Midweek Madness: Battlefield Stadium Reviewed!

Today's episode of CSI was among the best I've seen this season, surprising me just when I thought it was going to be another cut and dried by the numbers murder case. Fantastical as it may have seemed, I am reminded again though that life is more often than not stranger than fiction..but this is material for another entry. Tonight, I review another obscure Japanese movie.

I'll just say one thing first: you'll either hate this flick, or love it to bits.

Helmed by Versus director Yudai Yamaguchi (plus it stars the same lead) Jigoku Koshien (or Battlefield Stadium/Baseball, depending on where you are) is a silly, fun-filled romp into live-action anime madness. Loosely based on a manga, it tells the story of the Seido High baseball team who as luck would have it find out they have to face the literally evil Gedo High team in their first match of the year. Normally this wouldn't pose much of a problem except for one thing: Gedo High's players are all monsters, and they've killed every other team in their way.

Yup, you read that right. And I really mean monsters. There's the long-chinned zombie coach in a cowboy hat and boots, a mummy that speaks through a transistor radio plugged into its throat and even a guy with a nut permanently stuck in his cranium, among others. These guys are grey/green and they're definitely mean. Okay, with me so far? It gets better. As Seido's principal laments his team's potential demise, a ray of hope shuffles in in the form of Yakyu Jubeh (Tak Sakaguchi), the new transfer to the school. Jubeh is talented, but he'd sworn off the sport after accidentally killing his father with a pitch that literally went through him. Will the coach be able to persuade Jubeh to join the lineup and prevent almost certain death? Does Jubeh find the long lost family he's been looking for all this while? Will the plot get even sillier?

By this time, you'll know the answers, even without me telling. Battlefield Stadium is sheer silliness personified. From the random musical bits than happen (complete with rose coloured filter on the camera), to the over the top disregard for the laws of physics and gravity, you know this is a film with its tongue firmly planted in cheek ("What, you expecting to be saved by a senior with long hair and a dirty uniform?" asks a fellow teammate's mother who angered by her son's involvement in baseball, locks him in a cage). There is nothing even remotely serious about it, and fans of the unusual quirky brand of Japanese humour will find plenty of laughs here. It is this that forms the film's main strength as well as its weakness. BS (amazing acronym eh?) is almost too specific, until it's in danger of alienating all but the staunchest otaku.

That aside, there are moments of hilarity that transcend any description, for instance Jubeh's musical number explaining his decision to retire from baseball and the obvious Matrix-inspired kung-fu scene between himself and the mother (who turns out to be HIS mother as well). The film is so low budget and the acting and storyline barely making the grade that the only thing saving it is the obvious enthusiasm of the actors, as well as the aforementioned sense of humour.

In short, BS is a quirky little flick that is worth a watch just because of the humour and strangely enough, the spirit of fair play it advocates. There are no hidden meanings or deep issues here. Battlefield Stadium is a good way to while away a rainy afternoon, and I dare say it beats Akademi Fantasia any time hands down.

Ash.ox gives Battlefield Stadium a 3 out of 5.