The Great Yokai War (2005)

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.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Hiroshi Aramata (novel), Takashi Miike (screenplay)

Stars:

Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Chiaki Kuriyama

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Yasunori Kato
Kiyoshirô Imawano	...	General Nurarihyon
Seiko Iwaidô	...	Kawahime, the River Princess (as Mai Takahashi)
Masaomi Kondô	...	Shojo, the Kirin Herald
Sadao Abe	...	Kawataro, the River Sprite
Takashi Okamura	...	Azuki-Bean Washer
Naoto Takenaka	...	Lamp-Oil
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Ou Tengu
Renji Ishibashi	...	Ou Kubi

Storyline

This is the story of a young boy who moves to a small town after the divorce of his parents. At a local festival, he becomes an unlikely hero when he is chosen as the "Kirin Rider," a protector of all things good. And he must lead Japan's ancient Yokai spirits in their apocalyptic war against the evil bizarre-looking monsters.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | supernatural power | manga | machine | based on comic | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and scary images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 August 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Spook Warfare

Filming Locations:

Japan

Box Office

Budget:

JPY1,300,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,787,492

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa Eiga K.K., Nippon Television Network (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Quotes

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

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Connections

References Gremlins (1984)

User Reviews

A beautiful movie

Now, I have seen a lot of movies in my day, but out of every single one there have been a very select few that have been really good to me. And I'm a 19 year old man which is impressed by this movie directed towards a younger audience. This is a very underrated gem for those who watch foreign movies. Almost all the acting is believable, the graphics are decent (for which you won't even be caring about as you watch the movie. Trust me, bitching about the graphics would be a stupid thing to do), the story is well written and it's a movie that everyone can enjoy not just the kids.

Here's basically what this movie made me to. It one, made me laugh...a lot, two, made me feel for the characters like you're suppose to, and three, it's a very uplifting story. By the end of this movie you will feel good. Sure, what anime out there hasn't featured some young kid turning into a great warrior and whatever to defeat some great evil. It's a formula that is used a lot. But, in this case it is forgivable because even though they use puppets for some characters and some average graphics you'd see 5 years ago, the appearance of it is not to be judged. It's very touching, the ending is original, and it keeps you into the movie like it is suppose to. If you however try comparing this to other movies like "The Never-ending Story" or whatever it will diverse your opinion. Watch it as it is and you will enjoy it.

It has been a good long while since I've been impressed like this. The only other movie where I have gotten this feeling is when I saw TMNT way back when it came out. There is something about this movie I felt about TMNT that really made me love it. So don't over-analyze or take this movie too seriously, just enjoy it.