Mikadroid

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox film | name = Mikadroid | image = Mikadroid film DVD cover (1991).jpg | caption = Film poster | director = Tomoo Haraguchi | producer = {{plainlist|*Haruo Sai *Akira Tsuburaya *Kazumasa Shimoizaka *Kenji Nagai }} | writer = {{plainlist|*Tomoo Haraguchi *Junki Takegami<ref name="allcinema">{{cite web |title=Mikadroid (1991) |url=https://www-allcinema-net.translate.goog/cinema/86199?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en |website=allcinema.net |access-date=9 February 2026}}</ref> }} | starring = {{plainlist|*Yoriko Dōguchi *Tomonori Yoshida *Hiroshi Atsumi }} | music = Kenji Kawai<ref name="allcinema" /><ref name="Dread Central">{{cite web |last1=Pomales-Diaz |first1=Luis |title=Why ‘Mikadroid’ is the Bloody, Bizarre Trip You Need to See |date=October 11, 2023 |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/462648/why-mikadroid-is-the-bloody-bizarre-trip-you-need-to-see/ |website=dreadcentral.com |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> | cinematography = Yousuke Mamiya<ref name="allcinema" /> | editing = Ryuichi Takano | studio = {{plainlist|*Toho *Tohokushinsha *Tsuburaya Video<ref name="allcinema" /> }} | distributor = Toho Video<ref name="allcinema" /> | released = {{Film date|df=yes|1991|11|8|Japan}}<ref name="allcinema" /> | runtime = 73 minutes<ref name="allcinema" /><ref name="Dread Central" /> | country = Japan | language = {{plainlist|*Japanese *English }} | budget = ¥50 million<ref name="Toho Kingdom 2">{{cite web |title=Mikadroid |url=https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/mikadroid.htm |website=tohokingdom.com |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> }} {{nihongo|'''''Mikadroid'''''|ミカドロイド|Mikadoroido|lead=yes}}, also known as '''''Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Disco Club Layla''''',<ref name="Infinimata">{{cite web |last1=Yegulalp |first1=Serdar |title=Movies: Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla |date=November 11, 2006 |url=https://infinimata.com/2006/11/mikadroid-robokill-beneath-dis.html |website=infinimata.com |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> is a 1991 Japanese tokusatsu<ref name="Dread Central" /> science fiction horror film co-produced by Toho, Tohokushinsha, and Tsuburaya Video,<ref name="allcinema" /> and directed by Tomoo Haraguchi in his directorial debut.<ref name="Toho Kingdom">{{cite web |last1=Carrozza |first1=J.L. |title=Review: Mikadroid (1991) |date=November 24, 2006 |url=https://www.tohokingdom.com/reviews/carrozza/mikadroid.htm |website=tohokingdom.com |access-date=9 February 2026}}</ref> Shinji Higuchi contributed to the film's special effects,<ref name="allcinema" /><ref name="Dread Central" /><ref name="Toho Kingdom" /> while Akio Jissoji assisted the production as a supervisor.<ref name="allcinema" /> The film was released to Japanese home video on 8 November 1991.<ref name="allcinema" /><ref name="Infinimata" />

==Synopsis== During World War II, the Japanese military established a secret underground laboratory in Tokyo. Three Olympic-level athletes were selected to undergo a process that would turn them into Jinra-go, superhuman armored soldiers. By March 1945, one of the soldiers had been completely transformed into the half-man/half-machine ultimate soldier called Mikadroid. But American B-29s firebomb the city and, while the two super soldiers manage to escape, Mikadroid and the lab are apparently destroyed. 45 years pass, Tokyo is rebuilt, and old secrets are forgotten. The site is now home to a complex that includes the Discoclub Layla. The disco's patrons dance late into the night, unaware that a faulty basement generator has reactivated Mikadroid and the cyborg now prowls the basement levels, killing anyone in its path.

==Cast== {{cast listing| *Yoriko Dōguchi as Saiko *Tomonori Yoshida as Tomita *Hiroshi Atsumi as Okazaki *Takuya Tsuda as Riju *Kenji Hayami as Kitami *Masako Takeda as Noriko *Masatō Ibu as Doctor *Kiyoshi Kurosawa as Military Police Officer A *Kaizo Hayashi as Military Police Officer B *Makoto Tezuka as Military Police Officer C (credited as Macoto Tezuka) *Sandayū Dokumamushi as Security Guard *Hurricane Ryu as Jinra *Kenichirou Sagaki as Phone (voice only) *Masao Fukazawa (credited as "Little Man" Machan) *Kimihide Mitsumasu *Leo Morimoto }}

==Production== Originally, the project was titled ''Mikado Zombie''<ref name="Toho Kingdom 2" /><ref name="Infinimata" /> and revolved around an undead Imperial Japanese soldier.<ref name="Infinimata" /><ref name="Toho Kingdom" /> Director Haraguchi changed the premise to be about a killer cyborg instead, in the wake of Tsutomu Miyazaki's killing spree and the controversy surrounding his large collection of horror films.<ref name="Infinimata" /><ref name="Toho Kingdom" />

''Mikadroid'' was shot on 16 mm film.<ref name="Infinimata" />

This film marks the first time that Shinji Higuchi was credited as a special effects director. In an interview, Higuchi recalled: "When the director, Mr. Tomoo Haraguchi, asked me to do special effects, I asked him to let me call myself a 'special effects director' as a condition. 'Special effects director' was what Mr. Eiji Tsuburaya called himself. [...] After thinking about a way to call myself a 'director,' I decided on 'special effects director,' a title that no one had taken for a long time. At the time, it was coming from a lighthearted place, and I thought I could just call myself what I wanted. No one has ever complained."<ref name="Higuchi book">{{cite book |last1=Higuchi |first1=Shinji |title=Shinji Higuchi Special Effect's Field Notes: Visual Plans and Sketches |date=18 December 2022 |publisher=PIE International Inc. |location=Tōkyō |isbn=978-4-7562-5305-7 |pages=606-609 |edition=Shohan}}</ref>

==Release== Toho Video released ''Mikadroid'' straight to VHS on 8 November 1991. It was the first direct-to-video production on the company's short-lived "Toho Cinepack" label.<ref name="Toho Special Effects">{{cite book |title=Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works |date=28 September 2012 |publisher=villagebooks |isbn=4-864-91013-8 |pages=228-230}}</ref> Toho later released a DVD of the film on 11 November 2002.

Discotek Media released a Region 1 DVD with English subtitles in 2006.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0227055}} *[https://archive.today/20130411212122/http://www.subtitledonline.com/reviews/mikadroid-robokill-beneath-disco-club-layla ''Mikadroid'' review] at [http://www.subtitledonline.com subtitledonline.com]

Category:1991 films Category:1991 Japanese-language films Category:Films scored by Kenji Kawai Category:Toho films Category:Tsuburaya Productions Category:1991 Japanese films Category:Films set in 1945 Category:Films set in Tokyo Category:1991 science fiction films Category:Superhero horror films Category:Supervillain films