Legendary Tokusatsu Composer Chumei Watanabe Passes Away at Age 96

Chumei Watanabe at his home in July 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Maestro Chumei Watanabe, a tokusatsu composer whose work runs the gamut from Shintoho's Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series to the ground-breaking Super Sentai series Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (1975-77),  passed away at 4:00 a.m. on June 23 of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo. He was 96. A private funeral has already been held, organized by his son, Toshiyuki, the composer of the Heisei Mothra trilogy.

Born Michiaki Watanabe in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on August 19, 1925, Mr. Watanabe would get his start in the film industry in the mid-1950s, working for Shintoho Studios. At Shintoho, Mr. Watanabe would compose the scores for the first four Starman films: Super Giant (1957), Super Giant Continues (1957), Super Giant: The Mysterious Spacemen's Demonic Castle (1957), and Super Giant: Earth on the Verge of Destruction (1957). The first two films would be edited together in the U.S. as Atomic Rulers of the World, and the third and fourth films would become Invaders from Space. 

Mr. Watanabe would also collaborate with celebrated horror director Nobuo Nakagawa on such films as The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) and Hell (1960). In the late 1960s, he composed the scores to two of the three classic yokai films from Daiei, 100 Monsters (1968) and Along with Ghosts (1969). That said, he is much better known around the world for his various TV tokusatsu and anime scores, which began in the 1970s.

I was fortunate to meet Mr. Watanabe several times between 2017 and 2019. I was privileged to interview him in July 2018, which you can read here. Mr. Watanabe was eager to speak in depth about his early life in the interview, which you can read for yourself. My translator and I spent hours at Mr. Watanabe's home in Shibuya for the interview.

Afterward, he ordered dinner for us, which was delivered to his home. As my translator and I were leaving his home after the delicious eel dinner, my translator expressed concern about the cost of such a meal. Mr. Watanabe replied, "Don't worry, I'm rich!" 

Rest in peace, Watanabe-san.

'Along with Ghosts' at Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho!

The tokusatsu and yokai film festival at Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho continues, and today I took in a screening of Along with Ghosts (1969), the final entry in Daiei's celebrated yokai trilogy. 

I first saw Along with Ghosts almost exactly 20 years ago, and (to the best of my recollection) that was the only time I'd ever watched the whole thing before today. I thought it was pretty boring at the time and considered it easily the weakest of the trilogy.

Well, I have to say that my opinion really hasn't changed very much in the last 20 years. I still consider it the weakest of the three. There's great stuff in it, of course -- Kojiro Hongo is always good, the yokai are effectively spooky (even if they are less memorable this time around), and Chumei Watanabe's score is fabulous. So there's a lot to praise. But I just think the story drags when the yokai aren't onscreen. 

Overall, the other two yokai flicks are more entertaining. That said, I'd still recommend Along with Ghosts over any yokai movie that's come after it. I stopped watching the 2005 remake (or whatever it was) halfway through and never looked back, and the one in current release looks even shabbier (if that's even possible). Thanks, but no thanks, guys. I'll stick with the classics.

Chumei Watanabe Interview on VPI!

Composer Chumei Watanabe during his July 2018 interview. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My interview with Japanese film composer Chumei (a.k.a. Michiaki) Watanabe is now live at Vantage Point Interviews. Mr. Watanabe composed the scores for numerous Nobuo Nakagawa horror films at Shintoho in the 1950s and early '60s, as well as entries of the Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) film series. At Daiei, Mr. Watanabe composed the scores for the yokai classics 100 Monsters (1968) and Along with Ghosts (1969). It's a Q&A full of history, so please enjoy.

Interviewing Chumei Watanabe

Composer Chumei Watanabe during our July 4 interview. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I'm pleased to announce that on Wednesday, July 4, I had the privilege of interviewing legendary composer Chumei Watanabe at his home in Tokyo. Watananbe-san began his film-composing career at Shintoho in the late 1950s, working on several Nobuo Nakagawa films, most notably Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) and Hell (1960). Watanabe-san returned to tokusatsu in the late 1960s with his scores to 100 Monsters (1968) and Along with Ghosts (1969). Watanabe-san would later achieve international fame with his scores to various anime and live-action tokusatsu TV programs. The 92-year-old composer stays busy to this day.

The interview lasted several hours and focused a great deal on his early years. I certainly learned a lot, and once it's published, so will you! Stay tuned.

An Audience with Film Composer Chumei Watanabe

Chumei Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday night, May 12, I was fortunate to get invited to another private gathering with legendary composer Chumei Watanabe. While his music for TV tokusatsu and anime programs are famous around the world, I'm much more familiar with his film compositions, which date back to the 1950s. Among his credits are: Shintoho's Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series, Black Cat Mansion (1958), Ghost of Yotsuya (1959), Hell (1960), Daiei's 100 Monsters (1968), and Along with Ghosts (1969).

Watanabe-san is a spry 92 years old, and he's just about as active as anyone half his age. The discussion covered a wide range of subjects, not just film music. Suffice it to say, it was a very enjoyable evening.

AN EVENING WITH CHUMEI WATANABE! The Great Film Composer Meets His Fans!

Chumei Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Tonight, I had the privilege of spending the day with film and TV composer Chumei Watanabe (whose real name is Michiaki Watanabe) at a private gathering. Among Watanabe-san's film compsitions are: several entries of the Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series, Black Cat Mansion (1958), Ghost of Yotsuya (1959), Hell (1960), 100 Monsters (1968), and Along with Ghosts (1969). However, Watanabe-san is much more famous for his anime and TV tokusatsu scores, which are too numerous to list here. Film also composing runs in his family, as his son is Toshiyuki Watanabe, the composer for the '90s Mothra trilogy.

Watanabe-san began his film composing career at Shintoho in 1956, and at age 92 years old, he is still active writing music to this day. Watanabe-san was curious about American culture and how tokusatsu movies and TV programs are received in the West, and naturally I was happy to answer his questions.

Suffice it to say, it was a great evening!