Movie Digest
Junretsu group is after an evil genius. During the mysterious disappearance of several handsome men from public baths, they venture out. Investigation reports show no clues about their whereabouts. The police officers are unable to solve this. Junretsu, the secret protectors of the “pure jar”, which shields the hot spring’s peacefulness, try to find out the cause of these happenings. The group comprises Jun Red, Jun Blue, Jun Violet, and Jun Green.
The Feel-Good Part
Junretsu’s action-filled scenes with tonkatsu effects make the movie thrilling. The movie centres on a bizarre plot, paving several cringy attempts to evoke humour and comic situations.
The Disappointing Factor
Certain factors, such as the transformations of the Jun rangers, could have been enhanced. It uses similar tonkatsu elements, which makes it another regular tonkatsu film. Even though the story is bizarrely funny, it bears the potential of a better plot.
In-Depth Analysis
Tonkatsu or special effects are often used in Japanese cinemas to give a balance between reality and illusion. It makes it more electrifying and exciting to watch. But, as mentioned before, the story could have been good. It devises a problem that gives rise to several ones, laying hints on the way. Finally, for the Jun rangers to uproot the wicked genius. They fight against the many hired people sent by the notorious villain, played by Kobayashi Sachiko. Kenichi, the narrator, connects this chain of events as the movie progresses. The actors played tonkatsu roles before and are familiar with it. Kazuyoshi Sakai is known for his role in ‘Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger’ as GaoBlack. Yujiro Shirakawa’s performance in ‘Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger’ as Kabuto Raiger is well known. Shota Gogami made his appearance in ‘Ninpuu Sentai Hurrricaneger:10 Years After’. Lastly, Ryohei Odai Played the Kamen Rider Zolda in ‘Kamen Rider Ryuki’. Sakai, the group leader, wrote and produced the movie’s theme song ‘New (Bathing) York’, which was composed by notable composer Kageyama. Jun Blue, Red and Violet’s helmet designs are taken as a symbolic gesture of their previous roles in the tonkatsu domain. Toei is the distributor of the film, and TOKYO BLUES WORKS directed the music video.
Acclaimed director, Hiroshi Butsuda of Special Effects Research Institute, directed the movie. Earlier, he worked on ‘Super Sentai’ and ‘Kamen Rider’ for a long time. He is assisted by the scriptwriter Hiroaki Kubo and action director Michihiro Takeda. In an interview, the group revealed that a tonkatsu film was in the plan for a long time, which finally came out.
Star Power
Kenichi Suzumura is the movie’s narrator. With his splendid evocative narrative technique, he placed the story together. Yujiro, Ryohei, Shota and Kazuyoshi are the Jun rangers Red, Blue, Violet and Green, respectively. They pulled up hilarious and heroic performances beautifully. The suit actors were splendid in bringing out the action scenes. Yuya Nawata, Takashi Sakamoto, Yasuhiko Imai, and Yuichi Hachisuka played the suit actors for Jun Red, Blue, Violet and Green, respectively. The supporting cast, including Matsushita Megumi, did well.
Overall Opinion
The movie has good songs by the Junretsu band. Apart from the bizarre plot content and mainstream structure, it manages to bring out an impressive performance.
