Tenjho Tenge - Round One
The Todo Academy, the setting for the broadcast seriesTenjho Tenge(2004), was created to revive Tokugawa era martial arts: it's a high school of brawling thugs, ruled by a student "executive council." But instead of the stylized duels ofRevolutionary Girl Utenaor the slapstick chaos ofReal Bout High,Tenjho Tengeoffers sadistic violence. When two-bit toughs Souichiro and Bob enter Todo Academy, they plan on taking over, but they're way out of their league. They're forced to join the Juken Club, run by the Natsume sisters. Aya disguises her voluptuous figure to appear as a midget; Maya flaunts her Grand Canyon-esque cleavage. The filmmakers throw in hip-hop music, breakdance moves, and lip service to martial arts philosophy, butTenjho Tengedepicts brutality and sexism, notbushido. (Rated 16 and older: nudity, risqué humor, sexual situations, violence, violence against women, ethnic stereotyping)--Charles Solomon