Shinpei Hayashiya Launches Fundraising Campaign for WAR OF THE NINJA MONSTERS

Photo courtesy of Avery Guerra ©Showa Tokusatsu Monster Film Cooperation Corps

Special Thanks to Avery Guerra

Director Shinpei Hayashiya just launched a fundraising campaign for his next tokusatsu kaiju film, WAR OF THE NINJA MONSTERS: JARON VS GOURA (忍獣大戦記蛇龍対號羅, Shinobu Kemono Daisenki Daryū tai Goura). The independent filmmaker, known for works like REIGO: KING OF THE SEA MONSTERS (深海獣レイゴー, Shinkaijū Reigō, 2005/2008) and RAIGA: GOD OF THE MONSTERS (深海獣雷牙, Shinkaijū Raiga, 2009), is looking for additional funds to create higher-quality visual effects for his latest production.

Photo courtesy of Avery Guerra ©Showa Tokusatsu Monster Film Cooperation Corps

Hayashiya explained that recent Japanese monster movies have relied on modern computer graphics rather than the monster suits and miniatures used in past films. He believes that the suit actors give life to monsters they portray and that the classic techniques should not be forgotten. To that end, he has assembled a team of like-minded professional and amateur filmmakers to produce new films using traditional Japanese FX, known as tokusatsu. "What I want to achieve with this project is a new monster movie born from a completely original script," said Hayashiya. "The ninja monsters Jaron and Goura appear in the city of Chichibu, and rival ninja clans manipulate the ninja beasts into a fierce battle."

According to co-screenwriter Hirokatsu Kihara, WAR OF THE NINJA MONSTERS offers a different spin on the daikaiju formula with monsters that exhibit unique abilities such as being visible to the naked eye while not showing up on video. The monsters' strange powers reminded Kihara of the 1966 Toei film THE MAGIC SERPENT (怪竜大決戦, Kairyū Daikessen), in which ninjas used magic to transform into giant monsters.

The staff includes suit actros Mizuho Yoshida (GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK, ZEIRAM) and Akihiko Ohashi (GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION, GAMERA 3: REVENGE IRIS), cinematographer/VFX/editor Masayuki Nagata (ATAMI MONSTER), composer Yasuhiro Ueda (ULTRA GALAXY MEGA MONSTER BATTLE: NEVER ENDING ODYSSEY, ULTRAMAN ZERO VS DARKLOPS ZERO), monster designer Shinji Nishikawa (GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE, GODZILLA 2000), suit and prop makers Naofumi Kanamori and Tomohiro Matsumoto (REIGO: KING OF THE SEA MONSTERS), CG producer Kazuya Hayashi (REIGO: KING OF THE SEA MONSTERS), CG assistant Ryoichi Nakajima, props/poster/logo designer Ichiro Murakami, special effects assistant Yutaka Arai (Hayashiya's previous works), still photographer Akihiko Nawajima (KAMEN RIDER ZO, SHIN GODZILLA), and publicist Avery Guerra (NEZURA 1964, HOSHI 35).

Filming of the human scenes for WAR OF THE NINJA MONSTERS: JARON VS GOURA has already been completed in Chichibu and Tokyo. The creative team is now looking for funds to complete the monster costumes and shoot the movie's special effects sequences. Production is expected to be completed in May of this year.

International donations can be made on the Japanese crowdfunding website Campfire through January 20th.

Depending on the payment amounts, donors will receive WAR OF THE NINJA MONSTERS gifts ranginging from stickers, posters, t-shirts, mini-busts of the monsters,(approximate size 10cm), the script, a making-of DVD (approx. 45 minutes), the movie on DVD (approx. 80 minutes), to an onscreen credit. The first gifts will ship in March 2023 with DVDs available after May.