Last year, Shinichiro Ueda made Japanese film history with "One Cut of the Dead," a zombie comedy he scripted and directed. Opening in just two Tokyo theaters in June, 2018, the film ended up earning ¥3.21 billion — or more than 1,000 times its ¥3 million budget.
Expectations are accordingly high for Ueda's follow-up, "Aesop's Game," a comedy he co-directed with Naoya Asanuma and Yuya Nakaizumi. This trio also contributed segments to the 2015 anthology film "Neko Bun No. 4."
All three were on the set of the "Aesop's Game" shoot, taking turns in the director's chair. This, to put it mildly, is not often done in the hierarchical Japanese film industry, where the director (or rather "one director") is king. The result is not a farrago, however.