Kenichi Matsuyama

Kenichi Matsuyama

Birth : 1985-03-05, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

History

Kenichi Matsuyama (松山 ケンイチ, Matsuyama Ken'ichi, born March 5, 1985) is a Japanese actor. He is known for his affinity for strange character roles, and he is best known internationally for playing L in the 2006 films Death Note, Death Note 2: The Last Name and L: Change the World in 2008, as well as voicing Gelus in the Death Note animated adaptation. He was cast to play lead character Toru Watanabe in the film adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood, which was released in December 2010.

Profile

Kenichi Matsuyama
Kenichi Matsuyama
Kenichi Matsuyama
Kenichi Matsuyama

Movies

Do Unto Others
Munenori Shiba
Dreaming of the Meridian Arc
In the present day, the local government of Katori City is in the process of sponsoring a taiga drama about its famous historical figure Tadataka Ino, who is known for being the first person to make a map of Japan in 1821. During the process of of making the drama series, a surprising fact is discovered about the first map. That fact is that Tadataka Ino was not the person who made the first Japanese map.
Noise
Jun Tanabe
Shishikari is a remote island, which is behind the times. The island suffers from a decreasing population and declining industries. Keita Izumi (Tatsuya Fujiwara) begins to produce black fig on Shishikari Island. Because of his well received product, the island is close to receiving a 5 billion yen grant from the government, which is part of the goverment's policy to reinvigorate rural economy. The residents of the island are excited, but their peaceful days changes by the appearance of Mutsuo Komisaka. Keita Izumi and his friends Jun Tanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) and Rookie Police Officer Shinichiro Moriya are suspicious about him. One night, Keita Izumi's daughter goes missing. Due to that, Keita Izumi, Jun Tanabe and Shinichiro Moriya happen to kill Mutsuo Komisaka. They decide to hide Mutsuo Komisaka’s murder to protect the future of the island and their families. It turns out Mutsuo Komisaka was a psycho killer. Police officers come to Shishikari Island to catch Mutsuo Komisaka.
Riverside Mukolitta
Takeshi Yamada
A lonely young man moves in a 50-year-old apartment building. When he meets the cheerful residents, he finds himself surrounded by small happiness.
BLUE
Nobuto Urita
Nobuto Urita is a boxer, who loves his sport more than anything. No matter how hard he tries, Nobuto Urita keeps losing his matches. Meanwhile, Kazuki Ogawa spars with Nobuto Urita at the same gym. He is a boxer with elite talent and skills. Unlike Nobuto Urita, Kazuki Ogawa will likely win a championship. Kazuki Ogawa is also engaged to Chika Amano. She is a childhood friend of Nobuto Urita and also his first love.
Brave: Gunjyo Senki
Nobunaga Oda
Students, including Aoi Nishino, take part in class and sports activity at a prestigious high school. Aoi Nishino is a member of the school's archery club. He practices archery studiously and doesn't socialize much with the other students. His childhood friend Haruka Seno is also a member of the archery club, but she worries about Aoi Nishino. One day, thunder strikes the school grounds. After that, the ordinary lives of the students changes drastically. Many samurai descend on the school grounds. It appears that the entire school has traveled back in time to the Sengoku period. Making things worse, they realize that they are in the time right before the Battle of Okehazama takes place.
Hotel Royal
Satoshi Miyagawa
Set at the Hotel Royal, situated in the marshland of Hokkaido, Japan, and follows the guests, the family that runs the hotel, and the hotel's staff. Masayo Tanaka is the only child of the family that runs Hotel Royal. She failed to enter an arts school and she now works at the hotel. She does not show her emotions to anyone.
Mio's Cookbook
When Mio was young, she lost her parents in a great flood and also became separated from her best friend Noe. Afterwards, Mio found her talent in cooking and eventually became a cook. Meanwhile, Noe has become an oiran (high-ranking courtesan).
Saint Young Men 3
イエス
A group of saints living together in a room in Tokyo's tachikawa apartment, the awakened man Buddha and the son of god Jesus, form an effort to make jokes in order to challenge the manga. Then enjoy the first experience of the karaoke box, in order to escape the heat and enter the family restaurant to sleep for a long time, enjoy the life of the lower world.
Miyamoto
Kazuo Jinbo
Following the comic series and the subsequent television serial of the same name, and featuring the same cast, a young and relatively inexperienced man comes across a woman during his working day and sparks fly.
Saint Young Men 2nd Century
Jesus
SAINT☆YOUNG MEN 2nd Century imagines a world where Jesus Christ (Kenichi Matsuyama; Death Note) and Gautama Buddha (Shōta Sometani; Himizu) take a vacation on earth and become roommates in an apartment in Tokyo. When the two attempt to hide their identities and partake in all that modern Japanese society has to offer, including cosplay in the otaku mecca that is Akihabara, hilarious antics are sure to ensue! From shopping for rice cookers to playing the lottery, not to mention an unexpected brush with the law—this film offers a refreshing and imaginative narrative of two supreme beings’ perspectives of the mundanity of everyday life in Japan. Based on the popular slice-of-life manga SAINT☆YOUNG MEN, serialised in Japan since 2006, this comedic series of vignettes featuring Jesus and Buddha are sure to put a smile on your face.
Promare / Side: Lio
Galo Thymos (voice)
A second prequel set one day before the events of the Promare film.
Promare / Side: Galo
Galo Thymos (voice)
A prequel to Promare, set one day before the events of the film.
Promare
Galo Thymos (voice)
Galo and the Burning Rescue Fire Department face off against BURNISH, a group of mutants who are able to control and wield flames, and the fire disaster they have unleashed on Earth.
Seven Souls in the Skull Castle - Season Wind
In Japan in the 1590s, the wandering samurai gathered to fight the nobles of the Skull Castle. In the performance of the "Wind" version that is shown in the theater on a 360-degree rotating stage.
Saint Young Men
Jesus Christ
What if Jesus and Buddha were living on Earth in modern times? What if they shared an apartment in Japan? Saint☆Oniisan is a humorous drama about daily lives of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha who are living together as roommates in a Tokyo apartment while taking a vacation on Earth. The comedy often involves jokes about Christianity, Buddhism, and all things related, as well as the main characters' attempts to hide their identities and understand modern society in Japan.
Yurigokoro
Yosuke
Ryosuke has a bright future. He just opened a successful restaurant and hopes to tie the knot soon with his alluring girlfriend. But then his father declares he has pancreatic cancer and his betrothed vanishes without a trace. In his father’s belongings, he discovers a secret diary, which starts with an ominous sentence: “Without remorse, I take a life …” Ryosuke is completely spellbound and reads on, discovering that the document is actually the confession of a murderer.
Sekigahara
Naoe Kanetsugu
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow
Satoshi Murayama
Satoshi Murayama, the shogi (Japanese chess) master known as the arch-rival of Yoshiharu Habu, the shogi genius of the century, died of an intractable disease at age 29. Satoshi devoted his life to fighting not only the disease but also his rivals, feverishly pursuing the highest title, at risk to his life. Director Yoshitaka Mori (Hyakuhachi (2008), Space Brothers (2012)) depicts Murayama's true struggling life, full of love from his parents and teacher, based on the non-fiction novel written by Yoshio Osaki. Kenichi Matsuyama intensely portrays Satoshi and physically embodies the character.
Death Note: Light Up the New World
L
10 years has passed since the confrontation between Kira and L. Again, Shinigami sends death notes to the ground and due to this, the world soon falls into chaos. Tsukuru is a member of the Death Note special task force team with 6 other investigators including Matsuda who experienced the Kira case of 10 years ago. Mass murders caused by the death note takes place on Wall Street in the U.S., Shibuya in Japan and other places. World famous private investigator Ryuzaki, who is the rightful successor of L, also investigates the mass murders. They discover that 6 death notes exists in the world. A computer virus called Kira spreads in the world. A message in the Kira virus says to turn in 6 death notes. A person who has 6 death notes overwhelm the world. The confrontation begins between the person who wants Kira’s revival and the people who want to stop it.
Rage
Tetsuya Tashiro
A man brutally murders a married couple and leaves the word “ikari” (“rage”) written with their blood. The killer undergoes plastic surgery and flees. At three different locations in Japan, a male stranger appears. People suspect that the stranger might be the murderer.
Chinyuki
Taro Yamada
Genzo is a monk on his way to Tianzhu (early East Asian name for India). Along the way, he happens to visit a house and meets an old couple. The couple has an adopted son, Taro Yamada (Kenichi Matsuyama). They ask Genzo to rehabilitate Taro who makes trouble with his magical power. Genzo takes Taro and travels to Tianzhu.
Something Like, Something Like It
Shinden Defunetei
Master Shinkome asks Shinden to find a former disciple, Shintoto, from his rakugoka (comic storytelling) family. Shinden visits ex-disciples in his search for Shintoto.
The Emperor in August
Takeo Sasaki
In July 1945, during the end of World War II, Japan is forced to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A cabinet meeting has continued through days and nights, but a decision cannot be made. The U.S. drops atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. General Korechika Anami is torn over making the proper decision and the Emperor of Japan worries about his people. Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki leads the cabinet meeting, while Chief Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu can't do anything, but watch the meeting. At this time, Major Kenji Hatanaka and other young commissioned officers, who are against Japan surrendering, move to occupy the palace and a radio broadcasting station. The radio station is set to broadcast Emperor Hirohito reading out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
Legacy of Soma: Ao no Ran
Kojiro Masakado
Soma, an immigrant from a defeated country, lives as a fortuneteller in Japan. She is saved from corrupt court officials by Kojiro Masakado, a warrior from Bando. They get swept up in a conflict between Bando and the imperial forces.
The Day Kouhaku Was Born
Shindo Tatsuya
This drama focuses on the story of how NHK's famous New Year's Eve program "Kohaku Uta Gassen" came about in 1945, when the country was under General Headquarters.
Chasuke's Journey
Chasuke
Things are hectic in heaven. Dozens of scribes sit before a long scroll incessantly scribbling away. They are composing the biographies of earth-dwellers. What is invented by the men in heaven is lived out below. And their employer, God, is increasingly vehement in demanding avant-garde ideas. Take, for example, the beautiful Yuri, a girl who dies in a car crash. Some of the heavenly scribes find this very dull and send former gangster Chas, who has become a heavenly tea-boy, back down to earth with instructions to save Yuri no matter what. And so Chas ends up in Okinawa, gets to know the earth-dwellers, interferes in their fates, becomes celebrated as 'Mr Angel' and is hounded by brutal enemies. His falling in love with Yuri is of course a foregone conclusion. But no one could anticipate what happens next. Not even God himself
A Far Promise
There was a tragedy that began at the end of the '69 war. The sad story about the lives of the orphans of Manchuria refugee camp who had to struggled against perpetual cold and hunger.
Climbing to Spring
Toru
Toru grew up in alpine countryside around Mount Tate. As a child, he resented the yearly trek up the mountain with his father to prepare their mountain hut for the summer season of climbers. When Toru grows up, he leaves his hometown and enters the working world as a stock trader. One day, Toru receives word that his father has passed away. He returns to Mount Tate once again, and becomes conscious of a new calling. But, does Toru have what it takes to follow in his father footsteps?
Homeland
Jiro
Jiro Sawada is a sophomore in high school when a false accusation drives him out his hometown: a small village in Fukushima Prefecture. The entire village is abandoned after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, but Jiro returns there to live. Before long, members of his family come and join him.
Buddha 2: The Endless Journey
Tatta
2500 years ago, in India, Siddhartha was born as a prince of the Shakya clan, but he gives up his position as a prince to see the world. He meets a strange boy named Assaji, who can predict the future, a monk with only one eye and Depa. Siddhartha continues traveling. Siddhartha is overwhelmed by the sufferings he witnesses around him. Meanwhile, Prince Ruri of Kosara begins his attack on the Shakya clan. Second Buddha movie from Tezuka Productions.
The Kiyosu Conference
Hidemasa Hori
After the forced suicide of Nobunaga Oda at the Incident at Honnō-ji, powerful figures Katsuie Shibata, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa and Tsuneoki Ikeda meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan's first group made political decision. The meeting was known as the Kiyosu Kaigi.
Train Brain Express
Kei Komachi
Real estate company employee Komachi and steelworks heir Kodama are both train aficionados. Their hobby proves useful for their burgeoning careers, but their romantic fortunes do not go as smoothly. Will the awkward Kodama and the indecisive Komachi find the loves of their lives?
Bunny Drop
Daikichi Kawachi
Daikichi learns that his recently deceased grandfather has an illegitimate daughter with an unknown mother. The girl's name is Rin and she is just 6 years old. Everybody in Daikichi's family looks at the girl as an embarrassment and wants no part of her. Daikichi, annoyed by his family's attitude, decides to raise Rin by himself. Even though Daikichi himself has no experience raising a child and is still single.
My Back Page
Umeyama
In 1969, Sawada is filled with idealism that permeated that era and starts working as a gonzo journalist for a weekly magazine. Two years later, Sawada interviews activist Umeyama with senior reporter Nakahira. Umeyama boasts that his group will steal arms and take action in April. Sawada doubts Umeyama's claims but is attracted to his personality. An incident occurs... Sawada hears news that a man was killed at a army post...
Gantz: Perfect Answer
Masaru Kato
Perfect Answer begins several months after the events of the first film. Kurono is still fighting aliens under the order of Gantz, a mysterious giant black orb, and he is close to reaching the score he needs to resurrect his friend Kato. Outside his night time missions, Kurono continues to live his normal life, spending time with his new girlfriend Tae. Meanwhile, young pop star Eriko is being secretly ordered by Gantz to carry out assassinations, and cop Shigeta inches closer towards finding out the truth about the Gantz missions. As the missions begin to get increasingly dangerous for both the alien fighters and the general public, Kurono discovers that the endgame for Gantz is quickly approaching.
Another Gantz
Masaru Kato
Before finding out the Perfect Answer, discover Another Gantz. Aired on Nippon Television network before the theatrical release of Gantz: The Perfect Answer, this film is an alternate perspective version of the first Gantz film from the same writing-directing team of the two-part theatrical film. In addition to condensed scenes from the Gantz film, Another Gantz features a new subplot that follows an investigative journalist not included in the theatrical film. Delving deep into the mystery, Another Gantz offers another piece towards solving the complex puzzle that is the world of Gantz.
Norwegian Wood
Toru Watanabe
Toru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
Gantz
Masaru Kato
After trying to rescue a man on the subway tracks, two teens wake up in a room dominated by a mysterious black sphere that sends them to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
Yûji Miwa
Diving to save a camera from a fall down a flight of stairs, high school junior Naomi Sukuse wakes with no memory of the last four years. Naomi must remember who she was and figure out who she wants to be in this story of love and second chances.
Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler
Makoto Sahara
Kaiji Ito moves to Japan after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, vandalizing cars, and drinking booze. Two years later and his life is no better. A debt collector named Endo arrives to collect money owed. The debt collector offers two choices to Kaiji: spend 10 years paying off his loan or board a gambling boat for one night to repay his debt & possibly make a boat load of money. Could the debt collector Endo actually be setting up Kaiji? One way or another, for Kaiji it's going to be the night of his life.
Kamui
Kamui
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
Bare Essence of Life
Youjin Mizuki
Youjin is a quirky young man living in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Yojin has a difficult time sitting still and can't focus on extended conversations. His life revolves around farming his grandmother's vegetable garden. Yojin experiences a new kind of feeling when he meets a pretty young lady named Machiko. The feelings are strong enough that he feels the need to be with her and gain her affection.
Detroit Metal City
Sôichi Negishi / Johannes Krauser II
Soichi Negishi moved to Tokyo to chase his dream of becoming a musician playing stylish, Swedish-style pop. Instead, he finds himself leading the death metal band Detroit Metal City, or DMC, as the costumed and grotesquely made-up "demon emperor" Johannes Krauser II. Although he hates the role and the things he has to do as a member of the band, he has a definite talent for it.
L: change the WorLd
L
"The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die." After making the hardest decision ever, another serious case confronts L. There are only 23 days left and without his best partner Watari (Shunji Fujimura), L has to solve the case all by himself for the very first time.
Sex is No Laughing Matter
Mirume
Mirume is a 19 year old college student who falls in love with Yuri, an almost 40 year old art teacher at his university. Yuri isn't your typical college professor, having a quirky sense of humor and unpredictable personality. When Yuri invites Murume to her studio, she playfully seduces the still naive 19 year old student. Things become more complicated when Mirume discovers that Yuri is married to a much older man....
The Man who was Made a Fool by L the Most - Detective Matsuda's Case File
L / Ryuzaki
Matsuda's signature is needed on some final documents to wrap up the Kira case. However, Matsuda refuses to sign. Seeking closure, Soichiro Yagami tells him to visit Ryuzaki so that he may understand L's sense of justice.
Tsubaki Sanjuro
Iori Isaka
"Tsubaki Sanjuro" is a remake of Sanjuro (1962) by Akira Kurosawa. Sanjuro returns with sharper, faster, subtler sword, talking and perception. He uses them to settle the trouble and uses them good!
South Bound
Officer Niigaki
Uehara Jiro, in the sixth year at elementary school, is from a family of five; his parents who are both ex-extremists, his elder sister and a younger sister. Children look coldly at their father, Ichiro (Toyokawa Etsushi), who does not work but is quick at lashing out for anything illogical. One day, Jiro snaps at a junior high school student in the neighborhood who ridiculed his parents and causes a violent incident. Being tired of all the fuss made by the school and the response from the child welfare, the Uehara family moves to the island of Iriomotejima, father's hometown. However, the island is in the midst of a row over a development plan to build resort facilities, and the family is sucked into the mayhem. Ichiro and his wife Sakura are arrested, but they break loose. They are forced to live a life as fugitives, and are unable to live with their children. The children, however, understand that their parents do not want to succumb to the establishment and support them.
Prodigy
Oto Kikuna
Naruse Uta is a "unique" 13 year old child. She possessed the talent to read sheet music even before she could speak, but has now come to the point where she hates playing the piano. Her father was also a piano virtuoso, but mysteriously disappeared from her life at a young age. Because of her father's disappearance Uta's mother had to move out of their posh home and into a far modest working class neighborhood. In this working class neighborhood there is a local grocer. The grocer's son Kikuna Oto happens to be a budding musician, but lacks the drive to truly succeed. That is until Uta Naruse comes into his life...
Dolphin Blue: Soar Again, Fuji
1 Litre Of Tears SP
Yuji Kawamoto
The Story of the 1 Litre of Tears special takes place after the events in the main drama. The Special takes the view of Asou Haruto who is remembering life the way it used to be before the events of the last episode of the series.
死亡笔记5周年花絮
Ten Nights of Dreams
Shotaro
Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.
Death Note: The Last Name
L
In the second installment of the Death Note film franchise, Light Yagami meets a second Kira and faithful follower Misa Amane and her Shinigami named Rem. Light attempts to defeat L along with Teru Mikami (a Kira follower) and Kiyomi Takada (another Kira follower) but in the end will Light win? or will a Shinigami named Ryuk make all the difference in Light's victory or his ultimate death?
Vanished
Tomohiko
Eight school friends innocently join together to play a game that, if played well, promised to make their greatest dreams come true. But, they soon discover that mistakes may cost them more than even their dreams could tell.
Death Note
L
Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the mysterious murderer. An all out battle between the two greatest minds on earth begins and the winner will control the world.
Yamato
Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."
Custom Made 10.30
Tamotu
Sisters "Manamo" and "Minamo" live separately in Hiroshima and London since the divorce of their parents. The elder sister Manamo lives in Hiroshima with her mother, she is a high school student, but moonlights at a Japanese cabaret-club. After her mother remarries and moves to Yamaguchi Prefecture, Manamo lives by herself in Hiroshima. One day, her younger sister Minamo returns from London to visit Manamo. It is ten years since they have lived together, and they argue every day.
Nana
Shinichi Okazaki
Two girls named Nana meet on a train to Tokyo. Nana K. aims to reunite with her boyfriend and Nana O. hopes to make it big in the music business. Despite their differences, the pair hit it off and become roommates.
Be-Bop High School 2
Linda Linda Linda
Makihara
Only three days before their high school festival, guitarist Kei, drummer Kyoko, and bassist Nozomi are forced to recruit a new lead vocalist for their band. They choose Korean exchange student Son, though her comprehension of Japanese is a bit rough! It's a race against time as the group struggles to learn three tunes for the festival's rock concert—including a classic '80s punk-pop song by the Japanese group The Blue Hearts called "Linda Linda".
The Taste of Tea
Young Man in Red T-Shirt
A spell of time in the life of a family in rural Tochigi prefecture. Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project. Uncle Ayano is looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Sachiko is concerned with why she seems to be followed by a giant version of herself.
Be-Bop High School
Jun Kawabata
The Locker 2
Yôsuke Shinohara
Seconds before Reika (from the first movie) dies, she gives the key to a coin locker to her pupil Ayano. After a hunt for the right coin locker, Ayano finally finds the right one but she soon realizes that some things should be left alone. When some other students at her school finds the coin locker, the curse begins once again. The long haired girl is once again out to get anyone who's opened the coin locker.
Winning Pass
This is a story about a high school student who had it all going for him. He was great at basketball, he had a love like no other, until a day where he loses the ability to walk. This is the story of his struggle through hardship to regain it all.
Perfect Education 4: Secret Basement
A shy, nerdy man, Takeru finds a schoolgirl hooker Lily is unconscious in a Tokyo park, so he decides to bring her home and lock her up in a secret basement. Although Lily is afraid of him, in fact, Takeru didn't do anything to hurt her. After Lily begins to uncover a shocking episode
Bright Future
Jun
Two friends who work together at a Tokyo laundry are increasingly alienated from everyday life. They become fascinated with a deadly jellyfish.