Sunday, December 11, 2011

Yasuhiko Fukuda puts his Kyoto fans in a Neci-Coma!

Composer Yasuhiko Fukuda performed live kaiju music at the Kyoto Minami Kaikan on December 10, 2011.


A name with which most Western kaiju eiga enthusiasts are likely unfamiliar is that of Yasuhiko Fukuda. No surprise, as Fukuda's tokusatsu credits are rather sparse. That said, even if most U.S. fans haven't heard his name, they most certainly know his music.

One of the last honest-to-goodness giant monster movies to come from Japan in recent years was Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008), Minoru Kawasaki's feature-length parody of the kaiju eiga genre. While the film is mostly held in low regard by practically everyone who's seen it, one aspect of the movie has tended to fare a bit better.

That would be the infectious Take-Majin chant ("Neci-Coma, Neci-Coma, Neci-Coma!"), which is probably going to be Monster X's enduring legacy (if such a word can apply to a movie like that!).

Attendees at Kyoto Minami Kaikan's December 10 kaiju all-nighter got a rare treat. Composer Yasuhiko Fukuda, who penned the music to Monster X Strikes Back, was invited as a special guest, and he performed various bits of monster movie music. This included a live performance of that catchy Take-Majin chant, which I was able to record. The video of the performance is below:



I also captured other parts of Fukuda's talk show/musical demonstration, and those videos are included for your viewing pleasure!



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