Live action Film and TV adaptations of the Sukeban Deka graphic novel series go all the way back to the early 70s, plus there is an anime version as well. The gimmick here is that a girl delinquent is coerced into working undercover for the cops at a high school. But she has no gun, only a high tech combat yo-yo. No really. Okay. the main story premise is frankly absurd, but the fans of the manga series are familiar with it and by this point don't care. Anyway, what sets this version apart from its predecessors is the greater use of cutting edge special effects to go along with much more elaborate fight choreography. The camera tracks with the yo-yo during fights, creating great point of view action, for one thing, and often switches to the weapon or fists of her opponent during cross-cuts. The shot-making here was clearly influenced by first person shooter games, and the action has a video game fluidity and sense of fun. The violence is pretty PG stuff for Japan, I suppose so as not to dismay the series largely female following, but the pace is fast and the bad girl showdowns are played just straight enough to keep things from getting silly.

... but the good news is: It's self-awareness of that! It's not another "Azumi", in trying to be dramatic with a premise that is just so outrageously over the top (see the English title, I won't spoil anything from the story), that it would only hurt the movie, if it'd take itself seriously. As I said, there are other movies who do that, but not this fun ride (if you let yourself free and enjoy it, you'll have a good time).It's also recommended to watch it with a few friends. OK (almost) any movie will improve while watching it with friends, or at least the experience most likely will, but this could be best described as "Boys Nights out" movie!

Japanese comic-book craziness abounds in this manga-based movie from director Kenta 'BR2' Fukasaku, and whilst it might not be the greatest action flick ever made, it does feature a yo-yo duel between two sexy babes sporting leather and PVC outfits. That in itself is a reason to watch as far as I'm concerned!Aya Matsuura stars as Saki, a (hot) rebellious teenager who is recruited by a special law-enforcement agency to work undercover in a school where students are being being turned to anarchy by a mysterious website that is counting down to an unknown event. With only 72 hours to go, Saki must try and find out who is behind the site (named Enola Gay, after the plane that dropped the H-bomb on Hiroshima), and what is due to happen when the counter reaches zero.Saki befriends Tae, a (hot) nerd (Yui Okada), who she defends from a group of (hot) school bullies, led by (the very hot) Reika (Rika Ishikawa). And it is Tae who helps Saki discover what exactly is going on, who is responsible, and why.Yo-Yo Girl Cop is an incredibly stylised movie: it begins with some impressive opening credits (in which the silhouetted title character flings her spinning weapon across the screen) and the 'artistic flourishes' continue right up to the finalé. Sometimes the trendy editing gets a bit annoying (particularly with irritating sound effects accompanying every cut or zoom), but it generally suits the subject matter, so I'm willing to be a little more forgiving about this particular bugbear of mine in this instance.Unfortunately, the film doesn't really get going until towards the very end, when Saki gets seriously miffed and dons her sexy getup. Up until that point, she only dabbles in a bit of generally unimpressive yo-yo flinging and gets involved in a couple of brief dust-ups—nothing too spectacular. Much of the time prior to this is spent on developing a plot line about bullying in the school—a commendable bit of social commentary which is vital to the plot, but not exactly riveting stuff.For many western viewers, Yo-Yo Girl Cop, with its OTT action and convoluted plot, might be too much to handle. But for those who have learnt to appreciate the manic style of eastern fantasy cinema, it is passable entertainment.It's also recommended viewing for those who dig Japanese cuties in PVC hot-pants.

I picked this up in Chinatown as an import with no subtitles because the box art looked cool. I didn't know its out here on DVD in two weeks. Then again what I paid for it is better than the 27 buck list price.Okay, managa/anime sourced film about a tough young girl in New York returned to Japan when they find out she's been there illegally. Dumped on the streets she's given a chance to help "the Police" find out who's behind a plot to blow up kids in a school and possibly blow up the city as well. She's given a school girl uniform and a killer yo-yo with which to protect herself. (or something to that effect) Made by the director of the second Battle Royal this is an improvement over that film, while at the same time borrowing some of the angst and visual flourishes of that film. This is a good little movie that movies along even when you don't understand most of whats being said. The action is good, its mostly martial arts until the final confrontation, and several of the fights are better than many of the fights in recent American action films.There are a couple of problems for me. Allowing that I'm watching this in a language not my own the plotting of the villain makes little sense. There's something about the plan that suddenly peters out about an hour in. As I said I couldn't really understand what was being said but there was this sudden WTF moment when I suddenly had the feeling I missed about 10 minutes.(I hope this will be cleared up when I see this in English dub or sub).The other problem is that the yo-yo of the title doesn't really show up until the last half hour. Sure there are a few tentative uses, but mostly its seen just in the final battle with the female baddie. It also doesn't help that the battle is also a tad anti-climatic after all thats gone before. (I won't go into the fact that the battlefield changes a couple of times to work against our heroine- like when a bad magically appears for her to trip over) Definitely watchable-assuming they don't blow any English dub (The wrong dub will kill this so go for subs)-just opt for rental or cable.