Mana Yasuda

Directing

Biography

Japanese movie director, screenwriter. A member of Japan Writers Guild. Started her career making 8mm films at the Kobe University Cinema Club. After graduated from Kobe University, YASUDA worked for Panasonic for 10years. In 2006, YASUDA directed and scripted her first commercial film; “The Switch to Happiness”, in which Juri Ueno and Kenji Sawada played the main roles. On this film, YASUDA received; – Special woman Director Award at the 16th Japanese Movie Critics Award – Best Script Award at the 2nd Osaka Cinema Festival. After giving birth to a baby boy in 2006, YASUDA has mainly worked on scriptwriting. During these years, many dramas with YASUDA’s script, for example; – “Yasashii Hana (A Tender Flower)” (Broadcasted on NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation) – “Osaka Loop-line part2 Ashiharabashi Station — DADADA yuute DON”( Broadcasted on Kansai Television Co. Ltd.) participated in the National Arts Festival by Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. YASUDA came back to filming “Slight Fever”(2017), in directing and scriptwriting. In 2019, YASUDA directed and worked on scriptwriting “TUNA GIRL”, currently broadcasting on both Netflix and iFlix. YASUDA’s films have been highly regarded, especially for its original scripts created by in-depth researches and interviews, also for its “Real Life Sized” storytelling.

Known For

2.0

A film adaption of the manga Cat Eyed Boy by famous horror manga artist Kazuo Umezu. The film follows a strange boy with cat like features.

Cat-Eyed Boy

2006Movie

8.0

Through this movie, you can find Your own 'Switch to Happiness'. Heartwarming story of stubborn father and his three daughters at a small electric appliance store in a country town of Japan, finding their love and bond after the storms. Starring Juri Ueno and Kenji Sawada, as the daughter and the father.

Switch of Happiness

2006Movie

5.8

A clumsy but cheerful fisheries student struggles to find her place at a research institute renowned for its tuna cultivation. The work isn't easy.

Tuna Girl

2019Movie

10.0

Wakana is a 17-year-old high school student who loves to cook. She enjoys peaceful days with her family and friends, but sometimes she senses delicate changes among people around her. Wakana meets office worker Mizuho through social media where she can talk about her worries, but Mizuho turns out to be a person Wakana never expected to be.

Slight Fever

2017Movie

N/A

Kei (Izumi Fujimoto) is a 19-year-old college art major. She moves to Kobe from Tokyo due to her father's work transfer. There, she learns about the Great Hanshin Earthquake from residents in Kobe. Kei meets a wheelchair bound illustrator, Yoji (Eiji Sugawara). Even though he is physically disabled, he works hard. With earnings he makes from his paintings, he donates the proceeds to help revive various areas still suffering from the earthquake disaster. Kei becomes inspired by him and goes through a change.

Kobe Zaiju: The Movie

2015Movie

N/A

A short movie that captures the brilliance of a momentary expression of a girl who challenges a unicycle.

something interesting

2000Movie

N/A

A broken-hearted woman, an eccentric man and a lonely owner. Three has met at an Italian restaurant closing down. Comical yet sad… a short story of one single night.

Bella Grazie

2004Movie

N/A

In Japan, parents’ days are held several times a year for parents to observe classes at school. In this experimental and moving short film, the exact same conversation about parents’ day is repeated in five different households.

Parent's Day

2021Movie

N/A

A New Japan Movie froma Yamataka

Noodle Doodle

2023Movie

N/A

Mew, the inferior witch living in an amusement park, is always jealous with happy human couples, despite of being succeeded to acquire the wonderful magic that tells her who loves whom.