ALL MONSTERS ATTACK! Godzilla Series Suit Actors Gather to Celebrate the Genre!

Wataru Fukuda (left) and Hurricane Ryu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, July 23, after taking the new Tokusatsu DNA exhibit at Tokyo Tower, I went to a special event featuring Heisei-era Godzilla series suit actors. The suit actors in question were Wataru Fukuda and Hurricane Ryu.

Wataru Fukuda (left) and Hurricane Ryu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was especially excited for this event, as I'd never met Fukuda-san before. Since none of the guests was, say, under federal indictment, they were very easy to meet and accessible.

Wataru Fukuda (left) and Hurricane Ryu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I came to the event a bit late, as I had to work earlier in the afternoon (not to mentioned that I had a peek at the Tokusatsu DNA exhibit). But I arrived in time for all the good stuff.

It was a lot of fun watching Fukuda-san and Ryu-san striking their fight poses. All that was missing was Kenpachiro Satsuma there, too.

Wataru Fukuda. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One thing that impressed me was how polite (and even shy) Fukuda-san. Whenever he made a joke or a reference to something that he felt the audience didn't immediately get, he would usually quietly apologize afterward. Who would have expected such shy behavior from Mechagodzilla? Talk about a gentle giant!

Hurricane Ryu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I brought my original poster for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) that was gifted to me from the family of one of the cast members for the two suit actors to sign. Their signatures look quite good on it!

Wataru Fukuda. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Fukuda-san played Godzillasaurus in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and Mogera in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994). He also played Utsuno Ikusagami in Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994). 

One funny story is that Fukuda-san told me that he learned how to spell "Mechagodzilla" in English by remembering that it's spelled like "Metchagodzilla" would sound (i.e., with a "ch" sound instead of a "ck" one). 

Hurricane Ryu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Hurricane Ryu played King Ghidorah in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Battra in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Baby Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and Godzilla Junior in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), and Guilala in Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008). He also played Kumasogami in Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon.

But that's not all! The weekend was even busier for me than what you've seen so far. But you can read all about it in the next blog post.