is a Japanese filmmaker.

Life and career

Shūsuke Kaneko was born in Tokyo on June 8, 1955. According to the biography on his official website Kaneko was interested in science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films, from a young age. He became involved in amateur film making in his teen years, but majored in education when he attended

Tokyo Gakugei University Tokyo Gakugei University (東京学芸大学, ''Tōkyō gakugei daigaku'') is a Japanese national university, national university in Koganei, Tokyo. Founded in 1873, it was chartered as a university in 1949. It is also known as ''Gakudai'' (学� ...

. After graduation, he found a job at the major Japanese movie studio

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

. By 1982 he was a screenwriter and assistant director for Nikkatsu's ''

Roman Porno refers in Japan to movies produced by independent studios that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. Many pink films would be an ...

'' film series. Kaneko made his debut as a director with Nikkatsu in February 1984 with ''

Kōichirō Uno's Wet and Swinging , a.k.a. ''Koichiro Uno's Wet Strike'', is a 1984 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's ''Roman Porno'' series, directed by Shūsuke Kaneko and starring Natsuko Yamamoto and Arisa Hayashi. It was the 21st film in Nikkatsu's series of films based on the wor ...

'', part of a long-running Nikkatsu series based on the works of erotic novelist

Kōichirō Uno is a Japanese author of erotic novels. His works have often been filmed, most notably by Nikkatsu studio in a prolific series of '' Roman Porno''s giving the author's name in the title. He also won the Akutagawa Prize for ''Kujiragami'' (鯨神). ...

. That work along with two other ''Roman Porno'' films he directed for Nikkatsu that year, and , won him the Best New Director award at the 6th

Yokohama Film Festival The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...

. The next year, his

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

-based April 1985 movie for Nikkatsu, '' Minna Agechau'', took the award as the 9th Best Film of the year at the 7th

. In July 1986, still at Nikkatsu, he directed , which despite its strange title, was a fantasy about a sex-doll coming to life as a woman. Kaneko's final film for Nikkatsu was the appropriately named '' Last Cabaret'', the second to last of the studio's ''Roman Porno'' series. The film, released in April 1988, about a cabaret forced to close has been taken as a metaphor for the demise of the studio itself. The year 1988 marked a watershed in Kaneko's career as a director. At the 10th Yokohama Film Festival, he was given the Best Director award for his two films of 1988, the ''Roman Porno'' '' Last Cabaret'' for

and ''

Summer Vacation 1999 is a 1988 Japanese sci-fi ghost-story directed by Shusuke Kaneko, adapted from the manga series ''The Heart of Thomas'' by Moto Hagio. It follows the lives of four students alone in a remote all-boys boarding school with no one else on their ...

'', a mainstream film for the

Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...

studio. Nikkatsu ceased their ''Roman Porno'' film line that year and filed for bankruptcy a few years laterSharp. pp. 129-130 and Kaneko moved full-time into mainstream film. During the mid-to-late 1990s, Kaneko received widespread acclaim and recognition for directing the ''

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

'' films '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'' (1995), '' Gamera 2: Attack of Legion'' (1996), and '' Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris'' (1999). The following decade, he directed '' Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack'' (2001), which is now regarded as one of the greatest ''Godzilla'' films ever made.

Filmography

Assistant director * ''From Orion's Testimony: Formula for Murder'' (1978) * ''Rape and Death of a Housewife'' (1978) * ''Koko dai panikku'' (1978) * ''Female Teacher Hunting'' (1982) * ''Gigolo: A Docu-Drama'' (1982) * ''Ecstasy Sisters'' (1982) * ''Oh! Takarazuka'' (1982) * ''

The Family Game is a 1983 Japanese comedy and family drama film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. It follows the story of a nuclear family of four whose father hires a tutor for the younger son, a distracted and low-ranking middle school student who will soon be ta ...

'' (1983) * ''Girl Rape Case: Red Shoes'' (1983) * ''Madam Scandal - Final Scandal: Madam Likes It Hard'' (1983) * ''Main Theme'' (1984)

References

External links

Shusuke Kaneko Information Website
(official website)

(official website) * https://www.tohokingdom.com/people/shusuke_kaneko.htm * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaneko, Shusuke 1955 births Film people from Tokyo Tokyo Gakugei University alumni Japanese film directors Japanese screenwriters Pink film directors Living people