YAPOOL, BEWARE! An Ultraman Ace Reunion Flies into Tokyo!

Mitsuhiro Sano, Keiji Takamine, Eizo Yamagiwa, and Shigemitsu Taguchi gather at a recent Ultraman Ace reunion. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, February 17, I attended a Showa Hero event that featured a reunion of four key alumni of Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman Ace (1972-73) that featured the series' director, main writer, star, and co-star.

Shigemitsu Taguchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

First was Shigemitsu Taguchi. Among other series, Taguchi-san has written for Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Mirrorman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace, Jumborg Ace (1973), Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75).

Taguchi-san is a great guy, and I always enjoy seeing him. I brought a DVD booklet from Ultraman Leo for him to sign.

Eizo Yamagiwa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Next was director Eizo Yamagiwa. Yamagiwa-san worked as an assistant director with Teruo Ishii and went on to direct numerous episodes of Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75) at Tsuburaya Productions. He also helmed episodes of Silver Kamen (1971-72) and the Submersion of Japan TV series (1974-75).

I've met Yamagiwa-san several times since 2016. I was particularly glad to see that he's doing well and is still very healthy. Even though he can seem reserved quite often, he is very friendly, as the above photo demonstrates.

Mitsuhiro Sano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand (as a surprise guest) was Mitsuhiro Sano, who played Terrible Monster Attacking Crew (TAC) member Kozo Yoshimura on Ultraman Ace. Sano-san also can be seen in episodes of Kaiketsu Zubat (1977), Star Wolf (1978), Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002-03), and Kamen Rider Decade (2009).

Coincidentally, prior to this event, I'd been thinking about how I should visit Sano-san again soon, as it had been several months since last seeing him. I still need to do that, but I'm pleased I had a chance to visit with him here.

Keiji Takamine. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I had met all the other guests on previous occasions, but this was my first time to meet Keiji Takamine, who starred in the series as TAC member Seiji Hokuto, one half of Ultraman Ace's human alter egos. 

Our meeting was rather brief, but it was still great to meet Takamine-san. I brought three items for him to sign, one of which was my Ultraman book I bought in 2015 at an exhibit in Yokosuka. It's been signed by an incredible number of alums who've worked on all the Showa-era Ultra-series in one form or another.

Overall, it was a great event, and almost 50 years later, Ultraman Ace still flies!