Legendary Tokusatsu Composer Chumei Watanabe Passes Away at Age 96

Chumei Watanabe at his home in July 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Maestro Chumei Watanabe, a tokusatsu composer whose work runs the gamut from Shintoho's Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series to the ground-breaking Super Sentai series Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (1975-77),  passed away at 4:00 a.m. on June 23 of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo. He was 96. A private funeral has already been held, organized by his son, Toshiyuki, the composer of the Heisei Mothra trilogy.

Born Michiaki Watanabe in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on August 19, 1925, Mr. Watanabe would get his start in the film industry in the mid-1950s, working for Shintoho Studios. At Shintoho, Mr. Watanabe would compose the scores for the first four Starman films: Super Giant (1957), Super Giant Continues (1957), Super Giant: The Mysterious Spacemen's Demonic Castle (1957), and Super Giant: Earth on the Verge of Destruction (1957). The first two films would be edited together in the U.S. as Atomic Rulers of the World, and the third and fourth films would become Invaders from Space. 

Mr. Watanabe would also collaborate with celebrated horror director Nobuo Nakagawa on such films as The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) and Hell (1960). In the late 1960s, he composed the scores to two of the three classic yokai films from Daiei, 100 Monsters (1968) and Along with Ghosts (1969). That said, he is much better known around the world for his various TV tokusatsu and anime scores, which began in the 1970s.

I was fortunate to meet Mr. Watanabe several times between 2017 and 2019. I was privileged to interview him in July 2018, which you can read here. Mr. Watanabe was eager to speak in depth about his early life in the interview, which you can read for yourself. My translator and I spent hours at Mr. Watanabe's home in Shibuya for the interview.

Afterward, he ordered dinner for us, which was delivered to his home. As my translator and I were leaving his home after the delicious eel dinner, my translator expressed concern about the cost of such a meal. Mr. Watanabe replied, "Don't worry, I'm rich!" 

Rest in peace, Watanabe-san.

Happy Birthday, Chumei Watanabe!

Chumei Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick.

August 19 marks the 94th birthday of film and television composer Chumei Watanabe. If you're not familiar with Watanabe-san or his work, here is a good place to start.

Chumei Watanabe plays with a Daitetsujin 17 toy. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

I was privileged to attend a special celebration of Watanabe-san last night. I was pleased to see that Watanabe-san hadn't lost a step and is still going strong.

Most of all, I was just happy to see him again and personally wish him a happy birthday. I know that Watanabe-san is an inspiration to me, and I can only hope to be in such good health if and when I reach his age.

Happy birthday, Watanabe-san!

Chumei Watanabe Interview on VPI!

Composer Chumei Watanabe during his July 2018 interview. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My interview with Japanese film composer Chumei (a.k.a. Michiaki) Watanabe is now live at Vantage Point Interviews. Mr. Watanabe composed the scores for numerous Nobuo Nakagawa horror films at Shintoho in the 1950s and early '60s, as well as entries of the Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) film series. At Daiei, Mr. Watanabe composed the scores for the yokai classics 100 Monsters (1968) and Along with Ghosts (1969). It's a Q&A full of history, so please enjoy.

An Audience with Film Composer Chumei Watanabe

Chumei Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday night, May 12, I was fortunate to get invited to another private gathering with legendary composer Chumei Watanabe. While his music for TV tokusatsu and anime programs are famous around the world, I'm much more familiar with his film compositions, which date back to the 1950s. Among his credits are: Shintoho's Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series, Black Cat Mansion (1958), Ghost of Yotsuya (1959), Hell (1960), Daiei's 100 Monsters (1968), and Along with Ghosts (1969).

Watanabe-san is a spry 92 years old, and he's just about as active as anyone half his age. The discussion covered a wide range of subjects, not just film music. Suffice it to say, it was a very enjoyable evening.

AN EVENING WITH CHUMEI WATANABE! The Great Film Composer Meets His Fans!

Chumei Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Tonight, I had the privilege of spending the day with film and TV composer Chumei Watanabe (whose real name is Michiaki Watanabe) at a private gathering. Among Watanabe-san's film compsitions are: several entries of the Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series, Black Cat Mansion (1958), Ghost of Yotsuya (1959), Hell (1960), 100 Monsters (1968), and Along with Ghosts (1969). However, Watanabe-san is much more famous for his anime and TV tokusatsu scores, which are too numerous to list here. Film also composing runs in his family, as his son is Toshiyuki Watanabe, the composer for the '90s Mothra trilogy.

Watanabe-san began his film composing career at Shintoho in 1956, and at age 92 years old, he is still active writing music to this day. Watanabe-san was curious about American culture and how tokusatsu movies and TV programs are received in the West, and naturally I was happy to answer his questions.

Suffice it to say, it was a great evening!