An Evening with Ultraman (and Godzilla's) Director!

 Kazuho Mitsuta. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Last night, I attended a special event with legendary Tsuburaya Productions director Kazuho Mitsuta. Mitsuta-san's credits are as extensive as they are impressive, and he's a rare figure at events. So when I found out he would be in attendance for this one, there was no way I'd miss it.

Mitsuta-san has directed episodes of Ultra Q (1966), Ultraman (1966-67), Ultra Seven (1967-68), Kaiju Booska (1966-67), Mighty Jack (1968), Fight! Mighty Jack (1968), Operation: Mystery! (1968-69), Mirrorman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace (1972-73), Horror Theater Unbalance (1973), Dinosaur War Izenborg (1977-78), and Ultraman 80 (1980-81), among many others.

In fact, Mitsuta-san directed episode 10 of Ultraman ("The Mysterious Dinosaur Base"), which is best known for featuring a disguised Godzilla suit as the monster Jirass. So, in a way, I guess you could say that Mitsuta-san is the last Godzilla director from the Showa era. It's an interesting thought, anyway.