
Directing
Yoshihiro Nishimura
Born — Died
1969-04-01 — 2026-05-25
Place of birth
Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan
Known for
Directing
Credits
50 titles
Yoshihiro Nishimura (1 April 1969 — 25 May 2026) was a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as 'a legendary director and effects artist' and 'the Tom Savini of Japan' with 'talent to burn'. He has been credited with establishing a new type of visual film presentation, the 'gore effect'.
Known for
4.9An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.
The ABCs of Death
2013
8.5After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.
Tokyo Dragon Chef
2020
6.0In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.
Tokyo Gore Police
2008
5.8Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?
Meatball Machine Kodoku
2017
5.4Sisters Yoshie and Kikue are two Geisha who are abducted by a mysterious organization to be transformed into murderous cyborg assassins.
RoboGeisha
2009
5.7Still reeling from the events of a zombie apocalypse, a young woman, along with a group of allies, makes her way across a dystopian Japan in search of her mother, the Zombie Queen.
Helldriver
2010
Film credits
2020s · 2 titles
NRIgami would have wanted to be a manga artist, but he become an exorcist. And in this, he excels. When a yakuza boss asks for his help in dealing with a grave curse, he realizes that a supernatural insect master is active behind the scenes. Furthermore, a great master of the supernatural is putting Tokyo in danger. Igami decides to delve into his arsenal of tricks and spells to thwart these plans.
The Wizard
2024
10.0Documentary on the Japanese saga Meatball Machine. Interviews, Archive Images, Retrospective and Analyzes tell the formidable story of a saga that is as gory as it is inventive.
Meatball Machine : Dissection
2024
2010s · 5 titles
4.3After four years overseas, Shozo returns to Japan to avenge his yakuza boss who was assassinated by his own treacherous top man, Kurawaki. The resulting battle leaves both men severely injured, and Shozo awakens in a mysterious medical facility to find his arm replaced with an M61 Vulcan cannon and his leg replaced with a rocket launcher. Meanwhile, Kurawaki has been fitted with mechanical augmentations of his own. Get ready for the second round.
Yakuza Weapon
2011
5.9An evil criminal organisation called Sigma kidnap prominment business leaders to harvest their DNA and only Karate-Robo Zaborgar can save them.
Karate-Robo Zaborgar
2011
5.5Rin a young high school student is your everyday awkward girl who gets bullied by her fellow students. On her 16th birthday, Rin gets an unexpected surprise: she finds out that she is, on her father's side, a half-mutant.
Mutant Girls Squad
2010
5.2A young woman with a severely troubled past signs up for an extreme haunt called Perdition. She believes that putting herself through Perdition's nightmarish trials will help her exorcise her internal traumas, but has no way of knowing just how shocking her ordeal will be-or what dark secrets buried in her psyche will emerge.
Extremity
2018
Documentary giving an extensive look into the design and development of the creatures created for artist Takashi Murakami's first feature film, Jellyfish Eyes.
Making F.R.I.E.N.D.s: Behind-the scenes of 'Jellyfish Eyes'
2015
2000s · 3 titles
6.0In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.
Tokyo Gore Police
2008
5.4Sisters Yoshie and Kikue are two Geisha who are abducted by a mysterious organization to be transformed into murderous cyborg assassins.
RoboGeisha
2009
NRThe story of an odd creature called the Speakerman, who served duty in a small mining village by sounding the siren/megaphone that is his head to tell the workers when it was time for lunch and to alert people in case of a mining accident. When the mine closes, Speakerman ends up lonely and in search of new friends and meaning in his life.
Speakerman: The Boo
2004
Behind the camera
4.9An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.
The ABCs of Death
2013
4.9An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.
The ABCs of Death
2013
4.9An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.
The ABCs of Death
2013
8.5After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.
Tokyo Dragon Chef
2020
8.5After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.
Tokyo Dragon Chef
2020
8.5After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.
Tokyo Dragon Chef
2020
6.0In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.
Tokyo Gore Police
2008
6.0In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.
Tokyo Gore Police
2008
5.8Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?
Meatball Machine Kodoku
2017
5.8Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?
Meatball Machine Kodoku
2017
5.7Still reeling from the events of a zombie apocalypse, a young woman, along with a group of allies, makes her way across a dystopian Japan in search of her mother, the Zombie Queen.
Helldriver
2010
5.7Still reeling from the events of a zombie apocalypse, a young woman, along with a group of allies, makes her way across a dystopian Japan in search of her mother, the Zombie Queen.
Helldriver
2010
4.3Problems with the neighborhood? Grandmother Yang and her two slightly mentally challenged grandchildren solve them in their very own way. Her neighbor Kazuya not only has to take care of the clan's legacy, but also his disabled sister, and all of them have to deal with the Sea Snakes gang who wants to compete with the Yang family.
Hedoroba
2017
5.5Rin a young high school student is your everyday awkward girl who gets bullied by her fellow students. On her 16th birthday, Rin gets an unexpected surprise: she finds out that she is, on her father's side, a half-mutant.
Mutant Girls Squad
2010
3.4Deep within the underbelly of Paris, there is a club which is the home of a secret, wicked society. At first it resembles an ordinary fetish or Goth nightclub, but within the cavernous building are many hidden rooms, one of which is known as "The Room of Souls," a private gathering place of the world's richest and most evil people. Their host is the elegant yet frightening Madame Sabatier. For their amusement each member takes a turn and spins a true tale of depravity.
The Profane Exhibit
2013
3.4Deep within the underbelly of Paris, there is a club which is the home of a secret, wicked society. At first it resembles an ordinary fetish or Goth nightclub, but within the cavernous building are many hidden rooms, one of which is known as "The Room of Souls," a private gathering place of the world's richest and most evil people. Their host is the elegant yet frightening Madame Sabatier. For their amusement each member takes a turn and spins a true tale of depravity.
The Profane Exhibit
2013
NRRival bosses of Japanese Yakuza and American Mafia fight for control. Blood is shed... like fountains.
Geisha War
2026
NRRival bosses of Japanese Yakuza and American Mafia fight for control. Blood is shed... like fountains.
Geisha War
2026
5.6A reconstructed girl is created from the pieces of a vampire girl's mini-butchery. Slaughter abounds as both of them pursue the same boy.
Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl
2009
6.7A racist corporation is looking to expand its territories of domination and for that it needs to destroy the Yakuza mafia. It is then that a transgender woman suddenly appears willing to defend the Yakuza tradition.
Holy Mother
2022
6.7A racist corporation is looking to expand its territories of domination and for that it needs to destroy the Yakuza mafia. It is then that a transgender woman suddenly appears willing to defend the Yakuza tradition.
Holy Mother
2022
6.7A racist corporation is looking to expand its territories of domination and for that it needs to destroy the Yakuza mafia. It is then that a transgender woman suddenly appears willing to defend the Yakuza tradition.
Holy Mother
2022
5.0Living in the lawless Ishinari District in a future Japan, sisters Ami (Hina Nagimiya) and Yoshie (Hanakage Kanon) who sold their bodies to help their parents, try to earn a living performing as an idol group in the area. When their performance causes stranger Matsukata (Tak Sakaguchi) a notorious hitman, to notice their condition, the three realize their worth to each other in the fight against Aoyama Dharma (Kimono Negishi), the female boss of a notorious organ harvesting ring in the area. Realizing that even their skills are no match for her army of goons and henchmen, the two are outfitted with special homemade weaponry to their bodies and become the ultimate killers.
Rise of the Machine Girls
2019
5.1In present-day Japan, little Masashi moves from an evacuation center to a small village. There, he will discover that every child has the ability to communicate with a fantastic creature, but they are being used in an evil plan to collect the children’s negative energy.
Jellyfish Eyes
2013
5.1In present-day Japan, little Masashi moves from an evacuation center to a small village. There, he will discover that every child has the ability to communicate with a fantastic creature, but they are being used in an evil plan to collect the children’s negative energy.
Jellyfish Eyes
2013
5.6Set in the Sengoku Period, Torakage is retired ninja. He lives his life peacefully, but turmoil comes as he becomes involved a fight over treasures.
The Ninja War of Torakage
2015
5.6Set in the Sengoku Period, Torakage is retired ninja. He lives his life peacefully, but turmoil comes as he becomes involved a fight over treasures.
The Ninja War of Torakage
2015
6.1Absurdity and gore ensue as a possessed pile of clay begins terrorizing students at an art school.
Vampire Clay
2018
3.4A spin-off feature from Tokyo Gore Police centering on three characters from the movie who are each given a short story explaining how they became an “engineer”.
63 Minutes Later
2009
3.4A spin-off feature from Tokyo Gore Police centering on three characters from the movie who are each given a short story explaining how they became an “engineer”.
63 Minutes Later
2009
NRThe yakuza have their best days behind them and are only a shadow of themselves. The old rituals seem out of date and their tattoos make them outcasts of society. The inexperienced student Ryō stumbles into their ranks by chance, and before he knows it, he becomes entangled in dark machinations. He quickly succumbs to the fascination of omnipotence fantasies and hedonistic decadence and sinks deeper and deeper into a parallel world of prostitution, blackmail and violence. However, there is one thing that Ryō has not considered in his naivety: once yakuza, always yakuza!
Unfinished
2019
NRThe story of an odd creature called the Speakerman, who served duty in a small mining village by sounding the siren/megaphone that is his head to tell the workers when it was time for lunch and to alert people in case of a mining accident. When the mine closes, Speakerman ends up lonely and in search of new friends and meaning in his life.
Speakerman: The Boo
2004
NRThe story of an odd creature called the Speakerman, who served duty in a small mining village by sounding the siren/megaphone that is his head to tell the workers when it was time for lunch and to alert people in case of a mining accident. When the mine closes, Speakerman ends up lonely and in search of new friends and meaning in his life.
Speakerman: The Boo
2004
6.0Takanori, from a yakuza family goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit. As soon as he gets out his brother brings him in for a robbery.
Death Row Family
2017
NRYamagami-kun, the god of the mountain, likes to eat "human beings"! Today, he and Isobe, the god of the sea, are planning to eat "human" again. Will he be able to eat a "human" today?
Gekijō-ban: Harapeko Yamagami-kun
2012
NRAn insane Japanese gore filled zombie anthology.
Zombie TV
2013
9.5Japan hosts an East Asian international tournament in 2020. Many thuggish personalities are travelling to Japan for the event. Kicking into action is a woman who was raised by the Yakuza and has become an assassin. She is tasked with protecting Japan from the thugs during this tournament. She will kill many of the louts. She also meets a member of a pop idol group.
Welcome to Japan
2019
9.5Japan hosts an East Asian international tournament in 2020. Many thuggish personalities are travelling to Japan for the event. Kicking into action is a woman who was raised by the Yakuza and has become an assassin. She is tasked with protecting Japan from the thugs during this tournament. She will kill many of the louts. She also meets a member of a pop idol group.
Welcome to Japan
2019
9.5Japan hosts an East Asian international tournament in 2020. Many thuggish personalities are travelling to Japan for the event. Kicking into action is a woman who was raised by the Yakuza and has become an assassin. She is tasked with protecting Japan from the thugs during this tournament. She will kill many of the louts. She also meets a member of a pop idol group.
Welcome to Japan
2019
6.5A young girl with mental illness just wants to die. But the necroborgs have other plans...
Meatball Machine: Reject of Death
2007
