A documentary film about the famous horror mangaka Kazuo Umezu (73) is being released on November 23. Titled "Gwashi! Umezu Kazuo Desu," it will be the first film directed by Koji Ito, who also manages Umezu's official website.

Umezu's long career started in 1955 with "Mori no Kyoudai." Since then, he has become known as a pioneer in the horror genre, with works such as the award-winning "The Drifting Classroom." Aside from horror, he is also famous for works such as the shonen gag manga "Makoto-chan," from which the phrase "Gwashi!" originated.

Ito said that even though he didn't know much about Umezu, he wanted to try making a movie about him. He began filming the documentary three years ago, resulting in a vast amount of footage. Scenes include Umezu practicing his self-invented "Makoto-chan dance" and the interior of the eye-catching "Makoto-chan house," which prompted an unsuccessful lawsuit by his neighbors earlier this year.