Kekkou Kamen

Publisher
East2west
Director
Nobuhiro KondoNobuhiro Kondo, Noriyasu Kogawa
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
30 mins per episode
Year
1991

The Adventures of Kekkou Kamen VHS

By John Huxley
19th May 04

You probably won't believe me, but I bought this for a specific reason. Which is NOT a perverted one. You see, the character Kekkou Kamen was created by Go Nagai, also the creator of perhaps my favourite anime of all time, Devil Man. As I soon discovered, the two couldn't be more different.

The Adventures of Kekkou Kamen is set in Sparta College, which appears to be a run-of-the-mill educational establishment. Only here, the principal (principle Toecheese) wears a gold mask and what can only be described as a purple jesters costume, and commits acts of wanton perversion upon innocent schoolgirls with his partner in crime the doctor/teacher. If a girl achieves a low test score, they call her in for 'special punishment' (which involves chaining her to a wall and whipping all her clothes off). Only the girls of course, they aren't interested in the boys. Unfortunately for Takahashi Mayumi, she always achieves the lowest test scores in the college. Fortunately for principle Toecheese, she has a great body. Enter Kekkou Kamen. Sporting nothing but red gloves, boots and a mask, she has committed herself to saving the ravaged students of Sparta College with her unique fighting style. To be honest, her fighting style is just one technique, the 'wide spread attack', which is...well...you can use your imagination, can't you?

The tape I purchased contained two episodes, roughly 20 minutes a pop. During each episode principle Toecheese finds a new way to carry out his perverted acts, usually involving a third party. In the first episode it's a Nazi S&M queen, and the second it's a character who's name sounds an awful lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger (and looks an awful lot like him, too). Inevitably, Kekkou Kamen defeats the villains before the 20 minutes are up, while a few schoolgirls loose their clothing and a few bad jokes make up the rest of the episode. The humour rarely rises above expectations, but I guarantee at least a few giggles per episode. The real fun, however, comes from the whole over-the-top nature of Kekkou Kamen that is more parody than straight comedy. Go Nagai punches low, but not once does he try to fool us into Kekkou Kamen is anything other than a juvenile comedy. Put your thinking cap to one side, relax, and you might find yourself enjoying Kekkou Kamen.

Yet, how low does it sink, really? The nudity is full-frontal, although thanks to Japanese censorship laws we never see her most private area/muff/beaver/bush/secret garden/etc. in full view. What will offend certain people is the constant use of torture as an act of pleasure (or at least, others enjoying the sight of torture). Not to mention the Nazi fetishism plastered all over the first episode (such as a schoolgirl being whipped while tied to a giant swastika). Besides this, Kekkou Kamen isn't really any worse than your average Carry On film. No sex, just rude jokes and a bit of nudity (OK, maybe it does go a bit further than Carry On, but the comparison stands).

All in all, it was fun. Bot nothing more. Had the fights been outstanding (as is the case with Devil Man), or any other single aspect noteworthy, then maybe I'd be giving it a higher mark. As it stands, Kekkou Kamen is the very definition of average. You want a superior alternative? Try Ultimate Teacher, or even Project A-KO if you want something less crude.

-- John Huxley 19th May 04

Kekkou Kamen Images