School in the Crosshairs

A pop-music confection of psychic powers, first love, and invaders from Venus, 1981’s School in the Crosshairs is a mainline rush of anime aesthetics and pre-MTV aspirations. And if you think that’s a mouthful, wait’ll you get a look at the film itself! Director Nobuhiko Obayashi (House) stacks plot devices like Jenga pieces, relying on the charisma of super-producer Haruki Kadokawa’s handpicked pop princess to keep it from collapsing under its own weight.

That secret ingredient is star Hiroko Yakushimaru, the cherub-faced schoolgirl who’d break out later that same year in Sailor Suit and Machine Gun. Here she plays Yuka, the most popular girl in school, who discovers her telekinetic abilities have drawn the attention of a power-hungry alien bent on enslaving her fellow students. With help from a mysterious new girl on campus, the villains drain all the fun from Daii Academy, transforming it into a fascist state devoted entirely to academics.  

Based on an oft-adapted novel by Taku Mayumura, School in the Crosshairs is a kitchen-sink production engineered for mass appeal: neon special effects, underage sex appeal, and even a left-field musical number all compete for attention. Kadokawa was the king of these confectionary distractions, often built around one or two pop idols. Even if Yakushimaru’s appeal isn’t as obvious to Western audiences todat, she’s still cute as a button, and her innocent crush on the man-child next door is pure teenage wish fulfillment. Meanwhile, the hand-drawn, effects-filled finale is a psychedelic mash-up of Altered States, Tron and that animated music video for Take On Me. Trust me, it’s a trip whatever decade you’re living in.

Cult Epics’ new 2K restoration sweetens the deal with an audio commentary, a visual essay exploring Japan’s pop landscape of the era, a poster gallery, trailers, reversible artwork, and a slipcover.

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