Aachi & Ssipak
Entry updated 15 January 2024. Tagged: Film.
South Korean animated film (2006). JTeam Studios. Directed by Jo Beom-jin. Written by Kang Sang-kyun, Jeong Hye-won and Jo Beom-jin. Voice cast includes Im Chang-jung, Lee Gyu-hwa, Yang Jeong Hwa, Shin Hae-chul, Seo Hye-jeong, Ryoo Seung-bum and Hyun Young. 90 minutes. Colour. An English version, rewritten and reworked by Ed Skudder and Zack Keller (who also voiced the two main characters), was released in 2014.
The film opens with an army of small blue humanoid Mutants known as the Diaper Gang (Hwa) attempting to hijack a heavily defended convey delivering juicybars to the City of Shiball; they are foiled by the superhuman efforts of Geko (Gyu-hwa), a Cyborg policeman (see Crime and Punishment): there is much violence and bloodshed, with everyone but Geko ending up dead. Two young men, Aachi (Seung-bum) and Ssipak (Chang-jung) then drive by on motorcycles and enter Shiball. Inside the city adverts inquire and exhort: "Have you been pooping for your country?", "Drink Flogurt, the laxative of patriots" (see Advertising) – for in this resource-depleted future poop is now the main Power Source, and those who try to keep theirs for themselves are executed. Every citizen is fitted with an anal ring at birth, which measures how much they defecate, then authorizes rewards of life-sustaining and addictive juicybars (see Drugs; Dystopia).
Outside the city is the Diaper kingdom, ruled by the brutal Diaper King (Hae-chul) who – over Christian imagery (see Religion) – reminisces about the days when his people dutifully delivered their turds to the city in return for juicybars: unfortunately they overdosed and the side-effects caused mutations, leaving them unable to defecate, and thus they resorted to stealing juicybars. Learning that pretentious porno director Jimmy the Freak (Hye-jeong) has got hold of an anal ring that excessively rewards its wearer, the King has Jimmy implant it into unwilling actress Beauty (Young). However Ssipak has a crush on Beauty and – more by luck than planning – helps her escape, with Jimmy ending up dead, temporarily at least. Aachi, Ssipak and Beauty flaunt the wealth that selling juicybars on the black market now brings them: unfortunately a local gang lord, the Diaper King and the City authorities – whose Technology has registered the anomaly in juicybar allocations – are after them. They all attack at the same time and, as they fight each other, the trio flee. However, after the Diaper Gang battles and defeats Geko, they captures Beauty: Ssipak declares he will rescue her – Aachi, very reluctantly, accompanies him.
A traitor in the Shiball police also enables the Diaper King to kidnap Dr Strange, the Mad Scientist who created Geko: they take him back to their headquarters, a deserted mine. Here he happily continues his experiments, creating Monsters from corpses. The city military and Geko duly attack the mine, with Ssipak and Aachi breaking in during the confusion: the Diaper King manages to decapitate Geko – but discovers he has a spare head – Jimmy's: they both end up falling to their deaths. Aachi, Ssipak and Beauty escape and look forward to the good life that Beauty's butt will bring them. The final words (in the English version at least) are Ssipak's: "You must treat all butts with respect."
With all the toilet humour, a set of dislikable main characters (though the rank and file of the Diaper Gang do have some endearing qualities) and much gore (see Horror), Aachi and Ssipak does lack charm (the two protagonists' names are apparently Korean minced oaths). On the other hand, it is very exciting; there is much thrilling animation and, once it becomes a little less poop-focused (about a third of the way through), some absurd fun is to be had. Despite the broad Humour there are Satirical elements: this is a world that has wasted its natural resources (see Disaster) and so is forced to survive off its own faeces, whilst the tyrannical Diaper King and his obedient subjects are doubtless intended to recall North Korea (see Politics). [SP]
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