Ultraman Jack Celebrates the Year That Was 2023!

Kaiju Sakaba in Shimbashi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

Last night (Friday, December 22), I attended another end-of-the-year party, but this time it was at Kaiju Sakaba near Shimbashi Station. It'd been a long time since I last went to Kaiju Sakaba, which made it a bit more special as a location. 

Photo by Brett Homenick.

I'd forgotten about the Roman Holiday-inspired Jamila display that lights up and roars when you put your hand in it. It's something the staff basically forces you to put your hand in before you enter. 

Gomora is ready to party! Photo by Brett Homenick.

The guest of honor was suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi. Kikuchi-san is principally known as Ultraman Jack's suit actor in Return of Ultraman (1971-72). He also donned the Ultra Seven suit in Ultra Seven (1967-68) for two episodes (14 and 15) and tussles with Sean Connery in the classic James Bond thriller You Only Live Twice (1967).

Photo by Brett Homenick.

It was a lot of fun to see Kikuchi-san again. His clothing style that evening suggested that of a cowboy. In fact, he was wearing a belt buckle that read something along the lines of, "In Dixie, we don't call 911." I asked Kikuchi-san where he bought his belt, and, interestingly enough, he said he got it in Japan!

Eiichi Kikuchi and an old friend. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Underneath his flannel shirt, however, was a T-shirt he wore in honor of Jiro Dan, the late actor who played Hideki Go, Ultraman Jack's human alter ego in Return of Ultraman, who passed away in March of this year. 

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Here are some memories from the evening: At one point during the evening, I made the Specium Ray pose, but Kikuchi-san corrected the position of my arms, pointing out that it would have obscured the Color Timer. Well, folks, that's why he's Ultraman!

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another fun memory was when Kikuchi-san (whom I had the privilege of sitting almost directly across from during the evening) was coming back to his seat. He put his hand on my shoulder as he passed my chair, which was a lovely thing for him to do. 

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was former Toho SFX crew member and tokusatsu book author Masahiko Shiraishi, who worked primarily on the Heisei series, starting with Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and culminating with Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). 

It'd been a while since I last saw Shiraishi-san, and our conversation covered such topics as MGM musicals (Shiraishi-san loves them!) and Fred Astaire movies (he loves those, too!). 

During the evening, I asked Shiraishi-san if he considers Chofu (the home of Daiei and Nikkatsu) or Seijo (the home of Toho) to be Japan's equivalent of Hollywood. He selected neither of those options and went with Kyoto instead. A very fascinating and unexpected answer! I hadn't considered Kyoto a possibility before, but, at least in the context of its Showa-era heyday, it ought to be in the running.

Masahiko Shiraishi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

There were other familiar faces on hand, such as Yutaka Arai, who has worked as an SFX director on independent kaiju eiga. It was great to say hello to several folks I hadn't seen in a while.

What a wonderful end-of-the-year celebration this was. Everyone was in the holiday spirit and had a fun time. I'm glad I went and, as always, can't wait to do it again!

A Fun Birthday Celebration with Ultraman Jack!

Eiichi Kikuchi poses with two of his alter egos. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the evening of Friday, August 18, I joined a birthday celebration for suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi, best known for portraying Ultraman Jack in Return of Ultraman (1971-72), as well as Ultra Seven in episodes 14 and 15 of Ultra Seven (1967-68). Kikuchi-san was born on August 21, 1942, so we were a bit early with the celebration, but the timing worked out well for all attendees.

Suffice it to say, Kikuchi-san was in great spirits, and I don't think I've ever seen him so animated at such a gathering before. He was making jokes and having fun the entire evening, which was wonderful to see. Hard to believe he was on the cusp of turning 81!

Kikuchi-san even poured drinks for some of the attendees, who were in awe of the fact that Ultra Seven and Ultraman Jack was giving them such an honor. When I jokingly offered my glass (I'm a lifelong teetotaler, to say nothing of the fact that my glass was the wrong type to be receiving such an alcoholic beverage), he was amused and said I'd make a good manzai partner for him. Now that's what I call an honor!

Later on in the evening, when Kikuchi-san was demonstrating an action scene, he stopped suddenly in the middle of his demonstration to ask me how to say "action" in English. It was another memorable moment from the evening. 

Kikuchi-san passed around some memorabilia from his collection, including a photo album of pictures he took on the set of Ultraman Mebius (2006-07) when he made a guest appearance on the show.

When we were all heading back to the train station, Kikuchi-san asked me how old I was, and, when I told him, he seemed surprised and responded that I was young. All I can say is, I hope to be as young as Kikuchi-san is when I reach his age.

What a fun celebration. I'd never seen Kikuchi-san happier, which in turn made me over the moon for him. Below are just some of the snapshots I took. I think his enthusiasm comes across quite well in them.

Ultraman Jack Warms Up a Cold January Evening in Style!

With Atsushi Hagiwara.

Tonight, Friday, January 20, I attended a special event featuring two special guests -- Return of Ultraman (1971-72) suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi and Toho modelmaker Atsushi Hagiwara. Due to my work schedule, I arrived later than almost everyone else (as usual), but that certainly didn't stop me from enjoying myself.

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As luck would have it, I was seated in between Hagiwara-san and Kikuchi-san. Hagiwara-san brought several photo albums featuring his modeling work (as well as that of his colleagues) on the Toho sci-fi epic Sayonara Jupiter (1984). There were some doubles among one of the photo albums, so Hagiwara-san surprisingly gave me the extras as a gift. I certainly wasn't expecting that, but it was nice to receive!

He also told me an interesting story about his younger brother, Akira, who also worked as a modelmaker on various Toho movies. Akira used Atsushi's home phone number (at the time) to put on the number plate of one of the High-Power Laser Beam Vehicles seen in Godzilla 1985 (1984). Now there's an in-joke I don't think any of us knew about!

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi, who showed attendees several collages with various photos from his suit-acting career, as well as more recent photos with other suit actors and assorted luminaries from the world of tokusatsu. Kikuchi-san was in great spirits, and I was happy to share a couple of fist bumps with him. He also seemed happy to try out a bit of English, which of course I'd always encourage him to try.

After posing for the above photo, I asked Kikuchi-san to sign a shikishi board for a friend of mine, which he gladly did. Kikuchi-san went above and beyond to give my friend an elaborate autograph, which I'm sure will please my buddy. 

I expected to have a lot of fun, but this exceeded my expectations. Can't wait to do it again!

A Special 'Ultraman Ace' 50th Anniversary Event in Tokyo!

Shunichi Okita. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, July 3, I attended a special book-launch event for a new tome chronicling the history of Ultraman Ace (1972-73), which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

One of the guests on hand was Shunichi Okita. Okita-san portrayed TAC member Ichiro Yamanaka in Ultraman Ace, but, prior to his signature role, Okita-san began as a Nikkatsu actor. He appears in the highly acclaimed crime thriller Tokyo Drifter (1966) and later appeared in a couple of Kihachi Okamoto films at Toho: Red Lion (1969) and Battle of Okinawa (1971). It had been years since I last saw Okita-san, so it was great to see him again.

Eizo Yamagiwa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another great guest was Tsuburaya Productions director Eizo Yamagiwa. Earlier in his career at Shintoho, Yamagiwa-san worked on the seventh Starman actioner, Super Giant: The Space Mutant Appears (1958), which was later edited into the cult classic Evil Brain from Outer Space. At the end of the 1960s, Yamagiwa-san joined Tsuburaya Productions as a director, helming such TV programs as Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75), among others. He also directed episodes of Silver Kamen (1971-72) and the Submersion of Japan TV series (1974-75).

I brought a DVD sleeve from the Tales of Terror Mill Creek Entertainment 50-movie pack that had Evil Brain from Outer Space for Yamagiwa-san to sign. I explained that it was the American version of the Starman movie he worked on, and he read out the title of the movie in English. 

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A surprise guest was Eiichi Kikuchi, who is principally known as Ultraman Jack's suit actor in Return of Ultraman. Kikuchi-san also donned the Ultra Seven suit in Ultra Seven (1967-68) for two episodes (14 and 15). He also tussles with Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice (1967).

As you can see, he loves striking various Ultra-poses for the gathered paparazzi!

There were also some cool items on display, like Okita-san's TAC uniform from Ultraman Ace.

Various scripts from the show were on display, too.

In the end, though, hanging out is what it's all about! That's the highlight of any such event for me, and I think these photos demonstrate that very well.

I was especially happy to see Yamagiwa-san doing well. He turns 90 years old later this month!

Yes, I'd say the guests had a great time...

... by looking at these photos.

 And that's all for now. See you next time!

Witnessing the Return of Ultraman!

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, May 21, I attended a special event with legendary suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi. Of course, Kikuchi-san's best-known role was that of Ultraman Jack in Return of Ultraman (1971-72). He also donned the Ultra Seven suit in Ultra Seven (1967-68) for the King Joe episodes. 

Kikuchi-san talked about many things, including his experience on the set of You Only Live Twice (1967) as a henchman who gets dispatched by James Bond (played by Sean Connery). 

Toward the end of the evening, Kikuchi-san pulled out a couple of copies of an advertisement for Return of Ultraman gear for which he modeled. He signed one for me (and a few others at our table) simply because he wanted to. I was impressed by his generosity. 

Overall, it was a great evening, and it was a privilege to spend so much time in the company of Kikuchi-san. Hope I'm able to do it again soon!

SUPER FESTIVAL 81! Tremendous Toys Take Tokyo!

Super Festival 81 came and went today in Tokyo at its usual location, the Science Museum near Kudanshita Station. There's not much to say about this one. I met up with Return of Ultraman suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi (one of the event's featured guests) and picked up a DVD of the Submersion of Japan TV series. Other than that, however, the photos can speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Tora-san seems just a bit out of place. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Could it be Behemoth, one of the Titans? Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Okay, who ate Captain America? Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.