Hentai specialist Keita Amemiya made the jump from live action TV series to feature films with 1988’s CYBER NINJA. In 1991, Amemiya unleashed ZEIRAM to the Japanese theaters. The film was well received in the international marketplace, and established Amemiya as a top creative talent in the Japanese science-fiction/fantasy field. Amemiya went on to direct such films as MOON OVER TAO, ZERIAM 2, and MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER. The character of Hakaider was previously established in the1970’s series KIKAIDER, only Hakaider was evil and always the opponent of the heroic cyborg Kikaider. However, times have changed and squeaky-clean heroes just don’t cut it any more. So Amemiya instead made the cyborg Hakaider a dark and brooding anti-hero, and set the action in a completely different post-apocalyptic timeline. North American anime merchants Media Blasters have secured a deal with Amemiya to release several of his films through their Tokyo Shock label, and each DVD carries a banner that reads The Keita Amemiya Collection.

In this post apocalyptic future, one man named Girjev took over control of a city called Jesus Town. Like many religious zealots through history, the tyrant Girjev uses religion as an excuse to control the people of the sprawling metropolis that is Jesus Town. His real aim is to maintain his army of cyborg troopers by sapping the will of human beings and use them as soldiers and slaves. In his earlier bid to gain power, Girjev ordered his scientists to build the indestructible robot Hakaider to wage war on his enemies. When Hakaider served his purpose, Girjev imprisoned him underground for eternity. But one day, tomb raiders break into Hakaider’s prison, and accidentally free him. They are rewarded with a swift death. Meanwhile, a group of rebels within Jesus Town plans a massive attack against the cyborg forces of Girjev. Many of the rebels are cutthroats themselves, except for pretty Kaoru, who continuously dreams that a black knight will arrive to save her and the people of Jesus Town from subjugation. Hakaider remembers that Girjev is his enemy, and sets his sights on Girjev and his troops. He rides a specialized motorcycle through the outer perimeter of Jesus Town, and Girjev orders his armored troopers to destroy him before he can reach Girjev’s headquarters. The tyrant assigns his super robot, Mikhail, to oversee the destruction of Hakaider, after all Mikhail was designed to be superior to Hakaider.

Kaoru and the rebels succeed in their plan to steal Girjev’s equipment. Suddenly, the cyborg troopers besiege them. However, it becomes clear the cyborgs are only there to combat Hakaider who enters the battlefield on his motorcycle. The rebels take cover as Hakaider defends himself from the endless wave of cyborg attackers. When all is said and done, Hakaider transforms into a human form and joins Karou and the rebels, as they regroup in the a secret bunker. The rebels don’t have time to ponder Hakaiders origins, however, as Mikhail and his troops reassert themselves. Mikhail blasts Hakaider through the wall of the building and seemingly destroys Hakaider. The cyborg troopers likewise dispose of the rebels. Mikhail leaves only the spirited Kaoru alive, as he plans to break down her will through torture. They leave her battered body laying, and she wanders aimlessly through Jesus Town until a rejuvenated Hakaider comes to her aid, much like the stranger in her dreams. Now Hakaider is fully motivated to finish the task he set for himself—to fight his way into the heart of Girjev’s command center, and kill the tyrant. But first he must overcome the attack of Mikhail, the mechanical menace engineered to replace him…

MECHANICALVIOLATOR HAKAIDER is one of Keita Amemiya’s best films. This is a very low budget affair (2 million), but Amemiya stretches every dollar, and the film looks simply glorious and colorful. MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER is an action/sci-fi B movie, but visually Amemiya gives it the look of an art film to differentiate from all those Hollywood direct-to-video B-fests. The director includes some Hong Kong-style ‘shoot’em up’ action sequences that keep the story rolling whenever things get slow (which is very infrequently). Even during the few slower moments, Amemiya’s visual focus borders on the surreal. The special effects sequences are generally impressive, with the make-up effects, digital effects, and robotics all realistically executed. Kaoru’s dream sequences are particularly effective. The effects only fail in the area of matte paintings. Amemiya may not be the best or most original storyteller, but visually he’s a genius (sounds like definite Hollywood potential to me). Anyway, I’d like to see what he could do with a real budget.

MECHINCAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER has some truly memorable action sequences. The movie starts out similar to THE TERMINATOR; with the title character riding roughshod through his opponents, as gunfire just creates sparks on his armor. Keita Amemiya borrows liberally from John Woo, as the limitless enemy cyborgs all meet their doom in droves, with lots of explosions and bodies flying everywhere. MECHINCAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER climaxes with the dark avenger storming the sterile palace of his creator. Hakaider walks through all the cannon fire, and machine gun bullets just bounce off him. Then our hero combats the robot, Mikhail. The fight between them is long and vicious, until Mikhail literally looses his head. But Girjev quickly reactivates Mikhail’s functions and attaches his head to an even nastier robotic opponent for Hakaider. This violent battle between bullet-firing cyborgs brings to mind the robotic warfare of ROBOCOP 2.

From the Special Features menu, you can view some Production Gallery drawings of Hakaider. From here, you can also select to view the original 55-minute theatrical cut of MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER. Then you can access the Trailer submenu to view these great Tokyo Shock trailers:

• MISA THE DARK ANGEL
• REBORN FROM HELL 2
• MOON OVER TAO

-  Victor Bryant 

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