K-20: Legend of the Mask Review

For the few who of you who do read this blog on a regular basis (please leave comments so that I know someone cares!!!), I apologize for the long absence. I finished my master's degree in early August and then I left for Ulsan, South Korea, at the end of that month. I have also started dating a beautiful Christian Japanese woman. She came to visit me in October for my birthday and then I went to visit her and meet her parents during the last week of December. She is an awesome woman who is a strong Christian and who does not mind my like of science fiction.

Just before I left for Japan, I saw an article for a Japanese action hero movie called "K-20: The Legend of the Mask." The full article is available at SciFi Japan website.

The article piqued my interest so I made it one of my goals to see the movie (which had been released on December 20 in Japanese theaters).

Here is the trailer:



I asked my girlfriend if she would be willing to see the movie and she said that she would.

We got a takeout pizza and ate at a park along the main river in her city. Then we rushed off to the movie theater to catch the matinee showing. (It only cost the equivalent of $12 USD a person instead of the regular $18 USD.) The movie was in Japanese with no English subtitles, but the story was easy to follow for someone who has spent the majority of his life digesting truckloads of science fiction, old radio programs, comic books, and assorted other related stuff. My girlfriend translated the parts of the dialogue that I could not follow. (God gave me the best girlfriend in existence!!!)

The story is based on a character created by the father of Japanese mystery fiction Rampo Edogawa. (The actual movie is more based on a new version of the character from a novel by Soh Kitamura.)

The setting is a fictional version of Tokyo, called Teito, in an alternate 1949 that never experienced World War II. The opening sequence is loaded with scenery that reminds the viewer of the old science fiction art and movie serials from the 1930s and 40s. There is even a huge zeppelin that launches Kayaba Ka-1 autogyros. K-20 comes from the combination Kaijin (Japanese for "fiend") and the fact that he is the master of 20 disguises. K-20 is a mysterious criminal who is a master of disguise who looks and acts like a cross between The Shadow and Batman.

After the breathtaking scenery, the viewer is taken to a room where a Tesla Coil is being demonstrated before a group of scientists. The experiment is disrupted by K-20. After this, the police begin looking for him vigorously.

The hero is a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo who is hired to take some pictures of a photos a lavish engagement ceremony between popular Detective Kogoro Akechi and the beautiful aristocrat Yoko Hashiba. When Heikichi begins snapping pictures using the camera given to him by the man who hired him, explosions violently wrack the building. Heikichi is spotted and accused of being K-20. He is later apprehended and charged with being the notorious criminal. He is able to escape during transit to prison with the assistance of the real K-20. He is able to make it back to his friends and hide in the slums of Teito. He realizes that he had been set up, so he decides to imitate K-20 in order to catch the real criminal.

He later rescues Yoko when the real K-20 tries to kidnap her. He takes her to the slums to hide out. Yoko has spent her entire life living a life of privilege and luxury, but now she comes face to face with the destitute and poor that she had never even known of before. She adapts to life in the slums very quickly and even begins offering to get food for a group of orphans.

The movie ends with a wild showdown between Heikichi and the real K-20 that can literally decide the fate of the world.

The movie is loaded with beautiful scenery, awesome action sequences, cool costumes, and many surprises (you will not believe what Yoko can fly). The only objectionable scenes are where Heikichi is beaten up by the police during "questioning", a scene where Yoko stands up in a bathtub, much to the shock of Heikichi and his friend (only Yoko's upper back is seen. The next scene shows Yoko fully clothed and happily enjoying a meal while Heikichi and his friend are using tons of tissue to stop their nosebleeds.), and another scene where Yoko suggestively unbuttons the top button on her dress in an attempt to keep the man they suspect as the real K-20 distracted while Heikichi and his pals try to recover a valuable painting from the criminal's office.

If you are a fan of the old superhero comics and movie serials of the past and you want a special take on the old theme, this movie is a must see.