by: Chris Eaton
I’ve seen three Sushi Typhoon titles so far. All have been jolly good fun. Hell, one was down right brilliant. Karate Robo Zaborgar. The problem is, all of these films sans Alien vs Ninja have been released state side. See, Sushi Typhoon had a deal with Funimation to release their films. Funimation released AvN and then.. just kinda sat on the deal. There was much commotion as to what the hold up was. No real answer was given.
That was last year.
Since their announcement at Comic Con last year, Sushi Typhoon has gone and made a swath of films. The Funimation deal seems to have expired and they were free to look else where to find a distributor. They have found one in WellGo USA. WellGo has released many foreign features such as Ip Man 1 and 2, Man from Nowhere, and several other equally as awesome Asian cinema. They have Sushi Typhoon’s titles and planes are for an immideate release starting in the next few months till next year.
Read this press release to learn more!
From the Press Release
Well Go USA has acquired DVD, Digital, VOD and Television rights for the North American market to Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon, Deadball and Karate-Robo Zaborgar from Nikkatsu Corporation’s leading genre film label, The Sushi Typhoon. Launched in 2010, The Sushi Typhoon was created by Producer Yoshinori Chiba and aims to bring the best talent from Japanese cult cinema to worldwide audiences. Well Go plans to make its initial rollout on VOD, DVD and Blu-ray starting in fall 2011.“We are very excited to have secured rights to these ‘neo action gore’ titles, a genre which has seen tremendous growth here in the US and has such passionate and dedicated fans,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President Well Go USA Entertainment. “We continue to look for interesting and compelling product from Asia to introduce to the North American market.”
“Nikkatsu Corporation is so delighted to have built up a solid business tie with Well Go USA to release The Sushi Typhoon titles in the US market,” said Akifumi Sugihara, Executive Producer of The Sushi Typhoon. “We are more than certain that our strongest partner Well Go USA will leave no stone unturned through all media to deliver our product to those consumers who are so covetous of powerful and highly thrilling entertainment.”
About the films
Karate-Robo Zaborgar and Yakuza Weapon recently screened at the New York Asian Film Festival and will next be screened at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, the Puchon Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea, and events around the world throughout the summer and fall. Karate-Robo Zaborgar, written and directed by Noboru Iguchi, stars Itsuji Itao, Yasuhisa Furuhara and Akira Emoto. Karate-Robo Zaborgar is a hilariously over-the-top tribute to the transforming robots of 1970’s Japanese television, and an exciting action/comedy that will stir the heart of anyone who longs for justice dispensed at the short end of a swift robot karate kick! The film had its World Premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.Yakuza Weapon, co-directed by Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi, is a wild combination of hard-boiled gangster action, manga-style comedy and splatterific special effects. The film stars Tak Sakaguchi, Shingo Tsurumi, Mei Kurokawa, Akaji Maro and Jun Murakami.
Helldriver, written, character designed, edited and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura, is an epic, apocalyptic road movie featuring non-stop action and over-the-top splatter. Starring Yumiko Hara, Eihi Shiina, Kazuki Namioka, Yurei Yanagi, Minoru Torihada and Guadalcanal Taka, Helldriver is Nishimura’s bid to create the ultimate zombie film. It had its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin and is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray in early November 2011.
Mutant Girls Squad was directed by Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi, who have joined forces to bring three times the heart-pounding action, three times the jaw-dropping comedy and three times the head-exploding splatter of your average action/horror/comedy! It’s a three-times-larger Mutant Action Extravaganza starring Yumi Sugimoto, Yuko Takayama, Suzuka Morita, and Naoto Takenaka.
The hilariously offensive, politically incorrect sports splatter comedy Deadball is director Yudai Yamaguchi’s follow-up to his earlier zombie baseball classic Battlefield Baseball, and once again features action star Tak Sakaguchi, along with Mari Hoshino, Mickey Curtis, Koichi Yamadera and Ryosei Tayama. A riotous, over-the-top epic of excess, Deadball is the movie for the psycho sports fan in all of us. The film received its World Premiere on July 15, 2011 at Fantasia International Film Festival.