“We’re in Oklahoma. What can possibly happen here?”
Writer/director Eric McEver and writer Jeff Hammer’s Iké Boys explores the joys and tribulations of bootleg anime, fandom, friendship, and growing up at the end of the millennia. Set in Oklahoma during the days leading up to Y2K, the film follows two best friends and teenage anime geeks, Shawn Gunderson (Quinn Lord) and Vikram “Vik with a K” Kapoor (Ronak Gandhi) as they attempt to befriend Vik’s foreign exchange student guest, Miki Shimizu (Christina Higa), and survive a prophesied apocalypse.
Flashback to Tokyo in 1969, where anime director Daisuke Ogata (Ryô Iwamatsu) unleashes his apocalyptic vision onto a world unready to receive it: Go! Great Decisive Battle at the End of the Century with Rainbows. Considered lost and its director in self-imposed exile, the film makes its way to Shawn’s mailbox thirty years later as a black-market DVD rip with homemade cover art. Shawn, Vik, and Miki attempt to watch the film (despite Miki’s disinterest in the genre – she tells the boys her favorite anime is The Lion King), and the disc glitches shortly into its runtime, bestowing the trio with superpowers to fight the impending end of the world.
After their bizarre experience with Go! Great Decisive Battle…, the boys begin to physically transform into common anime character tropes, covered in Ultra Man-like armor or developing ripped muscles like Goku. Shawn and Vic’s friendship is tested as they question what matters to them and who they are as individuals outside of their shared interests.
Meanwhile, Miki turns inward and goes on her own Native American-inspired journey of self-exploration while the boys navigate their new physiques. (She requested to stay with Vik’s family because of her desire to “meet Indians” and go on a traditional vision quest to discover her true self.) Miki’s obsession with Native Americans lightly touches on the subject of cultural appropriation, as she homogenizes and romanticizes a diverse and marginalized group in an attempt to better understand her own identity. She lacks a sense of self, so she latches onto a culture that seems to have everything figured out. For a movie as good-natured as Iké Boys, Miki using Native culture as a stepping stone for her own personal development is troublesome.
Longtime anime fans will especially delight in Eric McEver’s Iké Boys, but its brisk pace and earnest, self-aware script has the potential to earn fans of all ages and backgrounds. The nostalgic animation peppered throughout the movie, including a requisite transformation sequence, will likely charm anyone who was around for the days of Digivolving and Moon Prism Power. Whether fighting co-star Billy Zane or cooking the Christmas turkey with newfound superpowers, Shawn and Vik will endear themselves to enthusiasts and normies alike.
“Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the earth.”
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Iké Boys would be suitable for most narrative film collections, especially those that focus on family-friendly fare, independent films, or with larger anime sections.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Media librarians could use Iké Boys in unique programming catered to Gen X and Millenial patrons, as it taps into feelings of nostalgia for niche 90s pop culture.
What subjects or college majors would benefit from the content covered in this film?
Students studying Asian culture, late 20th-century history, or sociology, in general, would benefit from the way these subjects are incorporated into Iké Boys, a lighthearted action/comedy.