Hentai Kamen is undeniably one of the most outrageous manga live-action adaptations ever filmed. But it’s also mostly a one-gag comedy.
Hentai Kamen (HK 変態仮面) Synopsis
Shikijou Kyosuke is a burly but ungainly high school student. When attempting to save his classmate and crush Aiko from a hostage situation, Kyosuke conceals his face with a pair of panties, the act of which awakens his latent perverse powers and transforms him into Hentai Kamen, a twisted super-hero. Despite being conflicted by this new extreme persona of his, Kyosuke continues to use his newfound powers to do good, all the while still struggling to profess his love for Aiko. While saving Aiko from another crisis, he deeply humiliates Ogane Tamao, a rich and abusive transfer student. Determine to avenge himself, Ogane enlists various agents to destroy Kyosuke’s school. The rich megalomaniac wouldn’t stop till Kyosuke and Hentai Kamen are completely defeated and destroyed.
Snappy Review
I’ve finally gotten down to watching this. The 2013 Manga live-action adaptation that generated quite a bit of a social media storm back then. Because it was so outrageous, so out-of-the-world, and so perverse.
Yeah … And like most such things, I promptly discovered that Hentai Kamen was more hype than anything else. The movie was indeed audacious, but it was hardly the most bizarre Japanese production I’ve ever watched.
Of course, my “disappointment” could be because I’m so used to Japanese weirdness; I’ve been “exposed” since secondary school days after all. But objectively speaking, the bizarreness does tire a notch too quickly. It’s all about one weirdo with a body you’d die for doing stylish struts while, err, drawing power from the scent of worn panties. Though there was a slew of colourful supporting characters, most didn’t come across as too interesting. Actually, apart from the fourth assassin, most of these were given minimal screen time as well.
One plus-point about this live-action adaptation did sustain my interest, though. As in Suzuki Ryohei i.e. the lead.
Could there be a more appropriate actor to play Shikijou Kyosuke? Suzuki’s boy-scout-like demeanour and looks are the very antitheses of what you’d expect from a character like Hentai Kamen. This, in a way, establishes the greatest achievement of the movie – the lead himself physically depicts the contradictions his character represents.
Needless to say, Suzuki himself is well-aware of this and plays his (charming) strengths to the utmost. There is quite a kick in knowing it is indeed him strutting about near-naked while wearing that outrageous mask. At some points, it’s not just hilarious, it’s mesmerising too.
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 review. One of the most outrageous Japanese live-action adaptations to date. But it’s mostly a one-gag comedy too.){kind=link}