Kenji Tanigaki, the “action engineer“ (Action Talks #6)

Kenji Tanigaki (谷垣健治) is a Japanese action designer whose work includes Sha Po Lang, Flashpoint, the Rurouni Kenshin series, and Sakra. He talks about Japanese stunt history, the difference between Japanese and Hong Kong action, how he got his start in Hong Kong working with Donnie Yen, the difficulties of working in Japan on action films, and how his action design process has changed over time. You can see his IMDB here: 0:00:50 Intro 0:01:32 Working in HK 0:04:29 N vs S Chinese language 0:06:15 Cantonese sounds 0:07:44 Work in Japan 0:10:05 Kurata’s style not accepted in JP 0:10:29 Kabuki movement style 0:13:03 Bruce Lee 0:13:25 Beijing Canto opera 0:14:27 HK stuntmen first learning reactions 0:15:46 Japanese action teams’ reaction to HK action 0:17:35 JP influence he brought 0:19:19 American wires coming from HK 0:20:00 First working with Donnie 0:22:48 Donnie Yen’s response to the action essay 0:23:10 Working on SPL 0:26:12 Working on Flashpoint 0:29:06 Hong Kong influence in Rurouni Kenshin 0:34:19 Rubber Punch 0:35:34 Response to Kenshin from the Japanese action community 0:38:38 Choreographed Unchoreographed 0:40:43 HK vs American vs JP fight motivations 0:41:53 The future of Japanese action 0:43:17 Hiroyuki Sanada’s Unique Style 0:46:06 Why Japan didn’t make Karate movies during the Chambara era 0:47:43 Sonny Chiba’s Chambara Action Style 0:48:19 HK vs. JP vs. US style of movement 0:49:33 Takeshi Kitano and “dead air“, or “ma“ 0:51:22 What Shintaro Katsu told Bruce Lee 0:52:29 Real swordplay influence in Japanese action 0:55:39 Lineage of Japanese Action 0:57:24 Junya Takagi and the Japan Action Club aesthetic 0:58:43 Kensuke Sonomura and Hydra 0:59:59 Rurouni Kenshin’s crazy production schedule 1:01:27 Kowloon Walled In & Sammo Hung 1:02:06 Kurata’s Views on Sammo’s Filmmaking 1:02:58 Coverage-style shooting 1:03:35 Donnie’s non-coverage shooting style 1:04:16 How Donnie gets his way in American films 1:05:26 Shooting Snake Eyes and working in America 1:06:57 American vs Japanese stunt team methods 1:07:40 American stunt acting is top notch 1:08:42 Actors doing good fight reactions 1:10:30 Origin of the SPL knife gag 1:10:41 Sakra 1:12:02 Kenji’s action goals in Sakra 1:13:41 Thoughts on the wuxia genre 1:18:06 Destruction in Kenji’s choreography 1:20:20 Propwork in Sakra 1:21:41 Storytelling in Sakra’s fight scenes 1:22:00 Sakra’s complex wire gags 1:24:19 Donnie’s character in Sakra 1:27:25 How Kenji thinks about violence 1:28:54 How Kenji does huge wire gags 1:31:09 The biggest challenge when doing Sakra 1:32:31 Sakra’s production schedule 1:35:00 What the Japanese action industry needs 1:36:12 How Kenji stays healthy while working overseas