Makoto Wada
Directing
Biography
Wada was born in Osaka on 10 April 1936. He attended Tama Art University, where he won the Japan Advertising Art Award in 1957. As an illustrator, Wada drew many cartoons and caricatures for Shinichi Hoshi and Haruki Murakami. He designed more than 2,000 covers for the magazine Shūkan Bunshun from 1972 to 2017 and provided illustrations for the book review section of the Mainichi Shimbun from 1992 to 2018. Being a passionate film fan, he started his career as a film director in 1984. He won the award for best director at the 31st Blue Ribbon Awards for Kaitō Ruby. Since 1972, Wada was married to Remi Hirano, the granddaughter of Henry Pike Bowie. They had two sons: Sho and Ritsu. Their eldest son Sho is the guitarist and vocalist of Triceratops and is married to actress Juri Ueno. Wada died on 7 October 2019 at the hospital in Tokyo. He was 83 years old. The cause of death was pneumonia.
Known For
Toru Hayashi is an unremarkable bachelor who lives with his mother, until one day a young woman named Rumi moves in in the apartment upstairs. Rumi is a self-proclaimed master thief, but she needs socially awkward Toru's help to actually kickstart her so-called career.
Kaito Ruby
A mahjong neophyte loses everything to game master only to hone his skills, take on all challenges and plan for an ultimate revenge match.
Mahjong Horoki
While on a cigarette break in between sets, Koji, a jazz musician, witnesses a murder and runs into a girl, Linda, who is being pursued by the killers. Mistakenly identified as prime suspects, they have to solve the crime but time is running out: Koji has to be back to perform in his club by midnight, as a very special guest will be attending.
Round About Midnight
Obayashi's take on the famous Kosuke Kindaichi series, made popular partly thanks to the numerous movie-adaptions by Kon Ichikawa, the most known being The Inugami Family. Kosuke Kindaichi is the most famous detective in Japan. Kindaichi gets a new case to figure out who has beheaded a valuable statue and made off with its head.
The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi
A reckless student contemplates terrorism in a prescient film that confirmed Shinoda as a fearless member of Shochiku's iconoclastic New Wave. At the height of student protests, Shimojo takes his aggressions to another level, beset by seemingly insoluble feelings of alienation.
Youth in Fury
Anthology consisting of three films.
Shizuka na ayashii gogo ni
A five-part comedy and horror anthology
Uneasy Encounters
A musical comedy.
Love Fantasia
A high-schooler involved in turn-of-the-decade student movements works to escape his comfort zone and apply himself.
Take Care, Red Riding Hood
Thirty-eight years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a boy is born with only a single day to live. Named "Hiroshima," he sets out into the city in search of his mother and encounters a young girl... An independently produced short film created from the desire to let the boys who perished in the atomic bombing see their mothers one last time. By placing the boy in the past and the girl in the present, the film expresses this heartfelt wish.
A Boy Named Hiroshima
Short animated mystery.
Murder!
The three tales were "The Third Blood" (第三の皿), "Oppel and the Elephant" (オッペルと象), and "Sleepy Town" (眠い町).
Three Tales
Music video for the song Daremo Shiranai by Kusunoki Toshie that was featured on NHK's Minna no Uta program.