is a Japanese film director who has worked mainly in the comedy and horror genres. He has "made a name for himself by mixing goofy gore with manga-esque escapades and plain utter weirdness".

Life and career

Yamaguchi was born in 1971 and attended the . After graduation he won a number of awards at independent film festivals. In 2000 he co-wrote (with director

Ryuhei Kitamura (born May 30, 1969) is a Japanese film director, producer, and screenwriter. Biography Early life Kitamura was born in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He dropped out of high school at age 17 and relocated to Sydney, Australia, where he attended a sch ...

) the action-horror film '' Versus'' (VERSUS　ヴァーサス) starring

Tak Sakaguchi is a Japanese actor, director, fight choreographer, stuntman and martial artist. He is best known for his role in Ryuhei Kitamura's cult film, '' Versus''. Since his debut, Sakaguchi has worked with Kitamura several times, often appearing alo ...

. Yamaguchi was also a second-unit director on the movie. He made his debut as a feature film director with '' Battlefield Baseball'' released theatrically in July 2003. This horror-sports-comedy again starred Tak Sakaguchi and the film won the Grand Prize at the 14th

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...

held in February 2003. Yamaguchi was a guest at the festival. He followed this in 2004 with ''Babaa Zone'', a compilation of five short skits in collaboration with manga artist Gatarō Man. In late 2004, Yamaguchi was one of the directors of

Takashi Shimizu Takashi Shimizu (清水崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Japan and the U.S. Accor ...

's comedy-horror TV series . As with ''Battlefield Baseball'', his next feature, '' Cromartie High - The Movie'' from July 2005, was based on a manga series (

Cromartie High School is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiji Nonaka and published in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2000 to May 2006. It follows the everyday life of Takashi Kamiyama and his odd classmates at Cromartie Hig ...

). This episodic comedy, which made its New York premiere at the 2006

New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a critically acclaimed film festival held in New York City, dedicated to the display of Asian Film Culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles ...

, revolves around the hapless Cromartie High with a student body composed of thugs,

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

look-alikes, a giant, a gorilla and an obnoxious robot. Kamiyama, seemingly the only normal student, tries to improve things - but then the aliens invade. Yamaguchi's September 2006 film ''

Meatball Machine is a 2005 Japanese tokusatsu horror film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi is a Japanese film director who has worked mainly in the comedy and horror genres. He has "made a name for himself by mixing goofy gore with manga-esque escapades and plain ...

'', which he co-directed with Jun'ichi Yamamoto based on an earlier film by Yamamoto, has aliens taking over human bodies and turning them into bio-mechanical monsters. In August 2008, Yamaguchi released '' Tamami: The Baby's Curse'', a horror story about a monster-baby which is a more subdued work than his previous manic comedy efforts. Along with

Noboru Iguchi (born June 28, 1969) is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and actor. He has worked as a director in adult video (AV) as well as in the horror and gore genres. Life and career Iguchi was born on June 28, 1969. In an interview he said he wa ...

, Yamaguchi directed the fake TV commercials for good friend

Yoshihiro Nishimura is a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as "a legendary director and effects artist" and "the Tom Savini of Japan ...

's cult horror film ''

Tokyo Gore Police is a 2008 Japanese action splatter film co-written, edited and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and starring Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer. ''Tokyo Gore Police'' was released to several film festivals in North America. It rece ...

'' after Yamaguchi suggested that it might balance out the dark tone of the movie. In a change of pace, Yamaguchi left the horror aspects behind to direct a straight comedy in the February 2009 release ''Elite Yankee Saburo'' with special makeup effects by

. The film followed a Japanese TV comedy shown on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

in 2007 which was itself based on a manga by Shuji Abe about a nerdy boy entering high school who because his older brothers were delinquents is also labeled a troublemaker - an "elite

yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

". The movie retained the original cast from the TV series including lead actor Hideo Ishiguro.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaguchi, Yudai Japanese film directors Japanese screenwriters 1971 births Living people Horror film directors