Zebraman

Miike takes a stab at the superhero genre. Don't expect this to be a very serious attempt, this isn't Miike trying to establish an alternative to the MCU (but you could've guessed that from the title). Regardless, he commits to the topic and creates a completely charming superhero, silly costume included.

Ichikawa is an elementary school teacher whose life is falling to pieces. His class doesn't respect him, his wife cheats, and his kids are nothing but trouble. The only thing that lifts his spirits is an old superhero franchise called Zebraman. When aliens suddenly invade Earth, Ichikawa decides to take matters into his own hands.

Zebraman is a typical Miike in the sense that there are quite a few scenes that stand out, but also quite a bit of filler that drags out the film unnecessarily. The aliens are awesome, the finale is hilarious, the performances are solid. If only the editing would've been a bit tighter, this could've become a true Miike classic.