Mio Ota. Photo by Brett Homenick.
One of my favorite horror movies has long been Evil of Dracula (1974), and I think a good case can be made for it as the best of director Michio Yamamoto's Bloodthirsty trilogy. She played student Yukiko Mitamura in Evil of Dracula, as well as Blue Jaguar on the TV series Giant Iron Man 17 (1977) from episode 22 through 35. She also appears in Shohei Imamura's Why Not? (1981).
Ota-san had some of her art on display at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, and I decided to pay her a visit. We had a nice chat about her acting career and other topics. She was surprised to learn that I'm an American from California, saying that I looked like a British gentleman.
It was a great afternoon and well worth braving the sweltering heat and humidity. I certainly hope to have a chance to meet Ota-san again.
Another very interesting report Brett! You never stop amazing me with all of the actors and behind-the-scenes people you meet, especially the ones from the Showa era. How cool it must have been to meet Mio Ota! I agree that "Evil of Dracula" may very well be the best of the Bloodthirsty films.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your entertaining blog posts over the years! I always look forward to them!