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Isao Yukisada

Isao Yukisada

Director, writer and producer · Born August 3, 1968 (58) · Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Isao Yukisada (行定 勲, Yukisada Isao, born August 3, 1968) is a Japanese film director from Kumamoto. He served as assistant director on Shunji Iwai's Love Letter, April Story, and Swallowtail Butterfly.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 3, 1968 (58)
From
Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 55 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Up 60% in 30 days

What are Isao Yukisada's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
31%
Survival
26%
Society
19%
Bonds
12%
Morality
6%
Ideas
6%
Identity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 6

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 7 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
7
Dread
3
Contemplative
4
Tense
2
Cold
1
Other
8

How their films linger

Haunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet6
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Isao Yukisada's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Isao Yukisada's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

55 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.

  • Kaede (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Director

  • Perfect Family (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Show 12 episodes · Director

  • Revolver Lily(2023)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Side By Side (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • In Her Room (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • BiSH presents PCR is PAiPAi CHiNCHiN ROCK'N'ROLL (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • The Day of Destruction(2020)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • Theater(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • That Moment, My Heart Cried (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • Utsukushii hito saba? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Screenplay

  • River's Edge(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Narratage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • Aroused by Gymnopedies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Writer

  • Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • The Gift of Memory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Pink and Gray (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Heisei Saru Kani Kassenzu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Show 6 episodes · Director

  • Five Minutes to Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • The Round Table (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Before the Vigil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Screenplay

  • The Party is Over (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Show 5 episodes · Director

  • Camellia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Women Play Twice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Parade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Screenplay

  • A Good Husband (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • Crime or Punishment?!? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    as Magazine editor

  • The World According to Chocolat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Closed Note (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Into the Faraway Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Writer

  • Yubisaki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director · Writer

  • Spring Snow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Kita no zeronen(2005)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Crying Out Love in the Center of the World(2004)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • A Day on the Planet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Writer

  • Seventh Anniversary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • Jam Films(2002)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Sinking into the Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director · Writer

  • Rock'n'Roll Mishin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director · Screenplay

  • The Private Detective Mike (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Writer

  • Go(2001)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Luxurious Bone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Enclosed Pain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Writer

  • Sunflower (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Open House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Screenplay

  • April Story(1998)

    Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Swallowtail Butterfly(1996)

    Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Flirt(1995)

    First Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Tokyo Skin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Producer

  • Love Letter(1995)

    Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Stairway to the Distant Past (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Assistant Director

  • The Most Terrible Time in My Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Assistant Director

  • Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Assistant Director

  • Ghost Soup (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Assistant Director

  • つばき、時跳び (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 55 titles, 54 of them dated from 1992 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (2004)

$75M worldwide

Highest rated

Go (2001)

Midcredits 91st

Most popular right now

River's Edge (2018)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 55: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting42 of 55: 22 only directing, 20 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thWriting20 of 55: 0 only writing, 20 with another roleProducing5 of 55: 4 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew8 of 55: 8 only other crew, 0 with another role

55 titles, 20 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 20 of them.

By decade

1990s10 · crew2000s19 · 1 acting · 18 crew2010s16 · crew2020s9 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Isao Yukisada's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · director

Kita no zeronen (2005)

70th percentile spread · 18% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Go (2001)

Midcredits 91st · 78% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Isao Yukisada work with?

People who share at least 2 of Isao Yukisada's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tsuyoshi Imai shares the most, 3.

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Mixed roles