It’s a movie about nerds who save the world (well, part of Tokyo) - what’s not to love?! This is one of my favorite Japanese live action movies. The story is good, the characters are likable and engaging, and the women kick butt! I think that is the main drawing point of the movie for me. The girl in the group is the 'heavy' and you can’t say that about many movies, unfortunately.

The plot of the movie focuses on a group of social misfits: a stutterer, a germaphobe, a seizure-prone tech-y, a maid café waitress by day/kick boxer by night woman, and a hacker-expert bubble-boy. I can sense that I’ve peaked your interest already. This motley lot meets on an internet forum run by a woman named Yui. Yui is dying from a disease and wants to use her forum to help the misfits of the world, more specifically Akihabara, the misfit central of Tokyo. When Yui dies, the group decides to form Akihabara@Deep in her memory and protect the downtrodden of Akiha. Of course there is a villain of the piece: a megalomaniac who ‘rules’ most of Akiba and wants to steal the software Yui developed (and the group now has) to use for his own nefarious, capitalistic purposes.

I think the movie is nearly flawless storytelling; it has action, it has friendship, and it has espionage intrigue- everything a good movie needs! There are a few plot points where it helps to have seen the TV series or read the book, but it doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment value. Also, a lot of fans of the TV series complained that the movie was darker and grittier than they were expecting. I personally thought the TV series was a bit vapid and skimmed over really disturbing, deep issues. The movie does a better job of pointing out that even though the members of the group have issues, they are still perfectly functional wonderful people. The TV series harps on how they are complete losers because they dare to have quirks and won’t conform to ‘normal’ society. In case you couldn’t already tell, I think the movie rocks and the TV series should be skipped completely. If you need more incentive to watch it, there are several awesome kick boxing fight scenes that are a must-see.

I would say this wouldn’t be for small children. It’s not overly violent, but the megalomaniac has a disturbing 'hobby.' But for people who wanted a more serious take on Revenge of the Nerds, this is the movie for you!