Japanese cyberpunk
Encyclopedia
Japanese Cyberpunk is a genre of underground film
produced in Japan
starting in the late 1980s. The genre is not very closely related to Cyberpunk
as understood in the west — the focus is industrial and incomprehensible, not high-tech and scientific. The genre is primarily defined by the movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man
.
genre; they often involve purely abstract or visual sequences that may or may not relate to the characters and plot. Recurring themes include: mutation, technology, dehumanization, repression and sexual deviance.
starred in it before going on to direct Death Powder
four years later. The Phantom of Regular Size is the early short by Shinya Tsukamoto
that he expanded into Tetsuo: The Iron Man
a few years later.
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
produced in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
starting in the late 1980s. The genre is not very closely related to Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
as understood in the west — the focus is industrial and incomprehensible, not high-tech and scientific. The genre is primarily defined by the movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto produced by Japan Home Video. This, his third film, is an extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy shot in the same low-budget, underground-production style as his first two films...
.
Style
Japanese Cyberpunk generally involves the main characters going through monstrous, incomprehensible metamorphosis in an industrial setting. Many of these films have scenes that fall into the experimental filmExperimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
genre; they often involve purely abstract or visual sequences that may or may not relate to the characters and plot. Recurring themes include: mutation, technology, dehumanization, repression and sexual deviance.
Precursors
Burst City has been a huge inspiration on the entire underground Japanese film scene over the past 25 years. and more specifically, Shigeru IzumiyaShigeru Izumiya
Shigeru Izumiya is a Japanese poet, folk singer, actor, tarento. He established record company "For Life Records" with Takuro Yoshida, Yosui Inoue, Hitoshi Komuro in 1975...
starred in it before going on to direct Death Powder
Death Powder
Death Powder is a 1986 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Japanese poet/folk singer Shigeru Izumiya. It is credited as being the first core film of the Japanese Cyberpunk sub-genre that emerged during the 1980s, predating both Katsuhiro Otomo's anime film adaptation of Akira and...
four years later. The Phantom of Regular Size is the early short by Shinya Tsukamoto
Shinya Tsukamoto
is a Japanese film director and actor with a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad.-Biography:Tsukamoto started making movies at the age of 14, when his father gave him a Super 8 camera. He made a number of films, ranging...
that he expanded into Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto produced by Japan Home Video. This, his third film, is an extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy shot in the same low-budget, underground-production style as his first two films...
a few years later.
- Burst CityBurst Cityis a Japanese science fiction punk rock musical / action film. Released in 1982, the film was directed by Sogo Ishii. Primarily a showcase for both various specific punk rock bands of the time, such as The Roosters, The Rockers, and The Stalin, the film is also purely demonstrative of the culture...
(1982) - The Phantom of Regular Size (1986)
Core films
Some defining films in the genre include:- Death PowderDeath PowderDeath Powder is a 1986 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Japanese poet/folk singer Shigeru Izumiya. It is credited as being the first core film of the Japanese Cyberpunk sub-genre that emerged during the 1980s, predating both Katsuhiro Otomo's anime film adaptation of Akira and...
(1986) - Tetsuo: The Iron ManTetsuo: The Iron ManTetsuo: The Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto produced by Japan Home Video. This, his third film, is an extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy shot in the same low-budget, underground-production style as his first two films...
(1989) - 964 Pinocchio964 Pinocchio964 Pinocchio is a 1991 Japanese cyberpunk film from filmmaker Shozin Fukui. It deals with the theme of brain-modified sex slaves as well as mental breakdowns in a hallucinogenic thrill ride.-Plot:...
(1991) - Tetsuo II: Body HammerTetsuo II: Body HammerTetsuo II: Body Hammer is a 1992 Japanese science fiction/horror film directed byShinya Tsukamoto. It is a bigger-budget reworking of the same director's 1989 movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man, utilizing similar themes and ideas to the earlier film Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is a 1992 Japanese science...
(1992) - Rubber's LoverRubber's LoverRubber's Lover is cult filmmaker Shozin Fukui's 1996 follow-up to 964 Pinocchio. Like its predecessor, it is an underground cyberpunk horror, with tense atmosphere, alarming visuals and graphic violence....
(1996)
Peripheral films
Related films include:- Hellevator
- Meatball MachineMeatball Machineis a 2005 Japanese science fiction horror and gore film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi and Jun'ichi Yamamoto based on a film by Yamamoto from 1999. Special effects and makeup effects were by Yoshihiro Nishimura.-Plot:...
- Save The Green Planet
- I.K.U.I.K.U.I.K.U. is a 2001 independent film directed by Taiwanese-American experimental filmmaker Shu Lea Cheang. It was marketed as "a Japanese Sci-Fi Porn Feature". The film was partially inspired by Blade Runner . I.K.U.s premise involves a futuristic corporation sending shapeshifting cyborgs out into New...
- Electric Dragon 80.000 VElectric Dragon 80.000 VElectric Dragon 80.000 V is a 2001 Japanese film written and directed by Sogo Ishii. The comic-book style story stars Tadanobu Asano and Masatoshi Nagase as electricity wielding super-heroes.-Plot:...
- Tokyo Gore PoliceTokyo Gore Policeis a 2008 Japanese gore film co-written, edited, and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and stars Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer.Tokyo Gore Police was released to several film festivals in North America...