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Sky High (2003 film)
Encyclopedia
Sky High is a supernatural
action film
from director Ryuhei Kitamura
. It is based on the manga
of the same title
by Tsutomu Takahashi
and serves as a prequel
to a Japanese television drama of the same name
, and starring the same actress, Yumiko Shaku
. Although the film is a prequel to the series, the film was made while the series was still in production, sometime between the first and second seasons. The film had a clear effect on the direction of the second season, as evidenced in the look and style of Mina/Izuko's second season costuming—more similar to the darker, edgier look she sports in the film, as opposed to the softer, colourful, kimono-like outfit of the first season. The film reveals how the somewhat meek Mina became the heroic Izuko, as seen in the series (and the film’s action climax).
.
On the day he is to be married, Detective Kanzaki, who happens to be on the case, discovers that his fiancé Mina has been murdered with her heart also missing. He also learns that the killers are Kudo, a geneticist, and his evil secretary Rei. The two are trying to obtain six hearts from the guardians so that they may call forth a horde of demon
s from the Gate of Rage and have their every desire granted. Only problem is, once they open the gate the entire world will be covered in darkness.
Meanwhile, in the afterlife, Mina encounters Izuko, the Guardian of the Gate. Izuko gives her three options: Mina can choose to ascend to heaven
and be reborn, she can choose to forever walk the earth as a ghost
or she can choose to curse
one of the living to death and as a result be cursed to descend to hell
. Mina has 12 days to make her choice.
category, however it is very much a crime thriller about a cop (Kanzaki), whose fiancé (Mina) is only the latest victim in a series of macabre serial killings of young women. He uses his forensic skills as a detective to slowly uncover the identity of the killer—unknowingly aided by the ghost of Mina, who is desperately trying to figure out the identity of her own killer. The killer is revealed to be a woman (Rei) who is a fallen Guardian, risen from the dead; defeating her will require delving into fantasy and legend. Sky High is also a romance
about love and loss as Mina faces a greater destiny ... becoming the new Guardian of the Gate and defending it against evil (the role her character plays in the television series).
, starring the same actress (Yumiko Shaku
) in the lead role of Izuko—or specifically, the "new" Izuko, as the film is considered a prequel
to the TV series
, revealing how Mina Saeki (Shaku) came to replace the previous Guardian and take her position as the Izuko we see in the series. Although the film makes much greater use of action, martial arts, and big budget special effects than the series is capable, both follow the same continuity. TV-Asahi, the Japanese television network behind the TV series
is also the theatrical film's primary production company. The movie is helmed by popular action director Ryuhei Kitamura
, best known for his Verses
series of films, as well as other popular draws such as Azumi and Godzilla: Final Wars
. Kitamura also directed several episodes of the TV series, and following the film's box office success, Sky High 2
(or Season 2) was quickly put into production by the network for January 2004, utilizing many elements from the film, including its darker, edgier look, and improved sets and effects.
The film's screenplay
was written by Isao Kiriyama, based on the manga Sky High
by Tsutomu Takahashi
.
The closing theme for the movie is "Horizon" by Hyde (L'Arc-en-Ciel and Vamps
).
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
from director Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura
-External links:*...
. It 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...
of the same title
Skyhigh (manga)
is a Japanese manga which spawned a popular live-action TV drama, starring Yumiko Shaku, and 2003 theatrical release starring the same actress in a big budget prequel to the TV series. The manga was written by Japanese manga author Tsutomu Takahashi...
by Tsutomu Takahashi
Tsutomu Takahashi
' , born on September 20, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist, who is well known for his manga Jiraishin. As of March 2006, he is currently married and has one child...
and serves as a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to a Japanese television drama of the same name
Sky High (TV series)
is a live-action, supernatural Japanese television drama series, starring actress and model, Yumiko Shaku. It aired in Japan, first run, from 2003 to 2004, and was popular enough to spawn the 2003 feature film of the same name . Both are based on the Japanese manga, Skyhigh...
, and starring the same actress, Yumiko Shaku
Yumiko Shaku
, born in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese actress and model. Her management is Tommy's Artist Company.- TV Dramas :*2011: BOSS...
. Although the film is a prequel to the series, the film was made while the series was still in production, sometime between the first and second seasons. The film had a clear effect on the direction of the second season, as evidenced in the look and style of Mina/Izuko's second season costuming—more similar to the darker, edgier look she sports in the film, as opposed to the softer, colourful, kimono-like outfit of the first season. The film reveals how the somewhat meek Mina became the heroic Izuko, as seen in the series (and the film’s action climax).
Plot
A serial-murderer is on the loose who just so happens to also be removing the hearts of his victims and taking them with him. His victims however, are not merely random humans as thought by the police. They are in fact, the past and present guardians of the gateway of the afterlifeAfterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
.
On the day he is to be married, Detective Kanzaki, who happens to be on the case, discovers that his fiancé Mina has been murdered with her heart also missing. He also learns that the killers are Kudo, a geneticist, and his evil secretary Rei. The two are trying to obtain six hearts from the guardians so that they may call forth a horde of demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s from the Gate of Rage and have their every desire granted. Only problem is, once they open the gate the entire world will be covered in darkness.
Meanwhile, in the afterlife, Mina encounters Izuko, the Guardian of the Gate. Izuko gives her three options: Mina can choose to ascend to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and be reborn, she can choose to forever walk the earth as a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
or she can choose to curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
one of the living to death and as a result be cursed to descend to hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. Mina has 12 days to make her choice.
Multiple Genres
A big budget feature film prequel to a television series, Sky High is not an easy film to classify, as it comfortably fits into multiple genres. It is typically classified in the action or martial artsMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
category, however it is very much a crime thriller about a cop (Kanzaki), whose fiancé (Mina) is only the latest victim in a series of macabre serial killings of young women. He uses his forensic skills as a detective to slowly uncover the identity of the killer—unknowingly aided by the ghost of Mina, who is desperately trying to figure out the identity of her own killer. The killer is revealed to be a woman (Rei) who is a fallen Guardian, risen from the dead; defeating her will require delving into fantasy and legend. Sky High is also a romance
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
about love and loss as Mina faces a greater destiny ... becoming the new Guardian of the Gate and defending it against evil (the role her character plays in the television series).
Production
The film opened in Japanese theaters in late 2003. Its premiere followed in the footsteps of the popular Sky High television seriesSky High (TV series)
is a live-action, supernatural Japanese television drama series, starring actress and model, Yumiko Shaku. It aired in Japan, first run, from 2003 to 2004, and was popular enough to spawn the 2003 feature film of the same name . Both are based on the Japanese manga, Skyhigh...
, starring the same actress (Yumiko Shaku
Yumiko Shaku
, born in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese actress and model. Her management is Tommy's Artist Company.- TV Dramas :*2011: BOSS...
) in the lead role of Izuko—or specifically, the "new" Izuko, as the film is considered a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the TV series
Sky High (TV series)
is a live-action, supernatural Japanese television drama series, starring actress and model, Yumiko Shaku. It aired in Japan, first run, from 2003 to 2004, and was popular enough to spawn the 2003 feature film of the same name . Both are based on the Japanese manga, Skyhigh...
, revealing how Mina Saeki (Shaku) came to replace the previous Guardian and take her position as the Izuko we see in the series. Although the film makes much greater use of action, martial arts, and big budget special effects than the series is capable, both follow the same continuity. TV-Asahi, the Japanese television network behind the TV series
Sky High (TV series)
is a live-action, supernatural Japanese television drama series, starring actress and model, Yumiko Shaku. It aired in Japan, first run, from 2003 to 2004, and was popular enough to spawn the 2003 feature film of the same name . Both are based on the Japanese manga, Skyhigh...
is also the theatrical film's primary production company. The movie is helmed by popular action director Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura
-External links:*...
, best known for his Verses
Versus (film)
is a 2000 Japanese action/horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.-Synopsis:After escaping from police custody, Prisoner KSC2-303 and a fellow escapee join with a group of mobsters in a forest that is one of the 666 portals that act as a connection between this world and the next, called "The...
series of films, as well as other popular draws such as Azumi and Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla: Final Wars
is a 2004 Japanese science fiction-kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series' Millennium era...
. Kitamura also directed several episodes of the TV series, and following the film's box office success, Sky High 2
Sky High (TV series)
is a live-action, supernatural Japanese television drama series, starring actress and model, Yumiko Shaku. It aired in Japan, first run, from 2003 to 2004, and was popular enough to spawn the 2003 feature film of the same name . Both are based on the Japanese manga, Skyhigh...
(or Season 2) was quickly put into production by the network for January 2004, utilizing many elements from the film, including its darker, edgier look, and improved sets and effects.
The film's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was written by Isao Kiriyama, based on the manga Sky High
Skyhigh (manga)
is a Japanese manga which spawned a popular live-action TV drama, starring Yumiko Shaku, and 2003 theatrical release starring the same actress in a big budget prequel to the TV series. The manga was written by Japanese manga author Tsutomu Takahashi...
by Tsutomu Takahashi
Tsutomu Takahashi
' , born on September 20, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist, who is well known for his manga Jiraishin. As of March 2006, he is currently married and has one child...
.
The closing theme for the movie is "Horizon" by Hyde (L'Arc-en-Ciel and Vamps
Vamps
Vamps is a Japanese rock band formed in 2008 by Hyde and K.A.Z, and signed to Hyde's record label Vamprose.- History :...
).