Takeshi Kaga Movies
Though his given name might not be instantly familiar, American television fans (and especially fans of cooking shows) will have no difficulty identifying Takeshi Kaga by countenance; he is better known to U.S. viewers as the Iron Chef (or Chairman Kaga, an über-eccentric gourmand who lives in a towering castle and presides over an on-camera cook-off among various culinary artists. In truth, Kaga was no one-hit wonder or gimmick actor; he sustained a reputation in his native Japan as one of the most serious and disciplined thespians of his generation. Born in Ishikawa, Japan, in 1950, Kaga began his professional dramatic life on-stage where he gained a dual footnote, as both the first Japanese man to play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (ca. 1976) and the first to play Tony in West Side Story (ca. 1977). He began appearing in features in 1980 and achieved crossover recognition on PBS for his performance as Jean Valjean in the 1994 Japanese stage production of Les Miserables. Kaga's feature projects include the 1981 Island of the Evil Spirits, the 1986 Cabaret, and the 1988 Yen Family; he also signed for roles in the first two installments of the Death Note science fiction saga: Death Note (2006) and Death Note: The Last Name. His broadest recognition, however, continued to come from Iron Chef in its original Japanese and its U.S. versions. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Director Shusuke Kaneko picks up right where Death Note left off with this sequel to the box-office phenomenon that finds Light finally giving in to his dark side. In the first Death Note, Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) focused his wrath on the criminal element, but these days the troubled teen is a bit more hasty in wielding his deadly pen. Lately, Light has taken to eliminating just about anyone who happens to get on his bad side -- a disturbing development that finds the police stepping up their efforts to discover the mysterious killer's true identity. Public opinion is split about what to make of Light's murderous exploits; while some view him as a godsend, others deride him for assuming the roles of judge, jury, and executioner. To the regular citizens, Light has taken on a godlike role and is frequently referred to as Kira (a katakana variation on the work "killer"). It seems that the teenage detective L (Kenichi Matsuyama) is hot on Light's trail, and as the clueless police task force continues to speculate, Light does his best to throw L's investigation off balance. When yet another notebook is dropped by death god Rem, adorable television personality Misa Amane (Erika Toda) discovers it and realizes that she now has the power to identify other notebook owners. Now, despite the fact that Light and Misa fall for each other hard, Light knows that their relationship can only end in disaster and attempts to keep his distance despite a growing emotional attachment to the pretty popular icon. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, (more)
Released into Japanese theaters in 2006, director Shusuke Kaneko's stylish adaptation of the best selling manga quickly trampled The Da Vinci Code on Japanese screens and subsequently and set box office records in Hong Kong and all across Asia. The plot picks up as aimless law student Light Yagami (Tetsuya Fujiwara) discovers a mysterious notebook in the middle of the street. Soon thereafter, Light discovers that if he writes a name in the notebook, that person will instantly die (generally of a heart attack). Of course it doesn't take long for Light to realize the extraordinary power he now holds, and before long he hatches a plan to rid the planet of crime by scribbling the name of notorious criminals in the pages of the powerful notebook and make the world a safer place for decent citizens everywhere. But Light isn't alone in his mission, because his new companion Ryuk - a flying god of death who only Light can see and who also happens to be the true owner of the notebook - is always there to egg him on and get a little laugh from the criminal holocaust. Over the course of the next few weeks, Light does away with millions of nefarious baddies and the global crime rate drops by seventy percent. Still, the police aren't too happy that a regular civilian seems to be taking the law into his own hands. Perhaps the only person capable of discovering Light's true identity is L (Kenichi Matsuyama) - a brilliant teenage detective with a taste for sweets and remarkable deductive reasoning skills. When the police chief (Takeshi Kaga of the hit television series Iron Chef) - who also happens to be Light's father - is assigned the task of unmasking the elusive killer, things really start to get interesting. A fast paced, goth-infused, cat-and-mouse thriller, Death Note was followed at the box office by the equally successful sequel Death Note: The Last Name just a few short months later. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, (more)
- 1988
Hajime has big dreams for his small family and has organized his wife and two children into a corporation. He runs a newspaper-delivery service, a taxi service, and a catering company, while his daughter has set up her school as a corporation, and his wife runs a telephone sex service. However, his son Taro is not in accord with his father's vision and even apologizes to his uncle for having to present him a bill for giving him a massage. At some point, the boy's stern and humorless (but not profit-driven) aunt and uncle gain the upper hand over the money-mad clan, and amid the conflicts, a good deal of self-examination occurs. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Takeshi Kaga, Kaori Momoi, (more)
- 1986
- R
A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) adopts him as a special friend for no greater reason than he plays one of his favorite songs well. As the dangerous life of the gangster intertwines with that of the musician, it brings harm to the musician's girlfriend, who is raped. This changes the young saxophonist's attitude about his patron, but his Yakuza "friend" is still too embroiled in his own problems to worry about anything else. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Takeshi Kaga, Hironobu Nomura, (more)
