ONE YEAR LATER! Hanging Out with Yamamoto-san Again in Koenji!

Hiroshi Yamamoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Monday, March 25), I was pleased to spend a couple of hours with Hiroshi Yamamoto. We met up near his home in Koenji and went to cafe to have a lengthy discussion about his career in the entertainment industry. Back in April of 2023, we hung out again for the first time in about eight years, so I'm glad we managed to get together before another eight years had passed.

Hiroshi Yamamoto poses with a VHS copy of Gamera Super Monster (1980) from his personal collection. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yamamoto-san and I first met at an event for the late Sonny Chiba in April 2013 and have kept in touch on and off since then. Yamamoto-san worked in the post-production end of numerous tokusatsu productions, both on film and television, from the late 1970s through the early '90s.

Of particular note, Yamamoto-san has worked with director Kinji Fukasaku on projects like Message from Space (1978), Samurai Reincarnation (1981), and Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983). Some of his other credits include Gamera Super Monster (1980), G.I. Samurai (1979), and numerous Toei superhero programs, lending those projects his company's expertise in video techniques.

One interesting tidbit I learned was that Yamamoto-san is especially proud of his work on Samurai Reincarnation, and it's his favorite of his own work. I've never seen that film, so now I've got to check it out.

Before we parted ways, Yamamoto-san gave me a VHS copy of the live-action tokusatsu actioner 8 Man (1992), on which he worked as a producer. Yamamoto-san insisted I take it, and, since he has another copy at home, I felt it was OK to accept. 

It was a great afternoon with a wonderful gent. I hope we'll get a chance to hang out again someday.

A Fun Evening Hearing About Tokusatsu History!

Hiroshi Yamamoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Thursday night, April 13, I spent the evening with Hiroshi Yamamoto, a friendly gent I met almost exactly 10 years ago. We first met at an event for the late Sonny Chiba in April 2013, and who would have guessed that we'd still be hanging out 10 years later?

Yamamoto-san worked in the post-production end of numerous tokusatsu productions, both on film and television, from the late 1970s through the early '90s. He talked about how meticulous director Kinji Fukasaku was on projects like Message from Space (1978) and Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), while noting how gentle and even passive Noriaki Yuasa was during the making of Gamera Super Monster (1980). He also described the kindness of Toei/Tsuburaya tokusatsu director Nobuo Yajima, whom he got to know quite well.

It'd been quite a few years since I last visited Yamamoto-san, which I really regret. I'm glad we had a chance to catch up again after so many years. Yamamoto-san updated me about his current pursuits in the entertainment business. At 77, I'm glad he is staying active.

I look forward to meeting Yamamoto-san again soon!

DINING AND TOKUSATSU TALK! Meeting an Old Friend for Food and Fun!

Hiroshi Yamamoto holds a copy of the tokusatsu actioner 8 Man (1992), on which he served as producer. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Last night I enjoyed dinner with Hiroshi Yamamoto, a true gentleman who was worked on numerous tokusatsu films and TV programs. I first met Yamamoto-san at the Sonny Chiba birthday celebration in April 2013, and we've stayed in touch since then.

Yamamoto-san shows off his coveted Ultraman ring, a rare memento only given to those lucky few who work for Tsuburaya Productions, as he did. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Yamamoto-san worked on such films as Message from Space (1978), Gamera Super Monster (1980), Time Slip (1979), and numerous Toei superhero programs, lending those projects his company's expertise in video techniques. For example, he helped with the SFX for the scene in which the heroes are swimming in space in Message from Space, as well as the opening shot of Gamera Super Monster in which the Zanon spaceship does its best Star Wars imitation.

Aside from his professional accomplishments, Yamamoto-san is a kaiju eiga fan, much like myself. We talked a lot about the Toho classics from the 1950s and '60s, with which he is very familiar. Many thanks to Yamamoto-san for such an enjoyable dinner!