HK: Forbidden Super Hero (2013)

Actually, this entire movie can be summarized by three words: only in Japan!With a mother who is a bondage mistress and a father who was a cop, the future holds something very Unique for Young Kyosuke Shikijo. And this plays out well in a truly unique and bizarre storyline. By putting women's panties over his head, Kyosuke can become The Perverted Mask - the one and only superhero to reach such levels of weirdness ever.Based on a Manga, "HK: Forbidden Supherhero" (aka. "HK: Hentai Kamen") is somewhat of an acquired taste. And if you enjoy this kind of oddity, then the movie is definitely well-worth watching and you will more than often be laughing hard or blown away by the sheer weirdness and absurdity of it all.The movie works well on many levels and in many aspects. And the people who star in this bizarre movie were all doing fantastic jobs and seemed to be having heaps of fun making the movie.Wacky costumes, over-the-top sexy poses, odd humor, and lots of entertainment, "HK: Forbidden Superhero" is a live action Manga not to be missed. It is great fun from start to end.

I marked the "spoiler-allert" button as I give some general information about the character (not much more than the storyline) but I will not tell the story. This an extremely bizarre parody of superhero movies (even the opening credits follow a similar style of the one used in DC and Marvel films). While grotesque and a bit silly, with some exaggerated overacting throughout the film (specially when the hero's mother and the villains appear) that annoys a bit, it works and is quite enjoyable and funny. Hentai Kamen, or the Masked Pervert, is probably the weirdest superhero that has ever existed (and possibly could not have been created by a non Japanese). A son of a sadist prostitute and a masochist policeman, he gets his superpowers from his perversion, activated by a combination of his genetics (his parent's pervert genes, particularly his mother's; his father's genes also gave him his duty to fight crime and injustice) and the smell of used panties on his face. His costume is the oddest possible: almost naked, with a panty as a mask over a Spiderman-like mask on his face, a pantyhose dressing his legs and a stretched panty hanged crossed on his shoulders putting him a G-string thong on (yes, expect many close-ups on his butt... and if you have watched "Borat" you may understand my explanation). He has many superpowers, like superspeed movements (much faster than bullets), super ability with a lasso, supernatural martial arts technique, and incredible quasi-flight jumps (somewhat similar to Spiderman). Though, what calls attention the most are his (as funny as repulsive) special attacks: variations of his crotch ("golden balls") "in yo face" blows. He loses powers if dressed, but he also gets stronger if spanked (remember his sadomasochist genes!). Kyosuke Shikijoh, the superhero's alter ego, is the extreme opposite: extremely shy, sexually repressed, conservative, always feeling guilty about everything. Supervillains are extremely campy and the main character's love story is completely cheesy. Though, this is the kind of film that convinces you about getting into its own terms; therefore, some traits that could be seen as problems are tolerated and sometimes (not always, though) even enjoyed. The last, but nor least, to resume: the final battle is veeeery Japanese! The end is not so original, but nice.

I like Japanese movies. They tend to give everyone what he wants, be it movies for girls, for boys, for gays, for SM-addicts, no matter what your preferences or personal perversions are, the are able to make a movie about it, without forcing you see something in all of them (current gay/lesbian trend) or the opposite (ergo trying to blacklist some of them). They simply create something for target audience and don't try to change the viewer. This movie was not for me, despite all of my hopes. The main character has problem accepting what he is, even though he calls himself that way... I found him annoying (but I really did like his alter ego:)). The acting was stiff, there were some logical gaps... I will try the manga, or something like Golden boy to get rid of the aftertaste of this movie. But I admit, maybe my perversions are just not the right ones:).

Chances are if you are a fan of the manga that you would already be waiting in line to watch this live-action adaptation, which also of course means that you know what you are in for. But for the uninitiated, consider this fair warning that 'HK Forbidden Super Hero' isn't your typical superhero movie; rather, the 'HK' in the title stands for 'Hentai Kamen', literally translated as 'masked pervert', which is an apt description for our titular superhero, whose powers are derived from the smell of a pair of used panties pulled over his face.That's not all - no thanks to the source of his superpowers, most of his killer moves revolve around stuffing his crotch into the face of his enemies, them "golden balls" shielded from view only by skimpy white Speedos. Besides the pair of panties, some facial makeup and the Speedos, our hero wears nothing else while in the line of duty - but really, we're quite sure when the ladies in the audience get sight of his ripped body that they will wholeheartedly agree that he is better off with as little cloth as possible.You should know better than to take such a superhero seriously, so there's hardly any point criticising how shallow the premise is; rather, if you're going to watch a movie about a ordinary person who transforms himself into a superhero by his perversion, then you should jolly well know what you are in for. Indeed, the only way you are going to enjoy this parody if you like is if you are prepared in the first instance to accept it on its own terms - and for a start, that means being prepared for countless in-your-face crotch shots that are designed precisely to elicit a reaction out of you, no matter delight or disgust.To match his signature over-the-top move, there are also a bunch of equally caricatured baddies - including one that calls himself Very Serious Mask, another that goes by the nickname Cool Guy, another with the moniker Gay Mask and yet another with an equally baffling name of Skinny Macho Mask. Still, all serve little purpose than throwaway comic relief before Hentai Kamen meets his match in an impersonator, who proves to be an even bigger pervert than he is and is most importantly not ashamed about it.Yes, despite his abilities, our hero is really a sweet-natured and kind- hearted high-school student called Kyosuke Shikijo; in fact, he discovers his powers inadvertently while rescuing the object of his affection, Aiko Himeno (Fumika Shimizu). Afraid of what Aiko would think of him if he discovers his perversion, Kyosuke keeps his identity a secret from her, despite turning up time and time again to rescue her from the brink of danger. It is in his ultimate battle with his evil twin that Kyosuke will overcome his own insecurities and be enlightened about the true nature of his superpowers.That's some self-realisation for you, no matter how unlikely such a theme might seem in a movie like this. Nonetheless, besides giving manga fans some twisted fun, director Yuichi Fukuda wants to tell both an unusual high-school love story as well as an even more bizarre coming- of-age tale - and for what it is worth, we can say that it is fortunate that his movie is much more than just about face-fulls of crotches, sexual poses and BDSM techniques.Fukuda also has his cast to thank for gamely stepping up to the challenge of such an outlandish movie. Shimizu is suitably sweet and demure, while Ken Yamada is befittingly off-putting as Hentai Kamen's antagonist. But truly amazing here is Suzuki Ryohei, who plays our titular superhero; more than just his physique, what impresses is how he manages to switch between his shy awkward persona and that of his decidedly showy superhero alter-ego - panties, crotch-thrusting and all.Still, despite Ryohei's best efforts, we're sure this will be a movie you either love or hate. It's weird to say the least, the humour mostly in-your-face (pardon the pun) and largely vulgar. Yet there is something undeniably engrossing about it, its mixture of teenage romance and disturbing perversion within the superhero genre making it a captivating watch. Don't say we didn't warn you about what you should be prepared for, so don't get your panties in a wad when you find them pulled over the face of our superhero.