Noriaki Yuasa

(28 September 1933 – 14 June 2004) was a Japanese director. Yuasa was the main director of the Japanese film series Gamera; he directed seven of the first eight films in the series while also providing special effects for one of them, and became known as the . The series was created by Daiei Film Studios after the box office success of the Toho Godzilla series. Yuasa's post-Daiei career for television dramas marks him as one of the best hitmakers among the domestic television industry during the 1970s.

Biography

Noriaki Yuasa was born 28 September 1933 in Tokyo, Japan. Yuasa was the son of a stage actor and a director . Additionally, his family members include actors and movie directors (Hikaru Hoshi and Koji Shima). Yuasa appeared as a child actor in his uncle Koji Shima's war propaganda films where all domestic film studios including Daiei were forced to produce propaganda films by the order of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, and Masaichi Nagata and Eiji Tsuburaya were temporary purged after the World War II due to their involvements in producing propaganda films, that became the basis for the post-war tokusatsu genre in Japan. Regarding war issues, he was vocally critical of the 1954 film Godzilla for its depictions of war aftermaths, which he deemed incorrect. His last full film was Gamera, Super Monster, which included extensive stock footage from the previous seven Gamera films.

The success of the Gamera franchise temporary ameliorated the financial situation of Daiei Film, resulting in launching of subsequent tokusatsu productions most notably Daimajin and Yokai Monsters, and the Gamera franchise was practically the sole supporter of the company and its subcontractors until the actual bankruptcy in 1971; allegedly destroyed suits and models of Gamera productions due to his (their) frustration(s) and distress. where the aforementioned Gamera, Super Monster exclusively relied on stock footages due to budgetary restrictions.

He later worked on smaller V-Cinema videos such as Kosupure senshi kyūtī naito 2 teikoku-ya no gyakushū where he had appeared as the character "Dr. Yuasa", Yuasa had also been nominated to direct Daimajin revival attempts as a television series, though this never happened.

After the bankruptcy of Daiei Film, Yuasa devoted in productions of television dramas and advanced his career, and was eventually addressed as one of the best hitmakers of domestic television industries at that time.

Select filmography Film

|Director!! | Special effects director

Assistant director

Assistant director

Assistant director

1964

1965

1966

1967

1980 Jun-ai Series (1967) Ai chan ga iku! (jp) (1972) (1973) Magokoro (jp) (1973) Denjin Zaborger (1974) (1975) (1976) (1977) (1981) Cosplay Warrior Cutie ・ Night 2 Counterattack of Imperial Shop (1996) Flight from Ashiya (1964) The Gamera That Never Was: Gamera vs. Garasharp (1991) Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1998) Videos for karaoke