Japanese director Shinji Higuchi archives - Movies and adverts by Shinji Higuchi

Shin Godzilla (2016) Japanese movie trailer

May 13, 2016

Teaser for Japanese movie Shin Godzilla (シン・ゴジラ), in theatres in Japan this summer. The film is co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. It’s the 31st instalment in the Godzilla franchise and the third reboot by Toho Pictures.

The Shin is a play of words which can mean a few things. Officially it’s RESURGENCE in English title, some Asian teasers go with TRUE, social media seems to like it as GOD, while I prefer the simpler NEW instead. It all seems to fit though.

Attack on Titan live-action movie posters

November 28, 2014

Poster images for upcoming Japanese movie Attack on Titan, a live-action adaptation from popular manga of the same title. The comic was made into TV anime series in 2013, which was a phenomenal hit. Expectation is high on the live-action film, which is scheduled to release in summer 2015.

The cast include Hiroki Hasegawa, Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara, Kanata Hongo, Jun Kunimura, Nanami Sakuraba, Takahiro Miura, Satoru Matsuo, Satomi Ishihara, Pierre Taki, Ayame Misaki, Rina Takeda and Shu Watanabe. Directed by Shinji Higuchi who’s famous for his special effect works.

Hiroki Hasegawa Attack on Titan Shikishima

Subaru Forester x Attack on Titan

January 31, 2014

Japanese commercial for Subaru Forester – a compact crossover SUV – featuring the giants from popular anime-manga series Attack on Titan.

Subaru is the seventh largest car maker in Japan in terms of sales. This video features three Subaru ads, the crossover version appears on 00:16-00:45.

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series by Hajime Isayama. In addition, it was made into an anime TV series in 2013 which became a huge hit. It is one of the biggest Japanese pop culture products for the past few years.

Shinji Higuchi, famous for his special effect works in Japan, directed the particular commercial. He’s also the director for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the show, scheduled to release in summer 2015.

The franchise is also popular in other countries. Besides the live-action film, a sequel for the anime TV series is also in plan. The later will probably come out in 2016.

The Floating Castle (2012) movie trailer

September 10, 2012

Teaser for Japanese comedic historical-drama film The Floating Castle (のぼうの城, Nobō no Shiro ). Directed by Shinji Higuchi and Isshin Inudo, starring Mansai Nomura, and adapted from Ryo Wada’s 2007 novel of the same name. In theatres November 2012.

Sinking of Japan (2006) movie review

May 4, 2007

Sinking of Japan (日本沈没, Nihon Chinbotsu ) is a 2006 Japanese disaster movie directed by Shinji Higuchi. It’s a remake of a 1973 film which itself was an adaptation of a novel by Sakyo Komatsu.

Both movies and novel have different English titles but it’s actually the same in Japanese.

The 2006 film starred Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kou Shibasaki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Mao Daichi and Mitsuhiro Oikawa etc. More details on cast and crew at end of the post.

Japanese movie Sinking of Japan

The story is about Japan “sinking” into the sea because of tectonic plate motions. And time is running out for the Japanese people as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis begin to devour the country.