A Night of Tokusatsu!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Tuesday, August 11, I attended a special event with former Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada. It's always a lot of fun seeing Asada-san at these events, and this time was no exception.

What is likely test animation done by Sadao Iizuka for The Mysterians (1957). Photo by Brett Homenick.

One fascinating surprise was getting to see what were apparently animation test frames for The Mysterians (1957) that were in the collection of the late tokusatsu animator Sadao Iizuka. According to Kei-san, who was Iizuka-san's manager during his twilight years, the beams seen in these frames are different from what we see in the movie. 

I did my best to photograph the frames for the Markalite, although there were others for the Alpha, too. It was a rare bit of Toho tokusatsu history that I got to see up close and personal.

In addition, I also got to see the final work of Takashi Naganuma that he completed before he passed away last year. 

It was the drawing below of Teruyoshi Nakano whose lips can be moved, almost like those of a puppet.

Eiichi Asada enjoys playing with the Teruyoshi Nakano puppet completed by Takashi Naganuma before he passed away. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Nakano-san and Naganuma-san were close friends and often appeared at events together. It's quite appropriate that the last work Naganuma-san would ever do would be of his friend and colleague.

Takashi Naganuma's Teruyoshi Nakano puppet. Photo by Brett Homenick.

And that's a wrap! Even though a typhoon was approaching, it wasn't enough to stop me from coming. It'll take a lot more than a little rain and wind to accomplish that.

Toku in the House!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Saturday, July 18, I attended an event with former Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada, whom I hadn't seen in more than two years. It was a fun reunion, and I updated Asada-san on my comings and goings during that time.

There wasn't much toku talk this time, but I did learn that Asada-san is a fan of actress Jean Simmons from Spartacus (1960). Now that's a name you don't hear thrown around a lot these days, unless you're talking about the guy from KISS with the similar name.

It's always fun to learn about the Western films that Toho tokusatsu legends admire. For example, I never would have even heard of the family drama Our Very Own (1950), featuring a very young Natalie Wood, had Teruyoshi Nakano not named it as one of his favorite films.  

Overall, it was great to see Asada-san again. It truly had been too long.

Takashi Naganuma, Veteran Toho SFX Technician, Passes Away at 78

Takashi Naganuma in June 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Takashi Naganuma, a veteran of Toho models and miniatures, passed away in November 2025. He was 78.

Born on July 20, 1947, in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Takashi Naganuma began his Toho SFX career with Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) and finished with Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992).

The high-powered laser-beam vehicle from Godzilla 1985 (1984), designed by Takashi Naganuma, on display at an event in November 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

His work at Toho focused on mechanical miniatures, and he produced all the JSDF weaponry seen in Godzilla 1985 (1984). Not only did Mr. Naganuma build the dolphin boat seen at the beginning of Megalon, he also built the miniature truck during the dam scene.

Takashi Naganuma and director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani in November 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On a personal level, this news is extremely devastating, given that Mr. Naganuma, known as Nini-san to his friends and colleagues, is one of the Toho luminaries I've met the most during my time in Tokyo. He also had a wonderful sense of humor with a particular fondness for wordplay between Japanese and English. You couldn't say the Japanese word omoshiroi in his presence without his immediately responding, "White tail." (If you know, you know.)

Takashi Naganuma in June 2022. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Naganuma was such a prolific figure at various events and fan gatherings that I started to believe he'd outlive us all. And, having been born in the late '40s, he was actually on the younger side of Showa-era Toho personalities, which I suppose gave me a false sense of security that he'd be around forever. 

Teruyoshi Nakano and Takashi Naganuma in October 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Starting in 2015, Mr. Naganuma and Toho SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano appeared at so many events together they started to seem like brothers. It was hard to imagine one without the other. It's even harder now to realize both are gone. 

Takashi Naganuma in August 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was privileged to have interviewed Mr. Naganuma about his work at Toho. If you'd like to know more about his career in tokusatsu, here's your best resource. 

Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada with Takashi Naganuma, holding a script for Tokyo Blackout (1987), in June 2023. Photo by Brett Homenick.

But I'll share a couple of fun stories that came directly from Mr. Naganuma.

With Takashi Naganuma in June 2022.

Mr. Naganuma was an extra in Godzilla vs. Mothra in a Ginza scene, running away from Mothra, who was in flight. The scene was shot with a blue backdrop at Toho Studios. All the extras in that scene had to wear a suit, necktie, and black shoes because they were supposed to be playing office workers.

Teruyoshi Nakano, Takashi Naganuma, and director Kensho Yamashita next to a Battle of Okinawa (1971) poster in July 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Naganuma gave an original Super X prop from Godzilla 1985 to an American he worked with on Tokyo DisneySea.

With Takashi Naganuma in August 2022.

In 2016, when Mr. Naganuma was hosting a launch party for a book he had written, he invited me to join, but I had a commitment elsewhere, so I politely declined. But then Mr. Naganuma listed some of the Toho veterans who would be in attendance.

Takashi Naganuma, wearing his Toho Eizo Bijutsu jacket, in September 2022. Photo by Brett Homenick.

When he mentioned Godzilla suitmaker Nobuyuki Yasumaru, I must have had an incredible look of surprise on my face because Mr. Naganuma always loved telling that story. It's true, though -- when he said Mr. Yasumaru would be in attendance, I canceled my other plans as soon as I could and went to the launch party.

With Takashi Naganuma in January 2023.

There are many such stories. I'm sincerely grateful that my paths crossed with Takashi Naganuma. Rest in peace, sir. Thank you for everything.

UPDATE (1/6): According to one of his friends, Mr. Naganuma passed away on November 19.

Remembering the Life of a Toho Great with Another Toho Great!

Eiichi Asada (left) and Tabata Kei. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Saturday, March 23), I attended another event with former Toho SFX directpr Eiichi Asada. The theme of this event was celebrating the life of Sadao Iizuka, who passed away last year. Iizuka-san's manager, Tabata Kei, was on hand to represent his his life and career.

While there, I purchased the first volume of a biographical interview book on Asada-san that's just been published. Asada-san asked me if I could read it in Japanese, but, when I showed him how a smartphone could instantly translate the text in English, he was quite amazed. It sure beats studying kanji for years and years!

The event also served as a birthday celebration for Asada-san, whose 75th birthday was a few days ago, so cake was also served. I must say that Asada-san seems much younger than his age would suggest. 

I took many photos with the attendees, as it will be my last visit to the venue for a long time. I was asked to say a few words at the end of the event, which I found harder to do than I expected. I certainly will miss the fun and camaraderie that always went with these events. But time has a way of moving on.

Below are the other photos I took of this event. Enjoy!

COSTUMES AND TOKUSATSU! An Evening with a Pair of Toho Legends!

Makoto Ikeda (left) and Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yesterday (Monday, February 12) was a Japanese holiday, but I still had to request it off from work. But it was well worth it, as I got to attend an event headlined by the wonderful tokusatsu director Eiichi Asada, as well as another guest I'd never met before -- Makoto Ikeda. If you've never heard of him before, you're in luck! I've got some information for you.

Makoto Ikeda. Photo by Brett Homenick,

Makoto Ikeda was born in 1939 in Konoshima, Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture. In 1957, he joined Kyoto Costume, which at the time was in charge of costumes for Toho Studios. (In 1963, Kyoto Costume became a subsidiary of the Toho Group.) Afterward, he worked on numerous Toho productions in the studio's costume department, beginning with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958).

Following that experience, Ikeda-san primarily worked on costumes for the films by directors Hiroshi Inagaki, Senkichi Taniguchi, and Kihachi Okamoto. At Mifune Productions, he was in charge of costumes from Kihachi Okamoto's Red Lion (1969) through Hiroshi Inagaki's Incident at Blood Pass (1970). His close relationship with Toshiro Mifune led to Ikeda's work on the international co-production Red Sun (1971), directed by Terence Young and starring Mifune and Charles Bronson. 

Ikeda-san's other credits at Toho include: Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender (1959), Inao: Story of an Iron Arm (1959), Seniors, Juniors, Co-Workers (1959), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Atragon (1963), Warring Clans (1963), The Lost World of Sinbad (1963), Monster Zero (1965), Ironfinger (1965), Come Marry Me (1966), Japan's Longest Day (1967), and Epoch of Murder Madness (1967).

Ikeda-san was also an assistant director on Kihachi Okamoto's The Human Bullet (1968). In 1979, he was transferred from Kyoto Costume to Oriental Land where he was in charge of the costumes for the opening of Tokyo Disneyland.

Not only was Ikeda-san extremely approachable and affable, he had many strong memories of the movies he worked on. When I asked Ikeda-san what his most fun experience on a movie was, he answered that it was Red Lion.

I also asked him if he might have been involved with Kenji Sahara's fake beard in Atragon, but Ikeda-san told me that he'd usually only be involved with smaller amounts of facial hair, like a moustache.

Ikeda-san has written several books about his film experiences, but he also said he isn't very handy with computers. When I asked him how he wrote his books, he answered it was all by hand. Pretty impressive!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Asada-san was also a lot of fun to spend the evening with. I told him I didn't think Godzilla Minus One (2023) is tokusatsu due its being exclusively CG, but he disagreed and said that the various layers of VFX involved qualify it as such. I certainly respect his viewpoint (and he has more than earned it!), but I still see things differently.

When I arrived, Asada-san asked me about my plans in March, and I explained everything to him. Later on, our conversation turned to the city of Palm Springs, and Asada-san remembered Troy Donahue singing a song about the city. Perhaps it's in the movie Palm Springs Weekend (1963), which I've never seen, but maybe I should!

Eiichi Asada with Teruyoshi Nakano's hat. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One other thing I'll mention about Asada-san is that he said to our group that people don't need to be able to speak each other's languages perfectly in order to communicate, as body language can make up for many of the differences. I heartily agree.

Toward the end, another attendee brought out Teruyoshi Nakano's trademark hat, which Asada-san put on to pose for a few photos. In a way, it was like the passing of the torch from one tokusatsu director to another. 

Suffice it to say, I'm glad to I took the day off to attend this event! Meeting a Toho legend I'd never met before would have been reason enough, but Asada-san's kindness simply pushed it over the top. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a Monday evening this much!

An End-of-the-Year Tokusatsu Gathering!

Eiichi Asada (left) and Kazuya Konaka hold a poster for Konaka-san's film Single8 (2023). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Last night (Saturday, December 16), I attended an end-of-the-year party with two special guests: Eiichi Asada and director Kazuya Konaka. Konaka-san had his new film Single8 (2023) screened, but I missed it due to my work schedule. Maybe someday!

Despite being an end-of-the-year party, the proceedings were pretty typical. Actually, the most memorable moment for me was when one of my Japanese friends, whom I've known for years, asked me what I thought of Godzilla Minus One (2023). Well, technically, I asked him first, but, before answering, he asked me what I thought of it. When I said I didn't think it was very good, he smiled and shook my hand. It turns out he had the same issues with the film that I did and couldn't understand why it's so successful.

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Overall, we both agreed that the visuals were good but that the script was the film's major weakness. With a few tweaks, I do think the movie could have been great. It's just a shame that the story has more than its share of flaws.

As mentioned earlier, one of the guests of honor was director Kazuya Konaka  Konaka-san helmed episodes of Ultraman Dyna (1997-98), Ultraman Cosmos (2001-02), Ultraman Nexus (2004-05), Ultraman Mebius (2006-07), Ultraseven X (2007), Ultraman Ginga S (2014), and Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga (2016-17). 

Konaka-san also directed the feature films: Ultraman Zearth 2 (1997), Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna (1998), Ultraman Gaia: The Battle in Hyperspace (1999), Ultraman: The Next (2004), Mirrorman Reflex (2006), and Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Brothers (2006). 

I didn't get to speak with Konaka-san very much (despite sitting across from him for a good portion of the evening) due to my lack of familiarity with his work. But it was interesting listening to him answering the questions of others at the table who were much more familiar with his movies and TV shows.

That said, I had a lot of fun with Asada-san, as usual. After I had arrived late and sat down in the audience, Asada-san spotted me and greeted me from his table where he was signing autographs. One funny moment was when I was saying something about the Soviet submarine scene in Godzilla 1985 (1984), but Asada-san couldn't understand my use of the word "Russian" with a Japanese accent. It wasn't until I said the word in English that Asada-san finally understood what I was saying! 

At the end of the evening, a couple of attendees handed Asada-san their business cards, and, since comedy comes in threes, I handed Asada-san what I explained was an invisible business card. As you can see, I like making silly jokes a lot more than I'm sure people like hearing them. (I really should get new business cards made, though.) Also, as Asada-san was about ready to leave, we posed for the two photos above. 

All in all, it was a fun evening, and I hope to do it again next year!

The Twins of Tokusatsu Tear It Up!

Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight (Sunday, September 3), I attended another special event featuring the twins of tokusatsu: Eiichi Asada and Takashi Naganuma. 

During most of the event, I sat next to Naganuma-san, as he was sharing his usual wordplay. One example was using the English word "cola" twice to substitute for the Japanese title of The Last Dinosaur (1977). (If you know, you know.)

Later on, Naganuma-san wondered when we first met, so I showed him the photo from October 2015, which is when we first met. Oh, if only I could look so young again! 

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The other guest of the evening was Eiichi Asada. Asada-san commented on how sweaty I was when I arrived later in the afternoon. I guess he was surprised at how hot it still was outside, despite being past 5:00 already. 

Later on, Asada-san asked how old I was, which I asked him to guess. He originally guessed my age as four years younger than I actually am, which was nice to hear. But then he guessed it four years older than my actual age, to which I jokingly pretended to get angry.

Afterward, I mentioned a relative of mine who lives in Florida, and Asada-san replied with some comments about the political goings-on in that state, which left me in stitches. I had no idea Asada-san was that familiar with American politics!

So it was yet another fun evening. I always enjoy spending time in their company, and I can't wait to do it again!

A Celebration of Tokusatsu!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My busy weekend continued into Sunday, August 13, with another informal get-together with Eiichi Asada and Takashi Naganuma. I think you guys know the drill by now, so let's get to the highlights.

Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NAGANUMA-SAN! Celebrating the Birthday of a Toho Tokusatsu Alumnus!

Takashi Naganuma about to blow out his birthday cake. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday night, July 22, I attended another special event -- but not just any event! It celebrated the recent birthday (July 20) of Takashi Naganuma, who turned 76. I joined the event after work, and things went as they usually do. As always, Naganuma-san came up with a lot of Japanese-English wordplay, but so did I.

In fact, some of my material made Eiichi Asada laugh pretty hard (such as, when Asada-san ordered a drink "on the rocks," I came up with an extremely silly, childish play on words using with Japanese word for "six") which I wasn't expecting, but I was nonetheless happy to see. It certainly wasn't high-brow stuff, but I'm glad it got the job done. Other than that silliness, there isn't a whole lot else to talk about, so let's get to the highlights.

Happy birthday, Naganuma-san!

Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.