Actor Makoto Akatsuka, Who Appeared in the Ultraman and Kamen Rider Series, Passes Away at Age 73

Makoto Akatsuka in November 2022. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Film and television actor Makoto Akatsuka passed away on July 4 at a hospital in Ibaraki Prefecture of esophageal cancer. He was 73.

Mr. Akatsuka, who was born on March 19, 1951, began his professional film career in 1967 with Toho, playing youthful character in a variety of productions. He plays Sangoro in the film Double Suicide (1969), Mamoru Watanabe in Wet Sand in August (1971), Chuji Saito in Yoji Yamada's The Village (1975), the grandson in the Tora-san film Tora's Pure Love (1976), a chimpira in The Yellow Handkerchief (1977), Otomatsu Kawase in Nomugi Pass (1979), Makoto in Tora-san Goes North (1987), a policeman in Tora-san Makes Excuses (1992), and Yazaki in the Oscar-nominated The Twilight Samurai (2002).

On television, he appears uncredited in episode 12 of Ultraman Ace (1972-73), episode 11 of Jekyll and Hyde (1973) as a toy factory worker, Fight! Dragon (1974) as Kojiro Musashi, the all-star TV movie Tokyo Earthquake Magnitude 8.1 (1980) as Hiroshi Sakaki, episode 28 of Kamen Rider Black (1987-88) as Tsunekichi Koyama, and Kamen Rider Black RX (1988-89) as the recurring character Shunkichi Sahara.

I met Mr. Akatsuka only once in November 2022. It was after a stage performance in Daikanyama, Tokyo. I approached him after the show to introduce myself and mentioned my interest in tokusatsu productions, specifically mentioning Ultraman Ace. He was very kind, and I enjoyed meeting him.

His acting resume was impressive enough that I did consider reaching out to him for an interview, but, given his recent health issues, it probably wasn't very likely, anyway. I'm sure he had many fascinating stories to tell.

Rest in peace, Mr. Akatsuka.

SUPER SENTAI TO THE RESCUE! Toei All-Stars Fight Bad Guys!

From left to right: Ryosuke Sakamoto, Koji Unoki, Toshimichi Takahashi, yours truly, Hitomi Yoshii, and Kenju Hayashi.  

Today, I had the privilege of attending a special event that included a Q&A session and even a couple of dramatic readings hosted by a slew of Toei actors from the '70s and '80s. There's a lot of folks to talk about, so let's get right to it!

With Ryosuke Sakamoto. 

The first actor I'll discuss is Ryosuke Sakamoto. Sakamoto-san starred as Red One in Choudenshi Bioman (1984-85) and has appeared on other tokusatsu programs over the years, such as Kamen Rider Black (1987-88). As many Super Sentai fans know, Sakamoto-san had a major health scare last year, as he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. It was wonderful to see Sakamoto-san in such great spirits.

With Lisa Komaki. 

Also there was Lisa Komaki. Komaki-san played Peggy Matsuyama on Himitsu Sentai Goranger (1975-77), the original Super Sentai series. She was also the suit actor for and voice of actress Diane Martin as the heroine Miss America on Battle Fever J (1979-80). Komaki-san is always someone I look forward to seeing at these shindigs.

With Toshimichi Takahashi. 

Toshimichi Takahashi is an actor and suit actor who appears in numerous films and TV productions from Toei and other studios, including: Wolf Guy (1975), Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977), Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995), the Toho superhero series Megaloman (1979), and numerous Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Metal Hero series, beginning with Goranger. In this photo, I'm holding his High Priest Baraom mask from Kamen Rider Black.

Koji Unoki, Hitomi Yoshii, yours truly, and Kenju Hayashi.

As if that weren't enough, Hitomi Yoshii was another featured guest. She began her career acting in the late 1970s and acted movies for Toei and Toho, but here she is best known for playing the villainous High Priestess Bishium on Kamen Rider Black.

Koji Unoki, holding his Dyna Blue helmet, was likewise in attendance. He played Dyna Blue (both in and out of the suit) on Kagaku Sentai Dynaman (1983-84).

Last but not least was Kenju Hayashi, who has appeared on Battle Fever J, Nebula Mask Machine Man (1984), and Kamen Rider Black. His biggest tokusatsu credit is portraying Prince Megiddo on Dynaman.

Whew! So much to talk about. Everyone was very nice and a lot of fun to see. A great mixture of heroes and villains!

KAMEN RIDER BLACK MEETS BILLY THE KID! Meeting Actor Tetsuo Kurata!

Tetsuo Kurata's restaurant Billy the Kid in Koto, Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the agenda today was a trip to Koto, Tokyo, where I ate at the restaurant Billy the Kid for the first time. The food I ate was delicious, but there was another reason I visited the restaurant.

The restaurant owner is Tetsuo Kurata, an actor best known for starring in Kamen Rider Black (1987-88) and Kamen Rider Black RX (1988-89). Kamen Rider Black RX got the Power Rangers treatment by Saban in the mid-1990s and was broadcast in the States as Masked Rider (1995-96).

I watched several episodes of both series several years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. Kurata-san was very approachable and friendly, and I look forward to meeting him again.