I am not sure what I just watched but I know I loved it! TOP KNOT DETECTIVE took me on a cheesetastic rollercoaster ride into fame and debauchery where I wasn’t sure if what I was watching was true or fantasy. It was that good. I was transported to a world of monster penises, robots and a time traveling baseball player with a deadly swing which all enhanced this unbelievably believable background story of a man who by the luck of the draw becomes Japan’s most beloved ronin.
Australian filmakers Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce somehow manage to present this mockumentary so realistically that the viewer is ready to sign a petition to bring this false vision to fruition.
We first are exposed to Suttufu, a company who promotes commercials of their own products to saturate the market with crap you really don’t need. But they did one thing right by hiring an actor by the name of Takashi Takamoto who eventually is cast as lead ronin, detective Sheimasu Tantai, in 1970s style martial arts series RONIN SUIRI TENTAI (Deductive Reasoning Ronin). The plot of the series is that Takashi’s only existence is to avenge the death of his master.
The film covers what happened when Suttufu cancelled the series. Bootleg VHS copies made their way to Australia and became a huge cult hit. We are exposed to a variety of scenes from the series and interviews with the cast that never really happened, all filmed in Japanese. This is an extraordinary example of dedication to realism by this Australian team’s first attempt at directing.
I found myself laughing, flinching and scratching my head all at the same time. TOP KNOT DETECTIVE is a must see…you will become a believer.
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