Takeshi Kimura

Takeshi Kimura
Born
Kaoru Mabuchi

February 4, 1911[1]
Osaka, Japan[2]
DiedJanuary, 1988 (age 76)[2]
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1953–1971

Kaoru Mabuchi (馬淵 薫, Mabuchi Kaoru, February 4, 1911[1] – January 1988[3]), also known by his pen name Takeshi Kimura (木村 武, Kimura Takeshi),[1][2][4] was a Japanese screenwriter who wrote many films for Toho studios. Kimura scripted several films for director Ishirō Honda, including Matango, Frankenstein vs. Baragon, The War of the Gargantuas, King Kong Escapes, and Destroy All Monsters. He was a member of the Japanese Communist Party whose screenplays often included political themes. His scripts are frequently contrasted with those written by Shinichi Sekizawa, whose scripts for kaiju films typically had a more lightweight, "fun" tone.

Kimura considered the screenplay for Ishirō Honda's Matango to be his best work, and he considered all of his scripts from Frankenstein Conquers the World onward to be merely work for hire.

Kimura was known for having a dark and gloomy personality, and he was reportedly never very close to any of his fellow Toho employees. He died from a throat obstruction in his Tokyo apartment in 1988.

  1. ^ a b c Tanaka, Tomoyuki (1983). 東宝特撮映画全史 [The Complete History of Toho Special Effects Movies] (in Japanese). Toho Publishing. p. 540. ISBN 4-924609-00-5.
  2. ^ a b c "馬淵薫(まぶちかおる)の解説 - goo人名事典". goo辞書 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  3. ^ Takeshi Kimura. WorldCat. Retrieved 28 Oct 2024.
  4. ^ Iwabatake, Toshiaki (1 September 1994). ゴジラ大全集 : 誕生 40周年記念 [TV Magazine Special Edition 40th Anniversary of the Birth of Godzilla Complete Works] (in Japanese). Kodansha. p. 64. ISBN 4-06-178417-X.