HAUSU director Nobuhiko Obayashi’s collaboration with the film division of the mega-publisher Kadokawa ushered in a vibrant era of Japanese cinema, where pop collided with avant-garde experimentation. Operating under Kadokawa’s signature strategy — adapting original novels into films paired with theme songs performed by the pop idols who starred in them — Obayashi seamlessly infused his surreal personal vision. Through a distinctive blend of nostalgia, anti-war themes, and dreamlike imagery, he transformed mass-market projects into poetic, idiosyncratic art, solidifying his status as a subversive outsider working within the studio system.
