HAKAIDER (1995)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical*

I know nothing about the KIKAIDER mecha-hero franchise that spawned this film, which in Japan sported the Image Comics-sounding title MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER. I watched an "extended director's cut" on streaming, but aside from a handful of arty visual touches, I didn't see much to distinguish this movie from dozens of tokasatsu TV shows.

Hakaider is first seen in a human guise, name of Ryo, when a group of treasure-hunting burglars break into a tomb that actually serves as Hakaider's prison. When the thieves try to kill the bound man, Ryo transforms into the dark, armored being called Hakaider and lurches forth to pursue his destiny-- which happens to lie in a futuristic city called "Jesus Town."

Not until we're halfway through the film does the script bother to explain the protagonist. Gurjev, the tyrant master of Jesus Town, created Hakaider to be his enforcer, but Hakaider rebelled, and Gurjev imprisoned him. Subsequently, Gurjev-- whose name sounds strangely like that of the Armenian mystic Gurdjieff-- created a more pliable armored servant, the all-white Michael, though it's not clear if Michael too can transform into a human being. Aside from Michael, various soldiers who serve the tyrant, and a small group of rebels, hardly any inhabitants of Jesus Town are seen. 

The seesaw fights between Hakaider and the forces of Gurjev offer modest entertainment, making them far less impressive than even a decent Godzilla film. There's a very minor romance-subplot between Ryo and a female freedom fighter, but the main relationship is between the creator Gurjev-- who sports wings sprouting from his back like an angel-- and his two armored servants, one given the name of an obedient angel of the Judeo-Christian god.

There's a minor reference to the concept of free will here, but the writers' overall use of Christian imagery is generally meretricious. Some Japanese productions have succeeded in tapping into the imaginative nature of non-Japanese religious icons without necessarily being attuned to the religions themselves, but HAKAIDER is not one such. On a minor note, some reviews call Hakaider an "anti hero," but such are his origins that I think the tried-and-true term "monster" is more applicable.