Four decades after Kikaida captured the hearts of a generation of Hawaii fans, the Japanese superhero is back in a rebooted movie version of the iconic 1970s television series.
"Kikaider: The Ultimate Human Robot" was released in Japan earlier this year and is making its North American premiere in Honolulu. You don’t need to be a hard-core Kikaida fan to enjoy this film, which was directed by Ten Shimoyama and features Japanese TV actors in most of the major roles.
Jingi Irie, who played the android Jiro and his powered-up alter ego, Kikaider, in the 2014 Japanese TV series "Kamen Rider Gaim," steps up to assume the role originally played by Ban Daisuke, who shows up briefly in the reboot to help Jiro recover from one of his many epic battles in the film.
Other characters to return from the original TV series include Kikaider’s arch rival, Hakaider (Shingo Tsurumi), and fan favorites Mitsuko Komyoji (Aimi Satsukawa), Masaru Komyoji (Yuto Ikeda) and Hanpei Hattori (Ryuji Harada).
(Casual fans might be wondering, why two different names? While "Kikaida" is the more generally recognized spelling among American fans, Japanese producers of the reboot went with "Kikaider," another commonly accepted romanization of the name.)
"Kikaider" has an updated story line for 21st-century audiences, complete with the special effects and Hollywood-style camera work expected by today’s viewing public.
‘KIKAIDER: THE ULTIMATE HUMAN ROBOT’
Not Rated
Now showing through Thursday at Ward Stadium 16 |
The Japanese government’s ARK Project develops androids to serve in the place of humans during emergency situations. When lead scientist Dr. Nobuhiko Komyoji (Kazushige Nagashima) is mysteriously killed and his children, Mitsuko and Masaru, are kidnapped, Jiro appears out of nowhere to protect the youngsters.
Jiro’s primary mission, given to him by Komyoji before his death, is to ensure their safety. He suffers some incredible beatings throughout "Kikaider," but it’s his desire to protect Mitsuko and Masaru that keeps him coming back for more.
Watching this flick quickly conjures comparisons with action franchises like "The Matrix." Instead of being chased by oversize insects, Kikaider does battle with men in black suits in fight scenes with plenty of slow-motion shots and other effects to spotlight the crazy martial arts moves.
There’s enough action to engage both fans of the original "Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" and those who never watched a single episode of the TV series. And the manga-style plot includes a bit of back story to go with twists and turns you might not expect.
