is a 2015 Japanese

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

mystery film directed by Sion Sono. It is the third adaptation of the '' seinen''

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series '' Minna! Esper Dayo!'' written and illustrated by Kiminori Wakasugi, following a 2013 TV series and a TV movie special earlier in 2015. It was released in Japan on September 4, 2015.

Premise

Kamogawa Yoshirō is a teenage Japanese virgin whose life is changed by a cosmic event. While fantasizing about his dream girl, Yoshirō receives a cosmic blast while masturbating. At school he finds himself able to read other people's thoughts and joins a group of psychic virgins in order to defend the world from evil psychics using his newfound psychic powers.

Cast

* Shōta Sometani as Yoshirō Kamogawa * Mika Akizuki as Yuko *

Tokio Emoto is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency Knockout. Biography Emoto's father is Akira Emoto, his mother is Kazue Tsunogae, and his brother is Tasuku Emoto. He is left-handed. In 2003, Emoto had his acting debut in the film, '' ...

as Yasu *

Motoki Fukami Motoki (written: 元気, 昌樹, 誠記, 基輝, or モトキ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Motoki Imagawa is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Imagawa was born in Tok ...

as Yosuke Enomoto * Mizuki Hoshina as Taeko * Rika Hoshina as Saya *

Elaiza Ikeda is a Philippine-born Japanese actress, fashion model and singer. She began modeling in 2009 after winning the "Grand Priz Nicola Model Audition 2009". Her mother is of Spanish Filipino Chinese descent and her father is Japanese. Filmography ...

as Miyuki Hirano *

Ai Shinozaki is a Japanese gravure idol, singer, and a former member of "AeLL.", a musical idol group. When she started modelling in 2006 at age 14, Shinozaki caused widespread press and web comments about her having an unusually curvy figure for a Japane ...

as Keiko *

Tomomi Itano is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled " Dear J", which wa ...

as Eri *

Megumi Kagurazaka is a Japanese actress and glamour model. She is married to the director Sion Sono and has starred in some of his films. Career Kagurazaka has appeared in films such as ''Cold Fish'', ''Guilty of Romance'', and '' The Land of Hope''. Filmograph ...

as Ms. Akiyama * Cyborg Kaori as Protester Sexy Cosplayer * Anna Konno as Mitsuko Mitsui * Erina Mano as Sae Asami * Reiya Masaki as Yabe Naoya *

Ijiri Okada , born is a Japanese comedian, impressionist, and television host. His hosting credits include ''Gilgamesh LIGHT'', a revival of the 90s show ''Gilgamesh Night'', and the Nogizaka46 variety show ''NogiBingo!'' Okada is represented by Horipro. He ...

as Yoshiro's Dad * Izumi Okamura as Protester Sexy Cosplayer * Sahel Rosa as Julie Babcock * Tsutomu Sekine as Taeko's Partner * Konona Shiba as Protester Sexy Cosplyer *

Airi Shimizu is a Japanese gravure idol, actress and variety ''tarento''. She was active under the names and . She has been represented by Emsworth and later Fantastar (part of Vithmic). Filmography Prior to September 2012, she was active under the name Air ...

as Shizuka * Rena Shimura as Mano * Yuka Someya *

Makita Sports () is a Japanese manufacturer of power tools. Founded on March 21, 1915, it is based in Anjō, Japan and operates factories in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Canada and th ...

as Teru *

Maryjun Takahashi is a Japanese actress and model of Japanese and Filipino ethnicity who has appeared in '' CanCam'' magazine and various television commercials. Early and personal life Takahashi was born in Ōtsu, Shiga to a Filipino mother and a Japanese fat ...

as Aiko Polnareff * Kōhei Takeda as Topless Guy with Topless Ladies *

Ami Tomite AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

as Akiko Kamiya *

Mariko Tsutsui is a Japanese actress. Personal life Tsutsui graduated from Kōfu Daiichi High School in Yamanashi Prefecture. She dropped out of Aoyama Gakuin University. She later graduated from the Waseda University School of Social Sciences. As well as a ...

as Ritsuko * Ken Yasuda as Prof. Asami

Production

It is Sion Sono's third adaptation of the manga source material '' Minna! Esper Dayo!'' by Kiminori Wakasugi. The first live-action drama adaptation of the manga premiered in April 2013 as a 12-part live-action TV drama. A live-action spinoff television special titled ''

All Esper Dayo! SP is a 2015 Japanese comedy-drama science fiction mystery television special directed by Sion Sono. It continues the story from the 2013 TV series adaptation of the ''seinen'' manga series ''Minna! Esper Dayo!'' written and illustrated by Kiminori ...

'' aired in Japan on April 3, 2015. This theatrical adaptation, titled ''Eiga Minna! Esper Dayo!'' featured some differences in the members of the cast from those earlier television adaptations, most notably

replacing Kaho as Miyuki Hirano.

Release

The film was released in Japan on September 4, 2015, just a few months after Sion Sono's TV special ''

'' based on the manga. It was also featured at multiple international festivals, including the Busan International Film Festival on October 2, 2015, the

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

(where Sion Sono also presented '' Tag'' and '' Love & Peace'') on October 11, 2015, the Buenos Aires Film Festival on April 21, 2016, the Future Film Festival in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on May 5, 2016, the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 20, 2016, and the

Eejanaika Toyohashi Film Festival Ee ja nai ka was a complex of carnivalesque religious celebrations and communal activities, often understood as social/political protests, which occurred in many parts of Japan in 1867–1868. Eejanaika or Eijanaika may refer to: * ''Eijanaika'' ( ...

on March 5, 2017.

Reception

Critics generally found that the film was full of sexual innuendo and discussion but did not contain actual nudity or sex. Justin Chang of ''

Variety.com ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

'' called the film an "occasionally endearing, often supremely irritating movie" and ultimately found that it "is a bit like having a dog hump your leg for the better part of two hours; it's filthy and monotonous and fairly interminable, but after a while you've been so thoroughly numbed that you have to admit it's kind of sweet." Wendy Ide of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' wrote, "For all its cosplay sex slaves, mountains of blow up dolls and frenzied masturbation, this is as tame, and in many ways as innocent, as a Benny Hill sketch."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin Psychics, The 2015 films 2010s mystery comedy-drama films 2010s science fiction comedy-drama films 2010s Japanese films 2010s Japanese-language films Japanese high school films Japanese mystery comedy-drama films Japanese science fiction comedy-drama films Japanese science fantasy films Films directed by Sion Sono Live-action films based on manga Films about psychic powers