Mar

11

2007

Arch Angels (Warau Mikaeru)

Posted by luna6

archangels-poster.jpg
Movie : Arch Angels / Warau Mikaeru
Release Date : 2006
Country : Japan
Director : Issei Oda
Starring: Juri Ueno, Megumi Seki, Airi Taira, Yusuke Iseya
Runtime : 92 Minutes
Editor Rating : 7.0
Users Rating: 7.55 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (11 votes)

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Plot Synopsis : Fumio transfers to St. Michael’s Academy, situated on an picturesque island somewhere off the coast of Japan. Although she was previously the top student at another prestigious high school, her long lost brother Kazuomi asked her to transfer St. Michael’s. Her mother recently passed away and shortly afterwards she learned that her mother had a child that she gave up for adoption prior to her birth. After Fumio’s first day of classes Kazuomi warns Fumio to be careful while going to St. Michael’s Academy there has been a rash of kidnappings occurring on the island.

Soon Fumio becomes close friends with Yuzuke the class president and Kazune, a girl that is sometimes referred to as “Lady Oscar.” As they bond over their love of chicken flavored ramen they discover that possess superpowers similar to their favorite anime heroes. After they hold a festive cosplay “Garden Party” at their high school they realize that more girls at their school are missing. Even though they are not permitted to leave the campus of St. Michaels the three girls decide to find the missing girls and bring the culprits to justice.

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Movie Review : Arch Angels is one of the wackier manga (Izumi Kawahara’s Warau Mikaeru) based movies you are likely to see this year, last year or maybe even next year. The three main heroines in the film gain superpowers with the help of their beloved chicken flavored ramen. The girls are different than the other girls at St. Michael’s Academy. They consider themselves “commoners” because they slurp their ramen and read popular novels.

Visually Arch Angels is as weird as the story itself. You will see everything from the Warhol inspired 60’s pop art to the Swing Girls like special effects (think of the scene where they were being chased by the boar) to odd cgi effects…none being odder than Damien the black dog that roams the campus of St. Michaels Academy.

Although the story is not particularly complex, I did have to watch the movie twice to fully grasp the story in Arch Angels. The first time around there was just too many characters and unfamiliar names for me to get a firm handle on what was going on. The second time around I had a blast following the escapades of the Arch Angels. Obviously watching Juri Ueno perform in the Matrix like action sequences was worth the price of admission alone. Megumi Seki who played Kazune aka Lady Oscar was equally as good. From her performance in Honey & Clover as the quirky Yamada and now with her performance Arch Angels I have to believe she is going to be quite the up and coming star. The relationship between Fumio and her brother Kazuomi, played by Yusuke Iseya (Memories of Matsuko/Honey & Clover), was one of the odder aspects of the movie. The close bond that they shared was slightly closer than what you would normally believe is normal…..yet the odd nature of the movie made their odd relationship feel more normal.

There’s tons of cultural jokes in Warau Mikaeru that may or may not translate well to Western audiences. I loved the running gag about the chicken flavored ramen (if it seems odd or perplexing just imagine three girls attending a uber prestigious prep school in Massachusetts that likes to cut class and eat cans of Dinty Moore’s Beef Stew). Other jokes I really didn’t get - class president Yuzuko being referred to as a “Colobockle” - a one inch fairy or the girls talking about doing it like a beguile cat. But even though I didn’t get all the jokes, the wackiness of the movie made it seem natural not to understand everything.

The music in Arch Angels was as odd as the rest of the movie, a weird blend of heavy metal rock music and electronic music. The band that composed the soundtrack is MetalChicks, featuring Sugar Yoshinaga formally of Buffalo Daughter. It seems that the director of Arch Angels, Issei Oda, is good friends with MetalChicks having filmed their live performances and music videos (check at the bottom of this review for a youtube video of them).

Although Arch Angels can’t compare to one of the funniest & wackiest movies I have seen from Japan - Funky Forest!- the movie does provides a lot of odd humored fun, with its live action meets Japanese anime action sequences. You have Fumio, Kazune, and Yuzuko, three prep school girls that have gained superpowers from eating chicken flavored ramen. There’s a cgi created black dog named Damien that roams the campus of their high school, who also has quite the sweet tooth. There’s Fumio’s brother Kazuomi, who takes Fumio with him on all his dates. When Fumio tries to explain to Kazuomi that dates shouldn’t be a threesome, he asks “Ah you don’t want me to bring the other girls?” There’s also the lesbian nun named Sister Malena who carries a few other secrets with her. “Arch Angels” is just a crazy movie that is a whole lot of fun - once you are able to get a grasp on all the characters.

Cast:
Juri Ueno - Fumio Shijo
Megumi Seki - Kazune Saiki
Airi Taira - Yuzuko Sarashina
Yusuke Iseya - Kazuomi Shijo (as Yûsuke Iseya)

Aoi
Kimiko Fuchiuchi
Erina Hayase
Nanase Iwai
Kei Kato - Takashi Sarashina
Rinko Kikuchi - Nobuko Sakurai
Haruka Kudo
Rinako Matsuoka
Toshinobu Matsuo - Shunsuke Wakatsuki
Tomomi Miyashita
Kanako Miyauchi - Sakurako
Natsuki Okamoto
Aimi Satsukawa - Shizuka Marikoji
Mitsuki Tanimura - Jinchoge


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2006 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movie Reviews |

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