Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) [Tokusatsu Review]

Mechanical Violator Hakaider; or, Requiem for a Destroyer
     Do you want to live? Do you want to live and have a free will of your own?
It’s been quite some time since I covered Tokusatsu outside the realm of Godzilla. Actually, while being on the lookout for some Goji clips on YouTube, I spotted some random video in Japanese characters, but the thumbnail caught my attention, so I clicked on it. All I cay is that looking at unknown 90s Toku vintage action sent me on a search to find the original source. This led me to Mechanical Violator Hakaider, directed by none other than the crazy nerd himself Keita Amemiya.

Release Info

Directed by: Keita Amemiya Starring: Yuji Kishimoto, Mai Hosho, Jiro Okamoto, Yasuaki Honda

Language: Japanese Original Title: 人造人間ハカイダー Runtime: 77 min

Synopsis
A group of criminals raid an abandoned prison facility. In one of the sealed chambers, they discover a man in chains (Yuji Kishimoto). The man turns himself into an android known as Hakaider and kills the criminals. He mounts a bike and rushes to a utopian world known as Jesus Town, which was built on the ruins of Jerusalem. Jesus Town is governed by the Parliament and psychotic leader Gurjev (Yasuaki Honda). A group of outlaws led by a girl called Kaoru (Mai Hosho) plan to destroy the Parliament. Hakaider teams up with Kaoru because she believes he is the black knight who saved her in her dreams. When the outlaws are attacked, Hakaider steps into action.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Having done some research online, it turns out the character of Hakaider is actually the original creation of Shotaro Ishinomori, the mastermind behind Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. The villainous robot was part of 1970s Toku manga and TV show called Android Kikaider; however, Amemiya’s movie is not in continuity with the previous media. Instead, Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a stand-alone sci-fi spin on the side character, turning him into a sympathetic anti-hero much in the vein as Terminator from T2: Judgement Day (1991).

If you are already familiar with Keita Amemiya (see my review of the Zeiram franchise), then you know you are in for a ride filled with old-school fireworks, miniatures, model work, stop motiion, front projection, and early CGI. Amemiya uses every single trick in the book to make a satisfying dark Toku spectacle driven by ridiculously satisfying action, Mad Max-inspired production design, and moments of genuine poignancy.

The story itself is simple enough to keep you engaged. We have the main hero who doesn’t know what exactly he is: a tool of destruction or perhaps misunderstood champion of morality. It is only when Hakaider meets the cheerful Kaoru, he experiences some real happiness.

I know that I am a sucker for love subplots, but I really like the romance between Hakaider and Kaoru because it wasn’t just “love at first sight”. In fact, the majority of the thing was presented through Kaoru’s dreams, which made it extremely poetic.

Now, moving to the baddies. Amemiya does some clever deconstruction of expectations here. Gujrev looks like an angel, and he even has a bunch of fake wings. The soft way he speaks and his affection for flowers makes you think he is a kind person, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The same goes for Gujrev’s henchman, android Michael, who looks all clean and slick, as if he came out of the Timeranger show. The android even claims to be a representative of justice, but he too is driven by twisted misconceptions about life, peace, and obedience.

Oh, and a bit of trivia! Perceptible viewers may spot among the outlaws a familiar face from Zyuranger; that is, Ami Kawai who played Lami in the show. Here, unfortunately, she doesn't have much a screen time, but it's great to see her in another Tokusatsu production. 

With regard to disadvantages, the movie’s runtime is quite short and I watched the director’s cut(!) This version lasts 77 minutes, whereas the theatrical one is 26 minutes shorter. It makes me think what exactly was cut to accommodate the shorter runtime, but I have no desire to watch the original version.

Recommendations
All in all, Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a lot of fun if you’re looking for something vintage, yet without gruesome violence. It took me like a whole week to track this movie down. I’ve searched for it anywhere, until my stupid brain told me to head over to YouTube of all places, and lo and behold there it was. Now I’m so super charged that I want to check out more of Keita Amemiya’s filmography.Overall score: 7/10

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