Saturday, June 18, 2011

Ultraman Max statue in Nagoya


Outside the CBC building in Nagoya, Japan, stands an (almost!) life-size replica of Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman Max. G-fans, take note!

Bet you never read about this tokusatsu-related attraction in any travel guide!

Nagoya's CBC building hosts an incredible Ultraman Max statue that is sure to interest monster movie fans who would like to visit Japan.


While Nagoya Castle and Nagoya Tower are often cited as the main attractions for G-fans who sight-see in and around Nagoya, this Ultraman Max statue must be added to the top of the list! But a picture's worth a thousand words, so let's get to the good stuff!

Yours truly with the statue.

A close-up of the base of the statue.

Showat!

Coincidentally, there was a vending machine with an old Godzilla Kirin coffee inside just down the street from the statue!


Nagoya's Ultraman Max statue isn't well-publicized among U.S. Godzilla fans, but I hope this blog post helps to change that. It's a great location to visit when stopping by Nagoya!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

'Ultra Q's' triumphant return to Japanese TV

Kenji Sahara, the star of the smash TV series Ultra Q (Tsuburaya Productions, 1966) answers questions posed to him by yours truly at G-FEST XVI in 2009. Photo by Mark Williamson.

Kaiju fans in the Land of the Rising Sun, rejoice! While fanciers on both sides of the Pacific of Japanese SFX movies and TV programs are aware of the impending July release of Ultra Q to DVD and Blu-ray (in both original black and white and a new colorized version!), WOWOW, the popular satellite channel in Japan, will broadcast all 28 episodes in June and July!

Ultra Q's 45th anniversary just got even more special!

Kaiju suit actor Haruo Nakajima, who played Gomess in episode #1 of Ultra Q, shares a tender moment with your humble blogmeister at G-FEST XV in 2008. Photo by Stan Hyde.

Episode #1 "Defeat Gomess!" (featuring previous G-FEST guests Kenji Sahara and Haruo Nakajima) broadcasts on June 26 at 10:00 am, with an encore showing on June 27th at 4:45 pm. A complete listing of broadcast dates and times for all Ultra Q episodes can be found here.

More information about WOWOW's broadcast of episode #1 can be found by following this link.

WOWOW certainly earned its name this time!