The Problem

Japan is the third-largest box office market in the world, behind the shared US/Canada market and China, which only passed Japan as recently as 2012. It’s a huge market, and for years and years Japan has watched the same Hollywood movies that the United States watches. Look at the top earning movies in Japan over the past decade and it won’t look too different to the top movies in the United States: Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and so on. Of the top ten opening weekends in Japanese cinema history, only one isn’t American-made: One Piece Film Z. The biggest Hollywood films will gross 80 to 120 million dollars in Japan, such huge jumbo numbers that it’s hard to get your head around.

But in 2012, that changed. While The Avengers was setting box office records around the world and other movies like The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games, Skyfall, and the Spider-Man reboot were making hundreds of millions of dollars, Japan had no interest in any of it. Every single Hollywood movie was beaten that year by Umizaru 4, a Japanese Coast Guard drama based on the manga of the same name; Thermae Romae, another manga-inspired live action film about an ancient Roman bathhouse architect who finds a tunnel to modern Japan; the millionth Bayside Shakedown movie, a spectacularly successful Japanese police comedy-dramas; and the aforementioned One Piece Film Z. The top-earning American-made movie was Les Miserables, which earned a relatively weak $62 million. The blockbuster of the year, The Avengers, only earned $42 million in Japan, and Hollywood realized that they might be about to lose the world’s third-largest box office to the suddenly dominant Toho and Toei studios.

The Plan

So Hollywood set out to make movies that they thought would appeal to Japan. Of the Big Eight studios, four released films within the past year and a half that seemed to take on this basic goal of “doing something Japanese to recapture their market”:

Disney produced an animated film about video games called Wreck-It Ralph in most of the world, but called Sugar Rush in Japan. The basic idea for Wreck-It Ralph had been sitting on a desk at Disney since the late ‘80s, but it got picked up and quickly produced with an unprecedented amount of Japanese cooperation: Licensing deals with Nintendo, Sega, and other Japanese companies, a marketing campaign starring the Japanese geek comedy duo Yoiko, and even an AKB48 song and video with the same name as the movie.

Warner Bros. released Pacific Rim, a Guillermo del Toro tribute to kaiju films. The movie includes characters and segments about the defense of the Japanese, American, Chinese, and Russian Pacific coasts (Hey! Can you name four of the five largest box office markets?), and Pacific Rim also cast Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi as the female lead.

Fox bewildered some people when they announced they were making another Wolverine movie, only this time set in Japan and with a number of Japanese actors, including Hiroyuki Sanada. Yes, even though The Wolverine may have had a fairly weak plot justification for sending Hugh Jackman to Japan, the economic factors may have been a bit stronger.

And finally, Universal gave us 47 Ronin, an American version of a classic Japanese tale with virtually all Japanese actors besides Keanu Reeves. Fraught with re-writes and re-edits to determine exactly how Japanese the movie should be, the film was such an overt attempt to earn Japanese box office that it was a marketing disaster when 47 Ronin debuted at #5 in its opening weekend in Japan, ahead of its American release.

The Results

And the beautiful part is that all this effort, all this extra attention toward trying to bring Japan back into the Hollywood fold, resulted in a second straight year of Japanese ambivalence to American movies, with the Japanamerican movie attempts doing even worse than normal. Monsters University was Hollywood’s only clear hit in the Japanese box office, earning $90 million, followed, surprisingly, by a subtitled version of Seth MacFarlane’s wise-cracking stuffed animal bro-comedy Ted at $44 million. The rest of the Japanese box office top 10 are domestic products like Miyazaki’s latest film The Wind Rises and Lupin III vs. Conan.

Wreck-It Ralph earned a disappointing $30 million, worse than Cars 2 or Up or Tangled did in Japan in previous years, and only slightly better than Brave. Yet it was the best success of these four “Japanamerican” movies. Pacific Rim made $14.5 million. The Wolverine earned $8 million. And 47 Ronin: Only $2.8 million.

Besides 47 Ronin, the movies all made a modest profit (going by the standard rule of thumb: movies generally break even when they gross twice their production budget worldwide), but none of them did well in Japan, the place they were supposed to win back for Hollywood. If the studios’ strategy with these curiously Japan-heavy films was in fact to win back the Japanese box office, then they failed miserably. (If their objective was to get Rinko Kikuchi some more work then hey, good job.)

The plan didn’t work, and it’s not terribly hard to see why. Japan has never had a problem with non-Japanese actors and non-Japanese settings before, so giving them that is a very shallow approach to the problem. An anonymous U.S. studio marketing executive told Variety that he thought Hollywood had a tone problem and an audience problem in Japan: “What we’d like to see are more family-oriented films. Too many films coming out of Hollywood are rather dark and depressing — there’s not a lot that families can take their kids to.” And media consultant Geoffrey Bossiere attributed Japanese disinterest to the tone of violence and destruction in even the more light-hearted American blockbusters like The Avengers.

One last diagnosis: America (and many other countries) love comic book adaptations, and Japan loves to go see manga adaptations. Hollywood can’t stop making Marvel and DC superhero movies, which take in boatloads domestically and in other English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom and Australia. But with the slight exception of Spider-Man movies, superhero movies have never made much money in Japan, whether that’s a tone problem (dark, violent, and so on) or just a lack of interest in the characters.

So, although a new Godzilla movie is on the horizon, this is probably the end of this swath of American movies with Japanese actors, themes, and settings, at least if Hollywood does what it usually does, that being going where the money is.

If you’ve seen any of these films, you’ll probably intuitively understand why they didn’t do well in Japan… and in some cases America as well. And, if you haven’t heard the bad news yet… check out John’s Tofugu review of 47 Ronin. Basically, don’t spend your own money on going to see it, especially if those moneys are counted in yen.

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Bonus Wallpapers!

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Sources:

• The Wall Street Journal – China Is Now No. 2 Box Office Behind U.S.
• Motion Picture Association of America – Theatrical Market Statistics, 2012
• Box Office Mojo
• Edge – Sonic Team’s Sugar Rush
• Variety – Japan: Hollywood No Longer Dominates Box Office

Another gasbag movie-nerd is gonna talk about the American version of The Ring and how it pales in comparison next to its seminal Japanese horror inspiration Ringu (or vice-versa). Maybe he’ll talk about how one of the ghost kids was spookier than the other, or address the physical differences between the corpses of the poor hapless teenagers. I can’t waaaaaaiiiit…

Please change the channel.

Wrong, pal.

Rather than join the ranks of those who prefer to get hung up on the surface-level differences between the Japanese film and its American counterpart, I believe each movie is necessarily different to serve its own unique purpose. These differences help us to better understand which aspects of Japanese culture bleed (hehe) into Western culture, and what just doesn’t translate. And that’s why we’re all here, right? To not only celebrate Japanese culture, but to figure out why it draws us in?

Disclaimer: if you’ve never seen Ringu or The Ring and don’t want the experience of watching either ruined for you forever, I would recommend not reading this. I would also recommend immediately watching one or both of these movies because what the heck are you doing man?

Ringu (1998)

Stop looking for the ring dude, you’re IN it.

Hideo Nakata’s Ringu is a horror story that is universally enjoyable and terrifying, while its roots are uniquely Japanese. The movie is an adaptation of Koji Suzuki’s novel of the same name, which was inspired in part by the ghost story Banchou Sarayashiki, or the story of Lady Okiku (lots of inspiration going on here). There are several versions of Okiku’s story, but they all involve her being thrown down a well after losing one of ten valuable plates belonging to an important samurai family. Legend says that her ghostly voice can be heard deep within the well counting up from one as she rechecks the plates. Stopping short at nine, she lets loose a heart-stopping shriek before her specter rises from the well in search of the missing tenth plate.

In Ringu, several young people are mysteriously dying after watching a strange videotape. A reporter, Reiko Asakawa, discovers the tape and learns that it is cursed by the vengeful spirit of a young girl who died after being thrown into a well. After watching the tape, Asakawa comes to find that in seven days the girl will rise from the well and kill her. Counting the days…counting plates…rising from the well…wait a minute, this is starting to sound familiar!

The Ring (2002)

Someone’s ears were burnin’.

Now for the American version. After several teenagers are mysteriously killed, a reporter, Rachel Keller, discovers that an eerie videotape contains the culprit. Within the tape is the vengeful spirit of a young girl who…yeah you get the point.

Gore Verbinski’s The Ring was wholly inspired by the international success of Ringu. This is a story that has played out many times in cinema history: one country hits a goldmine, so it’s only natural that other countries want to emulate their success. The thing that separates The Ring from these thousands of other remakes that came before and after is that it was was remade incredibly well. Love it or hate it, The Ring affected people the world over just like Ringu had done before. What was miraculous about the American Ring however was that it was also effective and popular for different reasons than its predecessor, even though the plot is more or less exactly the same. Many scenes and situations were altered so that they would translate better for American movie-goers, while some remain exactly the same. Within these changes and similarities are the keys we need for understanding how Ringu and The Ring jointly channel / filter the Japanese and Western cultures.

Youth Culture

After the opening of both films, the protagonist goes to the wake of her niece whom we just watched die. Within these scenes, the protagonist talks to a group of schoolgirls who are mumbling something or other about a video, about other kids who have died, that kind of cheerful stuff. But these groups of schoolgirls are much different from each other in the American and Japanese versions.

In Ringu, the girls are dressed in school uniforms, representing the all-girls’ school the deceased girl went to. They are quiet, timid, and seem a bit embarrassed when Asakawa approaches to ask them what they know about her niece’s death. With some regret, they tell her about the cursed video and other deaths they’ve heard about.

In The Ring, these same girls are not exactly in uniform, nor in appropriate funeral garb to boot. They are on the porch of their deceased friend’s house smoking cigarettes and gabbing amongst themselves. When Rachel approaches the girls to gather info, they act coldly and all but ignore her (buncha real jerks, they were). Rachel feels some need to prove that she’s not some old fuddy duddy to these teens, so she pulls out a cigarette herself and starts to talk about how she and an old friend used to get high together. The girls still offer up little to no information.

What does this say about Western youth culture, and the level of respect that is normally shown to our elders? Of course there are disrespectful young people everywhere, even in Japan. But doesn’t this drastic change to the film make sense in the context of our differing cultures (which is ding ding ding what we’re talkin’ about here)?

In Japanese culture, it is important to be respectful to people in a higher position, especially those who are older than you (even by a couple years, senpai!). So even though the girls obviously don’t wish to tell Asakawa about the tape, they seem to feel it’s necessary based solely on the fact that she is an older woman who has asked something of them. So respectful…bad kids everywhere take note!

A Father’s Responsibility

We are introduced to the fathers of the protagonist’s children in exactly the same way in both films: while walking to school in the rain, a boy nearly walks into a shady looking man on the sidewalk. For a brief moment their eyes meet, then they part ways and walk in opposite directions. There is no father-son connection in either movie.

The father in The Ring, young Noah, is an immature airhead. There are moments where we are able to see that he wants to be around for his son, but strong self-doubt and a shaky past with his own father keeps him from being around. Strong family ties are not exactly the pinnacle of Western culture. Is it possible Noah’s character might represent a vicious cycle of broken fathers begetting broken sons?

The father in Ringu, Ryuji Takayama, is an accomplished professor at a local university. We are never given too much history into their romantic past, but Takayama and Asakawa’s marriage obviously didn’t work out too well. Mr. Big Shot Professor seems to live only for his work, publishing essays and constantly scribbling mathematical equations down. His son is of little concern to him. Takayama has a different set of priorities. It’s work before family – you saw this recently in our What It’s Like Dating A Japanese Guy post.

In Japan, careers are drilled into the minds of almost everyone at a young age as being vitally important. It is not uncommon to hear about people overworking themselves for coveted positions in the workforce. A father who values his work over his family is a common trope that resonates deeply in Japan, where work ethic is so heavily cemented in the culture. Professor Takayama is a harrowing example of valuing work over family.

While both fathers have the same character arc, act in similar fashion, and endure the same fate, the reasoning behind their actions are surprisingly different, given where they come from.

A Mother’s Love

Awwwwww-er I mean-Ewwwwww

Unlike everything I’ve talked about so far, the mothers in both films are the only characters that are perfectly in sync: no matter where you are in the world, a mother’s love is universal and enduring.

Asakawa and Rachel are both called to action when they realize the validity of the cursed tape, but are only one hundred percent spurred on when their children watch it too. Given, motherly instinct is nothing new…unless it’s also directed at a child that is not biologically your own.

As the mothers race against the clock to uncover the mysteries of Sadako (Ringu) and Samara (The Ring), a growing sense of sympathy begins to emerge behind their actions. In the corpses of these children, the women see young girls who died just wanting to be loved. Embracing a skeleton dripping with goo is no small feat. I imagine it would take a whole lotta love and understanding to hug a corpse.

Don’t think that I’ve forgotten that Sadako and Samara were killed by their father and mother (respectively). The reason I haven’t included them at all is because they are not representative of parenthood, they are simply used as devices in the narrative. When effort was put into showing that they were not biological parents in both films, I think I can say this with some certainty.

Sadako and Samara end up being completely nuts and evil, but before they go off the deep end, at least they unwittingly show us something beautiful about parental instinct and motherly love.

Hopefully, without getting too spooked, you learned something about love or vicious cycles. Or cigarettes. The lessons in Ringu and The Ring are seemingly endless, right? (Hint: don’t watch TV ever again.)

Japanese films that are remade for Western audiences are rarely as good as Verbinski’s The Ring, but they all present opportunities to compare and contrast our cultures. What other Japanese film remakes have you seen that caused you to notice how different or similar our cultural differences are? What did I leave out in The Ring or Ringu that also bears mentioning in this regard? Let me know in the comments!

That’s why I love documentaries about Japan so much. They give you a look into some of the most interesting things happening in Japan without having to buy a plane ticket there.

Cruising around YouTube, you can find a lot of documentaries about Japan that you can watch for free that cover lots of different subjects and angles. Here are some of the most interesting ones I’ve found:

Children Full of Life (2003)

Japanese school children consistently score incredibly high in virtually every subject compared to children in the rest of the world. Some of that it’s because the Japanese method of teaching is very different from, say, the American way of teaching.

Sometimes though, children thrive not because of the teaching methods, but because of their enthusiastic and dedicated teacher. Such is the case with Children Full of Life, which follows Japanese school teacher Toshiro Kanamori and his students.

Kanamori’s methods are unorthodox, even in Japan, but his results are evident. The children clearly love Kanamori, and learn empathy, openness, and other life lessons that usually aren’t found in school curricula.

Children Full of Life is an emotional, touching documentary and an incredible look into the world of a Japanese child.

Suicide Forest in Japan (2012)

You might have read our post about Aokigahara: the infamous suicide forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji, but have you seen it for yourself? Vice, a magazine that does a lot of bizarre documentaries (including a great series on North Korea), visited Aokigahara and talked to Azusa Hayano, a man who’s ventured into the infamous forest for decades.

It’s a disturbing documentary for sure, but also incredibly eye-opening. If you’ve ever wondered about what the depths of Japan’s infamous suicide forest looks like, then be sure to check this out.

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987)

For better or worse, many people still think about WWII when they think about Japan. You’ve probably learned a bit about Japan’s takeover of Asia, its bombing and defeat, and its occupation and reconstruction.

But in between all of that big picture stuff, things fall between the cracks. One of those lost stories is of Kenzo Okuzaki, a former soldier in Japan’s imperial army who’s come to repent for his former life and rebel against a system with which he’s become so disillusioned.

He went to prison for crimes such as murder, slandering the emperor, and shooting a slingshot at the Imperial Palace. Okuzaki’s car is plastered with political messages (and a beginner’s sticker), and he’s incredibly aggressive in his everyday life about his message.

Okuzaki’s story is a microcosm of post-war regret, shame, and anger that most people outside of Japan aren’t really aware of. Japan did horrible things during WWII, and Okuzaki’s story is just one of the most extreme examples of the country’s post-war introspection.

A Normal Life: Chronicle Of A Sumo Wrestler (2009)

Sumo wrestling is one of the most readily identifiable Japanese things out there; ask people around the world what they think about when they think of Japan, and no doubt sumo is one of the top subjects.

A Normal Life is a French documentary that follows the beginning of a career in sumo through the eyes of Takuya Ogushi, a young man from Hokkaido. You get to see his first nine months at a Tokyo sumo stable, learning the basics, dealing with homesickness, and bulking the hell up. Gotta put on mass!

It’s nice to have a look at sumo in a modern-day context, seeing all of the ins and outs of the sport, rather than relying on old images and stereotypes. And you really start to feel for Ogushi, who quickly realizes he’s in over his head.

Interview with a Cannibal (2012)

We’ve written before about Japan’s most famous cannibal, Issei Sagawa, but the difference between reading about him and listening to him speak is massive, and disturbing.

It goes without saying that this interview is unsettling and a bit graphic, so be prepared before watching this upsetting video.

Baby Drain (2013)

It’s no secret that Japan’s population has been slowly, but steadily shrinking for decades now, but the practical effects of smaller population aren’t always talked about.

The short documentary Baby Drain takes a look at one of the most visible effects of the shrinking population. The results may seem obvious in retrospect, but it’s not until you see the effects first-hand that they really stick.

Baby Drain looks at schools with class sizes of one, hospitals that care for the elderly, and the fantasical future of robotic care.

The movie is a little alarmist (the narrator claims a few times that the Japanese could go extinct) and, coming in at a mere 17 minutes, Baby Drain isn’t a typical, feature-length documentary; but it’s still incredibly insightful.

The Japanese Version (1991)

If you’ve studied Japanese culture, The Japanese Version can come across as almost laughably naïve. The documentary opens up with astounding revelations like Japanese people “take off their shoes indoors” and “they eat strange things.”

But this early 90^s American documentary shot by two guys who basically know nothing about Japan is valuable not for the deep insights that it provides, but for the perspective it’s made from.

The fact that the filmmakers have no clue about Japan means that you get to see the country and the culture through a different set of eyes. The Japanese Version is almost less about Japanese culture and more about the filmmakers’ own biases and preconceptions.

The Japanese Version is dated, focuses a little too much on “weird Japan,” and there are some inaccuracies/simplifications (“the whole [Japanese] language comes from China”); but it’s still an interesting and educational snapshot, if you understand the context.

Cycling Japan’s Abandoned Rail (2012)

We wrote about Cycling Japan’s Abandoned Rail at length last year, so I won’t talk too much about it; but it’s definitely worth a mention here.

Cycling Japan’s Abandoned Rail is refereshing because, unlike a lot of documentaries about Japan, it doesn’t deal with the very basics of Japanese culture, nor does it go for the “weird Japan” angle.

You can read our full write up and find all five parts here.

Bonus!

Check out some wallpaper-sized and animated GIF versions of the header image of this post, courtesy of our hard-working illustrator, Aya!

Animated GIF (1280×800)

Wallpaper (2560×1440)

It’s pretty rare for me. American movies about food seem to be few and far between, and the ones that are around are usually socially-conscious documentaries that bum me out more than anything.

Japanese movies about food seem to do exactly the opposite. Most food movies out of Japan focus a lot on the role of food in bringing people together, the journeys people go through for food and, most importantly of all, always make me really hungry. Would you expect anything less from the country that brought us Iron Chef?

I gathered up some of the best Japanese movies about food I could find. If these don’t rouse your apetite, then you might not have a stomach.

Tampopo (タンポポ)

Tampopo is the be all and end all of Japanese food movies. Period. Full stop. If you say that any other food movie is better then sorry, but you’re wrong.

Billed as a “Ramen Western” (a play on the “Spaghetti Western” genre of movies), Tampopo is, at its most basic, the story of a woman trying to turn her ramen shop around to save it from its own mediocrity.

But that simle description does such disservice to the movie. Tampopo jumps around, exploring different topics, settings, and stories, culminating into a movie that encompasses life, death, love, and all of the big questions in life.

If you’ve never heard of or seen Tampopo before, then see it as soon as you can. But in the meantime, you can read our post on Tampopo and philosophy.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a documentary all about Jiro Ono, chef at the best sushi restaurant in the world, Sukiyabashi Jiro. How do you get to be the best sushi chef in the world? Jiro Dreams of Sushi tells Jiro’s life story and explores his philosophy on sushi and life in general.

This movie is the definition of food porn, full of close-up shots of freshly-made sushi glistening with soy sauce, moments before it’s delicately gobbled down by a appreciative diner. Even if you can’t go to the best sushi restaurant in the world, Jiro Dreams of Sushi will give you a very personal view of the sushi.

You also get a glimpse into the inner workings of the Japanese restaurant industry, all the way up and down the supply chain. It’s a behind-the-scenes tour that not many people get.

You can watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Netflix, and read our write-up about Sukiyabashi Jiro here.

Udon (うどん)

In Japan, udon noodles plays second fiddle to ramen. Not only is the greatest Japanese food movie, Tampopo, about ramen, but ramen has taken off in the Japanese food world the way udon never has.

People in Japan are always tinkering with ramen, coming up with new and exciting ways to serve it. There are so many variations when it comes to broth, noodles, and toppings, that it’s hard to keep track of it all. (Although we’ve written a guide to ramen to help keep track of it all.)

That doesn’t mean that you should ignore udon. Not only is it delicious in its own right, but it even has its own movie, appropriately titled Udon.

Udon, like Tampopo, is a bit of an underdog story, but is much different from seminal classic. It follows a washed-up comedian who returns home to help construct an udon pilgrimmage of sorts.

Ironically enough, one of the members of the comedy group the Rahmens appears in the movie. Maybe ramen and udon can be friends after all!

The Antarctic Cook (南極料理人)

When you’re stationed at a research facility in Antarctica, it’s easy to get homesick. Surrounded by vast stretches of impossibly cold desert, you long for more hospitable surroundings.

Fortunately, some familiar food can go a long way. The Antarctic Cook follows the crew at Antarctica’s Dome Fuji Station and, more specifically, Nishimura, the crew’s chef.

You can read our full review of the Antarctic Cook here.

Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し)

You might think that Spirited Away isn’t really a food movie. After all, isn’t it one of those Studio Ghibli movies about magic and wonder?

And you’d be right. But, Spirited Away also happens to feature enough tasty-looking food to make your mouth water. Even though the food is all illustrated, the variety and serving sizes of those foods still provoke your appetite.

You can read our article about how Spirited Away is the perfect foodie movie for more.

Honorable mention: eatrip

eatrip (a portmanteau of “eat” and “trip”) is a simple documentary about how food bring people together. Despite featuring dreamboat actor Tadanoba Asano and coming out pretty recently (2009), I couldn’t track it down through either legitimate or not-so-legitimate means.

The trailer makes the movie look promising, but every review site I’ve come across gives it pretty mediocre ratings. Just as well, I suppose.

What food movies make your mouth water? Did I miss you favorite Japanese food movie on this list? Do you want to try to make the argument that Tampopo isn’t the best (rofl)? Tell me in the comments!

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Japan Airlines to Serve Kentucky Fried Chicken on Select Flights: What’s better than heart-stopping, cholesterol-rich, artery-clogging fast food? Heart-stopping, cholesterol-rich, artery-clogging fast food on a plane. For a limited time, Japan Airlines is serving the most Japanese of foods: Kentucky Fried Chicken. Japan Airlines won’t be serving some of KFC’s more interesting dishes, like its Famous Bowls or its Double Downs, but it’ll definitely scratch your American junk food itch.[/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Sakai, Japan Becomes Sister City To The Hobbit’s Shire: In case you didn’t know, the first Hobbit movie is fast approaching (December 14^th!) and people are doing plenty in the meantime to celebrate. The city of Sakai, Japan, whose sister city is Wellington, New Zealand, the country where Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were shot, so it only makes sense that Sakai also make the Shire its sister city. Whether or not Sakai will also embrace the Shire, the Australian reality-drama TV show, is still to be seen.

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[threecol_one]5 Things Nobody Tells You About Living in Japan: Cracked has quickly become an internet staple with lists like “The 6 Most Spectacular Dick Moves in Online Gaming History” and “6 Mental Illness Myths Hollywood Wants You to Believe,” but a Cracked article this week that’s surprisingly insightful about life in Japan, covering topics like technology, culture, and architecture. Read between the lines, and I hear you can find 10 Ways You Can Tell That You’re a 90^s Kid.

Tokyo is Michelin’s most gourmet capital for sixth year: For the sixth year in a row, Tokyo claims its spot as the culinary capital of the world. Tokyo has once again claimed the most restaurants with three Michelin Stars – the highest honor in the culinary world – beating out other gourmet capitals like Paris and New York City. Among the three-star restaurants are traditional Japanese restaurants like Sukiyabashi Jiro, along with more contemporary restaurants. And as for Portland, Oregon, my home city: let’s just say that Michelin might not be big on food carts. [via News On Japan][/threecol_two_last]

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These monster movies, called kaijuu (怪獣) movies in Japan, are some of the most iconic in Japanese history. Besides the most famous kaijuu, Godzilla (who I have a poster of above my desk), there have been countless giant monsters that have terrorized Japanese cinema for decades.

Other places have tried to replicate the formula of success, but no country has been able to harness and combine all of the elements that make kaijuu movies great. No country, that is, except North Korea.

Former ruler of North Korea Kim Jong-il fancied himself a master film maker and critic, which meant that at one point or another, making movies was PRIORITY NUMBER ONE for all of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Among the many movies that Kim Jong-il produce, directed, and guided, was a kaijuu movie that brought together the Japanese and the North Koreans (and, unwillingly, a South Korean). The movie was called Pulgasari (불가사리 in Korean and プルガサリ in Japanese), and had all of the trademarks of a good kaijuu movie; giant monster, lots of destruction, people fleeing for their lives.

RAAAAWWWWRRR COMMUNISMMMMMM

Obviously, the storyline was a little different from your average kaijuu movie so it could fit in with North Korea’s communist agenda, but at its core, Pulgasari is a movie about a reptilian monster that destroys things.

Along with Pulgasari’s director (who was kidnapped from South Korea), the North Korean film crew worked closely with Japanese filmmakers to make Pulgasari as close to the real McCoy as possible. While North Koreans normally wouldn’t be so welcoming of Japanese people into their country, Kim Jong-il made an exception for Pulgasari.

The crew who did the special effects on the 1984 Godzilla movie lent their skills to Pulgasari, and Kenpachiro Satsuma, the man in the suit in a lot of the later Godzilla movies played the monster itself.

The result? Well, watch the trailer and see for yourself:

In 1985 Pulgasari was released in North Korea which, as you might imagine, doesn’t have a huge movie-going population. The director escaped from North Korean captivity the following year, causing embarrassment to Kim Jong-il and the movie to be shelved.

For those reasons, it wasn’t until 1998 that Pulgasari was released to the outside world. First place it was screened outside of Korea? Japan, where Pulgasari has gained a cult following.

Ironically that same year, the American Godzilla movie came out. Satsuma, the guy in the rubber suit, reportedly said that he liked Pulgasari better than the American movie. Ouch. When you’ve made something worse than the North Koreans, you know you’ve messed up.

Pulgasari is an inspirational movie. Not because it’s well-made, original, or has any sort of compelling message; but because it’s probably the only movie in recorded history that had North Koreans and Japanese working side-by-side.

The end result wasn’t great, and the process was a little troubling, but when it comes to North Korea and Japan, you take what you can get.

Read more: The producer from hell, Bulgasari (1985) – IMDb