This Japanese fantasy adventure from director Kaizo Hayashi takes place in a fantasy world based on medieval Japan, but with high-tech twists – expect samurai with bazookas, binoculars that take photographs, shurikens that deliver those photos cross-country, and more.

Jigoku (Masahiro Takashima) is the merry leader of a ragtag gang of rogues, which for some reason includes a dopey baby elephant (either a puppet or two guys in a suit, it’s difficult to tell – either way, it’s on the border between cute and creepy). He’s on the run from bounty hunters, including the talented female gunslinger Yuri the Pistol (Narumi Yasuda), whom he instantly (and somewhat overzealously from a post-MeToo perspective) falls in love with. Will she succumb to his ‘charms’?

Things get complicated when Jigoku finds a gleaming gold sword and Yuri is whisked away to the mythical realm of Zipang, a kingdom more garishly decorated with gold than a Donald Trump penthouse. Appropriately enough, then, Zipang has a decaying and evil old king (Mikijirô Hira) – whose desire to hold onto his riches is only matched by his cruel perversion for keeping loving couples apart.

So begins a quest, as Jigoku, his gang, and some bloke who shows up in his underpants all set out to reach Zipang, fight off the baddy’s warrior monster things, rescue Yuri and Underpants Guy’s long-captive lover, and get away from with the army of teleporting ninjas on their tail.

It’s as bonkers as it sounds, and is a colourful, energetic experience, with the stunts, sets, costumes and makeup all united in their extravagance. But with a running time of 119 minutes, Zipang is about half an hour longer than it takes for its chaotic novelty to wear off. In the second half of the film, the story slows down to focus on the rather shallow love story elements, which for a long and tedious stretch take precedence over the maximalist adventure shenanigans.

With this new Blu-ray release from Toy Robot, the film looks lovely and crisp – perhaps too crisp, given that the hi-def makes the cheap sets look a little like Jungle Run. The extras are thin but appreciated -theatrical trailers and an informative new commentary from critics Jasper Sharp and Joe Hickinbottom.