Shinsuke Sato

A core fantasy film that betrays Production I.G's struggles with full-CG animation, but makes up for that with excellent art direction and bucketloads of creativity.

Sato worked himself up to become one of the better commercial directors of Japan. His films are rarely masterpiece material, but if you're looking for some fun, well-made blockbuster nonsense he's your man. Inuyashiki is pretty rad, entertaining and properly executed, everything a good blockbuster should be.

A fine romantic drama. The first half is really sweet and endearing, only to turn more dark and brooding during the second part. Rural Japan is the perfect setting for this story, the actors do a decent job and Sato's direction is on point. Not quite subtle enough to be a real masterpiece, but pleasant and solid filler nonetheless.

Sato has worked himself up as one of the leading blockbuster directors of Japan. Kingdom underlines that reputation. A fun and well-made film that features a couple of impressive action scenes, but is held back by a lackluster middle part and the lack of something definite that could set it apart from its peers.

Amusing manga/anime adaptation. Shinsuke Sato is a veteran director who has no problem handling material like this. The characters, the drama and the action is a bit too hip and middle of the road for my taste, but production values are pretty good and there's no time to get bored. Just a bit of mindless fun.

A retelling of the first film, but from a slightly different perspective. We follow an investigative reporter who is on the tail of the Gantz heroes. The film rehashes some scenes from the first film but provides enough unique material to warrant its existence. A nice addition to the Gantz universe, but nothing too special.

A blockbuster that didn't need a sequel, but here we are. Sato returns as director and we're off for another two hours of battlefield-set action cinema. It sounds exciting enough, but there's way too much (generic) character drama for a film like this, no doubt the result of its manga roots.

Sato's film is the best in the franchise, but for someone who never got the appeal of Death Note the excessive lore is just a bit too much. It's all supposed to be very epic and intricate, but the result is just convoluted and sentimental. This franchise deserved a lighter, more horror-oriented adaptation, but clearly that was never in the cards.

Early Sato. The ambition is clear, sadly the talent and budget weren't quite there yet. Not that Cosmic Rescue is a complete disaster, but this Cowboy Bebop-inspired tale struggles to bring its sci-fi setting to life. That's not an easy thing to do on a shoestring budget and many have failed before, even so, a slightly more serious approach would've worked better here.

Sato's third entry in the series, and by now I feel like he's wasting his time with this one. And it may not even be the final one either, judging the mid-credit scene. Japan doesn't seem all that fit to make these kinds of war spectacles, certainly not when they slap on a slightly more serious tone.

Silly film that never really finds its footing. It's surprising considering Shinsuke Sato's talents, but Library Wars never gets the balance between its more serious premise and the silly, almost childish execution right. Apart from the interesting starting point, there just aren't any redeeming qualities.