Directing

Takeshi Watanabe

Born — Died

1965-11-11 — 2019-04-30

Place of birth

Aichi Prefecture, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

34 titles

Known for

Samurai Cat 2: A Tropical Adventure poster
4.8

The Edo period. Once a famous swordsman, Kyutaro Madarame, aka “Madara the Devil,” is now a masterless samurai. When a white cat called Tamanojo appears before Kyutaro, the encounter changes him forever. Starring Kazuki Kitamura. This offbeat tale of samurai spirit and adorable animal antics returns to the screen on a breathtaking scale!

Samurai Cat 2: A Tropical Adventure

2015

Chaka: The Lonely Hitman poster
NR

Shima (Riki Takeuchi), the right-hand man of his yakuza boss and renowned hitman, suffers from kidney disease. Interned in the hospital, he meets Junko, a nurse. When Shima is shot, she goes home and heals him. Gradually a relationship is formed between them and Junko gets pregnant. But Shima cannot escape the obligations of his clan and the disgust of Junko...

Chaka: The Lonely Hitman

1998

Nirvana Island: The Last 47 Days poster
5.9

The movie depicts the confrontation between younger brother Akira Miyamoto (Shunya Shiraishi) and older brother Atsushi Miyamoto (Ryohei Suzuki) on Higanjima.

Nirvana Island: The Last 47 Days

2016

Samurai Cat: The Movie poster
6.5

The ever versatile Kazuki Kitamura stars as masterless samurai Kyutaro Madarame, a feared swordsman who has fallen on hard times in old Edo. Caught between two warring gangs in an epic battle of cat lovers and dog lovers, he begrudgingly accepts the canine faction's offer to assassinate the opposite leader's beloved pet: an adorable white cat. Yet upon raising his lethal sword, he cannot bring himself to go through with the act, and the cat melts his ronin heart. But before finding peace as a newly minted cat person, the still fearsome Madarame will have to take on both gangs in a classic samurai street brawl.

Samurai Cat: The Movie

2014

A True Record: The Last Sōkaiya poster
NR

Ōhara Ryūji (Riki Takeuchi) becomes unable to manage his life due to debts from baseball gambling. He goes to Tokyo, practically fleeing in the middle of the night, but his innate love of gambling doesn’t disappear, and he even lays his hands on the money at his workplace. At that time, someone suggests that he should become a sōkaiya. In order to repay his debts, he begins training to become one. Then, he starts to search for the true path of a sōkaiya…

A True Record: The Last Sōkaiya

2001

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A poster
6.5

An unknown future. A boy confesses to the murder of another in an all-boy juvenile detention facility. More an exercise in style than storytelling, the story follows two detectives trying to uncover the case. Homosexual tension and explosive violence drives the story which delivers some weird and fascinating visuals.

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A

2006

Behind the camera

Samurai Cat 2: A Tropical Adventure poster
4.8

The Edo period. Once a famous swordsman, Kyutaro Madarame, aka “Madara the Devil,” is now a masterless samurai. When a white cat called Tamanojo appears before Kyutaro, the encounter changes him forever. Starring Kazuki Kitamura. This offbeat tale of samurai spirit and adorable animal antics returns to the screen on a breathtaking scale!

Samurai Cat 2: A Tropical Adventure

2015

Chaka: The Lonely Hitman poster
NR

Shima (Riki Takeuchi), the right-hand man of his yakuza boss and renowned hitman, suffers from kidney disease. Interned in the hospital, he meets Junko, a nurse. When Shima is shot, she goes home and heals him. Gradually a relationship is formed between them and Junko gets pregnant. But Shima cannot escape the obligations of his clan and the disgust of Junko...

Chaka: The Lonely Hitman

1998

Nirvana Island: The Last 47 Days poster
5.9

The movie depicts the confrontation between younger brother Akira Miyamoto (Shunya Shiraishi) and older brother Atsushi Miyamoto (Ryohei Suzuki) on Higanjima.

Nirvana Island: The Last 47 Days

2016

Samurai Cat: The Movie poster
6.5

The ever versatile Kazuki Kitamura stars as masterless samurai Kyutaro Madarame, a feared swordsman who has fallen on hard times in old Edo. Caught between two warring gangs in an epic battle of cat lovers and dog lovers, he begrudgingly accepts the canine faction's offer to assassinate the opposite leader's beloved pet: an adorable white cat. Yet upon raising his lethal sword, he cannot bring himself to go through with the act, and the cat melts his ronin heart. But before finding peace as a newly minted cat person, the still fearsome Madarame will have to take on both gangs in a classic samurai street brawl.

Samurai Cat: The Movie

2014

A True Record: The Last Sōkaiya poster
NR

Ōhara Ryūji (Riki Takeuchi) becomes unable to manage his life due to debts from baseball gambling. He goes to Tokyo, practically fleeing in the middle of the night, but his innate love of gambling doesn’t disappear, and he even lays his hands on the money at his workplace. At that time, someone suggests that he should become a sōkaiya. In order to repay his debts, he begins training to become one. Then, he starts to search for the true path of a sōkaiya…

A True Record: The Last Sōkaiya

2001

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A poster
6.5

An unknown future. A boy confesses to the murder of another in an all-boy juvenile detention facility. More an exercise in style than storytelling, the story follows two detectives trying to uncover the case. Homosexual tension and explosive violence drives the story which delivers some weird and fascinating visuals.

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A

2006

The Territory of Beasts poster
7.0

A violent action film about a legendary hitman who seeks revenge on a traitor. Yuji, a former assassin who once left the life behind, accepts a contract from a man tied to him through a master–disciple bond to assassinate the boss of a rival organization—only to find an unexpected trap waiting for him.

The Territory of Beasts

1997

Carnival of Wolves poster
8.0

Four men plan a robbery in a pub

Carnival of Wolves

1995

Keita's First Dream of the New Year (Director's Cut) poster
NR

Under Anchor Headquarters is strictly off limits to all outsiders to protect the confidentiality of their activities. However, one day at lunchtime, Chigusa allowed the agents to "deliver", and this iron rule collapsed. Each of them was excited about the first event and asked for what they liked. However, the Chinese restaurant that received a sudden large order took a lot of time to cook, and there is no sign that it will arrive even after the lunch break. With so much hunger and impatience, the agents gradually get angry. Meanwhile, the news of a large-scale cyber attack arrived at the Kasumigaseki Central Information Management Center. (Director's cut of episode 35 of the Cellphone Investigator 7 TV show).

Keita's First Dream of the New Year (Director's Cut)

2009

Neko Ninja poster
4.5

Kagerota is a young ninja who embarks on his first mission: stealing the goldfish from a wealthy samurai. He succeeds, but then a mysterious fat cat starts following him. His distinctive red nose leads Kagerota to believe that the feline stalker is actually the reincarnation of his long last father, a legendary ninja who left him when he was ten years old.

Neko Ninja

2017

Revolver — Blue Spring poster
10.0

Osamu (Tamaki Hiroshi), a member of the “Ero Supremacy Club,” Kōji (Sato Ryuta), the quiet Biology Club member, and Tatsutoshi (Moriyama Mirai), the solitary Soccer Club member, come across a map one day. Following its markings, they discover a real handgun and three bullets. With the weapon in hand, the three hatch a plan to search for some “truly amazing thing”… Based on the comic Revolver by Maro Naruse & Taiyo Matsumoto, director Takeshi Watanabe (Chaka 2) delivers a youth drama that’s raw, comical, and tinged with melancholy. Following the success of the film Blue Spring (also from Matsumoto’s work), this original video production was created, and in fact, it carries an even stronger Matsumoto flavor. The three leads each stand out vividly, their personalities brought to life in a way that makes this a strangely endearing and memorable gem.

Revolver — Blue Spring

2003

Gokutsubushi poster
NR

The original is a manga work by Shigeru Tsuchiyama serialized in the magazine "Leed Comic". The director is Takeshi Watanabe of "Kyouju Luger P08", the script is Masaya Ishikawa, and the shooting is Naoaki Imaizumi. A hard-boiled action by a combination of a former yakuza detective and a gangster who is a police officer. Performers are Kazuya Kimura, Rikiya Yasuoka, and Katsuya Kobayashi.  Kyotaro Inugami, a detective at the port station, is a former yakuza. The young head of the gangster group Tsuneno-gumi, Choji Hanawa is a police officer. They were two people glaring at each other, but there are two people, Assistant Commissioner Masaru Sasaki and Shiro Sasaki ...

Gokutsubushi

1994

Samurai Cat: Tamanojo Goes to Edo poster
6.2

A prequel to the story of the legendary samurai and one cat. In Edo era, there was a legendary samurai named Kyutaro Madarame who are feared as a "Madara the Devil". He was somehow hired for killing a cat named Tamanojo. Just before Kyutaro slashes on Tamanojo, he realizes that Tamanojo looking into his eyes and said "meow". But why?

Samurai Cat: Tamanojo Goes to Edo

2016

La Sombra del Verano - Ilusion in Andalusia poster
NR

Set in Andalusia, Spain, the film depicts the fantastic journey of an ordinary housewife who leads an uneventful life in search of a missing writer. While dining out with her husband at a Spanish restaurant, Yoko hears that the writer, Mikiro Shimizu, has disappeared. Yoko comes forward and sets off alone to Andalusia, Spain, to look for Shimizu. On the way, she meets a young man named Yu, who is traveling around the country on a bicycle, and a mysterious woman named Aki, and the three of them follow Shimizu's trail, relying on a manuscript titled "False Blood" and the word "platelo" that he left in his room.

La Sombra del Verano - Ilusion in Andalusia

1996

GACHI-BAN: MAXIMUM poster
10.0

Following his release from the reformatory, Hayato is a free man and begins working at a Korean host club, the same one Yoshio works at. Unable to handle the woman and work he immediately wants to quit. However, Yoshio soon ends up saddled with a large debt a customer has made and is forced to pay with his life in an illegal underground fighting match. To save Yoshio, Hayato enters instead and comes up against Honda an ex-pro boxer.

GACHI-BAN: MAXIMUM

2011

i WILL no LONGER dream OF flying poster
NR

One evening, Ruriko uses her exceptional driving skills to save the hitman Ryōji from his pursuers. The following morning, at the request of her friend Terumi, who has repeatedly attempted suicide, she takes her out for a drive. However, when Atsushi—a man Terumi picked up at a club they stopped at—is murdered by an unknown assailant, the pair are suspected of the crime and find themselves on the run from the police. In reality, it was Ryōji who killed Atsushi. He had intended to steal a note detailing the hiding place of a large quantity of drugs that Atsushi was carrying, in order to embezzle the drugs from his organisation. However, as Ruriko and Terumi had taken the wallet containing the note, he now sets his sights on them. Meanwhile, Ruriko and Terumi, still on the run, are rushing to the port town where Terumi’s father lives.

i WILL no LONGER dream OF flying

2002

Kyouju Luger P08 poster
8.0

A man's life is altered when he comes into possession of a gun.

Kyouju Luger P08

1994

Adiós Desperado poster
NR

Set in Spain, two Japanese people, Tatsumi, a karate fighter, and Kumi, who is being chased by the mafia, meet and confront the mafia together with an old Spanish detective! Why is Kumi being chased?

Adiós Desperado

1996

Young Thugs: Kishiwada Youth Baseball Team poster
NR

The 4th installment of the popular series "Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai". This time, the popular comedy duo Cocorico has been selected as the lead, and idol Hiroko Anzai has been selected as Madonna. In 1970, the boy Gus is uninterested in the fact that Ryuji, a fair-skinned and meek transfer student to the next class, becomes popular with the girls. One day, Ji-yan from Liichi forms a grass baseball team, and Gus, who is not good at baseball, becomes a member. Gus finds out that Ryuji, who is sickly, is also secretly practicing baseball, and starts practicing with him.

Young Thugs: Kishiwada Youth Baseball Team

2000

Another Lonely Hitman 2 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Another Lonely Hitman 2

1997

巨乳をビジネスにした男 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

巨乳をビジネスにした男

2007

GACHI-BAN: ULTIMATE poster
10.0

High school dropout Hayato gets locked up in juvenile prison, where his usual stuck up attitude puts him in trouble with the other delinquents. This installment marks the return of undefeated Yanki (Japanese delinquent) boss, Monji Mori, who becomes Hayato’s nemesis.

GACHI-BAN: ULTIMATE

2011

Golden Wolf: Resurrection 2 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Golden Wolf: Resurrection 2

1998

Chaka 2 poster
NR

In this prequel to "Chaka", Inside a hamburger shop, gunfire suddenly erupts. Shima is ambushed by several men—and kills them all. Wounded and on the run, Shima is hidden by Kishi, a part-time worker at the shop, on the second floor of a lathe factory once owned by Kishi’s late father. There, Kishi’s childhood friend Toko tends to his injuries. What appears to be a chance meeting between two solitary men conceals a deeper, inescapable fate. The “bond” between men centered around an old-style revolver…

Chaka 2

1999

PAZUZU poster
NR

Togashi, who runs a small restaurant along the highway and leads a quiet life, finds himself being threatened by debt collector Kido after becoming a guarantor for a friend's debt. One day, a woman named Keiko appears before Togashi.

PAZUZU

2000

The Last Loyalty Offering poster
NR

The Umezu-gumi stands in opposition to the Iwasa-gumi, which rules the streets. In this city where tensions remain on the brink of explosion, Hideki Minashima is released from Osaka Prison. He visits Iwasa to convey the final words of Shimizu, with whom he had shared a cup of sake as brothers whilst in prison. Meanwhile, Umezu’s expression changes upon meeting Minashima. For he was none other than the former boss of the Kobe Kazama-gumi—the parent organisation of the Umezu-gumi. Twelve years earlier, the boss had been stabbed to death, leading to the dissolution of the group; senior members Hirokawa, Kurahashi and Kudo had each gone their separate ways. Iwasa, who had become enamoured with Minashima—who was devoting himself to training with the aim of one day rebuilding the group—proposed handing over the position of second-in-command to him. Umezu, however, betrayed the code of honour of the underworld and turned his blade against Minashima...

The Last Loyalty Offering

1995

Young Thugs: Going My Way poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Young Thugs: Going My Way

2004

True Record Dainihon Kikusuikai Soryuden poster
NR

2007 Original Video.

True Record Dainihon Kikusuikai Soryuden

2007

The Piercing Gaze: Memories of a Bizarre Murder poster
NR

One day, Shu, a runaway girl, turns up at Miyabe’s ramshackle detective agency. Claiming to be able to read people’s minds, Shu soon begins to display her mysterious powers. Around the same time, a series of bizarre, gruesome murders targeting only women begins to occur. The dismembered, brutally murdered bodies bear the letter ‘R’ carved into them…  

The Piercing Gaze: Memories of a Bizarre Murder

2005

Robbery poster
NR

Friendship and violence

Robbery

2000

The Fox with Gentle Shoulders poster
NR

The former legendary assassin, now living as a bartender after washing his hands of a violent past, unleashes the hidden violence within. Known as the "Fox with Gentle Shoulders" based on his name, Kijou worked as a bartender at a bar run by his childhood friend Reiko. One day, his former comrade Tokumitsu appears, asking him to hold onto something, but Kijou refuses. Tokumitsu has escaped with two hundred million yen from the organization.

The Fox with Gentle Shoulders

1999

Golden Wolf: Resurrection poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Golden Wolf: Resurrection

1998

The Piercing Gaze 2: The Resurgent Murderous Intent poster
NR

A series of bizarre, gruesome murders targeting only women. A mysterious girl (Asuka Shibuya) appears before the detective (Hiroki Matsukata), who is racing to solve the case. A terrifying ordeal awaits them both!!   

The Piercing Gaze 2: The Resurgent Murderous Intent

2006

Jitsuroku Dainippon Kikusuikai Soryuden: Final Edition poster
NR

The second 'Jitsuroku Dainippon Kikusuikai Soryuden' film.

Jitsuroku Dainippon Kikusuikai Soryuden: Final Edition

2007