A teenage girl is set loose in Tokyo city centre with a bomb strapped to her. She warns everybody to get away before it detonates, but it is too late. The explosion blows her away. All that is left behind is a steel-plated Yo Yo, the weapon of choice for Sukeban Deka’s, delinquents recruited by the police for undercover operations. This mission ended badly.
Sukeban Deka
Sukeban Deka is an 80’s franchise comprising a TV show, anime and a couple of movie spin-offs. This belated follow-up sees a mysterious Japanese woman under arrest in New York after being held for assault. The NYPD have since discovered she is a former police operative residing in the US illegally and are accusing her of spying. The cops are also holding her daughter, known only as ‘K’ (Aya Matsuura), whom they intend to deport. Detective Kira (Riki Takeuchi) recruits the initially reluctant K to replace the bomb victim and she is given her mother’s code name, Asayima Saki.
Yo Yo Girl Cop Undercover
Saki befriends Tae (Yui Okada), a shy girl, who is often bullied by a gang led by the High School bitch Reika (Rika Ishikawa). Tae is one of many youngsters accessing a website encouraging kids to revolt and giving them advice on bomb-making. Meanwhile the otherworldly Kimuro (Shunsuke Kubozuka)wanders around the school with an eerie smile on his face. There are also a couple of chemistry lab geeks who like to experiment with explosives. Saki has to figure just who is responsible for the spate of attacks and avoid ending up like her predecessor.
Riki Takeuchi
Fans of Japanese genre movies should know Takeuchi from his work with Takashi Miike, notably in the Dead or Alive movies and Deadly Outlaw: Rekka. Takeuchi also made an appearance in Kenta Fukasaku’s previous film Battle Royale 2 (2003), sending up his macho image with an over-the-top performance, but here he is understated, giving the world-weary Kira an air of dignity, despite his shabby lifestyle.
Kenta Fukasaku Makes Amends for the Atrocious Battle Royale 2: Requiem
Kenta Fukasku’s Battle Royale 2 is one of the worst sequels ever made, on a low par with Highlander 2: The Quickening (Russell Mulcahy 1991). Here Fukasaku redeems himself with an entertaining genre offering that mixes the original Sukeban Deka with the homicidal teen spirit of Michael Lehmann’s Heathers (1988). Although it takes far too long getting Saki into her leather combat outfit (complete with a rather fetching red tie), Yo Yo Girl Cop is a must for fans of J-movies.
- Yo Yo Girl Cop aka Sukeban Deka
- Starring Aya Matsuura, Riki Takeuchi
- Written by Shoichi Maruyama (based on a Manga by Shinji Wada)
- Directed by Kenta Fukasaku
- Running time 98 minutes
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