Eiji Tsuburaya

Eiji Tsuburaya ranks alongside Willis H. O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen as one of the great visionary SFX masters of twentieth-century fantasy cinema. Best remembered as the amazing special effects genius behind the "Godzilla" series of monster films commencing in 1954, he also contributed effects to a host of other Japanese monster / fantasy / science fiction / drama / propaganda films for over four decades. Eiji Tsuburaya had a keen interest in the cinema from a young age, and legend has it that he acquired a second-hand movie projector when he was only ten years old, and pulled it apart and put it back together with relative ease. He began work as a cinematographer in Kyoto around 1919 and then enhanced his skills to include camera work throughout the 1920s, at which time his eye for detail was in high demand from many studios. Around 1938, he became head of Special Visual Techniques at Toho Studios, and during the Second World War, he was involved in the production of several Japanese propaganda films. He went freelance after the war, and in 1954 he collaborated with director Ishirô Honda on the monster epic Gojira (1954) (aka "Godzilla"). The film was an enormous hit in Japan, and additional scenes were filmed with US actor Raymond Burr and then inserted strategically to give the movie western appeal. "Godzilla, King Of The Monsters" was then released in the USA to strong box office takings, and Godzilla has since appeared in over two dozen films spanning over fifty years, becoming a key cult icon of Japanese culture!! The incredibly talented Tsuburaya went on to be the SFX director behind dozens of Japanese monster & science fiction classics including Sora no daikiju Radon (1956) (aka "Rodan"), Bijo to ekitai ningen (1958) (aka "The H-Man"), Densô ningen (1960) (aka "The Telegian"), Mosura (1961) (aka "Mothra"), Kingu Kongu tai Gojira (1962) (aka "King Kong versus Godzilla"), Varan the Unbelievable (1962), Matango (1963), Furankenshutain tai chitei kaiju Baragon (1965) (aka "Frankenstein Conquers the World"), and Kaiju soshingeki (1968) (aka "Destroy All Monsters" ). Tsuburaya had also established his own production company in 1963 (Tsuburaya Productions), creators of the highly popular "Ultraman" character, and subsequent TV shows and films. On January 25, 1970, while vacationing in Shizuoka Prefecture, Tsuburaya suffered a sudden, fatal heart attack. His incredible film & SFX production company is still active today under the guidance of his grandson, Kazuo Tsuburaya.

Works

Ultraman

Hayata is a member of the Science Patrol, an organization tasked with investigating bizarre anomalies. He is mortally wounded when accidently encountering an alien being from Land of Light, who grants Hayata new life as the two are merged into one. Now, whenever a threat arises that is too great for the Science Patrol to handle, Hayata activates the beta capsule and becomes the hero known as Ultraman.

Release Date1966-07-17

DepartmentProduction

JobProduction Supervisor

Episode Count39

Vote Count52

Shin Ultraman

The Japanese government sets up a special task force to fight the giant creatures suddenly appearing across the country. Soon, the squad unexpectedly meets a giant silver humanoid who starts appearing every time a space monster attacks!

Release Date2022-05-13

DepartmentWriting

JobOriginal Story

Vote Count212

The Hidden Fortress

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

Release Date1958-12-28

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count651

Godzilla

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

Release Date1954-11-03

DepartmentWriting

JobStory

Vote Count1037

Ultra Q

As supernatural events and monster attacks rock Japan, the military and government look to be overwhelmed. Three intrepid young investigators—two pilots and a reporter—take it upon themselves to study these unexplained phenomena in order to inform and protect the public. With allies and science aiding them on their journey, the trio must separate myth from history as they explore the greater mysteries of these occurrences: are they unrelated, or is this barrage somehow a portent of even worse things to come?

Release Date1966-01-02

DepartmentProduction

JobProduction Supervisor

Episode Count28

Vote Count20

Ultraman R/B

The two main characters, Katsumi and Isami Minato, are brothers who live with their younger sister and father who runs a specialty store. One day, they found the R/B Gyro and R/B Crystals, which transforms Katsumi into Ultraman Rosso and Isami into Ultraman Blu.

Release Date2018-07-07

DepartmentCreator

JobCreator

Vote Count7

Invasion of Astro-Monster

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As Glenn investigates, he develops a romance with Miss Namikawa and uncovers the Xilien's true intentions.

Release Date1965-12-19

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count232

Throne of Blood

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Release Date1957-01-15

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count918

King Kong vs. Godzilla

The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.

Release Date1962-08-11

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count321

Son of Godzilla

Reporter Goro Maki stumbles upon scientists conducting weather experiments on Sollgel Island in the South Seas. He discovers the island is inhabited by giant mantis and a woman named Saeko who's been cast away since the death of her father. The pair soon find a helpless infant monster that Godzilla must adopt and learn to raise as one of his own.

Release Date1967-12-16

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count230

Godzilla Raids Again

Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.

Release Date1955-04-24

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count307

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

Release Date1964-04-29

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count310

Neo Ultra Q

Ultra Q has returned, and continues investigations of monstrous appearances and strange ecological phenomenons.

Release Date2013-01-12

DepartmentCrew

JobCreator

Episode Count12

Vote Count4

All Monsters Attack

Ichiro Miki is a child living in the industrial district of Kawasaki, where his parents' constant struggle to make ends meet often leaves the schoolboy alone. Constantly teased by a bully nicknamed Gabara, his only friends are toy consultant Shinpei and fellow classmate Sachiko. Ichiro turns to escapist dreams of Monster Island where he befriends the equally bullied Minilla.

Release Date1969-12-20

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Vote Count197

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.

Release Date1964-12-20

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count267

Rodan

Mining engineer Shigeru investigates the disappearance and death of his fellow coworkers when prehistoric nymphs are discovered emerging from the mines. After an attack on the local village, Shigeru heads deeper into the mines only to make a more horrifying discovery in the form a prehistoric flying creature. Soon a second monster appears as the two converge in Fukuoka.

Release Date1956-12-26

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count176

Destroy All Monsters

At the turn of the century, all of the Earth's monsters have been rounded up and kept safely on Monsterland. Chaos erupts when a race of she-aliens known as the Kilaaks unleash the monsters across the world.

Release Date1968-08-01

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Vote Count260

Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.

Release Date1956-04-27

DepartmentWriting

JobStory

Vote Count267

The War of the Gargantuas

Gaira, a humanoid sea beast spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster, attacks the shores of Tokyo. While the Japanese military prepares to take action, Gaira's Gargantua brother, Sanda, descends from the mountains to defend his kin. A battle between good and evil ensues, leaving brothers divided and a city in ruins.

Release Date1966-07-31

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count99

Frankenstein Conquers the World

During WWII, Germans obtain the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster and transport it to Japan to prevent it being seized by the Allies. Kept in a Hiroshima laboratory, it is seeming lost when the United States destroys the city with the atomic bomb. Years later a wild boy is discovered wandering the streets of the city alone, born of the immortal heart.

Release Date1965-08-08

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count67

Atragon

The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense.

Release Date1963-12-22

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects Coordinator

Vote Count51

Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature

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.

Release Date1967-07-22

DepartmentProduction

JobProduction Supervisor

Vote Count4

Military Song of the Morning Mist

At the beginning of the Meiji era, three brothers of a samurai family each stand up to the times.

Release Date1943-04-29

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Gorath

In 1976, a drifting star named Gorath is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Although it is smaller than Earth, its enormous mass is enough to destroy the planet totally. A mission sent to observe Gorath is destroyed after the ship is drawn into the star, with a later mission barely escaping the same fate. However, Astronaut Tatsuma Kanai is left in a catatonic state due to his near death experience. Unable to destroy the invading star, Earth's scientists undertake a desperate plan to build giant rockets at the South Pole to move the planet out of Gorath's path before it is too late.

Release Date1962-03-21

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count24

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

Searching for his brother, Ryota stows away on a boat belonging to a criminal alongside two other teenagers. The group shipwrecks on Letchi island and discover the Infant Island natives have been enslaved by a terrorist organization controlling a crustacean monster. Finding a sleeping Godzilla, they decide to awaken him to defeat the terrorists and liberate the natives.

Release Date1966-12-17

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count201

Dogora

A floating amorphous life-form descends from the atmosphere to consume carbon in the form of diamonds.

Release Date1964-08-11

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count42

Wings of Victory

Release Date1942-10-14

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count3

King Kong Escapes

An adaptation of the Rankin/Bass cartoon, "The King Kong Show". King Kong is brought in by the evil Dr. Who to dig for Element X in a mine when the robot Mechani-Kong is unable to do the task. This leads to the machine and the real Kong engaging in a tremendous battle atop Tokyo Tower.

Release Date1967-07-22

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count106

Chûshingura

After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.

Release Date1962-11-03

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count43

Mothra

Shipwreck survivors found on the presumably uninhabited Infant Island leads to a scientific expedition that discovers a surviving native population along with the Shobijin, tiny twin fairy priestesses of the island's mythical deity called Mothra. After the fairies are kidnapped by an exploitative businessman named Clark Nelson, Mothra sets out to rescue them.

Release Date1961-07-30

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count171

Zero Fighter

Release Date1966-07-13

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Sound of the Mountain

An ingratiating bride develops warm ties to her father-in-law while her cold husband blithely slights her for another woman.

Release Date1954-01-15

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count61

The Mysterians

In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling women, claiming to be pacifists. Mankind must decide whether to capitulate or to resist.

Release Date1957-12-28

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count53

World of Love

A sixteen-year-old who had been living on her own since her mother died, frequently gets in trouble with the police. She gets sent to an "institute" for young girls in the countryside. There the residents grow their own food, cook and clean for themselves, and are taught language, music, and sewing. While there the young girl slowly begins to form friendships and come out of her shell.

Release Date1943-04-14

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

King Kong vs. Godzilla

When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus.

Release Date1963-06-26

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count258

Space Amoeba

When a space probe crash-lands on a far-flung Pacific atoll, the craft's alien stowaways decide to take over their new world one creature at a time. Soon, the parasitic life forms latch onto three indigenous critters -- a squid, a crab and a snapping turtle -- and transform them into colossal mutant monsters.

Release Date1970-08-01

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count51

Battle in Outer Space

In 1965, the space station JSS-3 is destroyed by a fleet of UFOs, which then begin a global siege on Earth, using rays to manipulate gravity and control the minds of men. In response, a global council meeting is held to determine the source of the attacks and prepare a rocket ship armada for a counter-attack, a true battle in outer space. . . The film is a sequel of sorts to Toho's THE MYSTERIANS in the reprise of the Etsuko Shiraishi character of that film as its heroine. It was edited to 74 minutes for its American release.

Release Date1959-12-26

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects Director

Vote Count44

The Storm of the Pacific

Lt. Koji Kitami is a navigator-bombardier in Japan's Naval Air Force. He participates in the Japanese raid on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and is welcomed with pride in his hometown on his return. As Japan racks up victory after victory in the Pacific War, Kitami is caught up in the emotion of the time and fights courageously for the standard of Japanese honor. But his assuredness of his government's righteousness is shaken after the Japanese navy is defeated in the debacle of Midway.

Release Date1960-04-26

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count8

The Three Treasures

The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor's son Ouso expects to succeed his father on the throne, but Otomo, the Emperor's vassal, prefers Ouso's stepbrother, and conspires to have Ouso die on a dangerous mission he has contrived. But Ouso prevails in the mission and returns to his father's castle under a new name, Prince Yamato Takeru. Otomo plots to have the Prince sent into even greater danger, but Otomo is unaware that the gods have favored the Prince and the outcome is far from what any of them expected.

Release Date1959-11-01

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count11

Matango

Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle over the food rations which were left behind by the former crew. Soon they discover something unfriendly there...

Release Date1963-08-11

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Vote Count99

The Lady of Musashino

Set in post-war Japan, The Lady of Musashino tells the story of Michiko, a disillusioned young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. She confides in her younger cousin, Tsutomo, and the two become close, but decide not to consummate their affair. He instead becomes involved with the flirtatious Tomiko, who is also conducting an affair with Michiko's husband. When Michiko finds that her husband has abandoned her, she decides to take her fate into her own hands.

Release Date1951-09-14

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count16

The H-Man

Nuclear tests create a radioactive man who can turn people into slime.

Release Date1958-06-24

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count36

Crazy Big Explosion

A Toho comedy film staring the Crazy Cats.

Release Date1969-04-27

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Godzilla

A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).

Release Date1977-01-01

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects Director

Vote Count51

Varan

When a rare species of butterfly is found in a mysterious valley in Japan, a pair of entomologists go to investigate and find more. They discover Varan, a giant monster, who decides to leave the valley and head straight for Tokyo.

Release Date1958-10-14

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count30

Ultraman - The Alien Invasion

Jack Shindo and Stanley Haggard are astronauts doing research on the planet Mars. On a routine mission to survey the desolate landscape, they found out that there are other living creatures on the planet! Their biggest threat is Goudis, whose monsters have been ordered to kill all life on earth. Returning from a mission on Mars, the Ultraman has to take on Goudis to save the planet and all the human beings on Earth!

Release Date1993-02-01

DepartmentWriting

JobOriginal Story

Vote Count1

The Tale of the White Serpent

As a young boy, Xu-Xian is forced to free his pet, a small snake. Unbeknownst to him, the snake is actually a young snake goddess named Bai-Niang and she is in love with him. Many years later, when they are both adults, the princess is magically transformed into a human and sets out to find her love. But the local wizard believes her to be a vampire, and banishes Xu-Xian from the village in order to save him. Xu-Xian's pet pandas Panda and Mimi set out to save him and bring him, in the process becoming leaders of an animal gang.

Release Date1958-09-03

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count36

Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman

An American scientist tells two colleagues about the finding of an abominable snowman living in the Japanese alps, where it is worshipped by a remote tribe as a god, and how it was discovered by modern man after it raided a skiers shelter following an avalanche, killing all inside. This is an adaptation of the Japanese film "Jūjin Yuki Otoko" (1955) with added American-made footage, narration, and music.

Release Date1957-05-17

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count11

Hot Wind

Set in wartime at the Yawata Steel Works in Tobata, Yawata, and Kokura cities in Fukuoka Prefecture, the film depicts people taking on the evil blast furnaces that prevent increased production. The film was shot on location at the actual Yawata Steel Works for an extended period of time, and special effects were created using a miniature blast furnace that closely reproduces the actual one.

Release Date1943-10-07

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Beast Man Snow Man

Three competing parties all race against time to track down an elusive creature known only as the Snowman.

Release Date1955-08-14

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count14

Latitude Zero

A massive underwater volcano erupts and puts a group of investigative scientists in danger. They are rescued by an atomic super submarine named The Alpha under the command of Captain McKenzie. The group is quickly taken to a vast underwater city known as Latitude Zero, a fantastic, Atlantean type utopia, a world beneath the ocean with its own sun. It is soon discovered that Captain McKenzie is at war with the evil Dr. Malic, a cruel scientist who wishes to rule mankind all the while conducting genetic experiments on humans and animals. Malic sends his agents to kidnap Dr. Okada, a human scientist who has created a serum that can immunize exposure to radiation.

Release Date1969-07-26

DepartmentProduction

JobProduction Manager

Vote Count26

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.

Release Date1954-09-25

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count189

Hyoroku's Dream Tale

Release Date1943-04-01

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Marital Relations

The story of a couple, a spoiled son and a down-to-earth girl, in Osaka in the early Showa era. The film won the prestigious Blue Ribbon awards for best director, best actor (Morishige) and best actress (Awashima), and the Mainichi Concours award for best actor and best screenplay (Yasumi Toshio). It ranked second (after Naruse Mikio’s Ukigumo) on the Kinema Junpō top ten films for the year.

Release Date1955-09-13

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count6

The Crazy Adventure

Release Date1965-10-31

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

The Last War

A Japanese family is torn apart by the tensions of an avoidable nuclear world war between the superpowers.

Release Date1961-10-08

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects Coordinator

Vote Count10

The Legend of the White Serpent

Lavish Japanese-Chinese coproduction based on an ancient Chinese legend about a man who falls in love with a snake goddess in human form.

Release Date1956-06-22

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count7

The Adventures of Sun Wu Kung

The mythical adventures of the legendary Chinese trickster Monkey, who must outwit a variety of wily demons who stand in the way of him and his fellow Buddhist travelers. Though portrayed as a literal, if rather anthropomorphized, monkey in the original legends, this film substitutes the spindly comic actor Norihei Miki, sans makeup.

Release Date1959-04-19

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Monster SeaFood Wars

Yuta, a young master at the Tsukiji Fish Market, accidentally drops his meal of mixed seafood into the Sumida River. Some time afterwards a gigantic mutated squid monster arises from the depths and begins to wreak havoc upon an awe-stricken Tokyo. Attempts by the Japan Self-Defense Forces to stop the creature prove futile. As it seems things couldn’t get any worse an enormous mutant octopus monster emerges from the deep and heads into a clash of the titans with the gargantuan squid! As a last ditch effort, the government forms the “Seafood Monster Attack Team (SMAT)” and an all-new plan of attack is immediately put into action. But just as the tide appears to be turning in humanity’s favor, a colossal crab monster appears, joining in the Monster Seafood Wars and plunging the world into culinary chaos…

Release Date2020-05-23

DepartmentWriting

JobOriginal Story

Vote Count8

Akio Jissoji's Ultraman

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.

Release Date1979-03-17

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Vote Count4

The Burning Sky

The film was produced during Second Sino-Japanese War, before the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941. The film mainly concerns the training of newly-recruited pilots and their daily life, then their subsequent fighting experiences in China. Army supported the production, providing all the authentic airplanes, training and actual actions. They even provided the older biplanes disguised as Chinese fighter planes. Obinata plays the trainer-turned-combat-leader, who is passionate and cool at the same time. All his boys love him, of course. The film is not as intense, full of sugar-coated camaraderie, until young pilots are killed in action one by one. Last twenty minutes are fairly grim, as the message of self-sacrifice is heard loud and clear.

Release Date1940-05-10

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Farewell Rabaul

A squadron of Japanese fighter pilots realise that they are never going to win the war when they understand that Japanese military tactics have little regard for life. Seeking the companionship of any woman who will have them, they spend their days indulging in every fantasy in order to escape the overwhelming fear of death looming just over the horizon.

Release Date1954-02-10

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count5

The Retreat from Kiska

In 1943, the Aleutian island of Kiska was fortified by a small contingent of Japanese soldiers. When word arrived of an impending attack by an overwhelming force of Americans, the Japanese Navy attempted one of the most daring and unlikely evacuations in military history. This is that story.

Release Date1965-07-04

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count3

The Secret of the Telegian

Men are being murdered by a psycho called "The Telegian," who uses a matter-transmitting device to locate his victims.

Release Date1960-04-10

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count8

Colonel Kato's Falcon Squadron

A 1944 propaganda film that depicts the fictionalised career of IJAAF pilot Tateo Kato, who led the 64th Sentai during the early months of the Pacific War. The film has scenes featuring Ki-43 fighters escorting Ki-21 bombers to attack Rangoon, where they are attacked by P-40 Warhawk and Brewster Buffalo fighters.

Release Date1944-03-09

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count3

The Eagle of the Pacific

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but, overruled, he leads his forces to the best of his ability.

Release Date1953-10-21

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count9

Anatahan

From June 1944, twelve Japanese seamen are stranded for seven years on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan.

Release Date1953-06-28

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count41

A Descendant of Urashima Taro

Reputedly based on Frank Capra’s 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, A Descendant of Tarô Urashima is about a repatriated soldier who becomes populist politician in the Japanese Happiness Party.

Release Date1946-03-28

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count1

The Skin of the South

When a group of young geologists declares a mountainside marked for residential development unstable, they are met with scorn on two fronts. On one end, they must contend with the local villagers who balk at the prospect of relocation; on the other, they face the ambitions of the headstrong lumber baron, whose actions will only further destabilize the land. Their pleas for reason ignored, the scientists can do little but observe as nature runs its inevitable course.

Release Date1952-02-28

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya

Japanese Navy air cadets train for the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the HMS Prince of Wales.

Release Date1942-12-03

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count1

A Page of Madness

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

Release Date1926-09-24

DepartmentCamera

JobAssistant Camera

Vote Count154

The Paradise Island Story

Musical-comedy about nine soldiers deserted on an island in South Pacific.

Release Date1957-01-29

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

The Human Vapor

A librarian is subject to a scientific experiment which goes wrong and transforms him into 'The Human Vapour'. He uses his new ability to rob banks to fund the career of his girlfriend, a beautiful dancer. The Human Vapour is ruthless in his quest for money and kills anyone who stands in his way, especially police. He soon becomes Tokyo's most wanted criminal. Can he be stopped before he kills again?

Release Date1960-12-11

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count16

Daredevil in the Castle

During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family has been completely decimated) is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka Castle. Mohei's daredevil skills will be put to severe tests.

Release Date1961-01-03

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Vote Count8

Navy Bomb Squadron

Japanese propaganda film

Release Date1940-05-22

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Invisible Man

When an invisible man is run down by a car it’s up to an eager young reporter and a strange clown to bring a dangerous gang to justice.

Release Date1954-12-29

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count7

The Birth of Ultraman

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.

Release Date1966-07-10

DepartmentCrew

JobCreator

Vote Count1

Varan the Unbelievable

In an effort to find an economic means of purifying salt water, a joint U.S.-Japanese military command is set up on an isolated Japanese island where an unusual salt water lake is situated. However, their purifying experiments arouse the prehistoric monster Obaki from hibernation at the lake's bottom, and it proceeds to attack Japan. Although made by a U.S. independent film company, this film was based on a Japanese Toho monster film of 1958, "Daikaiju Varan", from which all of the monster effects scenes and a few incidental dramatic shots were edited into it.

Release Date1962-12-07

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count30

Lord for a Night

In 1887, two businessmen, Echigo-ya and Kitahara, compete for railroad construction authorization from the government. The minister states that a local noble must not object, and his missing younger brother is the only one who could sway him. Meanwhile, Omitsu, a hotel employee tired of Echigo-ya’s wife’s arrogance, teams up with Kitahara to stage a scheme where a vagrant young man pretends to be the noble’s lost brother, aiming to trick and embarrass the wealthy woman.

Release Date1946-07-11

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count1

The Lovers

Comedy about a 50-something movie director, his new bride, a classical dancer, and his adult son and daughter and their loves.

Release Date1953-11-10

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Blood on the Sea

Four fishermen friends are caught up in a piracy plot.

Release Date1961-08-13

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Whirlwind

Set at the end of the Siege of Osaka this film follows the exploits of several members of the defeated Toyotomi clan as they cope with the post battle chaos and the persecution of the Shogun's army. Five samurai decide on different fates when it becomes clear that their side is being destroyed. One wants to attack the enemy head on in a final honorable death. Another decides to commit hari-kiri but wants to find a glorious view to do it. His close friend, the "coward", just wants to run and give up the life of a samurai. The final two set their own castle on fire to garner favors from the enemy and therefore avert their own death during the massacre of all defeated soldiers as

Release Date1964-07-26

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Vote Count8

Kaguya Hime

Toho's production of the classic Japanese fairytale.

Release Date1935-11-11

DepartmentCamera

JobDirector of Photography

Song for a Bride

An Ishiro Honda film.

Release Date1958-02-11

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Youth of Heiji Senigata

Release Date1953-08-19

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

The Opium War

The Opium War is a 1943 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Masahiro Makino. "Ahen senso" in Japan refers to the First Opium War. The story of the film concerns this war.

Release Date1943-01-14

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Tiger Flight

A 1964 war film directed by Kengo Furusawa

Release Date1964-02-29

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Siege of Fort Bismarck

Release Date1963-05-29

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Gigantis, the Fire Monster

A prehistoric monster called Gigantis emerges alongside another creature named Angurus.

Release Date1959-05-21

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count34

Five Tokyo Men

Release Date1945-12-27

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Daigoro vs. Goliath

An inventor and his family try to raise funds to feed a giant monster named Daigoro so that he doesn't shrink. Meanwhile, a meteor lands into the sea bringing with it another giant monster named Goliath. Will Daigoro be able to stop Goliath?

Release Date1972-12-17

DepartmentProduction

JobProducer

Vote Count5

A Thousand and One Nights with Toho

The debut film of Shin Toho Productions

Release Date1947-02-25

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

The Man Who Came to Port

An Ishiro Honda film.

Release Date1952-11-27

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count1

Dragon Force: So Long Ultraman

Dragon Force: So Long, Ultraman is a Chinese action animated film animated by BlueArc Animation in cooperation with Le Vision Pictures, TIGA Entertainment and UM Corporation. It is based on the 2012 3D animated series Dragon Force created by Kazuya Hatazawa and a sequel to the 2013 movie of the same name.

Release Date2017-10-01

DepartmentWriting

JobOriginal Concept

Vote Count5

Valley of the Dragons

In 1881 Algeria, an American soldier and a French aristocrat are about to have a duel over a woman when a comet hurtling past the Earth draws them into its gravitational pull. The men find themselves transported to the moon, where they discover a prehistoric civilization inhabited by reptiles and humans.

Release Date1961-10-31

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count15

Reimei izen

In the age of priests and warriors which the film denounces, a woman revolts after she is sold as a prostitute.

Release Date1931-05-05

DepartmentCrew

JobCinematography

Rodan! The Flying Monster!

A mining engineer investigates the deaths of his colleagues, discovering prehistoric nymphs and a creature capable of flying - and wreaking havoc - at supersonic speeds.

Release Date1957-11-07

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Vote Count1

The Invisible Man Appears

Jewel thieves become interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the "Tears of Amour."

Release Date1949-09-26

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count16

Castle of Wind and Clouds

A samurai returns to his homeland after a three year absence and finds his fiance is now one of the prince's concubines.

Release Date1928-02-10

DepartmentCamera

JobDirector of Photography

Tokyo 1960

A Filipino re-edit of the original Godzilla. Appears to have been edited in a similar fashion to the American King of the Monsters!, with the use of Filipino actors. No footage of this version has ever surfaced.

Release Date1957-12-27

DepartmentWriting

JobStory

Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender

In World War II, the commanding officer of a sub, against his will takes on board two Western diplomats, to take them to the Canaries and arrange an armistice. When they get there, peace has been declared, but the sub's crew don't know as their radio has failed. They send their passengers ashore and go out to face a final battle...

Release Date1959-07-04

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobSpecial Effects Supervisor

Vote Count2

音楽大進軍

A 1943 film.

Release Date1943-03-18

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Bouquet of the South Seas

Release Date1942-05-21

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVFX Director of Photography

Vote Count3

Yôma kitan

Japanese horror movie from 1929.

Release Date1929-01-01

DepartmentCrew

JobCinematography

Chorus of a Million People

Release Date1935-01-13

DepartmentCamera

JobDirector of Photography

White-haired Demon

A man dies in an automobile accident and returns as a white-haired demon and seeks revenge on his wife and her lover

Release Date1949-04-11

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Dragon Force: Rise of Ultraman

The crisis of Genesis Crystal is imminent, and Evan begins the crazy countdown to ruin the world. Ultraman needs to maximize his abilities in order to stop the Earth from being destroyed. He choses [sic] a little boy as his representative in the world and vanishes soon, leaving a magic cube to encourage him and hope it will help motivate his strong power. Everyone is trying every possible way to open up the magic cube. Dr. J even finds that tge little boy's fart is the key to set up a series of laugh-out "fart-induced" experiments to try to figure out the secret.

Release Date2019-01-18

DepartmentWriting

JobOriginal Concept

Vote Count3

Godzilla, the Monster of the Pacific Ocean

Obscure French version of the original Godzilla. The film combines elements of the original Toho version and the American King of the Monsters! in a unique assemblage exclusive to the Francophone market. Released by Les Films du Verseau.

Release Date1957-03-14

DepartmentVisual Effects

JobVisual Effects

Vote Count17

Ramayana

Ravana, while dancing with animals, kidnaps Sita from Rama, and returns to Lanka to hide as Lankapura burns.

Release Date1942-01-01

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Vote Count2

Hanakurabe tanuki-den

Princess Oboro, the queen of the Tanuki palace and stubborn at heart, falls in love with coffeehouse worker Kurotaro at first sight.

Release Date1949-04-17

DepartmentCrew

JobSpecial Effects

Across the Equator

Tsuburaya served both as director and cinematographer of this feature-length national policy documentary, supported by the naval ministry, which creates a sketch of life among cadets aboard a naval training vessel on a voyage around Indochina, Malaya, Hawaii and the South Pacific islands. The film clearly outlines the economic motives behind Japan’s southward expansion, but also presents the music and dance traditions of various regions, in what has been termed “folklore through sound”.

Release Date1936-01-15

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

The Father of Ultra Q

Akio Jissoji's documentary on the production of Ultra Q. Interview with series creator Eiji Tsuburaya.

Release Date1966-06-02