In 2005, Takashi Miike made an interesting failure called The Great Yokai War, with a throwaway story but exciting yokai. Is this a sequel? Not that I noticed, but this second attempt is an improvement. It's still a kiddie film with child protagonists, but it's certainly more entertaining than some of Miike's other such efforts (Yatterman, Ninja Kids!!!). The child actors are fine and don't break the movie. I've no objection to them. The yokai, though, are spectacular. (Unsurprisingly, the special effects are a marked improvement on those from sixteen years earlier.) At first sight, they're genuinely scary. I was gobsmacked, given the target audience, although the film's soon arguing that yokai mostly aren't that bad. They're surreal. They're often weird and harmless, e.g. the one who just washes beans. The yokai parliament is cool and fun, the big baddies are pretty awesome and I loved spotting cameos for Mizuki Shigeru's famous yokai.

There's Kazuki Kitamura, my favourite scumbag. No one plays smug evil bastards like him. He's not at full "scaring you shitless" level, but he's been given a plot role that's deceptively important and he ultimately creates an emotional level for our child protagonists.

Also, there's a near-cameo for Ryunosuke Kamiki, the child hero of the 2005 film. He's now 33 years old, he's stayed in the industry and he's become an award-winning serious actor. Here, he's playing the pretty schoolteacher who gets the film's sinister and possibly sequel-hunting last line. I loved that moment. My favourite character, though, was the pathological liar, Amanojaku. His conversations are an art form. He's more likeable than he looks, but you've got to dig through his dialogue.

"However you look at it, that's a train."

"N- No, no, no... it's not a train."

"This is a subway, subway."

"N- It's not..."

Do we get a GREAT YOKAI WAR? Hell, no. They're borrowing a famous title for its name recognition value, even though it doesn't really fit the film. This is, though, an exciting adventure with awesome yokai and serviceable child actors. It's cool. It's even watchable for adults, which isn't always true of Miike's kiddie films. The yokai are fantastic and pretty much everything is wonderful to look at. I had a laugh.