Cromartie High - The Movie
Encyclopedia
is a 2005 Japanese live-action film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi
(who had previously made Battlefield Baseball
) and starring Takamasa Suga
. The film is based on the manga
Cromartie High School
by Eiji Nonaka which had also been previously adapted as an anime
series.
and thug
s, a school so desperate for students, they even enroll a gorilla
and a bad-tempered robot
. Takashi Kamiyama (played by Takamasa Suga
), a top student, comes to the school to try to join his hapless friend Yamamoto (Tak Sakaguchi
in a cameo role) but Yamamoto can't even pass the entrance exams for Cromartie so Kamiyama is left to go it alone. His efforts to improve the school include starting a Global Defense Force to protect earth from alien
s. The aliens when they do arrive are space apes Gori (screenwriter Shōichirō Masumoto in a furry suit) and lla and the plot becomes a series of parodies of science fiction film
s, martial arts movies and high school comedies among others.
The name of Cromartie High School was taken from the American baseball player Warren Cromartie
who was a star player in Japan for a number of years. Cromartie was unhappy that his name was being used for a school of thugs and delinquents and in 2005 filed an injunction to delay the screening of the movie. The film's director Yamaguchi was able to reach a compromise with Cromartie to allow screening of the film as long as a disclaimer was added that no real person was involved. Cromartie said he still intended bringing a civil suit.
English voice cast
on July 17, 2005. The movie was released theatrically in Japan on July 23, 2005 by Media Suites and the Japanese DVD was issued on January 2, 2006 by King Records (キングレコード).
The New York premiere of Cromartie High School was in June 2006 at the 2006 New York Asian Film Festival
, presented by Subway Cinema. Soon afterwards in July 2006, an English-subtitled and English-dubbed DVD was released by Tokyo Shock as Cromartie High - The Movie.
However, Josh Ralske at AllMovie was disappointed by director Yamaguchi's "haphazard approach to his source material" and lack of focus but does say the film "provides a few genuinely clever and amusing off-the-wall moments".
Another reviewer is more positive but stresses that the film is mainly for devotees of the manga
and anime
series and that the uninitiated may be unimpressed. The review concludes: "As sophomoric and cheap-looking as it is, Sakigake! Cromartie High School is also good, clean, impenetrable fun. Just make sure that you're a fan".
The reviewer for Mania gives the film a B- rating but also maintains that it is mostly for fans and that it "needs some familiarity in order to really enjoy a lot of it.
Another take is the review on CinemaEye which gives it 4 stars with the comment "CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL doesn’t make sense whatsoever. That is the true charm of it. The team behind this knew exactly what they were doing. Extremely entertaining on every level if you just roll with it. It is too bizarre but they sure make you laugh."
Yūdai Yamaguchi
is a Japanese film director who has worked mainly in the comedy and horror genres. He has "made a name for himself by mixing goofy gore with manga-esque escapades and plain utter weirdness".-Life and career:...
(who had previously made Battlefield Baseball
Battlefield Baseball
is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi. The film is written by Gatarō Man, based on his manga series of the same name, and stars Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Itō, and Hideo Sakaki...
) and starring Takamasa Suga
Takamasa Suga
is a Japanese actor that has several lead roles and most recognized as the protagonist in Kamen Rider Ryuki.-Filmography:* Kamen Rider Ryuki as Shinji Kido/Kamen Rider Ryuki...
. The film is based on the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Cromartie High School
Cromartie High School
by Eiji Nonaka, is a Japanese comedy manga, which was subsequently adapted into an anime and a 2005 live-action movie titled Cromartie High - The Movie directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi. It follows the everyday life of Takashi Kamiyama and his odd classmates at Cromartie High School, an infamous school...
by Eiji Nonaka which had also been previously adapted as an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series.
Plot synopsis
The film opens with a black-and-white documentary-like section which recounts the checkered past of Cromartie High, built in 1920 and destroyed six times since then. Then on to the present day school full of violenceViolence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
and thug
Thug
- People :* Thug, a common criminal, who treats others violently and roughly, often for hire* Thug, proper noun, a member of the former Indian cult Thuggee* Thug Behram, a leader of the Thuggee cult- Miscellaneous :...
s, a school so desperate for students, they even enroll a gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
and a bad-tempered robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
. Takashi Kamiyama (played by Takamasa Suga
Takamasa Suga
is a Japanese actor that has several lead roles and most recognized as the protagonist in Kamen Rider Ryuki.-Filmography:* Kamen Rider Ryuki as Shinji Kido/Kamen Rider Ryuki...
), a top student, comes to the school to try to join his hapless friend Yamamoto (Tak Sakaguchi
Tak Sakaguchi
is a Japanese actor, director, fight choreorapher, and stuntman. He is best known for his lead role in Ryuhei Kitamura's cult film, Versus. Sakaguchi is a talented martial artist, and as such, stars in films featuring copious fight scenes and performs all of his own stunts. He is known to be...
in a cameo role) but Yamamoto can't even pass the entrance exams for Cromartie so Kamiyama is left to go it alone. His efforts to improve the school include starting a Global Defense Force to protect earth from alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
s. The aliens when they do arrive are space apes Gori (screenwriter Shōichirō Masumoto in a furry suit) and lla and the plot becomes a series of parodies of science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
s, martial arts movies and high school comedies among others.
Production
Director Yamaguchi has said that the author of the original manga, Eiji Nonaka told him to "Do whatever you want" when he learned that a film was to be made of the manga. Yamaguchi took him at his word and did not read the manga or look at the anime version before directing his film. Because of the episodic nature of the original manga, the screenplay took a year and a half to write.The name of Cromartie High School was taken from the American baseball player Warren Cromartie
Warren Cromartie
Warren Livingston Cromartie is a retired American baseball player.-Baseball career:Warren Cromartie debuted with the Montreal Expos of the Major Leagues on September 6, 1974 after being picked 6th in the 1973 amateur draft...
who was a star player in Japan for a number of years. Cromartie was unhappy that his name was being used for a school of thugs and delinquents and in 2005 filed an injunction to delay the screening of the movie. The film's director Yamaguchi was able to reach a compromise with Cromartie to allow screening of the film as long as a disclaimer was added that no real person was involved. Cromartie said he still intended bringing a civil suit.
Cast
- Takamasa SugaTakamasa Sugais a Japanese actor that has several lead roles and most recognized as the protagonist in Kamen Rider Ryuki.-Filmography:* Kamen Rider Ryuki as Shinji Kido/Kamen Rider Ryuki...
as Takashi Kamiyama - Ryūji Akiyama as Makio Tanaka
- Kai AtōKai Atois a male Japanese actor and TV presenter. His real name is , and his former stage name was using different kanji characters.-History:As a kid, Atō was a baseball player in his hometown...
as Kai Atō - Tomoaki Azuma as Sho
- Hiroyuki Baba as Tanaka's friend
- Kenichi Endo as Pootan 1
- Shinya HashimotoShinya Hashimoto, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
as Hustle King Shinya Hashimoto - Itsuji ItaoItsuji Itaois a Japanese comedian and actor. He is a member of the comedy duo 130R and former cast member of one of Downtown's previous shows. He usually appears in their batsu games.-Movies:*2001 Desert Moon ... Interviewer*2002 The Blessing Bell ... Prisoner...
as Masked Takenouchi - Mika KanaiMika Kanaiis a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is currently attached to Ken Production. Her pet name is . She is best known for her roles in Idol Tenshi Yōkoso Yōko , Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka , Goldfish Warning! , Soreike! Anpanman , Yadamon , After War Gundam X , Tokyo...
as Mechazawa Beta (voice) - Noboru Kaneko as Takeshi Hokuto
- Mitsuki KogaMitsuki KogaMitsuki Koga born January 16, 1975, is a Japanese actor who is known to be featured in films that involve much martial arts...
as Shinjirō Hayashida - Shōichirō Masumoto as Space Apeman Gori / Noboru Yamaguchi
- Tak SakaguchiTak Sakaguchiis a Japanese actor, director, fight choreorapher, and stuntman. He is best known for his lead role in Ryuhei Kitamura's cult film, Versus. Sakaguchi is a talented martial artist, and as such, stars in films featuring copious fight scenes and performs all of his own stunts. He is known to be...
as Ichiro Yamamoto - Yoshihiro TakayamaYoshihiro Takayamais a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Takayama is well known for his ability to endure massive amounts of punishment, especially after his fight at PRIDE 21 against Don Frye...
as Yutaka Takenouchi - Shinji Takeda as Shin'ichi Mechazawa (voice)
- Kanji TsudaKanji Tsudais a Japanese actor.He played Katsuya Tokunaga in the Japanese film The Grudge. He is married and has one child. He is managed by La Sette talent agency....
as Interviewer A - Hiroyuki WatanabeHiroyuki Watanabeis a Japanese actor who was born in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. He graduated from Takushoku University and is married to . He primarily acts in dramas, of which a handful are tokusatsu series. One of his most recent roles was as Taiga Saejima in the tokusatsu series GARO...
as Freddy - Hiroshi Yamamoto as Akira Maeda / Maeda's Mother
English voice cast
- Ruben Arvizu as Mechazawa Beta / Priest / lla
- Bob BuchholzBob BuchholzBob Buchholz is a voice actor, writer, story editor, and voice director. He is also known as Robert Wicks, Robert Buchholz, Bob Bucholz, Robert Bucholz, and Robert Wickes.- Anime roles :* Akira - Ryu...
as Takenouchi - Peter Doyle as Takeshi Hokuto
- Grant George as Hayashida
- Taliesin JaffeTaliesin JaffeTaliesin Jaffe is an American voice director, script writer, voice actor, and former child actor.Jaffe was born in Los Angeles, California. He is known for directing and writing many English language anime titles for New Generation Pictures, most notably R.O.D the TV and Hellsing...
as Hokuto's Henchman / Ippo / Member 1 - Dan LorgeDan Lorge-Anime roles:* Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo - Otto, Baron von Horny, Youngest Triple Bag* Cowboy Bebop - Additional Voices* Digimon Adventure - Monzaemon, WaruMonzaemon* Digimon Adventure 02 - Seadramon, Cody's Grandpa* Rurouni Kenshin - Shiro...
as Hijacker / Actor 1 - Yuri LowenthalYuri LowenthalYuri Lowenthal is a voice actor that has voiced several anime and video game characters. He also voiced Kamal for the alternate reality game I Love Bees....
as Ichiro Yamamoto / Mashiba - Dave MallowDave MallowDave Mallow is an American voice actor. One of his known aliases is Colin Phillips.-Life and career:Mallow was born in Park Ridge, Illinois. His father worked in radio and television and was a thirty year on-air veteran at Chicago's WGN. He attained a BFA in Theater Arts from Drake University in...
as Masa - Michael McConnohieMichael McConnohieMichael D. McConnohie is a voice actor and is the President of the Nevada-based Voxworks voice-acting corporation. He is known for his recognizable deep booming voice and is generally known for playing more charismatic characters...
as Shinichi Mechazawa / Narrator - Kristen Rutherford as Woman Islander / Bride
- Patrick SeitzPatrick SeitzPatrick Seitz is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Script Writer primarily known for his work for Geneon Entertainment, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment, Media Blasters, NYAV Post, New Generation Pictures, Funimation Entertainment, and Viz Media...
as Ladies Man / Sendo - Doug StoneDoug Stone (voice actor)Douglas David Stone is a voice actor who is most notable for his representation of the character Psycho Mantis from the popular video game Metal Gear Solid, as well as the voice of Matt Trakker and several other characters in M.A.S.K., and Dragonborg in Beetleborgs Metallix...
as Gori / Actor 2 / Noburo Yamaguchi / Electrician - Ezra WeiszEzra WeiszEzra E. Weisz is a voice actor who is also known as Ethan Murray.-Career:Ezra Weisz is a prolific voice actor in the anime community, having done voices in various anime shows such as Outlaw Star, The Big O, Rave Master, and Scryed. He is also well-known for his past voice work in Saban...
as Maeda - Dan WorenDan WorenDaniel E. Woren is an American voice actor who is also known as Jackson Daniels, Warren Daniels, Dan Warren, Daniel Woren, and Dan Worren...
as Kai Atő
Release
Cromartie High was shown at the 9th Puchon International Fantastic Film FestivalPuchon International Fantastic Film Festival
The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival , or PiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea...
on July 17, 2005. The movie was released theatrically in Japan on July 23, 2005 by Media Suites and the Japanese DVD was issued on January 2, 2006 by King Records (キングレコード).
The New York premiere of Cromartie High School was in June 2006 at the 2006 New York Asian Film Festival
New York Asian Film Festival
The New York Asian Film Festival was first held in 2002, growing out of the previous year's New York Korean Film Festival...
, presented by Subway Cinema. Soon afterwards in July 2006, an English-subtitled and English-dubbed DVD was released by Tokyo Shock as Cromartie High - The Movie.
Reception
Todd Brown at Twitch Film gave a very positive review calling the film "deliriously fun stuff" with a "fantastic visual style" and "jammed with bursts of stylish action, visual gags, film references and as much plain old oddity as Yamaguchi can possibly jam in there."However, Josh Ralske at AllMovie was disappointed by director Yamaguchi's "haphazard approach to his source material" and lack of focus but does say the film "provides a few genuinely clever and amusing off-the-wall moments".
Another reviewer is more positive but stresses that the film is mainly for devotees of the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series and that the uninitiated may be unimpressed. The review concludes: "As sophomoric and cheap-looking as it is, Sakigake! Cromartie High School is also good, clean, impenetrable fun. Just make sure that you're a fan".
The reviewer for Mania gives the film a B- rating but also maintains that it is mostly for fans and that it "needs some familiarity in order to really enjoy a lot of it.
Another take is the review on CinemaEye which gives it 4 stars with the comment "CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL doesn’t make sense whatsoever. That is the true charm of it. The team behind this knew exactly what they were doing. Extremely entertaining on every level if you just roll with it. It is too bizarre but they sure make you laugh."