メイヘムガールズ 「Meihemu Ga-ruzu」
Release Date: November 26th, 2022
Duration: 98 mins.
Director: Shinichi Fujita
Writer: Shinichi Fujita, Erika Nakayama (Script),
Starring: Mizuki Yoshida (Mizuho Yamazaki), Manami Igashira (Amane Omori), Amane Kamiya (Tamaki Okamoto), Hina Kikuchi (Kei), Taisei Kido (Yusuke),
Shinichi Fujita has had a notably long career working as editor on low-budget (and occasionally erotic) action and fantasy titles like Death Trance (2005), Samurai Princess (2009), Danger Dolls (2014) and Re: Born (2016) – some of those being Tak Sakaguchi actioners. For his third film as a director, he makes a clean-cut supernatural adventure that should have broad appeal.
The film takes the familiar superhero story setting of a high school where both hormones and the desire to rebel against rules are riling up the student body. The COVID pandemic exacerbates things further as it means that social distancing and wearing masks are enforced and the school festival has been cancelled. This doesn’t sit right with Mizuho (Mizuki Yoshida) and other high school girls, all of whom are dealing with frustrations.
Perhaps in response to these pressures and changes, Mizuho unexpectedly develops telekinesis and the ability to teleport and fly (it is never really established save for mentions of menstrual pain and COVID jabs). Initially bewildered, she is joined by a number of others who form their own super girl gang to express and experiment with their supernatural powers. Their number includes photography club president Tamaki (Amane Kamiya), who uses telepathy to look into people’s minds and send and receive images, Akane (Manami Igashira), who can teleport and fly, and Kei (Hina Kikuchi), who has machine telepathy and can manipulate computers.
Within this school-based set-up, standard adolescent touch points of studying, bullying, and falling in love are present but with potent strains of lesbianism and antagonism to authorities pulsing underneath the light and breezy execution as the girls pair up by power. Tension emerges when Mizuho’s former tutor and current object of desire, Yusuke (Taisei Kido), discovers their psychic abilities and tries to manipulate the girls, which leads to a big battle.
A youth story of people trying to find themselves where real world issues form a relatable background, audiences will be charmed by the friendship dynamics and special effects.
Silliness ensues as the story sticks close to the standard issue superhero formula of our subjects testing out their psychic skills and growing in confidence in their everyday lives but it is given the added flavour of girls bonding which adds a bubbly tone to the story. A mixture of solid CG and wirework allow for fun scenes of the girls zipping around the skies and manipulating objects in the film’s suburban setting. Scenes of them floating up shrine steps and flying through leaves are eye catching while there is comedy in seeing the mishaps that happen with telekenesis. The action becomes more expansive and propulsive in later battles that are full of wide angle shots of characters zooming around the night skies and the camera whipping around to catch sight of them crashing into buildings.
Said mayhem is fun to watch and much lighter than the ero-guro titles of Fujita’s past. Don’t take this as saying that the film is totally lightweight. There is an element of amorality and topicality to what the girls do, all adding a nice complication to the story. Bank robberies, car tossing, financial district destruction, these strikes against the moneyed classes presage a clarion cry for helping working people out when times are tough, especially thanks to a Covid-19 downturn. That this forms the basis of Kei’s corruption makes it relatable and makes the film that much more interesting and amusing in a crowd-pleasing way. Wealth redistribution occurs but ultimately the film returns to the idea of the girls finding themselves.
Holding our attention are a strong cast who commit to their roles – some more tongue-in-cheek than others, such as an overbearing male teacher enjoying being officious. Each of the central actor vividly conveys something distinct about their characters and imbues them with a sparky life that is charming and Mizuki Yoshida provides a great lead performance that holds a fast and fun film about finding friendship and confidence together.
Mayhem Girls plays on Saturday, July 22, 13:30 at the Barrymore Film Center and then on Wednesday July 26th, 16:00pm at the Walter Reade Theater, Film at Lincoln Center.