The Virgin Psychics

Original title: Eiga: minna! Esupâ da yo!
Japan, 2016
Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Shota Sometani, Erina Mano, Elaiza Ikeda, Anna Konno, Mizuki Hoshina, Megumi Kagurazaka, Airi Shimizu, Ken Yasuda, Motoki Fukami, Ai Shinozaki
Genre: Sci-fi, Comedy, Ecchi, Manga Adaptation
IMDB: 5.1

From Wikipedia ...

Fan service (ファンサービス fan sābisu), is material in a work of fiction which is intentionally added to please the audience. The term originated in anime and manga fandom but has been used in other mediums. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want." Fan service usually refers to "gratuitous titillation" ...

The Virgin Psychics is based on the original manga All Esper Dayo! by Kiminori Wakasugi (also known for Detroit Metal City). But is more closely related to the 2013 TV Tokyo adaptation directed by Sion Sono and featuring much of the same cast. (Check it out here, it's a lot of fun)

Sion Sono has often pushed the envelope beyond the bounds of good taste, whether it's the incest of Strange Circus, the upskirt voyeurism of Love Exposure, the teen suicide of Suicide Club, or the Eroguro of films such as Cold Fish and Guilty of Romance .

Here Sono has taken the concept of "fan-service", and pushed it way over the top.

Mitsuko (gravure idol Anna Konno) leans over the desk for no discernible reason

Set in a high school in the small but vibrant city of Toyohashi, Yoshiro (Shota Sometani) has one thing on his mind - saving the world so that he is worthy of his one true love, who he hopes is his classmate Sae (Erina Mano).

At the same time, there has been a mysterious outbreak of superpowers, currently being investigated by two ESP researchers from Tokyo, Professor Asami (Ken Yasuda) and his assistant Ms. Akiyama (Megumi Kagurazaka).

Ms. Akiyama is a precog, she can see the future of anyone who stares at her breasts. I guess that's why the professor can't take his eyes off them ...

The Professor activates Ms. Akiyama's superpowers, for "research" purposes

Yoshiro has the ability to hear people's thoughts, but he's not the only one. Classmate Miyuki (fashion model, Elaiza Ikeda) also has this ability, which means she constantly hears men's dirty thoughts about her. Which is quite disturbing, considering the whole town seemingly has only one thing on its mind.

This is another mystery for the researchers to uncover - why has the city suddenly become sex crazy? Girls are robbing banks dressed only in bikinis. Random stripteases occur on the top of buildings. A lesbian ferry driver is hypnotising local girls. And why does that teleporting dude want to show everyone his dick?

Makita Sports mimes his appreciation for Ice Coffee

The cast is packed with sexy actresses and models - and generally in very short skirts or bikinis. In Love Exposure, Sono had at least *some* justification for pointing the camera up those skirts - it was part of the story - but here it's done purely in the service of the fans - blatantly, repeatedly, and pretty much non-stop from start to finish.

The Virgin Psychics is a mish-mash of crazy ideas - a preposterous sci-fi/supernatural premise exploited to its fully perverted potential with an abundance of dick jokes, outrageously sexy women, and insane situations. As a comedy it works well, especially in the first half where Sono's pitch-perfect pacing keeps things moving with a high density of ideas.

The acting is about what you'd expect from this kind of movie - not particularly demanding. Shota Sometani overdoes the "geek schoolboy" role a little, and along with Motoki Fukami ensure the tone is often silly schoolboy humour. Erina Mano is cute as the aloof school hottie, and the bevy of models and idols excel at looking good, without being required for much more. Elaiza Ikeda impresses, as her character has a bit more to work with, as does Makita Sports (unusual name?) who is hilarious as the perverted cafe owner. Sono's wife and frequent collaborator Megumi Kagurazaka is always great (see Guilty of Romance and Cold Fish), and the interplay between her and Ken Yasuda is another highlight.

But ultimately the movie drags due to the hokey underlying story arcs which are basically a twisted version of the fight between good and evil, along with that eternal staple, the search for true love. But if you watch this expecting a masterpiece you're in the wrong cinema!

This is Sono lite - a sex comedy that is worth your time, if only for the exuberantly flagrant fan service. Despite the multitude of sexy women in revealing outfits, this is much more a comedy than a sexy movie. For that, I'd recommend Sono's more (relatively) sophisticated films such as Guilty of Romance or Cold Fish.

Rating: 6.5/10
An exuberant and completely over-the-top sex comedy. By no means a masterpiece, but a whole heap of fun. If you like this, check out the TV series which explains more of the back story and is even funnier.

Miyuki (Elaiza Ikeda)

Cold Fish

aka Tsumetai Nettaigyo
Japan, 2011
Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Denden, Makoto Ashikawa, Megumi Kagurazaka, Asuka Kurosawa

I've been a fan of director Sion Sono's films ever since Suicide Club introduced the world to his signature style. And his later effort, Strange Circus is one of my all-time favourite horror movies. If you're in the market for films inhabiting the twisted fringes of Japanese Horror cinema, or Ero Guro¹, Sono is your guy.

So it was with much anticipation that I caught his latest flick at a Film Festival this weekend. I was expecting something surreal and gory, and I knew it was based on a real-life serial killer. But what I didn't expect was the funniest movie I've seen this year.

That is, if you prefer your humour black. While it may seem unlikely, harvesting comedy from the serial killer sub-genre actually makes dark sense. Films such as Happiness of the Katakuris and American Psycho have mined this field before ... and Cold Fish is about as gut-wrenchingly hilarious as they get.

There's also a lot of blood. But where films such as Hostel could be categorised as gore for gore's sake, here it's employed in the service of humour, which is certainly the way I prefer it. Sono even manages to turn a rape scene into a comedic opportunity. And while that might sound quite twisted .... well yeah I guess it is. But its also deliriously, eye-wateringly funny.




If that isn't enough to satisfy your twisted sensibilities, this Japanese production also goes the extra mile that Hollywood rarely travels - by throwing in an abundance of sex and nudity as well. Considering most of the characters in the movie have little or no moral compunction, not only is life cheap, but sex is too.

Wanton licentiousness abounds - infidelity, partner-swapping, exhibitionism - even a charmingly cute lesbian interlude. All of which makes for the exact kind of envelope-pushing cinema pundits of Japanese genre movies will appreciate.




The humour is helped along substantially by ex-comedian Denden (Uzumaki, Juon) whose larger-than-life character dominates the film, as well as the characters within it. Charming and vicious by turns, his ebullient good-nature is infectious and infuses the film with dark humour.

Inspired by true events known as the "Saitama serial murders of dog lovers", the movie transposes proceedings to a pair of rival Tropical Fish shops, one run by the meek Shamato (Mitsuru Fukikoshi), the other by the gregarious Murata (Denden). Their paths cross when Shamato's daughter Mitsuko is caught shoplifting, and Murata suggests she come and work in his shop.




Murata is a wildly successful entrepreneur in stark contrast to Shamato. Irresistably charming, the Shamato family are quickly drawn into his web, with little realisation of the darker side to his personality. At least at first. But extricating themselves won't be so easy.

The film won't dazzle with its visuals or production values ... but has a tight script that builds momentum ensuring you'll barely notice its 2.5 hr running time. This is a definite highlight of the year for genre fans, and is highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

More screenshots

For an interesting interview with the director, check out Channeling Chaos - An Interview with Sion Sono

Japanese Movie Reviews

Hand-picked movie reviews from the land of the rising sun - where quirky, extreme and highly original cinema seems to be the norm rather than the exception.

Review Archive

2010
Cold Fish	Horror / Comedy	2010	9/10
Helldriver	Horror / Comedy	2010	5/10
Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City	Comedy / Action	2010	7/10
2009
Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl	Splatter	2009	7/10
The Abashiri Family	Comedy	2009	6/10
Afro Samurai: Resurrection	Anime	2009	7/10
2008
Tokyo Gore Police	Gore/Horror	2008	9/10
Cruel Restaurant	Horror/Comedy	2008	8/10
Snakes and Earrings	Erotic/Drama	2008	6/10
The Machine Girl	Horror/Comedy	2008	8.5/10
OneeChanbara	Horror/Zombie	2008	6/10
2007
Welcome to the Quiet Room	Comedy / Drama	2007	8/10
Funuke, Show Some Love you Losers	Comedy / Drama	2007	7.5/10
Valley of Flowers	Drama / Arthouse	2007	9/10
Suicide Song	Comedy / Horror	2007	6.5/10
Secret Undercover Agent: Honey & Bunny	Comedy	2007	5/10
2006
Nightmare Detective	Horror	2006	9/10
LoveDeath	Action / Comedy	2006	7.5/10
Sakuran	Drama	2006	6/10
Agent Aika: Live Action (short)	Action/Exploitation	2006	n/a
Memories of Matsuko	Drama/Surreal	2006	9/10
Ninja Vixens: Web of Passion	Martial Arts	2006	2/10
2000-2005
Strange Circus	Horror	2005	9/10
Survive Style 5+	Comedy/Surreal	2004	8/10
Kamikaze Girls	Comedy	2004	8/10
Casshern	Sci-fi	2004	8/10
Cutie Honey	Action	2004	5/10
Gozu	Horror/Surreal	2003	7/10
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka	Yakuza/Action	2002	8/10
Ichi the Killer	Horror/Weird	2001	10/10
I.K.U	Erotic/Cyberpunk	2000	6.5/10
1990's
Black Angel Vol 1	Action	1997	6/10
Cat's Eye	Action	1997	5/10
Zero Woman 5	Action	1997	4.5/10
La Blue Girl Live Vol.3	Sexploitation	1996	3/10
Spanking Love	Exploitation	1995	5/10
XX: Beautiful Hunter	Exploitation	1994	6.5/10
Tokyo Decadence	Erotic	1992	7.5/10
1980's
Madame de Sade	Drama/Erotica	1986	7/10
The Hokusai Manga	Drama/Erotica	1981	7/10
1970's
Erotic Diary of an Office Lady	Pinku Eiga	1977	6.5/10
School of the Holy Beast	Nunsploitation	1974	8/10
Himiko	Historical Drama	1974	7.5/10
Sex and Fury	Exploitation	1973	6/10