#junya okabe

[dynared]

So remember the Getter Robo movie Kickstarter? We finally got an update after director Junya Okabe suffered heart problems and was hospitalized twice.

“【I would appreciate it if you could share this widely】

The day has finally come when I can make this report!

More than two and a half years since the spring 2023 crowdfunding campaign

We stopped countless times and were beset by difficulties,

Yet we kept accumulating progress without halting our steps.

The pilot footage for the live-action "Getter Robo" has been completed.

Starting today, exclusive release begins for crowdfunding supporters!

I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for causing such a significant delay from the originally scheduled completion date and keeping all of our supporters waiting for so long.

During the production process, I was forced to undergo hospitalization twice

and had major surgery for heart valve disease.

Recovery after the surgery also took time, and each time production was interrupted,

making the completion of the video ever more distant.

I cannot measure how much disappointment I have caused to everyone who supported the project.

Nevertheless, even confined to my sickbed, what weighed on my heart

was the single-minded determination

to "definitely complete Getter Robo."

With the collaboration of the staff and the support of comrades both in Japan and abroad,

I was able to rise again and again.”

So the footage is hitting the Kickstarter backers soon, and from there will presumably leak. Now to see if any streamers in the US are interested in funding the full movie.

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: ZVP

[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.]

I somehow missed Junya Okabe’s ZVP when it was originally released on YouTube way back in 2017, which feels like an unforgivable oversight on my part—after all, it appears to have been created specifically to appeal to my peculiar cinematic sensibilities. I absolutely adore this flavor of fan film; a less explicitly mercenary variety of unlicensed adaptation, it scratches the same itch as a decently trashy rip-off or mockbuster (à la Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins) without the moral stain of being a cynical cash grab. It’s a purer breed of “derivative work,” motivated not by greed, but by genuine affection for the source material.

And that love certainly shines through in this ambitious crossover between the Zatoichi and Predator franchises—an epic mashup that positions it as a spiritual successor to Sandy Collora’s seminal Batman: Dead End. Despite the obviously limited resources at his disposal, the director demonstrates remarkable technical proficiency and command of his craft: the cinematography, fight choreography, and even sound mixing perfectly capture the style and atmosphere of a classic chanbara flick—with a few comparatively fanciful flourishes thrown in for good measure (some of the more fantastical costumes, for example, draw clear inspiration from the tokusatsu genre and shonen anime). The color grading is particularly impressive—not quite monochrome, but extremely desaturated, evoking the faded hand-painted imagery found in many early silent movies (appropriate, considering the general absence of audible dialogue throughout the piece).

It isn’t a flawless experience. The choppiness of the minimalistic narrative—which initially features a coherent (albeit fragmentary) plot before gradually evolving into something closer to a fake trailer or sizzle reel (reminiscent of Collora’s World’s Finest)—comes across as an admission of defeat, surrendering to the harsh realities of budgetary restrictions. Insufficient running time might also be to blame; clocking in at a lean eight minutes, the short simply lacks enough breathing room to develop the story beyond a basic premise—inevitably leaving the viewer ravenous for more.

Regardless of these superficial blemishes, however, the sheer talent on display—the exquisite production design, the spectacular VFX, the magnificent performances (especially the one delivered by the actor portraying the iconic blind swordsman, who respectfully avoids attempting to mimic the inimitable Shintaro Katsu)—ultimately redeems and elevates ZVP. Don’t call it a "guilty" pleasure; this is the quintessential passion project—and its unapologetic enthusiasm for its pulpy subject matter is irresistibly infectious.

[grindhousecellar]

[dynared]

ZVP is a fan film that was the big debut of director Junya Okabe. The title is short for Zatochi vs Predator, and that tells you just about everything you need to know.

Okabe’s next big gig is the promotional pitch for a live-action Getter Robo movie, a crowdfunding campaign that met its goal less than 12 hours after its announcement.

[grindhousecellar]

[grindhousecellar]

[grindhousecellar]

[grindhousecellar]