The Great Yokai War (2005) Yôkai daisensô (original title)

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Hiroshi Aramata (novel)
Takashi Miike (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 August 2005 (Japan)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Horror

Plot:

A young boy is chosen as the defender of good and must team up with Japan's ancient spirits and creatures of lore to destroy the forces of evil.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Machine | Based On Comic | Manga | Supernatural Power

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ryûnosuke Kamiki	...	Tadashi Ino (as Ryuunosuke Kamiki)
Hiroyuki Miyasako	...	Sata
Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Agi
Bunta Sugawara	...	Shuntaro Ino
Kaho Minami	...	Youko Ino
Riko Narumi	...	Tataru Ino
Etsushi Toyokawa	...	Lord Kato Yasunori
Kiyoshiro Imawano	...	General Nurarihyon (as Kiyoshirô Imawano)
Mai Takahashi	...	Kawahime, the River Princess
Masaomi Kondo	...	Shojo, the Kirin Herald (as Masaomi Kondô)
Sadao Abe	...	Kawataro, the River Sprite
Takashi Okamura	...	Azuki-Bean Washer
Naoto Takenaka	...	Lamp-Oil
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Ou Tengu
Renji Ishibashi	...	Ou Kubi
Toshie Negishi	...	Sunakake Baba
Asumi Miwa	...	Rokuro-Kubi
Hiroshi Aramata	...	Demon Prince
Natsuhiko Kyôgoku	...	Demon Prince
Shigeru Mizuki	...	Demon King
Toshiya Nagasawa	...	Abe no Seimei
Shirô Sano	...	Sata's Editor
Akira Emoto	...	Screaming Farmer
Minori Fujikura	...	Bake-Neko
Mame Yamada	...	Noderabô
Hiromasa Taguchi	...	Ippon Tadara
Tokitoshi Shiota	...	Mouryo / Gozu
Rei Yoshii	...	Yuki Onna
Miyuki Miyabe	...	School Teacher
Yu Tokui	...	Police Officer
Kanji Tsuda	...	Tadashi's Father
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matt Alt	...	Yokai Extra
Honkon
Tôru Hotohara
Itsuji Itao
Arimasa Ohsawa
Salmon Sakeyama		(as Sakeyama Saamon)
Mao Sasaki	...	Sune-kosuri (voice)
Yôji Tanaka	...	Yoichi's father
Hiroko Yoda	...	Frog yokai

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits
Hiroshi Aramata		(novel)
Takashi Miike		(screenplay) &
Mitsuhiko Sawamura		(screenplay) &
Takehiko Itakura		(screenplay)

Produced by
Fumio Inoue	....	producer
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa	....	executive producer: Kadokawa Eiga

Original Music by
Kôji Endô

Cinematography by
Hideo Yamamoto

Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura

Production Design by
Hisashi Sasaki

Makeup Department
Kakusei Fujiwara	....	special makeup effects artist
Tomo Hyakutake	....	special makeup effects artist
Yûichi Matsui	....	special makeup effects artist

Sound Department
Peter 'Duck' McDonald	....	sound mixer
Jun Nakamura	....	sound

Special Effects by
Tomo Hyakutake	....	special effects makeup

Stunts
Keiji Tsujii	....	stunt coordinator

Casting Department
Natsuhiko Kyôgoku	....	casting: monsters

Other crew
Miyuki Miyabe	....	production consultant
Shigeru Mizuki	....	production consultant

Production Companies

• Kadokawa Eiga K.K.
• Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)

Distributors

• Media Blasters (2006) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Shochiku Company (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Tokyo Shock (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Versus Entertainment (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Hyakutake Studio (special make-up effects)

Other Companies

• Tottori Film Commission  film commission

Also Known As:

"Yôkai daisensô" - Japan (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and scary images

Runtime:

USA:124 min | UK:104 min (Leeds International Film Festival)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Kadokawa Eiga K.K.

Trivia:

Shigeru Mizuki himself appears briefly in the film as the Demon King.

Quotes:

Kawahime, the River Princess:People live in ignorance. Constantly turning a blind eye. Those that let go of their past, have no future.

Movie Connections:

References Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Miike unleashes his imagination in less deviant lands

Billed as Takashi Miike's "first family film" - by people who haven't seen Zebraman, presumably. YOKAI DAISENSO takes things even further in the direction of family-friendliness, diluting the darkness and cynicism to create a grand fantasy fairy tale. A young boy is chosen by fate to save the world from monsters and horrors of which they remain largely unaware. The film is evidently bigger budget than anything else Miike has done, with lots of CGI to create fantasy world populated by odd creatures (the YOKAI). Perhaps the lack of extreme content is a consequence of more nervous investors, but I think it's probably just that he wanted to do something different. He's really never been a one-trick pony, but often gets accused of it - perhaps YOKAI is designed to silence those critics. Regardless, it's a great project for Miike to channel his boundless imagination and invention into.

There's a very cartoonish feel to the production, evoking thoughts of Miyazaki in places. The Yokai are based on an old series of comics that were in turned based on Japanese folk tales, which certainly influenced Miyazaki as well (particularly SPIRITED AWAY). It must remembered that Miike has nothing like the budget of a Harry Potter film to work with, so the special effects aren't going to be seamless Hollywood style work - some blue-screening is especially obvious. Some of the special effects are great though, with some very well animated creatures (a mix of CG, stop-motion and puppetry). I think the little sock-puppet that follows the hero around for much of the film was *meant* to look really cheap, and is all the cuter for it :) The young lad who plays the hero of the film does a really good job - it's so hard to find a pre-teen who actually understands the concept of acting, but 9 year old Ryunosuke Kamiki is a genuine talent (I see he did voices in the last 2 Miyazaki films!). Chiaki Kuriyama is delicious as the villainess of the piece, though Mai Takahashi made an even greater impression as the pixie-eared River Princess - yum yum! Those looking for another violent, perverted gangster film aren't going to find what they're looking for in YOKAI, but if you're a fan of Miike because of his imagination and wit, there's plenty to satisfy here. And it has the added bonus that you can happily put it on whatever company you've got :)