Sometimes you're in the mood for a high quality film, and sometimes you're in the mood for a genre romp. True, these can be surprisingly good, too, but compelling storytelling and solid film-making run secondary to just having a good time - or more generally, doing whatever you want and just running with it. So the opening scenes gives us a self-proclaimed gambling den where anything goes in terms of recreation and entertainment, from group dancing to murder; hyper-stylized and outrageous set pieces, props, weapons, blood and viscera, cinematography, editing, sound effects, music, writing, direction, and acting; and our first peek at our protagonist, a young woman who dresses like, well, a psycho gothic Lolita and and wields a weaponized umbrella (see also: The Penguin, a mainstay of Batman's rogues gallery). The action sequences are wild, the scene writing is forthright and emphatic, and the dialogue and characters all but cartoonish as writer Kuroki Hisakatsu and director Ohara Go take their cues from the most outlandish, impulsive, self-indulgenet excess of Quentin Tarantino, Zack Snyder, Miike Takashi, Tsukamoto Shinya, live-action manga adaptations, U. S. comic books, exploitation flicks, and sci-fi, action, and/or horror B-movies from the 90s onward. I'm not saying that any of the contributions that comprise the whole that is 'Psycho gothic Lolita' are not well done such as they are; I am saying that this is unyielding extravagant, immoderate bluster, rounded out with no small amount of juvenile puerility, that is an exercise in purely intemperate wish fulfillment, an often fatuous assault on the senses, and a test of our will as viewers.
The cast gleefully overact - star Akiyama Rina least of all, incredibly - but one can't say that they aren't committed to the bit. The practical effects are commonly even more overcooked than the computer-generated imagery, but the stunts, effects, and choreography do indeed look surprisingly good such as they are (including the inevitable geysers of blood). The editing and cinematography are grossly overzealous as they kind of flail about, chop up scenes, and employ raucous energy and rampant flair in place of ideal visualization of Ye Olde Ultraviolence, but this is what Ohara and Ito Nobuhisa intended, and they do it quite capably. The music compares with the melodramatic themes of the average anime and videogame, but it's duly tasteful complement. The sets, costume design, and hair and makeup, like the scene writing and narrative, are inspired by the unfocused, immature imaginations of twelve-year old comic book nerds, but fine work went into the visual elements in and of themselves, and as writer Kuroki and filmmaker Ohara's obvious intent was unabashed giddy schlock, well, these aspects serve their purpose. Same goes for the plot, straightforward and unsophisticated as it may be. Childish, simple-minded intended humor and frivolity fall terribly flat in this blast of action-horror, but they do accentuate the nature of the feature in its fun-loving flippancy And so on, and so on - 'Psycho gothic Lolita' may be overdone, tiresome, and even obnoxious, some creative decisions may be questionable, and it may struggle to provide any but a baseline level of entertainment, but it's not poorly made.
We can make all these judgments within even the opening scene, by the way, and as the minutes tick by, those judgments continue to hold true. Even when a moment is superficially quieter, or seemingly offers a smidgen of respite from the ruckus, there is not actually any sense of dynamics by which the most emotive or meaningful beats, scenes, or instances of acting might flourish. Likewise, the near-constant violence and prioritization of style never have the opportunity to particularly make a mark. It's pretty much go, go, go as soon as this picture begins, and we can either strap ourselves in for the ride, or just decline to get on board in the first place. Now, in fairness, there are some odds and ends that represent a little spark of brilliance beyond the core nonsense that tends to evoke a sadly even-keeled non-reaction. The character of Lady Elle leans even more heavily into the unmitigated bombast, a psychopathic killer written and designed from the ground up to be both endearingly kawaii and altogether absurd, and it's a real credit to Momose Misaki that she so enthusiastically embraces that tenor. In turn, the scenes with Momose and Lady Elle are genuinely funny in some measure, and as far as I'm concerned a definite highlight of these ninety minutes. Filling the lead role of Yuki, Akiyama has some chance to demonstrate earnest acting abilities amidst all the ridiculousness, and I think she does so. (And, okay, likewise for her co-stars, every now and then.) There are some nice little touches here and there, however preposterous, that are satisfying on some visceral level, such as during the showdown between Yuki and her final target. And I can't say I didn't enjoy myself as the runtime flies by: the title knows exactly what it is, to the point that it doesn't especially bother with explanations of this or that, and to some extent one has to admire the gumption that it took to make something so brazenly, flagrantly over the top.
I guess I just wish that the same care had been applied more evenly throughout the length, for I'm fully of the mind that 'Psycho gothic Lolita' is at its best in the latter half - when Lady Elle is introduced, and final villain Masato. I recognize the skill, intelligence, and hard work that went into this, and what it needed above all was for someone to just tell Kuroki and Ohara "no" every once in a while. If the extreme decadence and dizzying exorbitance were reined in just a tad the end result would surely have been stronger, with more lasting value. Case in point, when within about the last ten minutes we do learn more about Yuki, and the individuals she is eliminating, the story is honestly enriched and made more engaging. Would that the accompanying special makeup, costume design, digital wizardry, and otherwise execution of the beat weren't as wholly, inordinately wacky as all else herein, if not even more so. Ultimately I do like this film, and if it's a total lark one wants, that's just what you'll get; it's just that I would like it more had some greater degree of mindful restraint and judicious application been demonstrated in any capacity.
