A Burning Love for Tokusatsu!

Kazuaki Sekiyama. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After work, on Saturday, May 6, I spent a very pleasant evening with tokusatsu pyrotechnician Kazuaki Sekiyama in his office. Sekiyama-san began his career in entertainment with Ultraman Ace (1972-73) and worked consistently in tokusatsu until the mid-1980s. He turned down offers to return to SFX productions for years after that due to his business but made a comeback with Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) and has worked on genre productions ever since.

Sekiyama-san has many incredible stories to share. He's also one heck of a nice guy. I wish all my Saturdays could be this fun!

An Evening with '70s-Era Tokusatsu Experts

 Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, June 23, I attended a special dinner event with a couple of veterans of '70s tokusatsu. The two guests of honor were Takashi Naganuma and Kazuaki Sekiyama.

If you read this blog with any regularity and are not familiar with Naganuma-san, for shame. He is truly a man who needs no introduction.

 Kazuaki Sekiyama. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The other guest was one I hadn't seen in a couple of years. It was Kazuaki Sekiyama, an SFX crew member whose career dates all the way back to Ultraman Ace (1972-73) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973). To look at him, you wouldn't know that his tokusatsu career dates back 45 years!

Suffice it to say, it was another excellent evening in great company. Can't wait to do it all over again!

MANY, MANY PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT! Gamera the Brave Feted in Yokohama!

Kazuaki Sekiyama talks Gamera the Brave (2006).

Tomoo Haraguchi reminisches about creating monsters for the movies.

Haraguchi-san poses with one of his creations.

Sekiyama-san and Haraguchi-san share a laugh.

Posing for pictures.

With Kazuaki Sekiyama.

With Tomoo Haraguchi.

TEN YEARS OF GAMERA THE BRAVE! Special Guests Help Celebrate a Decade of Destruction!

Special effects staff member Kazuaki Sekiyama and creature creator Tomoo Haraguchi pose with an actual suit head from Gamera the Brave (2006). Photo by Brett Homenick

Today I went to Yokohama to watch a screening of a 35mm print of Gamera the Brave (2006). I'd seen the film once before circa 2007, and at the time I didn't think much of it. This time my opinion improved, and I enjoyed it much more than before.

In attendance were SFX staff member Kazuaki Sekiyama and creature creator Tomoo Haraguchi. Haraguchi-san brought the actual suit head of the Gamera suit used early in the film when the Friend of All Children is battling several Gyaos.

With explosions expert Kazuaki Sekiyama. (Somehow our arms got all tangled up!) 

I enjoyed speaking with Sekiyama-san and getting to know more about his career. He started as a (very) young man working as a staff member on Ultraman Ace (1972-73) and ended up working on many Toho tokusatsu productions, starting with Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973). His specialty is explosions, so he fit right in with Teruyoshi Nakano's crew! Sekiyama-san continues to work in film to this day, and his work was featured in Gamera the Brave.

With Tomoo Haraguchi and what's left of Gamera after fighting a bunch of Gyaos!

While I've met Haraguchi-san before, this was my first chance to spend a great deal of time with him. Haraguchi-san is also a director in his own right, having helmed such titles as Mikadroid (1991), Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (2000), and Death Kappa (2010). He was very friendly as well, and the conversation went on so long that it continued on the train!

Thanks to everyone for a great evening!