Kankuro Kudo

Writing

Kankuro Kudo

Born 1970-07-19 · Miyagi, Japan

Kankurō Kudō  (宮藤 官九郎 Kudō Kankurō, born 19 July 1970) is a Japanese screenwriter, dramatist, director, actor and member of the theater company Otona Keikaku. He won the 'Best Screenplay' award at the 2002 Japanese Academy Awards for Go, which explores problems faced by people of Korean-heritage living in Japan. He acted in the hugely popular tear-jerker, Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World, and is also guitarist in the Japanese Comedy Rock Band Group Tamashii. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kankurō Kudō, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Acting credits

Tekkonkinkreet poster
7.4

Two penniless orphans, Black and White, struggle to survive on the mean streets of Treasure Town. When a megacorporation threatens to tear down the town to build an amusement park, Black and White engage in the fight of their life.

Tekkonkinkreet

2006

A New Love in Tokyo poster
5.7

A look at the lives of two prostitutes in Tokyo: Rei, who works as an S&M dominatrix, and Ayumi, in the more straightforward profession of call girl. In addition to their working life, the film also looks at their private lives. Rei is acting in an amateur theatre company along with the receptionist from Ayumi's escort service, while Ayumi is living with her student-boyfriend as he struggles to finally get accepted to college.

A New Love in Tokyo

1994

Look Back poster
NR

The overly confident Fujino and the shut-in Kyomoto couldn’t be more different, but a love of drawing manga brings these two small-town girls together.

Look Back

2026

Memories of Matsuko poster
7.8

While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko's life into a despairing tragedy.

Memories of Matsuko

2006

The Brightest Sun poster
NR

When a private detective is murdered, a former colleague and a trainee detective are sent to investigate. Along the way, they uncover a tragic truth that triggers memories from their own haunted pasts.

The Brightest Sun

2026

Kids Return poster
6.9

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.

Kids Return

1996

Mom, Is That You?! poster
6.1

Akio, an HR worker, visits his transformed mother Fukue in Tokyo. Baffled by her new lively self, he encounters a friendly neighbor. Through these interactions, Akio gains new perspectives, noticing overlooked aspects of life.

Mom, Is That You?!

2023

Bayside Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose poster
5.0

After Detective Shunsaku Aoshima is promoted to section chief he has the daunting task of dealing with eight cases at the same time, which includes a murder case, bomb threat, and a bus hijacking. Complications also arise between Detective Aoshima and his juniors.

Bayside Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose

2010

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World poster
7.3

While searching for his fiancee Ritsuko, Sakutarou rediscovers through flashbacks the void deep within him caused by the events from his high school days.

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World

2004

Instant Swamp poster
6.7

A woman finds out her father is not her real one after her mother falls into a coma while searching for a mythical creature. She decides to meet her real father who happens to be an off-beat antique shopkeeper.

Instant Swamp

2009

Bakuman poster
6.4

Moritaka Mashiro doesn't want to follow in the path of his uncle who worked as a manga artist, but ultimately died because of exhaustion. Moritaka Mashiro figures he will graduate from school and work at an office. Things change though when falls in love with a girl at school. The girl, who hopes to become a voice actress, tells Moritaka they can marry, but only after they both achieve their dreams. Moritaka then teams up with fellow classmate Akito Takagi to publish their first manga.

Bakuman

2015

Ora, Ora Be Goin' Alone poster
7.2

In 1964, Momoko came by herself to Tokyo from her hometown. She met Shūzō and married him. They raised two children together, but Shūzō suddenly passes away. Momoko is dumbfounded by being alone again. She begins to go to the library and borrows books. This changes her life.

Ora, Ora Be Goin' Alone

2020

Welcome to the Quiet Room poster
6.8

28 year old freelance writer Sakura Asuka wakes up tied in a white room. The white room is a protected room located in an isolated ward of a psychiatric hospital. Sakura first became unconscious because of heavy alcohol use and a druge overdose. She’s confined in the single room because of her high risk of committing suicide. Sakura tried to talk to the nurses and doctors but they didn’t listen to her. Under the circumstances another patient Miki, who suffers from an eating disorder, leads her to understand the unknown world. But, Sakura is looking for the way to get back to the real world as soon as possible.

Welcome to the Quiet Room

2007

Woman’s Lib Vol. 15 ”Mo Gaman Dekinai” poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Woman’s Lib Vol. 15 ”Mo Gaman Dekinai”

2023

Piece of Cake poster
5.0

Shino Umemiya readily dates guys interested in her, because she believes that's better than being alone. She breaks up with her violent boyfriend after he discovered that she cheated on him. She moves to a new area to get a fresh new start on her life. There, Shino Umemiya meets her neighbor Kyoshiro Sugahara. He is also her manager at her new job. Shino Umemiya becomes interested in him, but he lives with mysterious woman Akari.

Piece of Cake

2015

The Dry Spell poster
6.8

The story takes place during a summer of continuous sunshine when water supply restrictions are issued in the city. Shunsaku Iwakiri works for the city's water department and his job is to visit homes and stores that are behind on their bills and either collect the money or shut off the water supply (water suspension enforcement). Shunsaku is separated from his wife and children, and his heart grows thirsty as he spends his days visiting poor households and being abhorred. One day, during a water shutoff, Shunsaku meets two young sisters who have been neglected. He sees them as his own children and offers them a helping hand.

The Dry Spell

2023

Thirteen Steps poster
6.4

A released inmate is hired to solve a murder case.

Thirteen Steps

2003

大パルコ人⑤オカタイロックオペラ「雨の傍聴席、おんなは裸足…」 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

大パルコ人⑤オカタイロックオペラ「雨の傍聴席、おんなは裸足…」

2025

Seaside Serendipity poster
8.0

In a coastal town attracting artists, 14-year-old Sosuke and his friends stay busy painting and helping with school projects. As carefree children interact with secret-laden adults, the sunlit ocean reflects their contrasting struggles—kids embracing challenges while adults seek elusive answers.

Seaside Serendipity

2025

Ichikei's Crow The Movie poster
6.6

No synopsis available yet.

Ichikei's Crow The Movie

2023

Dear Etranger poster
7.1

Makoto Tanaka is 40-years-old and has remarried. His wife is Nanae and they care for 2 daughters from Nanae's prior marriage. Makoto tries to have an ordinary family. Nanae then becomes pregnant. Afterwards, things begin to change among the family members.

Dear Etranger

2017

The Short Films: We Were All Once Children poster
NR

A dream collaboration between five directors who represent the modern Japanese film industry! An omnibus work composed of five short films has been created. "The Short Films: We Were All Once Children." The theme that runs through the five short films is "children." The styles vary from period dramas to contemporary daily life scenes, but all of the works highlight the dreams of children, who are entrusted with Japan's future, as well as the issues facing the social system surrounding children. ©ABC Television

The Short Films: We Were All Once Children

2008

My Uncle poster
6.3

Yukio Haruyama is an elementary school student. He has an uncle that teaches philosophy part-time at an university. His uncle leeches off his family. The uncle then goes on a blind date and falls in love with beautiful Eri Inaba. She is a fourth generation Japanese living in Hawaii. Sometime later, Eri goes back to Hawaii to take over a coffee farm left behind by her recently deceased grandmother. Yukio and his uncle travel to Hawaii to see Eri.

My Uncle

2016

The Wife of Gegege poster
NR

A woman from rural Japan marries a struggling cartoonist in Tokyo. Their life is difficult before he finds success, but at least they're together.

The Wife of Gegege

2010

Behind the camera

No More Cry poster
5.8

Abandoned by his father as a boy, Yuta grows up as the foster son of a restaurant owner and takes over the restaurant at the owner's death. Cheery, always smiling, always helpful, Yuta is known as Yama-chan, the friend everyone turns to. When Yuta discovers he had a hitherto unknown baby brother, he sets out to track him down. But the baby brother, Yusuke, has grown up to be half of a successful comedy team, the Kinjo Brothers, and Yusuke's professional "brother" has just written a best-selling book about their adventures growing up together. Yuta's appearance on the scene threatens to reveal that the book is a complete fiction and to set all three "brothers" into conflict with each other.

No More Cry

2009

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio poster
7.0

A young undercover cop tries to get back with his former love, while unraveling the mystery behind the head of the police force. Meanwhile he has to protect the boss' daughter.

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio

2016

GO poster
7.4

Sugihara, a Japanese-born, third-generation Korean teenager struggles to find a place in a society that will not accept him.

GO

2001

69 poster
6.5

Hoping to catch a girl's attention, high school students Ken and Adama cook up an ambitious plan. They plan a festival that combines film, theater, and rock music, and develop their project into a school road block. This plan however catches the attention of television stations and newspapers, and soon even the cops became involved in this teenage adventure.

69

2004

Street Kingdom: Make your own sound. poster
5.2

No synopsis available yet.

Street Kingdom: Make your own sound.

2026

Too Young To Die! poster
6.5

After dying in a bus crash and falling to hell, high schooler Daisuke joins a demonic rock band so he can be reincarnated back into the mortal world.

Too Young To Die!

2016

Too Young To Die! poster
6.5

After dying in a bus crash and falling to hell, high schooler Daisuke joins a demonic rock band so he can be reincarnated back into the mortal world.

Too Young To Die!

2016

Ping Pong poster
7.1

As children, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco comes by and chases all of them them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wings and teaches him how to play the game of ping pong. From there a life long best friend relationship comes into existence between these two polar opposite kids.

Ping Pong

2002

Brass Knuckle Boys poster
6.5

A record company office worker named Kanna discovers a punk rock band called Shonen Meriken Sakku 'Brass Knuckle Boys' through the internet and subsequently decides to represent them on behalf of her company. What Kanna did not know was that the Brass Knuckle Boys consists of all middle aged men.

Brass Knuckle Boys

2009

Brass Knuckle Boys poster
6.5

A record company office worker named Kanna discovers a punk rock band called Shonen Meriken Sakku 'Brass Knuckle Boys' through the internet and subsequently decides to represent them on behalf of her company. What Kanna did not know was that the Brass Knuckle Boys consists of all middle aged men.

Brass Knuckle Boys

2009

The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji poster
6.2

Reiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan to set him up as an undercover cop in the Yakuza.

The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji

2013

The Mole Song: Final poster
7.0

Reiji's final mission is to prevent the smuggling of 600 billion yen of drugs. For his mission, he gets on luxury passenger ship and he faces his strongest enemy to date.

The Mole Song: Final

2021

Kamui poster
6.1

A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.

Kamui

2009

Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City poster
5.9

A post-apocalyptic humankind in 2025 finds a hero in the form of Zebraman. But the Zebra Queen steals his powers, making him lose his ability to survive Zebra Time. But he wants his powers back.

Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City

2010

Drugstore Girl poster
5.2

Pharmaceutical student, Keiko witnesses her boyfriend having an affair. Shocked and disappointed, she jumps on a train ("destination anywhere, east or west, she don't care") and ends up in a town named Masao in Tokyo's remote suburbs. There, she gets a part-time job at a newly opened drugstore. What do ya know.. The local shopping district's middle-aged men all fall for the young girl's charms, and they start practicing lacrosse once they have found out that that's her favourite sport.

Drugstore Girl

2004

Woman’s Lib Vol. 15 ”Mo Gaman Dekinai” poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Woman’s Lib Vol. 15 ”Mo Gaman Dekinai”

2023

Woman’s Lib Vol. 15 ”Mo Gaman Dekinai” poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Woman’s Lib Vol. 15 ”Mo Gaman Dekinai”

2023

Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series poster
6.7

After terminally ill Bussan finally passes away he misses hanging out with his still living friends and decides to return to Kisarazu. In his ghost form however only his most trusted friends can see him, and his meddling in the lives of the living results in the return of Ozzy and a long dead team of American baseball players who drowned off the shores of Kisarazu. It's down to Bussan and the Cats to save the day and restore the town to order, but can Bussan bring himself to say bye-bye once and for all?

Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series

2006

大パルコ人⑤オカタイロックオペラ「雨の傍聴席、おんなは裸足…」 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

大パルコ人⑤オカタイロックオペラ「雨の傍聴席、おんなは裸足…」

2025

大パルコ人⑤オカタイロックオペラ「雨の傍聴席、おんなは裸足…」 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

大パルコ人⑤オカタイロックオペラ「雨の傍聴席、おんなは裸足…」

2025

Punk Samurai Slash Down poster
5.8

Junoshin Kake is a ronin. To get hired by the Kurokaze Han, he lies and tells them that a religious group is trying to destroy them. He gets hired by the Kurokaze Han, but they learn that Junoshin Kake lied. Junoshin Kake is given the death sentence and he must think of an escape plan.

Punk Samurai Slash Down

2018

Dumbeast poster
7.5

How hard is it to kill an idiot? Just ask Kudo Kankuro! The acclaimed screenwriter brings his 2004 Kunio Kishida-winning stage play Donju (a.k.a. Dumb Animal) to the big screen in all its wacky tragicomedic glory. The one and only Asano Tadanobu sports a seriously nerdy bowl haircut to play the leading role of simple-minded novelist Dekogawa who has mysteriously disappeared. Dekogawa wrote an autobiography about his youth that reveals not only his past, but also some of his childhood friends’ best-forgotten secrets. In order to keep the skeletons in the closet, these buddies of yesteryear try to silence him permanently. But no matter how hard they try to kill Dekogawa, he just keeps coming back – because he’s simply too thickheaded to die!

Dumbeast

2009

One Second Ahead, One Second Behind poster
6.4

Set in Kyoto, Japan, a love story takes place between Hajime and Reika. Hajime is a handsome young man, who is usually a second quicker than everyone else and straightforward. He works at the post office. Reika is a young woman, who is usually a step slower than everyone else. After Valentine's Day, Hajime wakes up and is unable to remember what happened that day.

One Second Ahead, One Second Behind

2023

Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series poster
6.2

When Bussan learns he has less than a year to live, he decides to continue his life as usual. He spends his time with his friends, a band called Kisarazu Cat's Eye. Their funny adventures range from playing gigs to solving a mystery surrounding counterfeit money, but Bussan's impending death is never far away.

Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series

2003