Fantasia ’24: EVOL 1-3

Lightning Bolt and Thunder Girl might be super-siblings, but they are also like The Boys of Japan. They take care of the Mayor’s dirty business, like their super-father did for his. However, Lightning would prefer to fight super-villains. He might just get his wish when three suicidal teens discover they all have minor powers (that can be formidable under the right circumstances) in EVOL, based on Atsushi Kaneko’s manga, the first three episodes of which screened at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Niiyama Sakura, Akari Tsuchiya, Nozomi Kodama were all students at the same school, but like The Breakfast Club, they only met each other once they were remanded to a mental hospital. Coincidentally, all three attempted suicides at the very same time. Subsequently, they each manifested odd new secret powers.

Sakura can hover no more than a few inches off the floor. It might not sound like much, but it is sufficient for her to jump off buildings “landing” unscathed. As a cheerleader, you would think she would be popular, but instead, she is despised as the daughter of “Y National” immigrants, as they are didactically known.

Kodama has the ability to bore holes roughly half an inch in diameter with his index finger. That is not sufficient for mass-destruction, but it can be deadly one-on-one and it makes breaking-and-entering a snap. Tsuchiya is a fire-starter—not on the level of the Stephen King movies, but she is still quite dangerous when surrounded by enough kindling. Awkwardly, she is also the police chief’s daughter.

In contrast, Lightning and Thunder are the full Homelanders. They can fly and generate arcs of electric energy. Thunder never talks, but exhibits sociopathic tendencies and a fanatical loyalty to the Mayor. Lightning makes all the inspirational speeches, but he may or may not have doubts regarding some of the Mayor’s dubious assignments. Perhaps the trio will be the rivals he is waiting for. However, the kids (who dub themselves EVOL) warm up with graffiti and explosive vandalism.

Misaki Hattori is terrific as Sakura, while Yuzu Aoki and Himena Irei are convincingly moody and damaged as Koadama and Tsuchiya, but the two really should have had more opportunities to break their characters out of their reserved shells by this point. Regardless, Ken Yasuda truly oozes smarmy evil as the slimy, sinister Mayor. He definitely needs a super-powered beatdown.

Director Santa Yamagishi keeps the first three episodes snappy, but the whole revisionist superhero concept is getting a little shopworn. Eichi Davis Mizoi’s adaptation of Kaneko’s manga is not as blatantly ideologically slanted as The Boys, but it is close. However, the EVOL kids’ dysfunctional chemistry is believable and Thunder’s ethical reservations hold intriguing potential beyond episode three. Nevertheless, the K-drama Moving features more distinctive and complex characters, as well as better superhero-on-supervillain battles.

Frankly, EVOL probably works better with viewers who do not watch The Boys, so they might only compare it to Marvel’s Runaways or Cloak and Dagger instead. By those standards, EVOL is more emotionally realistic than most Marvel shows and the ironic limitations of their superpowers adds a fresh dimension. Recommended for fans of the genre and the manga, EVOL episodes one through three had their international premiere at this year’s Fantasia.