Yuka Yasukawa (安川結花, Yasukawa Yuka; born November 13, 1986), better known by the ring name Act Yasukawa (安川惡斗, Yasukawa…
Yuka Yasukawa (安川結花, Yasukawa Yuka; born November 13, 1986), better known by the ring name Act Yasukawa (安川惡斗, Yasukawa Akuto), and currently performing under the mononym Act (惡斗, Akuto), is a Japanese professional wrestler. She currently wrestles for Actwres girl'Z. Making her pro wrestling debut in 2012, she wrestled exclusively for the joshi puroresu promotion Stardom. Yasukawa's career ultimately ended in December 2015, 10 months after she participated in a match against Yoshiko for the World of Stardom Championship, wherein she was legitimately assaulted and injured by her opponent, suffering fractured cheek, nasal and orbital bones. The incident received mainstream attention in Japan and became known as the Seisan Matchi (凄惨マッチ; "Ghastly Match") in the aftermath. Yasukawa was known for temporarily incorporating the blindness in her right eye, an effect of Graves' Disease, into her persona by wearing an eyepatch. She was also known for commonly carrying a bottle of rum to the ring to spit at people as part of her performance. She returned to professional wrestling as a performer May 2021, working regularly for Actwres girl'Z sub-brand Action RING Girls as Hisen, before wrestling in Actwres girl'Z as Wild Bunny. On October 3, 2022, Wild Bunny would "go on hiatus" when Yasukawa would return under the name ACT after Wild Bunny's mask was attempted to be ripped off by Naru, awakening ACT once again.
Famous Alumni of Japan Institute of the Moving Image
Japan Institute of the Moving Image: 20 people
Eiko Kano (狩野 英孝, Kano Eikō; born 22 February 1982) is a Japanese comedian, singer, YouTuber, and kannushi (Shinto…
Eiko Kano (狩野 英孝, Kano Eikō; born 22 February 1982) is a Japanese comedian, singer, YouTuber, and kannushi (Shinto clergy) from Kurikoma (now Kurihara), Kurihara District, Miyagi. He is nicknamed Eiko-chan (英孝ちゃん, Eikō-chan) and Kati (カティ). As a lyricist and composer of 50TA, he is nicknamed Shinya Sakurada (桜田 神邪, Sakurada Shin'ya). He graduated from the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. He completed his kannushi training in Kokugakuin University. He was a former kyūdōka (archer) at the National Sports Festival of Japan.
Yukiya Kitamura (北村 有起哉, Kitamura Yukiya; born April 29, 1974, in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actor represented by Tom…
Yukiya Kitamura (北村 有起哉, Kitamura Yukiya; born April 29, 1974, in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actor represented by Tom company. His father is actor Kazuo Kitamura and his wife is actress Shiho Takano.
Yūdai Yamaguchi (山口 雄大, Yamaguchi Yūdai; born 1971) is a Japanese film director who has worked mainly in the comedy and…
Yūdai Yamaguchi (山口 雄大, Yamaguchi Yūdai; born 1971) 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".
Shunji Enomoto (榎本俊二, Enomoto Shunji; born 1968 in Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. Two of his lengthy…
Shunji Enomoto (榎本俊二, Enomoto Shunji; born 1968 in Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. Two of his lengthy manga serials, Golden Lucky and Enomoto: New Elements that Shake the World, ran in the magazine Weekly Morning from 1989 to 1996, and 1997 to 2003, respectively. His other published works include the graphic novel Hangyaku no Noroshi (Curse of the Traitor), Eiga de Nigirippi (Holding in Farts at the Movies) (which ran in the now-defunct Young Magazine Uppers), Enotic, The Family Zoo (with writer Chuya Chikazawa), Kajiba no Baka IQ, and The Kinks. His manga are known for their unusual visual rhythms and formal devices and for their obsessive and extreme scatological humor. Enomoto has a cult following in the United States among fans of alternative comics and manga. His works have been enthusiastically reviewed in The Comics Journal, which also published a short untitled comic by him in its Winter 2004 Special Edition. An English language scanlation has been made of The Family Zoo. Works by Enomoto have also been published in Spanish and Italian translations. Enomoto is a graduate of Yokohama's Japan Film School. Enomoto's The Kinks won the 29th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2025 in the Best Short Work category.
Kazushige Abe (阿部 和重, Abe Kazushige; born September 23, 1968 in Higashine, Yamagata) is a contemporary Japanese writer.
Ryūji Miyajima (宮島 竜治, Miyajima Ryūji; born July 13, 1967) is a Japanese film editor who has received six Japanese…
Ryūji Miyajima (宮島 竜治, Miyajima Ryūji; born July 13, 1967) is a Japanese film editor who has received six Japanese Academy Awards, three for films directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
Tsuneo Gōda (合田 経郎, Gōda Tsuneo) is a Japanese stop motion animator. He is known for creating the character Domo…
Tsuneo Gōda (合田 経郎, Gōda Tsuneo) is a Japanese stop motion animator. He is known for creating the character Domo (Domo-kun), the official mascot of Japanese public broadcasting company NHK, as well as directing an animated TV series starring Domo. He is also the founder of studio dwarf inc., an animation studio specializing in stop motion animation and character design. He has also directed the stop motion animation film Komaneko – The Curious Cat and the three-minute stop motion music video "I am a Bear," which is based on the Hikaru Utada song "Boku wa Kuma." In 2011, Gōda was awarded the Inkpot Award for his work on Domo and other animated productions from dwarf studios.
Gorō Taniguchi (谷口 悟朗, Taniguchi Gorō; born October 18, 1966) is a Japanese anime director, writer, producer and…
Gorō Taniguchi (谷口 悟朗, Taniguchi Gorō; born October 18, 1966) is a Japanese anime director, writer, producer and storyboard artist, who is among Sunrise's noted directors. He was born in Nisshin, Aichi, Japan.
Katsuyuki Motohiro (本広克行, Motohiro Katsuyuki; born July 13, 1965) is a Japanese film director.
Kiyotaka Nanbara (南原 清隆, Nanbara Kiyotaka) (born 13 February 1965, in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese…
Kiyotaka Nanbara (南原 清隆, Nanbara Kiyotaka) (born 13 February 1965, in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese television host and comedian. He is known as the boke of the manzai duo Ucchan Nanchan with Teruyoshi Uchimura.
Teruyoshi Uchimura (内村 光良, Uchimura Teruyoshi), half of the Japanese comedy duo Ucchan Nanchan, is one of the most…
Teruyoshi Uchimura (内村 光良, Uchimura Teruyoshi), half of the Japanese comedy duo Ucchan Nanchan, is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community. His nickname is Ucchan ("Wutchan"), and his partner, Kiyotaka Nanbara, is known as Nanchan. He was born on July 22, 1964, in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto. Though he has worked for years as a comedian, he has also shown talent as an actor and dramatic performer. He is well known as the leader of the owarai band NO PLAN.
Toshiya Ueno (上野俊哉, Ueno Toshiya) (2 October 1963 – 15 April 2013) was a Japanese film director, actor, screenwriter…
Toshiya Ueno (上野俊哉, Ueno Toshiya) (2 October 1963 – 15 April 2013) was a Japanese film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the pink film directors known collectively as the "Seven Lucky Gods of Pink" (ピンク七福神, pinku shichifukujin), a group which comprises Ueno, Mitsuru Meike, Yūji Tajiri, Shinji Imaoka, Yoshitaka Kamata, Toshirō Enomoto and Rei Sakamoto.
Shin Misawa (三沢 伸, Misawa Shin) is a Japanese anime director and storyboard artist. He is on general staff at Studio…
Shin Misawa (三沢 伸, Misawa Shin) is a Japanese anime director and storyboard artist. He is on general staff at Studio Comet, and handles production and directing jobs.
Takashi Miike (三池 崇史, Miike Takashi; born 24 August 1960) is a Japanese filmmaker and actor. He has directed over 100…
Takashi Miike (三池 崇史, Miike Takashi; born 24 August 1960) is a Japanese filmmaker and actor. He has directed over 100 films and television productions, in a variety of genres such as action, children's films, comedy, drama, horror, musicals, and jidaigeki period dramas. He is best known internationally for the horror films Audition (1999), Ichi the Killer (2001), Visitor Q (2001), Gozu (2003), and One Missed Call (2003). He is also known for samurai and yakuza films such as Dead or Alive (1999), Graveyard of Honor (2002), 13 Assassins (2010), earning a Japan Academy Film Prize nomination for Director of the Year, and Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011). He has also acted in more than 20 films. Miike spent much of his career as a controversial figure who had several of his films criticized for their extreme graphic violence and other transgressive content, especially Ichi the Killer, which was banned in several countries. However, in his later career, he shifted towards work more acceptable to the mainstream; his films Hara-Kiri and Straw Shield (2013) were both nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, while both Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) and 13 Assassins were nominated for the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion. Several of his films have developed cult followings.
Daisuke Ryu (Japanese: 隆大介, Korean: 장명남, Jang Myeong-nam, hanja: 張明男; 14 January 1957 – 11 April 2021) was a Japanese…
Daisuke Ryu (Japanese: 隆大介, Korean: 장명남, Jang Myeong-nam, hanja: 張明男; 14 January 1957 – 11 April 2021) was a Japanese actor of Korean descent. He won the Japanese "best new actor" Blue Ribbon Award for his performance as the warlord Oda Nobunaga in Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha. His other notable performances include Saburo Ichimonji in another Kurosawa epic, Ran, and the legendary yamabushi, Musashibo Benkei, in Sogo Ishii's critically acclaimed Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle. In 'The Ginger Tree' (based on the novel by Oswald Wynd), Daisuke Ryu played Count Kentaro Kurihama. On March 21, 2015, Ryu travelled to Taiwan, where he was to perform in the Martin Scorsese film Silence. Upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, he was stopped by immigration officials due to having an incomplete entry form. Ryu, who was intoxicated at the time, engaged in an altercation with one of the officers, who sustained a fractured leg. He was indicted and prohibited from leaving Taiwan, and subsequently fired from the production of Silence. In May, 2015, Ryu reconciled with the injured official and publicly apologized for his actions. In June, he was fined by Taiwanese courts for his part in the incident and allowed to return to Japan.
Takeshi Seyama (瀬山 武司, Seyama Takeshi; born in 1944) is a Japanese film editor from Tokyo. Seyama is the editor of many…
Takeshi Seyama (瀬山 武司, Seyama Takeshi; born in 1944) is a Japanese film editor from Tokyo. Seyama is the editor of many anime series and movies from Studio Ghibli, Katsuhiro Otomo, and Satoshi Kon, including hits such as Princess Mononoke, Steamboy, and Paprika. In 1992, Seyama founded the "Seyama Editing Room," which specializes in editing anime.
Tadao Satō (Japanese: 佐藤 忠男, Hepburn: Satō Tadao; 6 October 1930 – 17 March 2022) was a Japanese film critic, theorist…
Tadao Satō (Japanese: 佐藤 忠男, Hepburn: Satō Tadao; 6 October 1930 – 17 March 2022) was a Japanese film critic, theorist and historian. His real name was Tadao Iiri (飯利 忠男, Iiri Tadao).
Hatsunori Hasegawa (長谷川初範, Hasegawa Hatsunori; born June 21, 1955, in Hokkaido, Japan) is a Japanese actor who is known…
Hatsunori Hasegawa (長谷川初範, Hasegawa Hatsunori; born June 21, 1955, in Hokkaido, Japan) is a Japanese actor who is known for his role as Takeshi Yamato in the 1980 Ultraman 80 series. In this series, he is played the lead role as a school teacher who is also a UGM member.
Hidetomo Masuno (升野 英知, Masuno Hidetomo; born November 28, 1975, in Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan), better known…
Hidetomo Masuno (升野 英知, Masuno Hidetomo; born November 28, 1975, in Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan), better known for his stage name Bakarhythm (バカリズム, Bakarizumu), is a Japanese comedian, narrator, actor, playwright, and lyricist. He is sometimes called Bakarhythm Masuno (バカリズム 升野, Bakarizumu Masuno).