We begin with a group of treasure hunters entering an underground tunnel system in search of riches. Instead of gold, the group finds a man bound by chains in the darkness. This does not seem right; the room had seemingly been sealed for quite some time. Then, a flash in the darkness and the man is free, but changed from his human form into the robot Hakaider. The menacing, deadly robot quickly dispatches the treasure hunters. (They didn't seem all that nice anyway.)
Now freed, Hakaider mourns his similarly chained motorcycle and makes a beeline for Jesus Town. Now what could he have against Gurjev, I wonder? In any case, no sooner has our menacing hero entered the town than Gurjev's forces are sent out to protect the citizens and destroy Hakaider. At the same time, the rebel force fighting Gurjev's rule decides to strike.
Before long, Hakaider is teamed with the rebels, seeking to regain their freedom from the tyranny of Gurjev and the murderous ways of his angel, Michael (oh, I get it now, Michael as in the Arc Angel Michael).
What follows is a series of escalating battles as Hakaider makes his way to Michael and Gurjev. We get chases on motorcycles, a sneak attack by Gurjev's robotic army, and a knock-down drag-out fight to the death with Michael. Each battle is expertly staged, and rather thrilling when you consider what little they really had to work with.
In addition to the fights, the story has some philosophical elements. There are bits of bigger ideas, like the value of life, the idea of destiny, what a leader must do to protect is subjects. The deeper meanings are tenuous at best; they are there, and add to the experience of low-budget dystopian science fiction/action epic.
Writer/director Keita Amemiya's career is littered with low-budget bot-based fare. With each one, he seems to bring something a little new to the table, and always within the low budget constraints. The tone of this outing is somber, as it balances action versus the search of self in the face of potential destruction.
Article comments