Following his dramatic second feature, “Good-Bye Silence”, Kenichi Ugana decided to change styles completely, ending up with a “silly”, distinctly Japanese comedy, which parodies the super hero genre in a way similar to “HK: Forbidden Super Hero“. The result was quite successful, since “Wild Virgins” screened on festivals all over the world, including the 38th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and the 40th Fantafestival.
When he was a young boy, Mikio Hoshimura believed that super powers can actually save people, instigated by his favorite anime at the time, “Super Virginia”. However, he could not save his ailing mother who died at the time, and the realization turned him into a complete loser, who, at 29-years-old, has no friends, no girlfriend, and is the ridicule of the company he works for, always placed at the bottom of the rankings. The only one in the office who seems to have some sympathy for him is the second worse, Masaomi Tsukino, the only one who matches him in how much of a loser he is. Things change, however, when Akiyama, a new recruit who also happens to be a gorgeous girl, takes an interest in Hoshimura, essentially giving him hope for his life.
All his happy notions come crashing down during a company party, when Hoshimura tries to defend Akiyama from the rather lecherous advances of their boss, Seijiro, only to be left with a broken nose and severely beaten, in the film’s most brutal scene. As Akiyama helps him to the hospital, they find themselves being chased by a baboon, while a bit afterwards, he realizes that the urban legend of people over 30 who have not had sex becoming wizards, is actually not a legend at all. With a power of emitting laser beams from his eyes (to his great pain), Hoshimura decides to save the world, eventually becoming a duo with the baboon. Life for superheroes, however, is not that easy.
Kenichi Ugana directs an ode to losers, which uses its rather absurd and full of gags humor to also make some rather pointy social comments. The way society treats those the majority perceives as losers is the most central one, but the story also deals with white-collar “politics”, the obsession with deeming unusual people as perverts and the difficulties of forming a relationship in contemporary Japan.
However, “Wild Virgins” is not a social drama, but a slapstick comedy, and it is here where the narrative truly thrives. First, the chemistry of Tomoya Maeno and Tateto Serizawa, with the first acting as completely innocent and the second as perverted as possible, is great and actually carries the movie through its many gags. The addition of the gorgeous Hinako Sano as Akiyama intensifies the chemistry of the cast, with her occasionally sultry innocence proving a great addendum to the comic duo. Furthermore, Takayuki Hamatsu is a great villain as Seijiro, while Takumi Saito’s presence provides a sense of mystery which eventually, and inevitably, turns into something preposterous.
The whole concept of the two superheroes whose powers do not amount for much, the way people initially consider them as perverts and stalkers, the revelation of their identity, the baboon’s wish to return to Africa and his transformation that always includes traditional African sounds, result in a number of hilarious episodes, with Ugana making the most of the silliness of the whole concept. Eventually, and particularly in the finale with the rather unlikely battle over the Earth, the sense of measure is completely lost, but Ugana somehow manages to make the whole thing work, even if in preposterous ways.
On the other hand, the movie could do without the constant yelling, while at 103 minutes, it somewhat overextends its welcome. These, however, are minor faults, and the overall sense the narrative leaves is quite good.
Production-wise, Ugana makes the most of his low budget to present SFX that actually add to the overall absurd aesthetics of the film, with his approach working quite nicely, as exhibited in the truly lousy, but also hilarious costumes.
“Wild Virgins” demands from its audience to appreciate the slapstick, somewhat perverted and definitely non-PC style of humor of Japanese comedies. Those who do though, will definitely discover a hilarious movie, which, additionally, uses its extreme style of humor to camouflage its social satire.
