DAN MOROBOSHI AND AKIKO FUJI TEAM UP IN FUJISAWA! Two Popular Ultra-Stars Share the Stage!

Koji Moritsugu and Hiroko Sakurai talk to the audience about the Ultra-memories. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, September 12, I traveled to Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture to attend a talk show event hosted at Joli Chapeau. Actor Koji Moritsugu (Ultra Seven's Dan Moroboshi) and actress Hiroko Sakurai (Ultra Q's Yuriko Edogawa and Ultraman's Akiko Fuji) were scheduled to sign autographs and meet their fans at a special event with limited attendance.

Koji Moritsugu remains one of the most popular alumni from the entire Ultra-series. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Actors from Ultraman (1966-67) and Ultra Seven (1967-68) tend to be the most popular from the decades-long series among Japanese fans, and it is always a treat when actors from the two shows share the stage. It also means it's usually difficult to see, as tickets for such events sell out extremely quickly.

Actress Hiroko Sakurai was in great spirits, often laughing with Moritsugu-san. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The event started with autograph signings, and it's always interesting to see the memorabilia that Japanese fans bring to get signed. I brought in my trusty The Genesis of Ultraman 1966-1980 book for both guests to sign. Moritsugu-san signed another page of the book (he signed it elsewhere last month), and Sakurai-san added her signature to it.

Coming to the rescue! Photo by Brett Homenick.

I also asked Sakurai-san to sign my DVD sleeve of the Toho comedy Aloha 3 Gents (1963), directed by Shue Matsubayashi. Along with Machiko Naka (Godzilla's Revenge), Sakurai-san plays one of Hisaya Morishige's daughters. Sakurai-san was quite surprised to see the DVD sleeve and commented on how nostalgic it made her feel.

After that, the guests sat down and had a free-flowing conversation. They compared it to manzai, a two-person form of Japanese comedy, and after seeing it, that's not a bad description at all! Sakurai-san could not keep a straight face, as she was laughing most of the time. Moritsugu-san is quite a jokester, and he kept Sakurai-san in stitches.

Once the two guests had finished their interview, it was time for pictures to be taken. If you thought I was kidding about Moritsugu-san's comedic antics, well, just look at the photo below. I think a picture really is worth a thousand words!

Overall, I had a fantastic time. Moritsugu-san is always a blast to hang out with, and Sakurai-san is always a joy to see. As usual, more cool things are in the works, so keep it here for all the inside info!

KOJI MORITSUGU AND MASANARI NIHEI JOIN FORCES! The Legendary Tsuburaya Actors Team Up in Fujisawa!

Koji Moritsugu (left) and Masanari Nihei (right) reminisce their heroic outings at Tsuburaya Productions. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

August 15 saw a special event at Joli Chapeau in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, that brought Koji Moritsugu (Ultra Seven's Dan Moroboshi) and Masanari Nihei (Ito/Ide from Ultraman) together for a Q&A and signing event.

Masanari Nihei spoke about working for Toho and Tsuburaya Productions. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Nihei-san began by talking about his film career at Toho, working on tokusatsu classics like Mothra (1961) and Gorath (1962). After that, the conversation shifted to Tsuburaya Productions, which is, of course, what the audience wanted to hear.

Koji Moritsugu offers his thoughts during the Q&A session. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Overall, the event was another success, and it followed the usual pattern of fan events organized by Joli Chapeau. The first event is the autograph session, followed by the Q&A, and the final event is the photo session.

Yours truly with Masanari Nihei. Although he is mostly celebrated for his roles in Tsuburaya TV productions, I have to admit that I'm more a fan of his Toho film work.

Nihei-san was every bit as jolly and gregarious as I expected him to be. Moritsugu-san was as friendly as usual. At one point during the photo session, he was humming John Barry's James Bond theme music! Suffice it to say, he's a fun guy to hang around.

Your humble blogmeister with Dan Moroboshi himself, Koji Moritsugu.

I had a blast, and I'm very thankful for finally having a chance to meet Nihei-san. It's always great to meet Toho actors, and he appears in quite a few classics. His work on Ultraman will always be his most famous work, but as a movie guy, I have to give the nod to his Toho films.

That's a wrap! See you all next time!

ULTRA SEVEN RETURNS! Koji Moritsugu Hosts Fans in Fujisawa!

Ultra-stars Koji Moritsugu (left) and Shota Minami (right) pose for photos after a recent talk show event at Joli Chapeau. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

May 23 saw a joint talk show and autograph event at Koji Moritsugu's cafe Joli Chapeau in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. Moritsugu-san played Dan Moroboshi in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Seven (1967-68), which is perhaps the most popular Ultra-series of them all.

Moritsugu-san usually has an Ultra-related guest to join him for his fan events, and this time he was joined by actor Shota Minami. Minami-san played Rei in the TV series Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (2008–2009), as well as Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie (2009). Minami-san seemed to attract several younger women to the event who were rather eager to meet him.

After signing autographs for the attendees, Moritsugu-san and Minami-san settled in for their talk show. Led by Moritsugu-san, the pair swapped stories about working in the Ultra-series, as well as attending the various fan events related to the franchise. At one point, on the subject of Hong Kong, Moritsugu-san started using a few random English phrases, which drew laughter from the audience. Naturally, I laughed, too!

After the two fielded questions from the audience, the two guests posed for photos. As usual, Moritsugu-san was extremely friendly and outgoing, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that Minami-san was, too. He certainly seemed very appreciative of his fans.

Another successful event wrapped, and I had another wonderful time. I must thank Moritsugu-san for his hospitality and Minami-san for being a wonderful guest. I am looking forward to the next time I can attend Moritsugu-san's fan meetings. They're Ultra-good!

ULTRA-COOL! Koji Moritsugu and Hiroko Sakurai Rock Fujisawa!

Ultra-icons Koji Moritsugu and Hiroko Sakurai recall their Tsuburaya days at Joli Chapeau in Fujisawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On August 16, the Joli Chapeau cafe in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, played host to two of the biggest icons in the history of Tsuburaya Productions. Koji Moritsugu (Dan Moroboshi in Ultra Seven) and Hiroko Sakurai (Yuriko Edogawa in Ultra Q and Akiko Fuji in Ultraman) held a talk show and signing event at the cafe. And what a perfect location it was, considering that it's owned by Moritsugu-san himself!

I had a bit of trouble finding the cafe, but with an assist from Moritsugu-san's daughter, Aya, I was able to make it to the venue just in time. The autograph session was first, so I brought a couple of Ultra Seven items (a DVD sleeve previously signed by Yuriko Hishimi and a magazine) for Moritsugu's signature. For Sakurai-san, I brought a Japanese book on the heroines of the Ultra-series (already signed by Yuriko Hishimi and Keiko Nishi), as well as a DVD sleeve of 3 Gents in Hawaii (1963).

What is 3 Gents in Hawaii, you ask? It's an entry in the long-running Shacho series, with Hisaya Morishige, Keiju Kobayashi, and Daisuke Kato. In the film, she plays one of the daughters of Morishige's company-president character. Sakurai-san laughed when she saw the DVD sleeve and was amazed that I knew about the film. She showed the DVD sleeve to Moritsugu-san, who was just as surprised as she was! Sakurai-san asked me where I was from in America, and when I mentioned San Diego, she recalled that she attended the San Diego Comic-Con several years ago.

I last met Moritsugu-san at a special talk show event at Ultra Festival two years ago. Our meeting at that time was very brief, but Aya explained to me that Moritsugu-san remembered me from that event! I was quite surprised, to say the least. I told him that I also admired his performance in Zero (1984), which he was surprised (there's that word again!) I had seen it.

Overall, it was a fantastic event, and I'm very glad I went. I had never met Hiroko Sakurai prior to this occasion. Even though she had been a staple on the fan-event circuit in Japan for many years, I just never had the opportunity to meet her. I'm so glad to have finally changed that.

When she was leaving, she sought me out and shook my hand. Naturally, I was very honored. Sakurai-san and Moritsugu-san are the real deals. I hope to attend another event at Joli Chapeau in the future!