Fantasia CR: Sukeban Boy

The term ‘only in Japan’ has never rung more true. With a wildly bizarre plot, waves of T&A, and the biggest cajones this side of the schoolyard, Sukeban Boy is a Japanese landmine. Or is that goldmine?

Sukeban is a rough and tumble young man with the unfortunate looks of a beautiful girl. When he‘s forced to enroll in a private girls school, he learns that it ain’t easy fitting in. Ensuing battles with everyone from crime lords to assorted nude gangs, an incestuous father and of course, nipple howitzers round out this engaging family film. Yeah, right.

An intellectual assessment of Sukeban Boy might suggest the film is about gender/sexual confusion/enlightenment. Maybe It would suggest that it is an indictment of the Japanese school system. With the two people on either side of me (neither of whom I knew) coming perilously close to bursting an appendix, it’s safe to say that if, in fact, it’s any of those things it would be lost on virtually anyone who watched it’s jiggly frames. This is a film that exists for entertainment, and believe me, entertaining it is. I had a great time and I’m pretty sure that’s all Sukeban Boy aspires to.

Reviewer’s note: In terms of fun this film is off the scale. I’m not comparing it to Citizen Kane, so take the rating with a grain of salt.