HK Forbidden Super Hero
Yuchi Fukuda
The story: This is not a sex comedy-satire from Hong Kong like the excellent Vulgaria (2012). HK stands for Hentai Kamen, literally, Pervert Mask. High-school student Kyosuke (Ryohei Suzuki) discovers that he has superhuman powers – when he wears a pair of panties over his head. To protect Aiko (Fumika Shimizu) whom he has a crush on, he has to defeat a creepy teacher (Ken Yasuda). Based on the manga Kyukyoku!! Hentai Kamen (Ultimate!! Pervert Mask, 1992-1993).

Spandex thong, fishnet stockings and a pair of panties over the head – this male superhero outfit is not for the faint of heart.
Kyosuke also discovers along the way that in order for his powers to be unleashed, the panties cannot be brand-new – they have to have been worn.
It is hard to imagine any American summer blockbuster superhero in such an unorthodox get-up. But in Japan, where soiled panties can be bought from vending machines, the idea is much less of a stretch.
It helps that director Yuichi Fukuda fully embraces the B-grade bizarreness of the material.
More than that, he rubs it in your face with close-ups of Hentai Kamen’s crotch. It so happens that one of his power moves involves shoving a baddie’s face right into his nether regions.
Hats off to Ryohei Suzuki (The Full Throttle Girl, 2011) for fearlessly taking on this role. When he transforms into Hentai Kamen, you have to wonder how and exactly where safety tape was used.
On top of which, he manages to earnestly deliver some tricky dialogue. “Those are my golden balls” is one example, and yes, he is referring to anatomical ones.
Hentai Kamen’s nemeses range from Very Serious Guys to Skinny Macho Mask but he is truly tested when he comes face to face with an imposter version who thrives on being humiliated.
For all the sauciness of the material and the amount of crotch-grinding going on, however, there is a certain innocence and sweetness to the film.
Even as Kyosuke’s hormones, and imagination, run amok, his burgeoning romance with Aiko is cutely chaste and awkward.
It turns out Hentai Kamen is as much about the power of love as it is about the power of perversion.
(ST)