This is a generic superhero movie that takes place in japan with Japanese background. It just didn't pull any surprises or anything memorable that stuck. In fact the direction is pretty narrow with Japanese culture and entertainment in it. Basically a guy going from zero to hero and the only thing that is basically unique is that the hero uses zebra as his symbol when fighting crime. And the part of how it shows you how it came about. Another thing I found unique is how the main character Shin'ichi Ichikawa(Sho Aikawa) is a superhero wannabe. And plays hero with a costume on at his own home, which most do during their childhood except this is a grown adult. He is also a family man, but not one that the family look up to. So yeah besides the awkward feel of the movie when it comes to a superhero flick, there really isn't anything all that special about this movie. Like what some reviewers are claiming, this is like a spoof of the superhero genre. The villains in this is also disappointing and hardly memorable at all. Intentional or not they just came off as just goofy and not all that intimidating. Plus the pacing get slower as the movie progresses and the suspense it slightly has dies and just becomes silly. This isn't a terrible movie though, and I wasn't super bored while watching this but also wasn't really excited or engaged in what was going on.5.5/10

Coming as it does from the man who gave us (if you're into gore and consider it in any way a gift) the unbelievably grisly ICHI THE KILLER (not to be confused with Itchy of ITCHY AND SCRATCHY fame), ZEBRAMAN is definitely something from the far end of the spectrum. It harks back to some of my favorite Japanese TV shows- from ULTRAMAN to SUPER INFRAMAN to IRON KING to RED BARON and beyond- and does so in a gentle, loving way. Our soon-to-be hero is actually enamored of one such show and his eventual reincarnation as ZEBRAMAN is about as much fun as you could hope for in a movie like this. Takashi Mike's sure-handed direction never wavers and the uplifting ending makes it all worthwhile. You just gotta believe!

Zebraman: yes, it's a superhero movie nipping at the heels of a glut of recent superhero movies. And yes, it conforms to every trope of the superhero movie genre: loser gets superpowers, triumphs over an unstoppably evil menace, gains love and admiration, etc. And yet, Zebraman has a quality which is more endearing than any other superhero movie of recent memory (even Tobey McGuire's Spiderman, God love him, doesn't elicit as much sympathy as Zebraman).This may be due to Sho Aikawa's affably inept hero: even in grislier Miike films, Aikawa's quirky sputterings and perpetually buggy expression are hard not to like. But even more relevant to Zebraman's success is its director, Takashi Miike.Of course Miike made his reputation as director of the most unbelievably violent films ever put to screen, but the truth is there are plenty of slasher flicks out there gorier and more depraved than even Ichi the Killer (hard to believe, right?). What makes Miike's work so enduring (and the rest dusty bargain-bin items) is something which underlies all the shooting and stabbing and torture: a palpable human thread which somehow pierces right to the heart. Miike's philosophy seems like that of a war-film director: humanity is more sharply noticeable when contrasted against inhumanity.But in Zebraman, we have a new entity for Miike, or at least an entity he only occasionally trots out: a film which goes straight to the humanity in lieu of the usual bloodletting. What violence there is tends toward the comic, and rivals the worst in a PG-13 movie.Needless to say, Ichi-junkies will find Zebraman too tame for words. The arterial-spurt crowd should stick with Fudoh or Gozu for their freaky horror fill. But for the crowd that found Ichi hard to stomach, give Zebraman a try: it's much more palatable.On the negative side, the film does run overlong, and slows down considerably toward the end. But don't despair: Zebraman's ending is well worth the wait. Black and White Ecstacy!

If you're familiar with the genre that's spawned Hakaider, Guyver, Kamen Rider and many a movie based on the TV show harking back to the seventies then a Dirt-bike riding Zebra judo-chopping aliens won't seem quite out of the ordinary.The story approaches the genre in the uniquely Miike fashion, and like a good editor he knows which parts of the story to emphasize.The story starts off with a socially impotent father figure who seems to be failing as a role model to his children, spouse, and community...he gets no respect from anybody. He makes up for it by dressing up as a cosplay geek reliving his childhood by taking on the role of his idol of manly virtue, Zebraman. His costume is crude and fragile, his martial arts pantomime only causes personal injury...When suddenly we learn that the school where he teaches has become an alien epicenter for green jellybeans hellbent on corrupting the youth of today into untameable savages. What is at stake is the total degeneration of Japanese society as we know it, after everyone over ten dies of some kind of jelly bean intestinal disorder. There's a secret gay agent unrequited love subplot that doesn't pan out, and a chaste love story involving our protagonist and a single mom who provide the family oriented support Zebraman needs to attain his destined power.I felt sympathetic for our clutzy protagonist all the way through, i laughed at his foolish behavior and empathized with his despair. The "destroy alien invaders" genre-plot did not get in the way of the characters expressing themselves, and gave structure and conflicts where needed. Even so, the human condition shone through as a worthless feeling man redeems him self in the eyes of everyone he cares about, claim his right to basic human happiness.Actually, the whole cosplay transition to costumed hero thing gets more believable (er, suspension of disbelief that is,) as the story progresses. The action is excellent and over the top as usual, but still family oriented you could say (ichi the killer was NOT a good first date movie). I could accept that Zebraman got his powers from pretty much out of the blue (and because it was fated to him) the same way I can except Godzilla without knowing where he came from (other than the sea of Japan) Die Green Jellies! Watch This Movie.