Zebraman

Miike Takashi does not really need any introduction since his Audition, Dead or Alive, Ichi the Killer, Agitator and Happiness of the Katakuris had their premières in Rotterdam. The film festival is therefore not complete without a new film by the hard-working Miike. For Zebraman (another première in Rotterdam), Miike cooperated with two other workaholics from the Japanese film industry, scriptwriter Kudo Kankuro, who came up with a classic superhero script, and Aikawa Sho (Show) in his hundredth leading role as Zebraman. The year is 2010. Shinichi is a very incompetent teacher. He turns up everywhere too late, his wife is having an affair, his daughter is involved in prostitution, the son is bullied at school -an average Miike family. Since his earliest childhood, Shinichi seeks solace in the television series Zebraman. He makes a zebra costume and sets off into his sleepy, nocturnal rural town. There he bumps into figures who are even more dubious than he is. They turn out to be extra terrestrial beings. The hairs in his zebra neck stand up on end. But he turns out to possess unsuspected powers. In the meantime, the Japanese Secret Service also finds out that the city is threatened by aliens. Without knowing or wanting it, Zebraman enters into combat with them. Will he be able to defend peace, justice and the Japanese way of life?