I had first seen a few scenes of Volcano High, a Korean high-flying, super-saiyan martial arts film, on MTV back in 2003. The visuals were fun in that awesome-yet-campy sort of way, and the concept of martial arts and power over the elements were some intriguing themes woven into the premise of the story.
The plot revolves around trouble-making teenage boy Kim Kyeong-su (Jang Hyuk), who is transferred to a prestigious high school whose students are prodigies in martial arts. Volcano High came out back in 2001 in Korea, and it made a big enough splash that it was aired two years later on MTV with an all-star hip-hop cast doing the English dubbed voices and music soundtrack. However, all star or not, the English dub had irritated me so much that I couldn’t bring myself to watch the entire film.
The original Korean version with its Korean rock and electronic music soundtrack was a much more satisfying experience. Besides the tea-leaf attacks, floating water droplets, and awesome kendo heroine, the best part about Volcano High is the comedy. There’s a perfect blend of breathtaking special effects battles and jocular anti-climaxes that kept me smiling and laughing throughout the whole film.