A dedicated comedy director, somewhat of a rarity in Japan. Fukuda started out small, but worked his way up to become one of the prime comedy choices. His films tend to be goofy, daft and lowbrow, but also pretty hilarious and fun.
Movies
It all adds up to something quite weird and quite unique, but also quite specific and niche. Going in with a good understanding of how and what the film makes fun of is probably a prerequisite.
Gintama 2: Rules Are Made to Be Broken
Weird and crazy. You don't necessarily need to be familiar with the Gintama manga, but you probably do need some understanding of Japanese comedy. There's are plenty of silly references and insane gags that make no sense unless you have a working knowledge of what makes the average otaku giggle. Fun, but very, very niche.
Weird and outlandish Japanese comedy, the kind Fukuda is good at. Strong manga influences, wacky characters and a combination of absurd comedy and dry delivery make this a very funny and pleasant watch. It doesn't make any sense and it looks a bit cheap at times, but lots of fun nonetheless.
Superhero films are hot property these days, but what happens when you mix the superhero myths with some Japanese exploitation? Well, the result is not entirely what you might have expected. Hentai Kamen (which very roughly translates to perverted mask/disguise) is more comedy than it is exploitation, forgoing cheap female nudity and horrible plot lines (think Iguchi's Oira Sukeban) for ... well, cheap male nudity and horrible plot lines, but delivered with a great sense of humor. In a sense, Hentai Kamen is a loving parody on the Sushi Typhoon style of film making. The story of Hentai Kamen revolves around Kyosuke, a descendant of two of the biggest perverts ever to grace Japan. The problem is that Kyosuke seems to lack the family genes, until one day, completely by accident, he puts on a pair of used girl's underpants on his head. This triggers something inside Kyosuke, unleashing his true potential. Even after his transformation, Kyosuke doesn't consider himself a true perv though, so he uses his power to protect the nice people of Tokyo. Now, where other directors would no doubt use this setup as an excuse for gratuitous nudity, Fukuda reverses expectations. Expect man butts, crotch attacks and lots of male nipple flicking. Kyosuke's tanned appearance (sporting stockings, girl panty masks and one of those horrible Borat-like swimsuits) is hilarious, but not exactly genre material. A great twist that makes the film a lot funnier. HK Hentai Kamen never really escapes its low-budget background, with plenty of bad CG, bad acting and bored camera work to fill in the filler parts of the story, but all of that is quickly forgotten whenever Hentai Kamen appears, destroying the bad guys as he trots through Tokyo. It makes you wonder if this film is going to find a sizeable audience, though people with a little love for (and a little knowledge of) the Sushi Typhoon scene should be able to appreciate the clichés that are being demolished here. Read all
Goofy and understated comedy about a 40 y/o guy who quits his job and vows to become a manga artist. Fukuda is a skilled comedy director and Tsutsumi hasn't lost much of his flair. It's not a real stand-out film, but there are some good laughs and the film never drags or gets boring. Very good filler indeed.
Fukuda's latest is an odd film. He's known to tackle strange projects, often films with a lot of comedy, and Black Night Parade falls into this category pretty well. It's just that I don't really know if this was aimed at younger kids or not. Some parts are pretty dark, others are straight-up childish. I would've liked a clearer angle. Hino has been looking for a job ever since he graduated from school. No serious employer wants to hire him, so he's working in a small convenience store. Even his colleagues take advantage of him until one day a strange figure in a Santa suit comes to visit him and offers him a unique job. Black Night Parade isn't as outright funny as Fukuda's earlier work, but it can get seriously weird and even though it slumps from time to time, there's always some odd nonsense just around the corner to pick up the pace. It's a funny little film, but looking at Fukuda's oeuvre, I just know he can do better than this.Read all
When Fukuda makes a comedy/parody of a Japanese high school brawler, I take notice. The thing is that the genre isn't very serious to begin with, so if you want to do a proper comedy it really needs to be extra. Fukuda is one of the few people who can actually pull that off, but here he dropped the ball a little. Maybe it's because the film is part of a franchise, which may have limited Fukuda's potential, but From Today, It's My Turn offers little more than a basic story about a proper student who ends up in the wrong school and has to fend for himself while gangs fight it out around him. Compare it to the Cromartie High film, or the more recent High & Low franchise, and this one simply falls short. The characters aren't crazy enough, the plot is just average and the gags are rather predictable. That's not to say there isn't some fun to be had with this one, it's just that Fukuda can do better, especially when handling this type of material.Read all
Fukuda used to be somewhat of a renegade comedy director, nowadays, he's part of the commercial establishment. His budgets are clearly higher, and he has access to bigger and more famous actors, but his comedies have also lost an edge. The very edge that made his earlier work stand out. As the title already explains, the film is a fictional (and obviously comedic) retelling of the Three Kingdoms story. While I'm somewhat familiar with the story through various films and games, I never actually read the source material, and I'm sketchy on chronology and characters, which is somewhat of a disadvantage as I'm quite certain I didn't get all the references and jokes. The comedy is pretty typical for a Japanese film. Some hard to translate puns, lots of awkward pauses and odd reactions (the manzai roots are clearly there), funny reimaginings of established lore (like the Red Cliff battle) and some random weirdness (but not enough of the latter). It's a pretty amusing film, just a bit too long and not quite weird or edgy enough to be up there with the best.Read all
Fukuda's latest is a rather typical look at otaku love. Every so often one of these films pops up, delving into otaku culture and detailing the social awkwardness these people have to deal with on a daily basis. It rarely turns out to be great cinema, not even Fukuda can do anything to change that. It's not that he didn't give it a fair try, the pleasant mix of romance, musical and comedy shows a lot of promise, but that's par for the course. Quirky but loveable characters, fun (and surprisingly well done) musical interludes and a fair dosage of comedy give the film a perfect start. Sadly, Fukuda can't quite keep it up. The romance is a little too basic and predictable, the comedy fades away during the second half and two hours is simply too long. Apart from cutting it a little shorter or turning it into a downright parody, there's not much Fukuda could've done I'm afraid. This niche simply doesn't allow for much leeway.Read all
Live-action adaptation of the manga. I loved the anime version of Saint Young Men, the translation to live-action is obviously a bit trickier. It doesn't help that all the sketches play inside the same little flat, but at least the dry, good-natured, and down-to-earth comedy is still very much intact. Jezus and Buddha are two respected deities, but they also need a vacation from time to time. They hook up together in Tokyo, where they share a little apartment. They don't do much besides ponder life's biggest questions, but they also explore the mundane pleasures that humanity invented. It's a delightfully absurd premise, and with Matsuyama and Sometani as leads the performances are perfect. The setting's a little limited though and the comedy gets a bit too repetitive. The anime had a little more to offer, but if you prefer to look at real humans, this film offers up a nice alternative.Read all
Silly and simple parody. If you're familiar with the Power Rangers-like franchises, you'll have no trouble following the jokes and puns here. Not everything is funny, but there are definitely more hits than misses and Fukuda is a capable director, especially for this kind of comedy. Not a great film, but pretty fun filler nonetheless.
A simple but fun comedy from Fukuda. I didn't read up about the film's origins, but I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be an adapted stage play. The single location, fixed set of characters and manic dialogues are all tailored for the stage. Not quite as mad or out there as it could've been, but it's a pleasant enough comedy. The people who worked together in a summer beach club all get the same letter from Eriko, telling them to meet her at the club. All the men turn up, hoping for a romantic adventure. When they realize they're all dreaming of the same thing, a tactical battle commences to decide who has the biggest claim to Erik's love. The performances are decent (but quite over the top), the comedy is light and breezy (with some funny reveals halfway through) and the pacing is pleasant, even though the setup is simple, and the film doesn't really go beyond its premise. Fukuda has made better comedies, but that's not a knock on this film. Perfectly fine comedy filler. Read all