Hiroko Sakurai

The landmark Japanese Tokusatsu TV series Ultraman became a massive social phenomenon upon its debut in 1966, reaching a staggering peak viewership rating of 42.8%. Six decades later, Tsuburaya Productions continues to introduce new entries into the Ultraman series, expanding its unique universe to a global audience across generations. This documentary brings together leading voices from the fields of cinema, Tokusatsu, and design. Witness profound testimonies from an international assembly of creators, including: Guillermo del Toro, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Hideo Kojima, Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, and Nicolas Winding Refn.

When military experiments go haywire and trigger an atomic bomb, the consequences are of epic proportions. A monster arrives in the midst of the nuclear fallout, and Japan's defenses are helpless against it. Mankind's only savior is an irradiated water goblin from Japanese folklore called the "Death Kappa." The two rival monsters must go head-to-head in the ultimate battle between good and evil!

Naraho town in Fukushima Prefecture is on the front-line of the government-funded nuclear power plant decommissioning work. Kokuhei Kusunoki is transferred from Aizu Wakamatsu City to Naraho Town to take over the Disaster PR Division. Murai takes Kokuhei around Fukushima including areas washed away by the tsunami. They examine the still incomplete railway lines, the unfinished decontamination area and villages in the danger zone, where deadly cesium continues to pile up. One day Kokuhei is told to organize a party to celebrate the professor who has been appointed as deputy director of the Atomic Energy Research Institute.

Colored versions of episodes 1, 20, 19 and 15 of Ultra Q TV show, edited together and released in theaters.

Direct-to-video special mostly comprised of stock footage from the 1966 series Ultraman. The main cast reprised their roles for newly-shot footage : in the summer of 2006, 40 years after Ultraman left Earth, the old members of the SSSP reunite after receiving a mysterious invitation letter. Together, they reminiscence about the numerous situations they faced.

Direct-to-video documentary special about the 1966 series Ultra Q. It is mainly comprised of interviews with the original staff and cast alongside stock footage of the show. The main cast reprised their roles for short in-character segments that are framed as interviews about the series' events.

Direct-to-video documentary special focusing on the Ultraman Series, spotlighting the heroines who appeared from Ultra Q to Ultraman Gaia. The program features insights from the original production staff, who provide introductions to these characters. The documentary notably highlights three actresses: Hiroko Sakurai, Mitsuko Hoshi, and Takami Yoshimoto, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their time working on the series.

Ultraman Zearth hails from The Land of Pikari in Nebula Z95. He has a big red face and dislikes dirt, and will go to great lengths to wash it off his hands. His goal is to clean the polluted Earth. He transforms with an electric toothbrush, which is consistent with his hygiene fixation. He's not quite adept at being a superhero, but at least he tries his best.

Ultraman Shadow, Ultraman Zearth's most terrifying adversary yet, is brought to Earth by the murderous alien, Lady Benzen to be Ultraman Zearth's assassin. Ultraman Shadow is a warrior of darkness equipped with mysterious powers. Prepare to witness the ultimate showdown, colossus versus mighty colossus, the battle ground: Planet Earth!

The film is composed of stock footage from the original Ultraman television series with additional newly filmed content, and it served as an “epilogue” as Ultraman returns to Earth for one final battle.

Theatrical version of episode 17 of Ultra Q TV series.

Theatrical version of episode 20 of Ultraman (1966 TV series). An enormous bird-monster is attacking motorists on Route 87. The Science Patrol discovers a supernatural link between the monster and a statue located nearby.

Junko's only son dies in an accident. Junko is exhausted by despair and grief, and her husband, who should be there to support her, instead blames her. But her father-in-law, Tsuneo, finds her dear.

Two university students from Kyoto decide to swap partners and spend the night in an isolated motel. However, one of the couples is attacked. Desperate for answers, they search for the attackers and come across a cult that promotes sexual freedom.

A rigidly devoted young servant lives in a decaying aristocratic household as its members drift toward modernity, hedonism, and financial collapse. While the family quarrels over the fate of their estate, he clings to tradition and ritual, becoming a quiet witness to the social change and emotional unrest around him.

In the summer of 1947, various men and women gather at a mansion in the countryside at the invitation of Kazuma Utagawa. They are artists, novelists, poets, painters, playwrights, actresses, etc. Then the murders begin, one after another. The incident seemed to have no continuity...

Utamaro was an artist who lived in Edo (which was later to become modern-day Tokyo) in the late 18th century. This film, which has a complex and wide-ranging storyline, recreates the world of that time, as it appeared in Utamaro's paintings.

Two women are ferried to a small prison colony on the remote and barren prison island, where they and their fellow inmates are forced to perform perilous slave labor along the island’s treacherous cliffs, overseen by both an unforgiving sun and a crew of abusive male wardens. Meanwhile, the arrival of a newcomer among the island’s administrators, a disgraced policeman who is also the son of Nagasaki’s governor, creates dissension between the officials that, along with an untimely outbreak of bubonic plague on the island, ultimately sets the stage for a daring escape attempt on the part of the prisoners.

Akio Jissoji's Ultraman is a 1979 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Akio Jissoji. It is a compilation film made up of scenes from Jissoji's episodes of the original Ultraman TV series.

A 1979 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Tsuburaya Productions, consisting of re-edited material from the original television series Ultraman. Ultraman: The Great Decisive Battle was the 1st movie of the third Showa phase (Jissouji's Ultraman being first and Ultra Brothers vs. The Monster Army being second) and because of this Tsuburaya decided to make this a reunion of the last 12 Ultras (aside from Ultraman 80 which hadn't come out yet). Tsuburaya decided to give this a different tone than Jissouji's Ultraman, having more new scenes and appealing to the all-Ultra fan.

No synopsis available yet.

A survivor of the tragic mass suicides on Tokashiki Island in 1945 falls in love with a near-mute motorcycle engineer.

Based on the comic by George Akiyama

Osami, a soldier-of-fortune from Japan, joins with priest Ensai in a quest for the ashes of the great Buddha. Their journey takes them to a kingdom in the Middle East, where they find intrigue and romance in the court of an evil king.

The film consists of re-edited material from the original television series Ultraman. Episodes 1, 8, 26, and 27 were used for the film. They were narrated by Hikari Urano as an "Ultraman Documentary". Allegedly only one new scene was shot, and that some parts of the movie where shot in black and white for unknown reasons. The movie screened at the same time as the Toho movie King Kong Escapes.

An intoxicated man promises two magazine editors that he will write a masterpiece. Once he sobers up, he commits to his promise and writes a story based on his life.

A samurai kills a blind man who tells him to repay his debts. Because of the samurai's actions his entire family is to bear a terrible curse.

This film by Toyoda depicts the hard life of an unmarried mother in Tokyo. Umeko (Machiko Kyo), at 36, is working in a bar, struggling valiantly to keep her family together. Her 17-year-old daughter Takeko becomes increasingly upset by her mother's constant drinking and yakuza boyfriend, and runs away from home. Kyo's performance was highly praised.

Comedy-drama about university tennis players.

During the mayoral election, two ex-prisoners decide to replace the lucky pen of an annoying candidate with a mini-bomb.

Ayako Kurimura, a new B.G. at Nitto Electric, becomes the object of affection for both her brother's colleague Kazuo Fukami and the flirtatious executive’s son, Hiroshi Tsuzawa. As office romances and corporate ambitions collide, relationships shift: heartbreak leads to new connections, old flames reemerge, and Hiroshi is ultimately disowned. Ayako helps him reunite with former lover Yoko, sending them off to Osaka while those around her find new beginnings.

Four fishermen friends are caught up in a piracy plot.

Punch, Pinch, and Sentchi share a dorm room while working as caddies at a country club. Their easygoing routine is disrupted by clashes with wealthy patrons and a late-night misunderstanding that draws them into a rivalry with another trio of women, just as new ambitions and a promising young man enter the picture.

In this recorded stage debut of the original Ultraman, self-proclaimed world's number one kaiju tamer, Eiji Tsuburaya introduces Ultraman, the Science Special Search Party (SSSP), and various kaiju.

No synopsis available yet.

Mie Nakao runs away from home to join her older sister's production company as a new talent. We follow her ups and downs on the way to stardom as she falls in love with two men, a petty thief and a music writer and teacher, and makes her way in the industry alongside The Peanuts and The Crazy Cats.

As Marukyū Department Store plans its Hawaii expansion, company executives become sidetracked by local pleasures and personal entanglements. By the time they resume business, the target property is lost to a rival—forcing an abrupt return to Japan with both deals and relationships unresolved.

Executives from a Japanese department store travel to Hawaii to acquire land for expansion but become entangled in romantic distractions and miscommunication. By the time they act, the property is lost to a rival, forcing an abrupt return to Tokyo and uncertain outcomes.

The four-member con group, including the intellectual boss Nobukichi Ishiguro (Masayuki Mori), who is called an "aristocrat con man" for his elegant appearance; the amorous Kyuhei Maruki (Tadao Takashima); the inventive Yosuke Mori (Hideo Sunatsuka); and the amorous Mami (Mako Midori), set one bizarre trap after another in their quest for the perfect crime in this wry crime comedy.

Comedy starring the manzai team of Chick and Tack, and set in the world of salarymen.

A dark family secret sends a 21-year-old French student (Hoshi) on a journey of self-discovery.

No synopsis available yet.

After years of living a comfortable existence as a housewife, Aki starts to suspect that her husband is hiding something.

1962 Japanese movie

One night, the phone rings at the home of the Takiguchi family. The daughter Reiko hands the receiver to her father, who then instantly goes up in flames and is burned to death! Subsequently, another incident of apparently spontaneous human combustion occurs right before Reiko’s eyes. Made for "Operation: Mystery".

1957 Japanese movie