A Mechagodzilla Reunion Rocks Tokyo!

Tomoko Ai and Masaaki Daimon pose for the camera. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a wonderful Showa Hero event with two of the stars from the '70s Mechagodzilla movies: Masaaki Daimon and Tomoko Ai. While it happened the day after Godzilla's birthday, it was certainly close enough to satisfy me!

Masaaki Daimon. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I had just seen Daimon-san two months ago at Toho Studios for his NBC interview, so it came as a bit of a surprise to me when I found out I'd get to see him again. This was the first time I got to hear a lot of details about his work on Mechagodzilla, such as the fact that he was cast without an audition, and that visiting Okinawa felt like going to another country.

As a longtime fan of the two '70s Godzilla movies, I was especially happy to add Daimon-san's signature to a few MG items I had. I'd been waiting quite a while for the opportunity!

Tomoko Ai. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The other guest of the afternoon was Katsura Mafune herself, Tomoko Ai. I was already quite familiar with her stories, having interviewed her in the past, but it was certainly a lot of fun to see her interact with Masaaki Daimon.

I last saw Ai-san by chance at my train station about three years ago. She asked me if I still lived in the same place, to which I answered in the affirmative. It'd definitely been too long, so hopefully I won't have to wait three years for the next meeting!