is a 2006 live-action/

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

hybrid film directed by Japanese filmmaker

Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including '' Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer'' (1984), ''Angel's Egg'' (1985), ...

, who also wrote the eponymous novel on which the film was based. Both works are part of the Kerberos saga. Live-action film and manga adaptations were produced few months later in Japan. The Tachiguishi-Retsuden logo bears the mention ''Tachiguishi-Retsuden 1945-2006 A Mamoru Oshii Animation Film''.

Superlivemation

''Tachiguishi-Retsuden'' is a documentary-style animation film created with an innovative technique named "Superlivemation". Oshii first experimented this flat 3D technique in his 2001 live-action feature ''

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

'' as a visual effect for explosions in Ash's game, then he developed it, the following years, in both the '' MiniPato'' short films and PlayStation Portable game. Characters have a tiny body and an oversized head which makes them look funny. They are animated like paper dolls (ペープサート人形, ''papsart ningyou'') and are evolving in a pictures based environment in the likes of the JibJab Brothers' (Gregg and Evan Spiridellis) musical comedy cartoons, e.g. ''2・0・5 Year In Review'', although Mamoru Oshii stated his own work was a "serious comedy". The Superlivemation consists of digitally processing then animating, paper puppet theater-style characters and locations based on real photographs. In ''Tachiguishi-Retsuden'' more than 30,000 photographs were processed 20 times, to produce the final composite to be animated. The director describes his new animation film as set between "''a simple animation with extremely intense information''" and "''a live-action movie with extremely limited information''". The theatrical release poster, which was later used on the OST and the videos, features several symbols of the

Japanese popular culture Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be ...

and modern history. Clockwise, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress passing over, in reference to the American bombing of Hiroshima and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

cities in 1945, the

Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, built in 1958. At , it is the second- tallest structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and ...

which was completed in 1958, the high-speed train

Shinkansen 0 Series The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

, launched in 1964, at last, the standing character eating a gyudong bowl is Foxy Croquette O-Gin, in reference to the popular ''tachigui'' practice.

Kerberos saga

Urusei Yatsura: Hisatsu! Tachigui Wars!! (1984)

Foxy Croquette O-Gin (ケツネコロッケのお銀) and the Fast Food Grifters first appeared in Mamoru Oshii's ''

Urusei Yatsura is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from September 1978 to February 1987. Its 366 individual chapters were published in 34 ''tankōbon'' volume ...

'' anime television series episode #99 (必殺！立ち食いウォーズ！！) which is based on an original story by

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with '' Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, Takahashi is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are popular worldwide, where they have ...

. The characters were known as "pro of tachigui" (立喰いのプロ) instead of "tachiguishi". The English dub version titles '' Certain Death! Stand-Up Eating Contest'' (episode #99).

While Waiting for the Red Spectacles (1987)

The Fast Food Grifters first met the Kerberos in the 1987

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

While Waiting for the Red Spectacles is a 1987 radio drama written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. The music is composed and performed by Kenji Kawai. It was released in 2000 as a limited CD drama bundled with '' Kerberos Panzer Cop: Complete Book en' edition. Kerberos saga Kerbe ...

s (紅い眼鏡を待ちつつ) Cold Badger Masa assassination episode.

The Red Spectacles (1987)

Moongaze Ginji and Foxy Croquette O-Gin are featured in the 1987 live-action film ''

The Red Spectacles is a 1987 Japanese film directed by Mamoru Oshii, co-written with Kazunori Ito, and starring Shigeru Chiba and Mako Hyodo. This is the first film of the '' Kerberos saga''. Plot It is the end of the 20th century. The Metropolitan Police hav ...

'' (紅い眼鏡, ''Akai Megane'').

Kerberos Panzer Cop: Conclusion (1999)

Cold Badger Masa and Moongaze Ginji are featured in the 1999 manga series ''

Kerberos Panzer Cop ''Kerberos Panzer Cop'', also known as , is a 1988 to 2000 ''Kerberos Saga'' manga written by Mamoru Oshii and illustrated by Kamui Fujiwara (Studio 2B) with mechanical design by Yutaka Izubuchi. This comic series tales events prior to tho ...

s (犬狼伝説完結篇) Act 6.

Onna Tachiguishi-Retsuden (2006)

Mamoru Oshi directed a spin-off episode '' Female Fast Food Grifter: Foxy Croquette O-Gin ~Struggle to Death in Palestine~''. This short video was available as a bonus DVD bundled with ''Monthly Comic Ryu Vol.1'' magazine which was published on September 19, 2006. A retail edition with extra material and a regular DVD package was reissued in late December of the same year.

Kerberos & Tachiguishi (2006)

The manga series named '' Kerberos & Tachiguishi: Young Lady's Abdomen Biological Clock'' (tentative title for ケルベロスＸ立喰師腹腹時計の少女, ''Keruberosu ekusu tachiguishi hara haradokei no shōjo'') is ongoing since '' Monthly Comic Ryu'' (#2) which was issued in Japan on late November 2006. It involves Foxy Croquette O-Gin within the Kerberos universe.

Story

Prologue

Starting from a Proustian approach of food, Oshii tries to recreate 60-years of Japanese dietary history in his "''Documentary of Shōwa underground''". This work is actually a false documentary style animation movie, which borrows and develops some key elements from his 1987 debut live-action feature, ''

'', e.g. the stand-and-eat (''tachigui''), the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

retro background, the ''

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

'' visuals and screenplay, and even the ''tachiguishi'' theme with returning characters like Moongaze Ginji. In '' Akai Megane'' (''The Red Spectacles''), the new totalitarianist government has forbidden the ''tachigui'' in Tokyo in 1998. Stand-and-eat bars, among popular services like

convenience stores A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticke ...

, were seen as a threat to public order by the liberty killer political authority, therefore they were banned or restricted. However, some illegal ''tachigui'' bars still exists in the underground of the capital. One of the reason these bars have been definitely prohibited is, they were open at night and both owners and customers were suspected to take part to subversive talks and meetings.

Plot

A fictional documentary about changing Japanese eating habits and the colorful thieves that swindle the restaurants which serve them. The film begins with the origins of Japanese food stalls following the countries defeat in

. The first grifter introduced is Moongaze Ginji. He requests soba noodle soup with a raw egg (also known as "Moongaze Soba"). He declares the dish to be an imitation of a landscape. The main body of the film follows a predictable pattern. A grifter is introduced, his food preference demonstrating the continued decline of traditional food in Japan, and his grift comically illustrated. Intercut at random are popular news event stories that always emphasise Japan losing its way and America and its allies' cultural and military despotism. Vignettes include Japanese children exploding from

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song ( mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visua ...

hoop use, drunk businessmen imitating Neil Armstrong, as anomalies of natural disasters coinciding with the ongoing cultural transformation underline nature itself disproving changes in Japan.

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...

's suicide is also referred to as an effect. Mishima committed suicide by seppuku to illustrate his support for Imperial Japan and the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

as a god. One of the last grifters is Frankfuter Tatsu whose monologue is censored in each sentence because it refers to Disney Land. "I could only think of "beeeep-Land" he declares over and over. He is obsessed with American culture while simultaneously being censored by American Legal system despots. When asked why he is so interested in Disney Land he says he knows it is empty and fake, but full of everything, and nothing.

Characters

Main characters: *

Moongaze Ginji This is a character guide to the radio drama, film, manga and anime works ''Kerberos saga'' (ケルベロス・サーガ, ''keruberosu saga''). Characters are sorted by organizations or groups according to the original works. The English adaptat ...

* Foxy Croquette O-Gin * Crying Inumaru * Cold Badger Masa * Beefbowl Ushigoro * Hamburger Tetsu * Medium Hot Sabu * Frankfurter Tatsu * Crepe Mami * Baked Bean Pastry Amataro Secondary characters: * Tokumitsu Shinada * Manager Kamiyama

Releases

Book

*2004.02.XX: ''Tachiguishi-Retsuden'' (立喰師列伝) novel by Mamoru Oshii :Kadokawa Shoten, 287p., 19cm, *2006.04.XX: ''Tachiguishi, Kaku Katariki.'' (立喰師、かく語りき。, ''Thus Spoke Tachiguishi'') interview book by Mamoru Oshii :Tokuma Shoten, 254p., 19cm,

Audio

*2006.04.05: ''Tachiguishi-Retsuden O.S.T.'' (立喰師列伝) original soundtrack by

Kenji Kawai is a Japanese music composer and arranger. Known as one of the biggest names in the soundtrack world, he has worked on a wide range of mixed media productions, including anime, TV shows, films and video games. Among his credits are Toei's Kam ...

(featuring e-mi) :Victor Entertainment, 24 tracks, VICL-61927

Video

*2006.09.22: ''Tachiguishi Retsuden'' (立喰師列伝) DVD :Bandai Visual, 90min. Film, DVD9, DD5.1ch + DD2.0ch *2006.09.22: ''Tachiguishi Retsuden Collectors Set'' (立喰師列伝コレクターズセット) L.E. 2DVD :Bandai Visual, 90min. Film, 2DVD9, DD5.1ch + DD2.0ch, Special Disc: 90min. Making Of, 192p. Script Replica, 62p. Collector Booklet

Production

Guest stars

:Shoji Kawamori: Famous for ''

Macross Plus is a four-episode anime OVA and theatrical movie in the ''Macross'' series. It was the first sequel to the original ''Macross'' television series that took place in the official timeline ('' Macross II'' was quickly retconned by series creato ...

'', etc. :Kenji Kawai: Famous composer of Mamoru Oshii feature films (''StrayDog'', ''Patlabor the movie 2'', ''GITS'', ''Avalon'') and WARP/ Sega video games (''

Enemy Zero is a 1996 horror-themed adventure video game for the Sega Saturn, developed by Warp and directed by Kenji Eno. Players assume the role of an astronaut who awakens from cryogenic sleep to find her spaceship overrun by invisible creatures who ...

'', ''

Deep Fear is a 1998 survival horror video game developed by Sega AM7 and System Sacom for the Sega Saturn. It was the last Saturn game released in Europe. The game offers unique gameplay features such as buttons that allow the player to use items in real-t ...

''), etc. :

Kenji Kamiyama is a Japanese anime director. Career Kamiyama has worked regularly with the anime studio and production enterprise Production I.G, such as his work on ''Jin-Roh'', ''Patlabor'', '' Blood: The Last Vampire'', and for whom he has directed the '' ...

: Famous director of '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'' TV series, etc. :Toshio Suzuki: etc. :Shinji Higuchi: etc. :Katsuya Terada: etc.

Cast

: Kaito Kisshoji (吉祥寺怪人): Moongaze Ginji (月見の銀二, Tsukimi no Ginji) :

Mako Hyodo , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese voice actress, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also performed in a Japanese television ...

(兵頭まこ): Foxy Croquette O-Gin (ケツネコロッケのお銀, Ketsune Krocket no Ogin) : Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (石川光久): Crying Inumaru (哭きの犬丸, Naki no Inumaru) : Toshio Suzuki (鈴木敏夫): Cold Badger Masa (冷しタヌキの政, Hiyashi Tanuki no Masa) :

Shinji Higuchi is a Japanese filmmaker and storyboard artist. He is one of the most successful Japanese filmmakers and the top ''tokusatsu'' film director. Higuchi became known for his work on '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'', for which he won the Specia ...

(樋口真嗣): Beefbowl Ushigoro (牛丼の牛五郎, Gyudon no Ushi-Goro) :

(川井憲次): Hamburger Tetsu (ハンバーガーの哲, Hamburger no Tetsu) :

Katsuya Terada , is a Japanese illustrator and cartoonist from the town of Tamano, Okayama. His alias is the portmanteau . Terada's prolific visual arts practice uniquely straddles the lines between manga, fine art, and digital design. His work ranges wide ...

(寺田克也): Frankfurter Tatsu (フランクフルトの辰, Frankfurt no Tatsu) : Shoji Kawamori (河森正治): Medium Hot Sabu (中辛のサブ, Chu-Kara no Sabu) :

Fuyuki Shinada is a masculine Japanese given name which is occasionally used as a surname and means wintry tree. * (born 1960), Japanese professional wrestler * (born 1955), Japanese photographer * (born 1973), Japanese performance artist In fiction * In the ' ...

(品田冬樹): Tokumitsu Shinada :

(神山健治): Manager Kamiyama

Voice cast

Koichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with th ...

(山寺宏一): Narrator, Inumaru, Tatsu, etc. :Mako Hyodo (兵頭まこ): O-Gin :

Yoshiko Sakakibara is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Career In 1981, she made her voice actor debut as Flore in ''Six God Combination Godmars''. She also narrates many news programs, especially as a main narrator for TV Asahi News Station for o ...

(榊原良子): Medical examiner, Tatsu's mother, etc. :

Fumihiko Tachiki is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. Career Tachiki is known for his low voice. He serves as the narrator for ''Pride Fighting Championships'' and Dream. He and Toshiyuki Morikawa formed the band "2HEARTS" in 2003. Their song, "Ever Free", se ...

(立木文彦): Ushigoro, Tetsu, Tokumitsu, Narrator of the preview, etc.

Staff

*Original story, script and direction: Mamoru Oshii *Shooting: Keiichi Sakazaki *3DCG: IKIF *Visual Effects: Hisashi Ezura *Sound: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi *Music: Kenji Kawai *Production: Toshihiko Nishikubo *Animation: Production I.G

Sources

Production I.G official English website
(''English'')
Tachiguishi-Retsuden Official website
(''Japanese'')

(''English'')
GA Graphic official website
(''Japanese'')

(''Japanese'')
Production I.G Special Site
(''Japanese'')
IKIF studio official website
(''Japanese'')

External links

Kerberos saga official website
(''Japanese'') * {{Production I.G 2006 films 2006 anime films Comedy anime and manga Japanese comedy films 2006 comedy films 2000s mockumentary films Production I.G Kerberos saga Films directed by Mamoru Oshii Films scored by Kenji Kawai ja:立喰師列伝