Yatterman (film)

Yatterman (film)

Japanese Poster

Yatterman (ヤッターマン, Yattāman) is a Japanese action comedy film directed by Takashi Miike and based on the anime television show of the same name. The film premiered in Japan on March 7, 2009, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom by Eureka on September 25, 2009.

The DVD was also released overseas in the United Kingdom by Eureka on May 12, 2012, while Discotek Media released the film in North America in 2013.

Story

In Tokyo, the Doronbo Gangler have seemingly destroyed a large part of the city, until the heroic Yatterman duo make their entrance with their dog-mecha, Yatterkaiser and robot sidekick, Toybotty. After a series of slapstick combat scenes, the scene switches to a mecha fight scene where the Doronbo trio wins. Cheering at their first victory, the villains accidentally hit the mecha's self-destruct button. When the chaos clears, a teenage girl emerges from the ruins with a blue object in her hands.

Introducing the heroic duo, Gan Takada (aka Yatren #1) and his girlfriend, Ai Kaminari (aka Yatren #2). They live a double life as crime-fighting heroes based under Takada Toys, founded by Gan's father. Gan built Toybotty and Yatterwoof, the latter an abandoned plan from his father. The girl they found in the ruins was Shoko Kaieda, daughter of Dr. Kaieda, an archaeologist. A piece of the blue stone Shoko carries is a part of the Skull Stone, a legendary object now split into four pieces. Dr Kaieda, who is on a quest to find them, is attacked in the forest of Narway by Skullobey, a black-clad being with an oversized skull.

Introducing Skullobey's lackies, the Doronbo Trio; Doronjo, the sexy female boss; Boyacky, the clever but lecherous mecha genius; and Tonzura Sutakora, the strong and gluttonous, kansai man. While under orders to find the Skull Stone pieces, the trio uses a wedding store to raise money to build new mecha, Skullobey's robot skull messenger arrives to notify another Stone in Ogypt, and to bring Shoko along. Toybotty who witnessed everything and reports back to the duo who followed them. The duo finds the missing piece first before getting into another mecha battle with the trio, eventually resulting in a draw after Yatterwoof's ant robot swarm destroy the Bridesmaidiot, dragging Yatterwoof with it.

Back home, Gan tries to rebuild Yatterwoof while Ai, jealous of Shoko and Doronjo goes out for a walk. There she accidentally discovers the trio's next scam involving a sushi restaurant to raise money for their new robot. She also overhears that the last piece is hidden in the Southern Halps. Meanwhile, things around the world start to disappear including Toybotty who managed to analyze the stone at the last minute. Gan manages to find the analysis which explains that when the Skull pieces are put together, the timeflow will be destroyed erasing everything from existence.

Along with Shoko, the Yatterman duo set out to destroy the stone in their new Yatterking, an upgraded Yatterwoof. The trio eventually the final piece until Skullobey encases them in a clockwork-filled giant dome. Doronjo zaps Ai to force the Yatterman duo apart, only to finally discover true love between Gan and Ai.

Shoko realizes Skullobey has possessed her father and due to her pleas, Dr. Kaieda is able to free himself from Skullobey who reveals his true form. Fighting as a unit again, the Yatterman and a reformed Doronbo Gang team up to defeat Skullobey to trap him in the other world. Later, Gan and Ai bid Shoko and her father farewell, who leave to explore the world some more while the Doronbo Gang goes their separate ways. However, they will gather, because their paths are reassembled into a single road.

Cast

• Shō Sakurai as Gan Takada "Gan-chan", a mechanic expert and son of a toy manufacturer.
• Saki Fukuda as Ai Kaminari "Ai-chan", Gan's girlfriend and daughter of an electrician.
• Chiaki Takahashi as the voice of Toybotty, Gan Takada's robot.
• Kyoko Fukada as Doronjo, the attractive and intelligent leader of the Doronbo Gang.
• Kendo Kobayashi as Tonzura Sutakora, the short and muscular strongman of the Doronbo Gang
• Katsuhisa Namase as Boyacky Butsukusa, the tall and skinny but lecherous mechanic of the Doronbo Gang.
• Junpei Takiguchi as the voice of Dokurobei, the Doronbo Gang's boss.
• Anri Okamoto as Shoko Kaieda, the daughter of Dr. Kaieda who has part of the Skull Stone.
• Sadao Abe as Dr. Kaieda, an archaeologist and Shoko Kaieda's father who is searching for the pieces of the Skull Stone pieces.
• Kōichi Yamadera as Yatterwoof, Yatterking, Odate-Buta, the narrator, and an amusement park employee.
• Noriko Ohara, Kazuya Tatekabe and Hiroshi Sasagawa make appearances as customers of the restaurant run by the Doronbo Gang.