Review: It appears my hunch was right on this one, but since I’m such a fan of mystery and watching youngsters uncover a diabolical scheme, I went against myself and decided to view this film. Honestly speaking, I had a much better time watching late-night Scooby Doo cartoons on the Cartoon Channel than this less than after-school level movie. I remember taking Japanese class in my high school days and watching some uber-cool ghost and mystery shows on Fridays. The class would watch and actually be entertained at the sheer pleasure of being spooked. However, Shinjuku Boy Detectives fails in all departments.

Sosuke is the scooter-riding protagonist with a rebellious side. His best friend, Him Tae Ron, is a computer geek whose mother forbids him to hang around Sosuke. Mei Hang is a TV commercial model who is forever haunted by the press. She meets another girl, Honji, who quickly becomes her best friend. This motley crew of teenagers make up, please excuse what I’m about to say, the sorriest bunch of detectives ever known to mankind. All four characters have their background stories, which I didn’t care for much after even two viewings. You see, I gave the film two viewings just to give it another chance, but what a waste of time that was.

The movie’s plot I’m sure is the cause to my disinterest. The character development tried very hard to explain itself, but it just didn’t flow well enough for the viewers to become involved. It seemed like a short TV show elongated with some scenes that shouldn’t have been printed at all. I was left with this sort of clueless look on my face, something I don’t do normally unless pushed to the very limits of my tolerance for stupidity. Well, despite the mess this film had become and also jumping into my all-time worst movie list, there were a couple high points to the film. The Mei Hang character is very cute indeed and the other high point is of course we are treated to NO sequels.