto	....	digital matte painter
Yoshinori Moriizumi	....	technical director supervisor
Shinji Morohashi	....	animation supervisor
Yuki Ninomiya	....	visual effects production assistant
Tetsuya Nomura	....	visual effects production assistant
Kaori Ohtagaki	....	visual effects director
Misako Saka	....	visual effects producer
Natsuko Watanabe	....	compositor
Tatsuo Yotsukura	....	r&d developer

Production Companies

• Central Arts
• Toei Company
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)

Distributors

• Toei Company (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Panorama Distributions (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Panorama Distributions (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) (2011) (Japan) (TV)

Special Effects

• OLM Digital

Other Companies

• Hoei Sangyo Co. Ltd.  film stock supplied by

Also Known As:

"Zeburâman: Zebura Shiti no gyakushû" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

Japan:106 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG13

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Central Arts

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Zebura minisuka porisu no gyakushu (2010) (V)

Ultra Zebraman

Sequels are often poorer when compared to the originals. Zebraman is an exception. The second movie builds an entire world around the Zebraman concept to the point that the color scheme is almost entirely black and white. Instead of weaving the superhero aspect into present day Japan Zebraman 2 takes place in a strange future with plenty of Orwellian vibes. Dystopia matched with oppression of the vaguely Fascist kind are brought to life with flashy visuals and fast paced scenes.

The movie takes Zebraman and turns it into a mythology of sorts with a strong polarity between good and evil. The campy aspect of the franchise is upgraded to include a lot of sexiness and tight music videos spliced into the video and even connected with the plot. At points this sequel's main point seems to be to promote the music but strangely enough it works remarkably well.

There is still plenty of corny humor but the overall tone is serious with even something like social critique with 'Zebra time', five minutes per day in which any violent act is permitted. The greatest innovation has got to be the new villain, a very attractive girl with black latex outfits worthy of any dominatrix worth her salt. She is also responsible for delivering the song around which so much of the story revolves. Her performance adds a flair of traditional comic book evilness and spices things up.

Some points do not seem to jive all that well with the original, back is Asano, the little kid befriended by Zebraman, now all grownup but for some reason Zebraman's family is never of again nor does he even ask about it. The final battle is as epic as it to be expected but followed by an hilarious conclusion.

Zebraman 2 is everything that the first one was and then much more. It is bigger, louder and maybe even crazier. Recommended for fans of the original but avoid the spin-off at all costs.