Zebraman (2004)

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Zebraman
The Japanese poster for Zebraman
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Zeburāman (2004)
See alternate titles
Directed by Takashi Miike
Producer Aiko Hattori, Matoko Okada
Written by Kankuro Kudo
Music by Koji Endo
Funded by Zebraman Production Committee
Production company Central Arts
Distributor ToeiJP
Rating PG-13
Box office ¥470 million[1]
Running time 115 minutes
(1 hour, 55 minutes)
Rate this film!
2.20
(5 votes)

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He's doing whatever a zebra can!!
(彼はシマウマができることは何でもやっています)
„ 

— Japanese tagline

Zebraman (ゼブラーマン,   Zeburāman) is a 2004 Japanese tokusatsu comedy superhero film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Kankuro Kudo. Funded by the Zebraman Production Committee—consisting of TBS, Toei, Toei Video, MBS, WOWOW, Shogakukan, The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Dentsu, Sports Nippon, and BINGO—and produced by Central Arts, it stars Sho Aikawa as Shinichi Ichikawa aka the superhero Zebraman.

The movie is centered around the life of failed teacher Shinichi Ichikawa, who has to live with a cheating wife, a teenage daughter who dates older men, and his son who is bullied because of his father's presence in the school. To escape this mediocre reality, Ichikawa takes up the alter ego of Zebraman, based on a fictional television series. This goes until Ichikawa actually has to fight crime, discovering he has superpowers, and that there is an alien invasion going on, all while meeting a disabled transfer student named Shinpei Asano who helps him regain his love for teaching.

Though the film received mixed reviews, a sequel entitled Zebraman 2: Zebra City would follow in 2010.

Plot

It's 2010, and the life of Professor Shinichi Ichikawa is terrible; he has to deal with a failed job as a third-grade teacher, with a minimum salary and disobedient students. Not only that, but he's got to live with a wife who is cheating on him, a teenage daughter dating older men, and his youngest son, who gets bullied because of Shinichi's job in the school. However, Ichikawa has a way to escape this reality: imitating an old superhero called "Zebraman", from an unpopular 1970s tokusatsu show of the same name the professor loved to watch. Eventually, Shinichi meets a disabled boy called Shinpei Asano, who happens to be a fan of Zebraman, too. Thanks to Shinpei, Shinichi regains his love for teaching, and the two of them become friends. One day, Ichikawa decides to meet Shinpei, disguised as Zebraman, but in the way, he encounters a serial killer whose head looked like a crab.

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Show Akiwa   as   Sinichi Ichikawa/Zebraman
  • Kyoka Suzuki   as   Kana Asano/Zebra Nurse
  • Naoki Nasukochi   as   Shinpei Asano
  • Atsuro Watabe   as   Okinawa
  • Koen Kondo   as   Segawa
  • Makiko Watanabe   as   Yukiwo Ichikawa
  • Yui Ichikawa   as   Midori Ichikawa
  • Yoshimasa Mishima   as   Kazuki Ichikawa
  • Ren Osugi   as   Kuniharu Kuroda
  • Teruyoshi Uchimura   as   Ippongi
  • Akira Emoto   as   Kitahara the Crab Man
  • Ryo Iwamatsu   as   Kanda
  • Yu Tokui   as   Pyromaniac
  • Yuji Boba Tanaka   as  
  • Kumiko Aso   as   Clerk
  • Satoru Hamaguchi   as   Midori's boyfriend
  • Hiroshi Watari   as   TV Zebraman


Appearances

Heroes and monsters

  • Zebraman
    • TV Zebraman
  • Slime aliens
    • Giant Slime alien
    • Green baby
    • Kitahara the Crab Man
  • Crab Kaijin (TV episode and dream)
  • Zebranurse (dream)
  • Pterosaur (identified as a bird)

Theatrical releases

  • Netherlands - January 30, 2004 (International Film Festival Rotterdam); August 24, 2004
  • Japan - February 14, 2004
  • United States - June 30, 2007 (New York Asian Film Festival); August 15, 2007[2]
  • Canada - September 16, 2004 (Toronto International Film Festival)

External links

References

This is a list of references for Hedorah's caravan/Sandbox/Zebraman (2004 film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. "Fiscal 2004 Japanese and Foreign Film Industry Summary: Everything About Management/Production/Distribution/Box Office". Kinema Junpo. Vol. 2237 no. 1423. February 2005. p. 154.
  2. Catsoulis, Jeannette (15 August 2007). "He's Doing Whatever a Zebra Can". The New York Times.

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