The Great Yokai War: Guardians

2021 1h 58m JA

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 16

FantasyFamilyAdventureHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Fifth grader Kei Watanabe has inherited the hunter's blood to hunt yōkai. To save the world from destruction, Kei challenges a war against the yōkai.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Kokoro Terada
Kei Watanabe
Hana Sugisaki
Fox-masked woman
Ray Inomata
Dai Watanabe
Nanako Matsushima
Reika Watanabe
Kazuki Kitamura
Tsuna Watanabe
Sakura Ando
Ubume
Koji Ohkura
Shojo
Takahiro Miura
Tengu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Yusuke Watanabe, Hiromitsu Soma
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Great Yokai War (2005) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Naoichiro Sagara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Kokoro Terada and Hana Sugisaki and Ray Inomata carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt13967368 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Hideo Yamamoto behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Naoichiro Sagara cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 5 years ago.
2Part of the "The Great Yokai War (2005) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Naoichiro Sagara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kokoro Terada and Hana Sugisaki and Ray Inomata carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt13967368 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hideo Yamamoto
Original score: Koji Endo
Editing: Naoichiro Sagara
Production design: Yuji Hayashida
Costume design: Yûya Maeda
Makeup / hair: Taiga Ishino
Stunt coordinator: Masayoshi Deguchi
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: The Great Yokai War: Guardians (2021)

Part of

The Great Yokai War (2005) Collection

The original Yōkai (妖怪) series was a series of three films produced by Daiei and released by them from 1968 to 1969. The franchise was rebooted for the first time with the Yōkai tengoku (妖怪天国) series, directed by Macoto Tezka and released direct-to-video from 1986 to 1990, for a second time with the Yōkaiden (妖怪伝) series, originally directed by Tomoo Haraguchi and premiered from 2000 to 2004, and for a third time with the Great Yokai War (妖怪大戦争 Yōkai Daisensō) series, which as of 2021 encompasses two theatrical movies, both directed by Takashi Miike. All of the various reboots of the franchise by having appearances by many of the same yōkai (a class of relatively low-ranking supernatural creatures in Japanese mythology) with similar character designs. The two Takashi Miike movies are not true sequels as they have different lead characters, but they are linked by having some of the supporting cast of yōkai played by the same actors, and the second movie is marketed as a sequel.