Jellyfish Eyes (2013)

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Jellyfish Eyes
The Japanese poster for Jellyfish Eyes
Directed by Takashi Murakami
Producer Mana Fukui, Chiaki Kasahara,
Yoshihiro Nishimura;
Takashi Murakami (executive)
Written by Jun Tsugita, Yoshihiro Nishimura;
Takashi Murakami (story)
Music by kz, Yoshihiro Ike
Distributor GAGA CorporationJP
Janus FilmsUS
Running time 100 minutes
(1 hour, 40 minutes)
Aspect ratio 1.78:1
Rate this film!
4.00
(3 votes)

Jellyfish Eyes (めめめのくらげ,   Mememe no Kurage) is a 2013 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Kaikai Kiki Co. and Nishimura Motion Picture Model Makers Group. It was released to Japanese theaters by GAGA on April 23, 2013.

Plot

The Black-Cloaked Four conduct an experiment in a laboratory, resulting in the brief appearance of a wispy, monstrous head. They deem the test a failure, in need of more negative energy to succeed. A researcher berates them for carrying out the test without notifying him, and notes that they've set loose a F.R.I.E.N.D., a pink creature who watches the laboratory from afar.

A year after an unspecified natural disaster, two evacuees prepare to begin a new life in a rural town. Before long, young Masashi Kusakabe notices strange things in he and his mother's apartment: glimpses of a small figure's shadow and chee-kama (cheese-and-fish-cake stick) wrappers strewn about the floor.

The next day, Masashi returns home from a visit to his new elementary school to find it ransacked. Suddenly, a box of chee-kama launches itself towards him. He pins it to the ground and discovers the pink creature inside, who he names Kurage-bo (Jellyfish Boy). They quickly become friends, playing soccer and practicing martial arts at a shrine. That night, Masashi dreams about eating chee-kama and talking to his dead father, who made the snack as part of his job. They are interrupted by a tsunami shimmering with unnatural colors, a single eye at its center.

On the first day of school, Masashi brings Kurage-bo in his backpack, sneaking him chee-kama when he gets hungry. To his surprise, everyone in his class has a similar companion, who they call F.R.I.E.N.D.s. (Life-Form Resonance Inner Energy Negative Emotion and Disaster Preventions) Smartphone-like devices allow them to summon and control these creatures, who emerge en masse as soon as their teacher turns around to write equations on the board. A frog-like F.R.I.E.N.D., Yupi, menaces Masashi at the whim of its owner, Tatsuya, but Kurage-bo defeats it in a fierce battle.

After school, Masashi overhears the researcher, his uncle Naoto, warning his mother than the town is dangerous. He tells Masashi a different story - that the laboratory is trying to bring happiness to the world - but asks the boy to let him know if he sees anything unusual. He spots Kurage-bo hiding in Masashi's backpack but says nothing. At work, he watches an old video of the Black-Cloaked Four claiming they've tapped into a source of life energy that will allow them to prevent natural disasters. Since this energy is strongest in children expressing negative emotions, they attempted to collect it with a magic circle, only to for the energy to form into F.R.I.E.N.D.s who bonded with the children.

While playing with Kurage-bo, Masashi comes upon a group of his classmates holding F.R.I.E.N.D. battles near the shrine. When they discover him, they menace him with their creatures until Kurage-bo intervenes, riding atop Luxor, a furry, human-sized F.R.I.E.N.D. Yupi battles Kurage-bo again, but even with the help of Juran's F.R.I.E.N.D., the rocket-powered Shimon, Masashi's monster still prevails. Luxor's human turns out to be a girl from Masashi's class, Saki. She explains to Masashi that he's the only kid in town with a F.R.I.E.N.D. but no device. She received hers after a meeting of the cult her mother joined, the Earth Salvation Society, from the Black-Cloaked Four. While Luxor is clearly the strongest F.R.I.E.N.D., she despises the fighting her classmates use the creatures for.

Saki's mother tries to drag her into an Earth Salvation Society protest against the laboratory during a festival, but Masashi pulls her away and they hide inside the mysterious structure. They discover the magic circle, which activates when Masashi steps onto it. Naoto directs him and Saki to the exit and shuts it down, but the Black-Cloaked Four have taken an interest in him.

One of Masashi's classmates overhears him talking to Saki about his uncle working at the laboratory and tells the rest of the class. After swimming lessons, one group abducts Kurage-bo and stuffs him inside a locker at a junkyard, while Tatsuya attacks Masashi with Yupi. When Saki tries to intervene, the frog accidentally knocks her unconscious. The boys are berated by their parents after a teacher discovers what they've done, Tatsuya's father even knocking him to the ground. Visiting Masashi in the hospital, a man who appears to be Naoto gives him a device. As the Earth Salvation Society continues to protest in front of the laboratory, the man jumps off the roof. When Masashi's mother tells him the news, his devices activates, funneling incredible power to the magic circle.

The Black-Cloated Four dispatch tournament invitations to every device in town, offering a power-up to the victor. Tatsuya and Juran find themselves facing Koh, an orphan who hacked characters from a fighting game into his device, with the magic circle as the arena. He calls upon Ko2, an anime woman who completely outclasses Yupi and Shimon. Though despondent at Naoto's death and Kurage-bo's disappearance, Masashi agrees to help Saki try and stop the fighting. As they reach the laboratory, lightning bursts out of the roof and strikes a nearby building. Luxor blocks debris from hitting bystanders. After dispatching Yupi and Shimon, Ko2 trains her fire on their owners, but Masashi pushes them out of the way. Tatsuya apologizes and they agree to work together. Koh climbs up some scaffolding, followed by Tatsuya and Juran, while the fake Naoto, revealed to be a F.R.I.E.N.D., pins Masashi to the magic circle. His cry for help revives Kurage-bo, who rockets to his rescue, tackling the fake Naoto. The fake crashes through the door to the room where the Four were holding the real Naoto. Kurage-bo takes on Ko2 while Naoto battles his copy. Both malevolent F.R.I.E.N.D.s seize the upper hand while the magic circle continues drawing power from Masashi with bolts of lightning. The same monster the Four briefly summoned on Kurage-bo's first night begins to take form again. Koh falls from the scaffolding, but the other boys catch him. He instructs Ko2 to turn her attention to the fake Naoto, who she throws into the monster's jaws. The monster shoots out of the laboratory, then crashes back down onto it, taking on a kaiju-sized physical form: Oval. The Four are delighted, calling him a F.R.I.E.N.D. that will change Japan through destruction. They flee, with one grabbing Masashi's device.

As the rest of the populace flees, Saki's mother reverentially walks towards Oval, believing him to be the answer to the Earth Salvation Society's prayers. Naoto asks Koh to connect his hacked device to the Four's computers to determine Oval's weakness. As the monster crashes down, Saki saves her mother with Luxor, only for it to walk off with her as a metal barrier becomes caught in its teeth. Tatsuya calls one of his classmates, Manato, at school, and convinces him to lead an attack on Oval with all the school's F.R.I.E.N.D.s. With coordinated charges, they irritate Oval enough for him to drop Saki. Held aloft by Kurage-bo, Masashi catches her, and she summons Luxor to break their fall.

Koh completes his analysis: Oval's weak point is the gem on the tip of his snout, the manifestation of all the childrens' negative emotions. Naoto cautions the kids that destroying Oval will likely mean the loss of their F.R.I.E.N.D.s., but they press on. As the rest of the class makes a final push, Kurage-bo flies Masashi to the gem, which he stabs with a metal pole. The cracked gem consumes Oval and the rest of the F.R.I.E.N.D.s, even Kurage-bo, who slips from Masashi's grasp. But as Masashi and Saki weep, Koh uses his device to revive all of the childrens' F.R.I.E.N.D.s, who rush to embrace them.

Watching from a distance, the Black-Cloaked Four withdraw, the data from Masashi's device in hand.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Takashi Murakami
  • Written by   Jun Tsugita, Yoshihiro Nishimura
  • Based on a story by   Takashi Murakami
  • Produced by   Mana Fukui, Chiaki Kasahara, Yoshihiro Nishimura
  • Executive producer   Takashi Murakami
  • Music by   kz, Yoshihiro Ike
  • Cinematography by   Yasutaka Nagano
  • Edited by   Yoshihiro Nishimura
  • Production design by   Nori Fukuda
  • Assistant director   Jun Shiozaki
  • Special effects by   Kiyotaka Taguchi, Tsuyoshi Kazuno

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Takuto Sueoka   as   Masashi Kusakabe
  • Himeka Asami   as   Saki Amamiya
  • Asuka Kurosawa   as   Shizuko Amamiya
  • Kanji Tsuda   as   Tatsuo Kusakabe
  • Mayu Tsuruta   as   Yasuko Kusakabe
  • Takumi Saito   as   Naoto Kozuka
  • Masataka Kubota   as   Blue Dragon
  • Shota Sometani   as   White Tiger
  • Hidemasa Shiozawa   as   Black Tortoise
  • Ami Ikenaga   as   Vermilion Bird
  • Takehiro Otsuki   as   Tatsuya Kodaira
  • Taiki Negishi   as   Juran Sagara
  • Arata Ishikawa   as   Koh Nakagawa
  • Masaya Fukumoto   as   Manato Hayashi
  • Wataru Murakami   as   Toshida
  • Eihi Shiina   as   Homeroom teacher
  • Shoichiro Masumoto   as   Mr. Sasaki
  • Kentaro Shimazu   as   Vice-principal
  • Kentaro Kishi   as   Ichiro Kodaira
  • Umi Yamano, Shin Ikeda, Makishi Suzu   as   Cultists
  • Naoki Haga   as   Akira Shibata
  • Tensei Matsuoka   as   Ryo Kokubo
  • Kakeru Yoshida   as   Yusuke Kuwano
  • Ruka Uchida   as   Hayato Yokosaka
  • Keiya Inada   as   Shingo Noguchi
  • Kazuki Hashimoto   as   Kazuya Hara
  • Ami Fujii   as   Hisako Sawano
  • Miyu Takagi   as   Kumiko Okada
  • Mofuku-chan with Denpa Gumi.inc   as   Idol singers
  • Flamingo   as   Performance group
  • Shofukutei Riko   as   Rakugo performer
  • Arata Yamanaka   as   Manato's father
  • Ikuko Tsuruoka   as   Akira's mother
  • Nami Miura   as   Ryo's mother
  • Mieko Ishikura   as   Yusuke's mother
  • Masaki Hayashi   as   Naoto's body double
  • Akiko Yajima   as   Kurage-bo (voice)
  • Houko Kuwashima   as   Ko2 (voice)
  • Arata Yamanaka   as   Luxor[1]

Appearances

Monsters

  • Kurage-bo
  • Yupi
  • Shimon
  • Luxor
  • Ko2
  • Oval
  • Naoto's body double
  • Megarocco
  • Pyonyon-Pyonyon
  • Isochuck[1]
  • Pochi[1]
  • Johnny[1]
  • Tyranno-chan[1]
  • Shiran
  • Hayao
  • Karakassan
  • Ukki
  • Ebisuke
  • Lamp
  • Momoi
  • Big Arm
  • Shingo-kun
  • Onigawaran
  • Joro-kun
  • Kurukururun
  • Nufkin-kun
  • Kagero-kun
  • Hula-Hula
  • Jerachinpon
  • Yu-Yuren
  • Igaigarin
  • Fantasman
  • Dozens of other unnamed F.R.I.E.N.D.S.


Weapons, Vehicles, and Races

  • Black-Cloaked Four
  • Devices
  • Magic Circle
  • Negative Energy
  • Power-up Item


Development

Contemporary artist Takashi Murakami originally conceived of Jellyfish Eyes as a computer-animated film.[2] Shortly after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, he solidified plans to work on a live-action film with horror director Yoshihiro Nishimura, who would ultimately serve as a co-writer, editor, and producer. With Murakami funding the film through his company Kaikai Kiki Co., he would enjoy total creative control.[3] Ideas for a low-budget horror movie with a subplot about a nuclear power plant gave way to making a live-action version of Jellyfish Eyes. Murakami cited the early entries in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Series, which aired during his childhood, as inspiration: "Society becomes warped and then a monster appears, either to wreak havoc or to wipe society away. Perhaps the monster appears because society is warped, or perhaps the other way around." Over 100 F.R.I.E.N.D.s were designed over the course of three months, with Studio Higemegane making the suits for Oval and Luxor and maquettes for the other major creatures. Murakami decided to incorporate his well-known 1997 sculpture "Miss Ko2" into the film as well. The Black-Cloaked Four were based on Mephisto from the manga Akuma-kun.

Production

Due to the large number of child actors involved, principal photography on Jellyfish Eyes took place in the summer of 2011, when they were on vacation.[2]

Gallery

Main article: Jellyfish Eyes/Gallery.

Theatrical releases

  • United States - April 8, 2013
  • Japan - April 23, 2013
  • Spain - October 12, 2013 (Sitges Film Festival)
  • Canada - July 20, 2014 (Fantasia International Film Festival)
  • Mexico - November 14, 2014 (Morbido Film Fest)
  • Argentina - April 18, 2015 (Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema)
  • Poland - November 19, 2016 (Five Flavours Film Festival)

U.S. release

Jellyfish Eyes toured six American art museums, with screenings from May 25, 2014, to June 5. The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray the following year.

Reception

Jellyfish Eyes has a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews.[4]

Video releases

Toho Blu-ray (2014)

  • Region: Unknown
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (5.1)
  • Subtitles: Unknown
  • Special features: Unknown

Criterion DVD/Blu-ray (2015)

  • Region: 1 (DVD) or A/1 (Blu-ray)
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (5.1)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Special features: Leaflet, Jellyfish Eyes Part 2 trailer, interview with director Takashi Murakami (23 minutes), Making F.R.I.E.N.D.s behind-the-scenes featurette (16 minutes), Takashi Murakami: The Art of Film behind-the-scenes featurette (40 minutes)

Unfinished sequel

Main article: Jellyfish Eyes Part 2.

Videos

Japanese Jellyfish Eyes teaser
American Jellyfish Eyes trailer
Takashi Murakami Q&A session following a screening of the film
Takashi Murakami interview by Creators
"Last Night, Good Night (Re:Dialed)" music video

Trivia

  • The title Jellyfish Eyes comes from a misprint in a famous manga by Yoshiharu Tsuge, "Screw Style." It furthers a favorite theme of Murakami's: that "misinterpretation, misunderstanding, produces something new and interesting. As the title for my first film—because I didn’t have any idea what I was making, where it was going—I wanted the title to be something that can be anything."[5] He first used Jellyfish Eyes as the title of a piece in 2002.[6]

External Links

References

This is a list of references for Jellyfish Eyes. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 How I Was Forced to Abandon the Production of Jellyfish Eyes Part 2 (Part 3)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Takashi Murakami interview included on Criterion's Jellyfish Eyes Blu-ray and DVD.
  3. Takashi Murakami: The Art of Film featurette included on Criterion's Jellyfish Eyes Blu-ray and DVD.
  4. "Jellyfish Eyes (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. Vogue - Is Takashi Murakami's Kids' Movie Jellyfish Eyes Also an Art Film?
  6. MCA - Collection: Takashi Murakami, Jellyfish Eyes, 2002

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