Movie Reviews
Arch Angels at the Fantasia Film Festival
By Al Kratina
July 9, 2007 - 10:36

Arch Angels

Japan, 2006

Director: Issei Oda

Writer: Motoki Yoshimura, Issei Oda, Izumi Kawahara (Manga)

Starring: Juri Ueno, Megumi Seki, Airi Taira, Yusuke Iseya

Producers: Dai Miyazaki, Issei Shibata

Genre: Action, Children, Comedy, Superhero

Rating: Not Yet Rated

Distributor: Geneon Entertainment Inc.
Running Time: 94 minutes

On its best day, I find Nickelodeon very confusing. The programming on that station moves at a pace that far outstrips my mind, which is gradually grinding to a halt under the weight of age and endless Sci-Fi channel abuse. Perhaps, like me, you’re interested in reliving those halcyon days of youth, when your mind was sharp and mildly schizophrenic. Likely, the only way to now replicate childhood’s short attention span, sheer, unbridled love of all things flashing, and metabolism that seems to convert bright colours into sugar would be a Benzedrine strip and an epileptic seizure. Failing that, a screening of Arch Angels, which played on Saturday at the Fantasia Film Festival, should do.

An adaptation of the Warau Mikareu Manga by Izumi Kawahara, Arch Angels is the story of young Fumio, whose newly discovered wealthy relatives have placed her in a rich private Christian school. Though she feels like a bit of a misfit, she soon discovers two other girls who share her low-class passion for Ramen noodles. Then, they throw water and dirt on a fire, which gains them superpowers, presumably through some sort of Smokey The Bear kami. A battle with kidnappers and a submarine follows, all told at a hyper-kinetic pace that rushes headlong towards an end that makes no real sense, but doesn’t really care. Music-video director Issei Oda fills the screen with more visuals than the budget can apparently afford, because none of the effects are convincing or particularly impressive, but they have the Shark Boy and Lava Girl look that will no doubt thrill the youngsters. And there’s a bit of strange subtext, with a slight resistance to Western cultural colonialism layered over the anti-classist motifs. However, the sense of innocence and the aggressive pace might alienate older viewers however, especially those still confused by Nickelodeon.

Rating: 6 on 10

alkratina@comicbookbin.com