Even in an industry such as the Japanese, where perversion and absurdness can be found in abundance, “Hentai Kamen” (could be translated as Masked Pervert, although it mostly circulated as “Forbidden Super Hero”) holds a certain place. Why? Mostly because never before has a superhero used his perversion, and subsequently, women's underwear, as his weapon, although this is only one of the elements that make the protagonist, and thus the movie, unique.
HK: Forbidden Super Hero is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
The story is based on the manga “Kyukyoku!! Hentai Kamen”, created by Keishu Ando, and revolves around a college student. Kyosuke, however, is not your regular youthster, although his timid nature is probably the most common trait of the protagonists of similar mange/anime titles. On the contrary, our hero (?) is tall and strong but even more, he is the son of a cop, who died on duty, and a dominatrix, who continues to work in the profession and even mocks him for his lack of sexual life and overall shyness. When a new transfer student named Aiko Himeno arrives at school, Kyosuke feels the first windings of love, but his personality does not allow him much, even when the girl is the first to show interest. When a hostage situation involving her takes place in school, he learns by chance that wearing women's used underwear on his face awakens the dormant powers of his dominatrix mother and, combined with the influence of his policeman father's strong sense of justice, transforms him into a superhero – Hentai Kamen. The most absurd hero in history manages to save the day, but soon finds himself having to face media coverage, an identity crisis and scores of enemies sent by Tamao, another transfer student who wants to take over the school with his money, starting with the karate club.
Taking a concept that, disturbingly, is not so infrequent in Japan, but actually reason for extreme shame in the rest of the world, and combining it with notions that are deemed heroic (bravery, persistence, self-sacrifice) in order to create a super-hero movie is an idea that is unique, as it is genuinely Japanese. Of course, the concept in focus is stealing women's panties and male perversion in general, which, Fukuda, actually elevates to the highest power in the world, since Hentai Kamen is proven all-mighty, but also finds the only worthy opponent in the face of a man who seems to be more perverted than he is.
If that was not enough, the way Hentai Kamen flaunts his techniques, and particularly his ultimate weapon, the rubbing-his-balls-in-the-faces of-his- opponents-and-spinning-his-whole-body-around is as preposterous as it can get, and results in a movie for anyone who really appreciates crude humor in order to enjoy.
Behind all the preposterousness and the cheap SFX however, there are some social and philosophical comments hidden here. The Japanese hypocrisy regarding the depiction of sex, which results in a plethora of extreme titles (hentai anime or not) that are, by law, forced to hide female and male genitalia, seems to be the main critique here, particularly through the way the protagonist seems to do the exact opposite. (No breaking of the law though, do not worry). The way specific groups raise to power by exploiting the law is another comment, as much as how the lives of parents affect their offspring. Some notions of homosexuality can also be tracked, particularly through the way the quite fit male bodies of the protagonists are depicted, and despite the fact that one of the central concepts of the story is the love between a boy and a girl. Lastly, the concept of identity, and the way people have one “face” for the world to see and a more real one they keep mostly hidden, is also presented here, along with what happens when these two clash.
Of course, any kind of context is pretty much lost in the nonsensical premises of the film, which actually extend to all its production aspects, including cinematography, editing, make-up, costumes, and most of all, acting, which is as hyperbolic as one would expect from such a narrative.
“HK: Forbidden Hero” is preposterous, crude and nonsensical, but also one of the funniest and most unique films you will ever watch. A true experience.
