I’m an independent filmmaker and puppeteer in Toronto, Canada who blogs about puppetry and film.
It's been awhile since we've checked in with Kasou Taishou, the awesome twice-annual Japanese game show/competition where people complete against each other by staging skits with outrageous props, costumes and puppets. Here's a look at some of the best skits from the latest installment of...
I love simple, beautiful, life-like puppetry. Kawasemiza - a Japanese puppetry company that tours internationally - seems to do a lot of that....
The latest edition of Kasou Taisho aired in Japan recently and as usual, there were a lot of interesting and innovative skits to be...
Who doesn't love Batman? Some fantastic work from Kasou...
Osamu Tezuka famously created Astro Boy. Less well known is his work in live action, specifically the 1960s Japanese puppet sci-fi series Galaxy Boy...
Kasou Taishou – a semi-annual competition with skits that frequently involve Bunraku-style puppetry- aired in Japan Wednesday night. The latest Kasou Taishou special aired in Japan tonight which, in Japan, is already yesterday (it’s like they live permanently in the future!). Here are some of the best entries: This was the winning entry, a cartoony...
This commercial is another interesting (odd?) use of puppetry from Japan. Badly performed puppets starring in a commercial for zero calorie gelatin in Japan (I have no idea). Via Japan...
Bunraku puppets are used to sell bug killer in Japan. When trying to invent ways to sell bug killer I’m not sure that Bunraku puppets would be the first thing to jump in to my head. Then again, I don’t live in...
Yet another cool puppet video from the land of the rising sun. I seem to be discovering a lot of Japanese stuff lately for no reason other than Japan is a really, really creative place. The latest is this video for a Japanese band called Sour. The music doesn’t do much for me, but it’s...
Neko Rahmen Taisho is a feature film based on a popular Japanese comic/animation property. Neko Rahmen is a popular Japanese anime series and manga about a cat named Taishou who runs a ramen shop. It’s being adapted in to a Japanese feature film with Taishou being realized as a puppet. If you check out the...
Super Mario gets the Kasou Taisho treatment. OK, this is pretty awesome. I’m not entirely sure, but I assume this is from a recent Kasou Taishou (see previous...