Yo-Yo Girl Cop

Director: Kenta Fukasaku Kenta Fukasaku

Overview

A female delinquent detective discovers an apocalyptic plot by a nefarious underground website in director Kenta Fukasaku's take on the popular serious previously adapted for the screen in film, television, and anime form. Asamiya (Aya Matsuura) is a tough New York City street kid who doesn't take kindly to authority figures. When Japanese officials discover a cryptic but undoubtedly sincere threat from a website known for offering tips on committing suicide and constructing bombs, they immediately have Asamiya whisked back to Tokyo, trained by the police force's special operatives unit, and placed under the care of stern Kazutoshi Kira (Riki Takeuchi). With few clues to go by and only 72 hours to spare, Asamiya must venture into Seisen High and wield her deadly yo-yo against a dangerous group who seems all too determined to set the city ablaze.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/17/2007
UPC:	0876964000772
Original Release:	2006
Rating:	NR
Source:	Magnolia Home Ent
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:39:00
Sales rank:	46,142

Special Features

Making of Yo-Yo Girl Mission; Original Japanese theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Hiroyuki Nagato	Actor
Riki Takeuchi	Kazutoshi Kira
Rika Ishikawa	Actor
Yui Okada	Actor
Erika Miyoshi	Actor
Yuki Saito	Saki's Mother
Aya Matsuura	Asamiya
Shunsuke Kubozuka	Actor

Technical Credits

Shoichi Maruyama

Mitsuru Kurosawa	Producer
Naoki Yamazaki	Producer
Shoichi Maruyama	Screenwriter
Kenta Fukasaku	Director
Makoto Yokoyama	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Kenta Fukasaku follows up the widely reviled Battle Royale II with this cartoonish adaptation of the popular 1980s television series Sukeban Deka (translation -- delinquent girl cop), based on a popular manga which also inspired an anime series. Yo-Yo Girl Cop has its moments, but it should be a lot more fun than it is. After all, it's about a gorgeous young woman who goes undercover as a schoolgirl and uses a yo-yo as a weapon. Featuring a cast of J-pop stars and an amusingly gruff Riki Takeuchi as Kazutoshi Kira, Saki Asamiya's (Aya Matsuura) boss, the movie gets bogged down in teen angst. Some of this works. Saki's visit to Kira's rundown apartment, for example, strikes just the right mix of humor and pathos. But then there's the overly long expository text-messaging/music-video interaction between shy bullying victim Tae (Yui Okada) and Saki, and a couple of key plot points severely strain credulity. The filmmakers spend an inordinate amount of time on the relationships between these characters, so it's disappointing when they later behave in totally incomprehensible ways, as is the case with Saki's apparent attraction to the strange sociopath Jiro Kimura (Shunsuke Kubozuka), and with Tae's emotional manipulation at the hands of the sinister Jiro and turncoat yo-yo cop Reika (Rika Ishikawa). These plot developments certainly detract from the film's "girl power." That said, the action, when it comes, is unconvincing, but fun. The penultimate battle, between leather-clad yo-yo cops, is a hoot, and Matsuura (known as "Ayaya" to J-pop fans) demonstrates serious star potential as the stone-faced, foul-mouthed heroine.