Millennium Godzilla Stomps into the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku!

Godzilla on display at the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

A brand-new diorama is on display on the 8th floor of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku, and I had to stop by to see it for myself. Through the magic of photography, now you can, too. Enjoy!

Setting the Stage for a Great Evening!

With Hiroyasu Yamaura.

 

On Sunday, September 20, I attended a performance of Antony and Cleopatra as written and adapted by screenwriter Hiroyasu Yamaura. The show was held at the usual venue in Kawasaki City, and it was another fun one.

I hadn't seen Yamaura-san in about two and a half years, so he was surprised to see me again. When I arrived, I only intended to see the show, spend a few minutes visiting Yamaura-san, and then move on to the next thing.

But I didn't realize that there would be post-show dinner, and I got invited to it. Well, it changed the rest of my plans for that night, but it was an offer I couldn't refuse.

The show attracted a packed house, despite having other performances during the weekend. It was a hit with the audience, but then it was time to break everything down before going dinner.

I pitched in with taking down curtains and helping to erase the whiteboard with some information about the show. That might not sound like a whole lot, but, trust me, it took endless amounts of elbow grease to get anywhere near finished.

I don't know what they used, but it did not come off easily. By the time we left, the job wasn't even finished. I sure hope they never use that stuff again!

We made our way to a nearby Japanese restaurant with the cast, crew, and just a few others. I was privileged that Yamaura-san sat next to me for the night, and we had a fun conversation for the remainder of the evening. It was as if no time had passed at all.

When I we were leaving and saying our goodbyes, one of the stars of the shows said to me, "I love ikemen." I thought that was kind of her. I'm just glad she didn't say "ike boys."

And that's a wrap! Let's do it again really soon.

Seeing 'Red Sun' in 4K!

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, Saturday, September 19, I visited Toho Cinemas Hibiya Chanter to catch a screening of Red Sun (1971) in 4K. I'd never seen the film before, but the pairing of stars Toshiro Mifune and Charles Bronson in a movie directed by 007 veteran Terence Young seemed like an intriguing project. 

And the movie is . . . all right. I can't say I loved it, but it wasn't a bad time, even though it dragged on occasion. The premise is fun, but a lot of it felt a bit too much like a reworking of Hell in the Pacific (1968), just set in the Old West. Alain Delon wasn't a very imposing villain, especially when set against a figure with the gravitas of Mifune. (I mean, does anyone really think there'd be a contest there?) 

Bronson does all the heavy lifting, acting-wise, as Mifune doesn't do much more than be a stoic and respectable samurai. The action scenes are decent, but you can find more compelling ones elsewhere. The stuff involving the Comanches was straight out of a '40s B-movie. 

OK, I am starting to sound a bit harsh. As of this writing, Red Sun has a 6.8 rating on IMDb, and I think that's pretty fair. Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high, as the movie has a solid reputation, especially in Japan. I'm also just not the biggest fan of Westerns, so you should probably take that into consideration, too. 

Overall, the movie is pretty good but definitely flawed. I wish I could share the enthusiasm others have for it. It probably would have benefited from being 15 or 20 minutes shorter, as the scenes in which Bronson tries to get Mifune to agree to his terms regarding what to do about Delon are needlessly repetitive. As presented, however, I'll give the movie a lukewarm recommendation. Check it out if it's a flick that might interest you.

DEEP DIVE: Was King Ghidorah's Gold Color Inspired by an Animated Soviet Film?

Keiko Suzuki in January 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier this year, I was interviewed for a documentary (Keizo Murase: The Last Monster Maker) on the life and career of the legendary suitmaker Keizo Murase. While looking over some old notes in preparation for the interview, I found that I had uncovered some fascinating information several years before and never even realized it. Let's start with the source of this information: Keiko Suzuki.

Keiko Suzuki worked under Eiji Tsuburaya as his script supervisor from the late 1950s through most of the '60s. Born Keiko Hisamatsu, she would go on to marry future Tsuburaya Productions producer Kiyoshi Suzuki. Ms. Suzuki joined Tsuburaya's tokusatsu team on The Three Treasures (1959), which she remembered as the longest SFX shoot at Toho, spanning four months. She passed away on May 23, 2024.

Keiko Suzuki with Teruyoshi Nakano (left) and Takashi Naganuma in January 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On January 13, 2019, I spoke with Keiko Suzuki about several topics, one of which was her recollections of the creation of King Ghidorah. I knew that she and Mr. Murase had completely different memories of King Ghidorah's original color, so I wanted to get her take. Even though it wasn't a formal interview, I took contemporaneous notes on the discussion, which serve as the basis of the material below.

When Eiji Tsuburaya showed her the King Ghidorah suit painted blue for Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Ms. Suzuki was surprised to see it designed that way. The kaiju was supposed to be a space monster, yet it had been colored blue, which she didn't think was the right presentation.

Kin is the English word "gold" in Japanese. Ms. Suzuki pointed out that King Ghidorah was from Venus (Kinsei in Japanese) and that the Japanese word kin is even right there in its name, King Ghidorah. According to Ms. Suzuki, blue had already been used for the Yamata no Orochi in The Three Treasures (1959), so a new look was in order.

King Ghidorah heads on display in April 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

When Ms. Suzuki suggested to Tsuburaya that it should be gold, Tsuburaya apparently stopped what he was doing and left. Shortly thereafter, the suit was painted gold.  

Additionally, Ms. Suzuki revealed that she had been partially inspired by a Russian film she had seen with a golden bird and had the idea in mind to use that color for something eventually. While she didn't remember the name of the film, she remembered that the plot was based on Leo Tolstoy's short story "Ivan the Fool."

The movie that most closely matches Ms. Suzuki's description is The Hunchback Horse (1947), an animated Soviet movie that features a brightly-colored firebird. 

The firebird from the Soviet film The Hunchback Horse (1947).

Why did this tidbit fly right over my head? I'd read for years about how partial inspiration for King Ghidorah came from a 1956 Soviet flick that featured a three-headed dragon, so, without checking it out, I figured that must have been what she was talking about. (I mean, how many Russian movies could have influenced a Japanese monster?!) I'm glad I finally did my homework and ferreted this one out. Better late than never, as they say.

Of course, much of this depends on whose memories are more accurate. Both Keizo Murase and Keiko Suzuki have since passed away, and it's not very likely we'll ever get a definitive answer. Ms. Suzuki's memories are detailed and consistent, but Mr. Murase was probably in a better position than anyone else to know what King Ghidorah's original color was. I can't side with anyone in this dispute; all I can do is share what they have said.

PIGMON TURNS 70! Actor-Singer Hiroshi Chiba Celebrates His Birthday in Concert!

Hiroshi Chiba performs onstage. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, September 18, I made my way to Yotsuya to attend a special birthday-themed concert held by Hiroshi Chiba. Of course, Chiba-san's actual birthday falls on September 19, but the big celebration took place the night before.

Mariko Matsuoka presents a birthday cake to Hiroshi Chiba. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Chiba-san (under the stage name Masahiro Oyake) played Pigmon as a suit actor in episode 37 of Ultraman (1966-67). He also appears in human form in episode 36 of the same series. In the movies, he played the main character Tetsugoro (who was performed by Hideki Takahashi) as a boy in the Nikkatsu actioner Family Crest: Man against Death (1969). Another role of his is in Tsugunobu Kotani's film F2 Grand Prix (1984), starring Ken Tanaka and Katsuhiko Sasaki.

Mariko Matsuoka and actress Nikki Morita (right) look on as Hiroshi Chiba blows out the candles on his birthday cake. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Chiba-san also played Yasohachi Yamagishi in a series of Nikkatsu films based on the risque Go Nagai manga called Harenchi Gakuen ("Shameless School"), namely: Harenchi Gakuen: Shintai Kensa no Maki (1970), Harenchi Gakuen: Tackle Kiss no Maki (1970), and Shin Harenchi Gakuen (1971).

With Mariko Matsuoka.

His best-known role (in Japan, at least) would have to be his appearances as a regular on the massively popular TV series G-Men '75 (1975-82), playing Detective Akio Taguchi from 1979 through 1981. In fact, about halfway through a concert, a salaryman who probably already had a bit too much to drink, entered the venue and shouted to Chiba-san, who was onstage, how much he loved Chiba-san on G-Men '75. Later on, when Chiba-san was singing, he started waving around several pieces of paper that, near as I could tell, were printouts that featured images from the show on them. Kinda amusing but reallllllly weird.

By far, the highlight of the evening for me was running into Mariko Matsuoka again. When she saw me, she exclaimed how surprised she was to see me and gave me a big hug. I came prepared and brought my Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75) Blu-ray set, and an Ultraman Leo (1974-75) booklet, to get signed.

Of course, Matsuoka-san plays android girl Carolyn in episode 24 of Ultraman Leo, Ritsuko Okamura in Kamen Rider Amazon, Misaki Minekawa in episode 29 of Akumaizer 3 (1975-76), episode 32 of UFO Great War Fight! Red Tiger (1978), and Jun in episode 37 of Kyoryu Sentai Koseidon (1978-79). She also appears in the Fumio Ishimori-penned Shochiku film Frozen River (1976) as Harumi Hayata.

We live about a train station apart and discussed getting together in the future. Looking forward to that!

Congrats to Hiroshi "Pigmon" Chiba on turning the big 7-0!

CHALK TALK! A New Q&A in a New Venue!

Garry Chalk in 2013. Photo via Wikipedia.

An interview with actor Garry Chalk that Jacob Dow and I conducted via Zoom in May 2026 is now available to read on Toho Kingdom. Not only is Mr. Chalk one of the most prolific animation voice actors working today; he also had a small role in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla (2014), working alongside Bryan Cranston, which is naturally a topic we covered in the Q&A. 

Be sure to check it out today!

Sing Out, Louise-san!

Yumi Yoshiyuki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, September 12, I attended an event in which actress-director Yumi Yoshiyuki sang a few songs, karaoke-style. Yoshiyuki-san reached out to me the other day and wanted to know if I could attend. Since I had nothing else going on, I decided to stop by and say hello.

Yoshiyuki-san has directed numerous pink eiga since the 1990s but has also appeared onscreen herself in countless roles, including director Akio Jissoji's adaptation of an Edogawa Rampo story, Murder on D Street (1998), for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Award from the Yokohama Film Festival for her portrayal of Tokiko Sunaga, as well as playing Noriko Murakami in Takashi Shimizu's V-cinema horror classic Ju-On: The Curse (2000). She can also be seen in episode 40 of Ultraman Tiga (1996-97) and episode 37 of Ultraman Dyna (1997-98).

After seeing Yoshiyuki-san's performance, we hung out for a good while, talking about her work with Akio Jissoji and a number of other topics. It was quite enlightening, but ultimately I had to cut it short and leave a bit early. But I'm looking forward to doing it again!