Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2011

It seems that just about every Japanese film these days is based on a manga, so it’s no surprise that Kimio Yanagisawa’s comic Shimin Police 69 has been made into a live-action film. And as a film, it’s perfectly in line with the wacky blend of comedy, action, drama and surrealism that seems to be in favor in recent Japanese cinema. The story revolves around the mysterious crime-fighting group called Shimin Police (Citizens’ Police). Local shlub Yoshikazu (Toshiya Sakai) is about as low on the totem pole as you can get, a 50-something delivery man/conbini clerk who has a crush on a teenage co-worker; he also idolizes the heroic community police force. But could Yoshikazu possibly be carrying out its brave mission in secret? Replete with cartoon gangsters, lotso violence, kooky superheroes and an attempted rape of porn star Saori Hara, Shimin Police 69 will please fanboys and otaku. But not many other people. (102 min)