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.

Moving, on Hulu

Stan Lee always cautioned his superheroes: “with great power comes great responsibilities.” That is especially true for super-heroic parents. They are desperate to keep their powers and those of their offspring hidden from their old deep-state bosses in South Korea’s NIS. However, a superhuman assassin is hunting them all in the new Korean series, Moving, which premieres today on Hulu.

Lee Mi-hyeon has the super-heightened senses that every bratty child fears their parents must have. She is indeed one protective mother, but she has her reasons, as viewers will learn. To start with, her son Kim Bong-seok is unable to control his mysterious floating ability. Technically, they can sort of manage it with weights, but when unencumbered, he starts to rise, especially when his emotions are stimulated. That will make a relationship with Jang Hee-soo, the new senior transfer, tricky to pursue. Fortunately, she is surprisingly understanding. It turns out she has Wolverine-like powers to immediately heal, just like her father, Joo-won.

Some of the mysterious teachers at their high school seem to have an inkling about Kim and Jang’s powers, but they try not to let on. Instead, they have super-powered class president Lee Kang-hoon keep an eye on them. The two almost girlfriend and boyfriend are largely unaware of their interest. They also do not realize Lee Mi-hyeon and Jang Joo-won share some dramatic history, along with Kim’s father, Kim Do-shik.

After seven episodes mostly focusing on the super high schoolers and Frank, the Korean-American supervillain working his way through a super-powered hit-list, Moving takes an extended, Dark Shadows-worthy detour into the past, explaining how Kim’s parents met, as super-human black ops agents for the NIS precursor agency, before the democratic transition.

This flashback is so extensive, it feels like an entirely different series. Jang Joo-won’s origin story takes so long, devoting an entire episode to his early days as a gangster, the producers of the Fast & Furious and Mission Impossible franchises probably would have split it into two movies. In fact, the thirteen episodes provided for review do not even manage to return the series to the present time yet.

Arguably, the flashback episodes might be better than the high school-focused timeline, but they are definitely darker. Some viewers might be annoyed that Frank’s bosses are stereotypical CIA villains, but it obviously does not bother Disney (Hulu’s owners), since the CIA also worked with the bad guys in their recent Indiana Jones movie. At least a North Korean supernatural appears to be positioned the climactic villain.

Regardless, Han Hyo-joo is terrific playing Lee Mi-hyeon. Having a teenage son does not appear to have aged her a day, but she is a supernatural, so okay. Ryu Seong-ryong (who has notably played both good guys and bad guys in films like Extreme Job, The Target, and War of the Arrows) is perfect as the invulnerable on the outside, brooding on the inside Jang Joo-won. Lee Jeong-ha is mostly likably nebbish as Kim Bong-seok, but his character’s awkwardness can be trying. However, Ko Yoon-jung is quite charismatic as Jang Hee-soo. Plus, Moon Sung-geun is spectacularly scummy as the dirtbag deputy intelligence agency director.