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Released by: Cinema Epoch
Released on: 11/11/08
Director: Daigo Udagawa
Cast: Mihiro, Shou Nishino, Rio Nakamura, Yuken Yoshida, Seiji Nakamitsu
Year: 2007
The Movie:
Written and directed by Daigo Udagawa, Yo-Yo Sexy Girl Cop is the story of a gorgeous high school student named Saki (Mihiro) who leads a secret life as an undercover agent for the Japanese government. She's been sent to a fancy-schmancy girl's school to investigate and put a stop to a prostitution ring that's being run out of the facility. Her employers haven't sent her there empty handed, however, as she's got a yo-yo and a pair of see-through underwear to help her along the way.
Once Saki arrives she finds out that the people behind the prostitution ring are actually the teachers and staff members at the school. To keep her cover cool, she winds up becoming fast friends with one of the high school hookers named Asaka and soon finds herself making face time with one of the local jocks, a guy named Takuya. Aside from that, however, she finds herself getting picked on by a lot of the students. When Asaka winds up dead, however, all bets are off and Saki decides to leap into action and take a bunch of suckers down with her yo-yo.
The premise is interesting enough, but this movie ultimately falls a little flat. Yes, there are plenty of cute Japanese school girls running around doing their thing and there's a fair bit of T&A on display here and there but the story isn't anything to write home about nor are the action scenes. A spoof of the popular Yo-Yo Girl Cop film, Daigo Udagawa obviously hopes that the infusion of the 'sexy' elements will help his film stand out but unfortunately the sex scenes in the film are rather clumsy both in terms of their erotic element as well as in terms of how competently they're shot. The film is also full of cliché after cliché and while this is probably done on purpose, after all the film is supposed to be a parody, when the script is dull and really predictable shaping your characters into stereotypes doesn't really do your movie any favors at all.
What the film has going for it is the presence of Mihiro in the lead role of Saki. She's a very attractive girl and quite endearing with a natural charisma and genuinely likeable screen presence. While she isn't the world's greatest actress she does handle the part well and she winds up making an otherwise lackluster film at least marginally watchable.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The film is presented 1.33.1 fullframe, which appears to be the proper aspect ratio for the movie. The feature was shot on video so it's a bit soft looking but otherwise it looks perfectly acceptable in this presentation even if this isn't a reference quality transfer. Colors look good and black levels are reasonably strong even if detail levels waver a bit here and there. You won't notice any edge enhancement but some minor compression artifacts do show up from time to time.
The Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is fine. Dialogue is clean and clear and there are no problems with the levels or with any hiss or distortion. Optional English are included which are easy to read and free of any typos.
The only really substantial extra on this release is a behind the scenes featurette (24:57) that presents a fly-on-the-wall look at the film as it was being shot. We get a look at some of the action scenes and some of the scenes that take place in the school but unfortunately, someone forgot to include any English subtitles for this material, so it's all in Japanese. Aside from that, there's a trailer for the feature, a still gallery, some classy animated menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word
A moderately amusing shot on video cheapie, Yo-Yo Sexy Girl Cop isn't as exciting as it sounds. It's worth a watch for hardcore fans of sexy Japanese schoolgirl action comedy, but ultimately not really all that good.
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