is a 2002 Japanese science fiction film directed and co-written by Ryuhei Kitamura. It is based on the manga of the same name by Tsutomu Takahashi and stars Hideo Sakaki, Ryo, Koyuki, Jun Kunimura, and Tak Sakaguchi. In the film, two death row inmates are confined to an isolation cell with an alien organism that surges the violent nature of its host. Alive was theatrically released in Japan on June 21, 2003. Cast Production Crew Ryuhei Kitamura – director, co-writer Keishiro Shin – assistant producer Manabu Shinoda – technical producer Fumihiko Tamura – lighting director Yuji Hayashida – production designer Takeshi Shin – visual effects supervisor Kenji Shibazaki – sound effects Jun Nakamura – mixing engineer Yuji Shimomura – action choreographer Yūdai Yamaguchi – second unit director Development Technical producer Manabu Shinoda expressed interest in working with director Ryuhei Kitamura after being impressed with Versus. Kitamura proposed an adaptation of the manga Alive to producer Hidemi Satani. However, Satani felt unsure and proposed making a sequel to Versus instead but Kitamura declined, stating: "I didn't want to do something I'd already done". Kitamura chose Alive as his next project in order to prove he could direct non-Zombie films, stating, "Another thing was that I wanted to prove that I wasn't just some guy who could only direct films where Zombies blasted the hell out of each other." Kitamura was given a bigger budget than what he was given on Versus and chose to spend the budget on set designs. Kitamura instructed production designer Yuji Hayashida to incorporate post-modern elements. Hayashida turned the cell into a solid metal box due to his fascination with metal structures. Hayashida used an open set for the control room to give a sense of freedom, using only pillars, a steel frame, and wires. Due to the outlandish nature of the control room, the filmmakers hired people experienced in building concert stages. Kitamura didn't want Tenshu to wear prison garb throughout the whole film, feeling it looked "tacky and improbable". Black lab-coats were chosen for the scientists to balance the surreal tone of the isolation cell. Kitamura also wanted the black lab-coats to be more "lustrous". Since the worldview was outlandish, Kitamura wished to only keep the characters grounded in reality. Kitamura had the film's gun effects artist Masazumi Takei train the Special Forces actors in order to look "believable". Kitamura would visit the Special Forces