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!
