An Evening with One of Tokusatsu's Most Prolific Scriptwriters!

Shigemitsu Taguchi with a LaserDisc of the anime feature The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1982). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today, I attended a special event headlined by tokusatsu scriptwriter Shigemitsu Taguchi. I've met Taguchi-san many times over the year, but, since the pandemic, my chances to see him have been few and far between. I had a chance to meet him last December, but our talk was much shorter than I'd hoped. So this was a great opportunity to spend more time with him.

Among other series, Taguchi-san has written for Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Mirrorman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace (1972-73), Jumborg Ace (1973), Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75). Of course, he has written for many other TV programs, including anime, but his tokusatsu connections are extensive.

Shigemitsu Taguchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Taguchi-san, as always, was a lot of fun to see. At first, I asked him about his adorable dog Stella, but of course I wanted to ask him about various tokusatsu topics. He hasn't seen Shin Ultraman (2022) or even Shin Godzilla (2016). He described director Eizo Yamagiwa as a "gentleman," and, when I asked him about the strictest director at Tsuburaya Productions, he talked about the detailed shots that Akio Jissoji would set up and how Jissoji liked doing close-ups. He also greatly admires the kaiju designs of Tohl Narita. Moreover, Taguchi-san was worried because I wasn't eating, so he offered me some of his pasta. It was very kind of him, but I just wasn't hungry!

Taguchi-san was a bit surprised to see me at the event and asked how I found out about it. Of course, I keep my eyes peeled for any event with cool guests, even if the event itself doesn't have a tokusatsu theme. So, when I saw that Taguchi-san would be attending, that was good enough for me. He then asked me if I took the train to attend, which of course I did. 

Taguchi-san, on the other hand, explained that a driver would be taking him home -- very lucky! I also told Taguchi-san about my neighborhood, but, right after that, the event wrapped. It was great to visit Taguchi-san again, who is also very much a gentleman.