Born December 7th, 1979, Ayako Fujitani grew up in Osaka, Japan, loving movies at a young age. Whether horror, science-fiction, or drama, it didn't matter so long as it delivered. Fast forward to her teens, following an opportunity to present renowned actor Hiroyuki Sanada with a bouquet at a local film festival, something stood out to director Shusuke Kaneko. Hence, he offered her an audition opportunity for a lead part in his film “Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.” Initially hesitant but curious, the youth went to the audition but walked away feeling unsatisfied with how they did. Then, she got the part. Following guidance during the movie's production and its preceding sequels, Ayako grew as an actor, pursued more challenging roles moving forward, and also became active as a writer. Since then, she frequently works internationally.
Ayako Fujitani is a terrific actress with a lot of range who can make her characters feel real.
Ayako Fujitani is a terrific actress with a lot of range who can make her characters feel real.
- 2/18/2024
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
Kadokawa Daiei Studio and the Netflix streaming service have teamed up to bring us the kaiju anime series Gamera: Rebirth, which is set to begin streaming on September 7th. With that date just a month and a half away, a new trailer for the show has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above!
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs. Zigra. When the studio was struggling with financial issues in 1980, they cut together a bunch of stock footage Gamera: Super Monster. Gamera then took a fifteen year break before being brought back...
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs. Zigra. When the studio was struggling with financial issues in 1980, they cut together a bunch of stock footage Gamera: Super Monster. Gamera then took a fifteen year break before being brought back...
- 7/24/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Last month, we saw a teaser trailer for Gamera: Rebirth, an anime series coming from Kadokawa Daiei Studio and the Netflix streaming service. We still don’t know exactly when this show is going to make its premiere, but a full trailer has now arrived online to give us a preview of its kaiju action. You can check it out in the embed above.
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs. Zigra. When the studio was struggling with financial issues in 1980, they cut together a bunch of stock footage Gamera: Super Monster. Gamera then took a fifteen...
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs. Zigra. When the studio was struggling with financial issues in 1980, they cut together a bunch of stock footage Gamera: Super Monster. Gamera then took a fifteen...
- 3/27/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
About three months ago, we heard that Kadokawa Daiei Studio and the Netflix streaming service were teaming up for a mysterious project called Gamera: Rebirth, a continuation of the popular Gamera giant monster franchise. Would it be a film, a series, an anime feature? Well, now a teaser trailer has arrived online to let us know exactly what Gamera: Rebirth is. It’s an anime series that will show the giant turtle Gamera battling five other kaiju over the course of six episodes! The show is expected to premiere sometime in 2023.
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs.
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs.
- 2/13/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
With the rebranded franchise in full swing, director Shusuke Kaneko decided to take his time with offering up the final chapter to the critically and culturally well-received series. Taking a full three years to get the entry out to the masses after the rushed schedules of the first two films, this captivating installment, which concludes the beloved Heisei Gamera trilogy, is included in the massive box-set of the entire franchise released by Arrow Video.
Living in a rural part of Japan, high-schooler Ayana (Ai Maeda) grows up resentful of the fact that her parents were killed on Gamera’s defense of Tokyo against Gyaos several years earlier. When a neighborhood prank causes her to come into contact with a strange egg in a local cave, she takes it home and cares for it. After realizing that there are more Gyaos lurking in the wild, ornithologist Mayumi Nagamine...
Living in a rural part of Japan, high-schooler Ayana (Ai Maeda) grows up resentful of the fact that her parents were killed on Gamera’s defense of Tokyo against Gyaos several years earlier. When a neighborhood prank causes her to come into contact with a strange egg in a local cave, she takes it home and cares for it. After realizing that there are more Gyaos lurking in the wild, ornithologist Mayumi Nagamine...
- 8/30/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
With the dog days of summer still upon us, here are a bunch of new home releases coming out this week that should help keep you entertained from the comfort of your own home. Arrow Video is doing the lord’s work this Tuesday, with a handful of killer collections that genre fans are going to want to pick up, including Flash Gordon in 4K, The Last House on the Left, Pitch Black and Gamera: The Complete Collection.
Scream Factory is also unleashing Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell this week, Cursed Films is being released by Rlje Films, and Alice Lowe’s Prevenge is finally coming home on both Blu and DVD. Other notable releases for August 18th include Open 24 Hours, The Barge People, Cannibal Corpse Killers, and Paramount has put together a Thrills & Chills 4 pack of movies which includes Pet Sematary (2019), A Quiet Place, Overlord and Crawl.
Scream Factory is also unleashing Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell this week, Cursed Films is being released by Rlje Films, and Alice Lowe’s Prevenge is finally coming home on both Blu and DVD. Other notable releases for August 18th include Open 24 Hours, The Barge People, Cannibal Corpse Killers, and Paramount has put together a Thrills & Chills 4 pack of movies which includes Pet Sematary (2019), A Quiet Place, Overlord and Crawl.
- 8/17/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The original hero in a half-shell returns! For the first time ever worldwide, all twelve tales of the adventures of everyone’s favourite titanic terrapin are collected together in one deluxe Blu-ray boxset.
This limited edition collectors’ set traces the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the “friend of all children” in his more light-hearted earlier films to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.
Limited Edition Contents
• Limited collectors’ edition packaging, housed in a large-format rigid box, fully illustrated by Matt Frank
• All twelve uncut original Japanese versions of the films in high definition, with lossless Japanese and English audio
• 4K restorations of the critically acclaimed Heisei trilogy
• Hours of new and archive bonus features, expert commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, and the worldwide Blu-ray premiere of Gammera The Invincible (the American theatrical version...
This limited edition collectors’ set traces the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the “friend of all children” in his more light-hearted earlier films to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.
Limited Edition Contents
• Limited collectors’ edition packaging, housed in a large-format rigid box, fully illustrated by Matt Frank
• All twelve uncut original Japanese versions of the films in high definition, with lossless Japanese and English audio
• 4K restorations of the critically acclaimed Heisei trilogy
• Hours of new and archive bonus features, expert commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, and the worldwide Blu-ray premiere of Gammera The Invincible (the American theatrical version...
- 2/23/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
**Massive spoilers for every Godzilla movie, with the exception of the 2014 reboot, and Mothra follow**
August 6th and 9th, 1945 forever changed the course of history. When the first nuclear bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, World War II ended, but a new fear was born that dominated the thoughts of all men, women, and children for decades to come. The Cold War, atomic bomb testing, a cartoon turtle telling children to “duck and cover”, and this new technology that had the actual potential to literally end the world changed the perception of what was scary. Art reflects life, so cinema began to capitalize on these fears. Gone were the days of creepy castles, cobwebs, bats, vampires, werewolves, and the other iconic images that ruled genre cinema in film’s earliest decades. Science fiction was larger than ever and giant ants, giant octopi, terror from beyond the stars, and...
August 6th and 9th, 1945 forever changed the course of history. When the first nuclear bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, World War II ended, but a new fear was born that dominated the thoughts of all men, women, and children for decades to come. The Cold War, atomic bomb testing, a cartoon turtle telling children to “duck and cover”, and this new technology that had the actual potential to literally end the world changed the perception of what was scary. Art reflects life, so cinema began to capitalize on these fears. Gone were the days of creepy castles, cobwebs, bats, vampires, werewolves, and the other iconic images that ruled genre cinema in film’s earliest decades. Science fiction was larger than ever and giant ants, giant octopi, terror from beyond the stars, and...
- 11/4/2014
- by Max Molinaro
- SoundOnSight
Word has just hit the wire that in honor of his 50th anniversary, everyone's favorite fire-breathing turtle, Gamera, will once again be gracing the big screen in 2015. We eagerly pray for the return of Guiron as well!
According to the Anime News Network, Japanese retailer Amiami is listing the summer 2014 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Tokusatsu Newtype magazine for release on May 16th. According to the retailer, this issue will have a lead feature with a scoop on "a new Gamera launching. Breaking a long silence, that famous Gamera will finally return! Along with it the article will see the earliest unveiling of imageboards [pre-production art]!"
The giant turtle monster Gamera made his debut in Daiei's 1965 film Daikaijū Gamera (Gamera the Giant Monster). His last feature film was the completely horrendous kid-friendly Chiisaki Yūsha-tachi Gamera (Gamera the Brave) in 2006.
If you missed out on the massively kick-ass 90s trilogy of films which consisted...
According to the Anime News Network, Japanese retailer Amiami is listing the summer 2014 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Tokusatsu Newtype magazine for release on May 16th. According to the retailer, this issue will have a lead feature with a scoop on "a new Gamera launching. Breaking a long silence, that famous Gamera will finally return! Along with it the article will see the earliest unveiling of imageboards [pre-production art]!"
The giant turtle monster Gamera made his debut in Daiei's 1965 film Daikaijū Gamera (Gamera the Giant Monster). His last feature film was the completely horrendous kid-friendly Chiisaki Yūsha-tachi Gamera (Gamera the Brave) in 2006.
If you missed out on the massively kick-ass 90s trilogy of films which consisted...
- 3/14/2014
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Tiff’s Midnight Madness program turned 25 this year, and for two and half decades, the hardworking programers have gathered some of the strangest, most terrifying, wild, intriguing and downright entertaining films from around the world. From dark comedies to Japanese gore-fests and indie horror gems, the Midnight Madness program hasn’t lost its edge as one the leading showcases of genre cinema. In its 25-year history, Midnight Madness has introduced adventurous late-night moviegoers to such cult faves as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But what separates Midnight Madness from, say, Montreal’s three and half week long genre festival Fantasia, is that Tiff selects only ten films to make the cut. In other words, these programmers don’t mess around. Last week I decided that I would post reviews of my personal favourite films that screened in past years. And just like the Tiff programmers,...
- 9/18/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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