A Reunion of Two Toho and Tsuburaya Pro Legends!

Bin Furuya poses with actress Wakako Tanabe in front of a Gamera Super Monster (1980) poster. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Saturday, August 12, was an interesting day for me. I had to work that day, as usual, but I also committed to attend a dinner in Daikanyama with some of my work colleagues. After I agreed to attend, however, I found out about an event with Bin Furuya, the original Ultraman (1966-67) suit actor himself, and actress Wakako Tanabe to be held in Jimbocho. I was in luck, however, because the timing of the event ensured that I had just enough time to finish work, stop by Jimbocho for about an hour, and then head over to my dinner. Ultimately, everything worked out according to plan. 

Naturally, I arrived a bit late. Shortly after I took my seat (toward the back of the room), Furuya-san saw me and gave me a shout-out in the middle of his interview. After Furuya-san wrapped up talking about his days at Toho, it was time for Tanabe-san to talk about her days as an actress at Toho and Tsuburaya Productions.

Tanabe-san would be best remembered by kaiju fans in the U.S. as the unfortunate victim who gets eaten by Gaira at the airport in War of the Gargantuas (1966). She played Torahata's companion while he speaks to Kumayama on the phone in Godzilla vs. the Thing (a.k.a. Mothra vs. Godzilla, 1964), as well as a Kilaak in Destroy All Monsters (1968). Her other action/tokusatsu credits include: The Lost World of Sinbad (1963), Ironfinger (1965), episode 19 of Ultra Q (1966), episode 45 of Ultra Seven (1967-68), episode 21 of Fight! Mighty Jack (1968), episode 8 of Operation: Mystery! (1968-69), Konto 55: Space Adventure (1969), and episode 12 of Horror Theater Unbalance (1973).

In between Wakako Tanabe and Bin Furuya.

Tanabe-san presented a slideshow featuring photos taken in more recent years with actors Yosuke Natsuki and Hisaya Morishige, as well as director Shue Matsubayashi. She described her relationship with these Toho legends toward the end of their lives and what they were like offscreen.

When I got close enough in line for Tanabe-san to see me, she said "Wow!" and instantly recognized me, even though we'd only met twice before (including our 2018 interview). When I knelt down next to her to take our photo, she asked if I recognized her, which obviously I did. (I mean, how could I not?!) The only downside is that there wasn't much -- OK, any -- time to chat, as the line had to keep moving, and I had to leave. But it was well worth it, even if our interaction was all too brief.

With director Minoru Kawasaki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

And, as an added bonus, director Minoru Kawasaki showed up, too, to join the festivities. All in all, it was a great event (especially for the limited time I was able to spend there), and I'm relieved the timing worked out as well as it did. I hope to see Tanabe-san for a longer period of time soon!

An Evening with an Independent Kaiju Filmmaker and a Tsuburaya Productions Star!

Minoru Kawasaki and Shota Minami. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight (Wednesday, May 3), I attended a special event with independent filmmaker Minoru Kawasaki and actor Shota Minami. It's currently Golden Week in Japan, and the trains were absolutely packed with holidaymakers on the way there. I didn't think things would be so busy!

I arrived late to the event, and the guests were already signing autographs. When Kawasaki-san saw me, he recognized me and waved at me. He asked Minami-san if he knew me, but Minami-san didn't and greeted me as someone he was meeting for the first time. More on that a bit later.

Minoru Kawasaki's keychain gift. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After signing autographs and posing for pics, it was time for the social gathering. Kawasaki-san offered a variety of keychains featuring his likeness from the time he was a boy. I chose the one above. As I recall, the photo was taken when he was in elementary school.

Minoru Kawasaki holds his Suddenly Young Guy pamphlet. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One other interesting item Kawasaki-san pulled out was this Toho-style pamphlet of an amateur movie he made in 1985 -- Suddenly Young Guy. I had a chance to thumb through it, and it was really well done. It really captured the style of the Showa-era Toho pamphlets really well.

Most of the conversation focused on a variety of tokusatsu topics. Kawasaki-san asked me who my favorite tokusatsu actress was, figuring it must be Kumi Mizuno. I told him it was actually Yumi Shirakawa, which prompted Kawasaki-san to discuss not only Shirakawa-san's other tokusatsu roles (especially The Mysterians and The H-Man) but also the career of Hideaki Nitani, her late husband.

We also talked about Tadao Nakamaru, Hiroshi Fujioka, and numerous other topics. It was a fun chat, and I really appreciate the attention Kawasaki-san showed me this evening.

Shota Minami. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was Shota Minami. Minami-san played Rei in the TV series Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (2008–09), as well as Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie (2009). Toward the end of the evening, I had the opportunity to pull out the photo I have when he and I met at an event with Koji Moritsugu eight years ago. Suffice it to say, he was surprised to see it. Given that we'd only met once briefly almost a decade ago, it's no surprise he didn't recognize me. 

Minami-san was very friendly, and I got to hang around him much more than I did eight years ago. Overall, it was a wonderful event, and I'm quite glad I decided to go. Let's do it again soon!

An Evening with Minoru Kawasaki!

Minoru Kawasaki poses with a poster for Planet Prince 2021. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, February 19, I attended an event with director Minoru Kawasaki. Kawasaki-san is best-known for his low-budget kaiju romps that often feature luminaries from Showa-era tokusatsu productions. The movie of his I'm most familiar with is Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008), which was released on DVD in the U.S. back in the day.

It was a fun event with a few familiar faces who often attend such gatherings. Kawasaki-san showed me some materials from his next movie, which looks just as wacky as anything else he's done. 

 I wasn't able to see the screening of his new film Planet Prince 2021, which is his version of Prince of Space, but I hope to check it out soon. Overall, it was a very fun evening!

Bin Furuya's 2021 Christmas Show!

Bin Furuya addresses the audience. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, December 11, I attended a Christmas show hosted by Bin Furuya, the original Ultraman suit actor. It was essentially a variety show, which featured an onstage Q&A session with the guests, singing from various performers, and even the reading of a Christmas story.

The show was organized and arranged by Furuya-san's company, so you could imagine that numerous Tsuburaya Productions alumni would be in attendance -- and you'd be right! The two official guests were Hiroko Sakurai and Sandayu Dokumamushi, veterans of the original Ultraman (1966-67), but even more luminaries attended the show in audience.

Bin Furuya, Sandayu Dokumamushi, and Hiroko Sakurai reminisce about their Ultraman days. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In the audience, I spied former Ultraman script supervisor Atsuko Tanaka, former Shintoho actress Kyoko Yashiro (the widow of Ultra-series director Toshihiro Iijima), Tsuburaya Productions cameraman Masao Nakabori, as well as director Minoru Kawasaki.

Sandayu Dokumamushi reads a Christmas story. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The venue itself was a basement nightclub, so it was quite cramped. This made things a bit difficult to maneuver around. The guests were also much less accessible than at other events, but you could still approach the cool ones who didn't mind mixing with attendees.

With Minoru Kawasaki.

I had a nice chat with director Minoru Kawasaki, who was holding court with his entourage. He gave me a flyer for his recent Prince of Space remake (Planet Prince 2021) and briefly talked about it with me.

Masao Nakabori. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Cinematographer Masao Nakabori was another luminary I was able to spend some time with. I interviewed him a couple of years ago, and his career is impressive. Be sure to read all about it here.

We stepped outside for the chat, as the scene indoors was too crowded to talk comfortably. A little fresh air can do a lot of good!

Furuya-san clearly enjoyed himself, as he wore many hats throughout the show. Not only did he host the festivities, and discuss his history as Ultraman, but he performed as a singer and dancer, too! It was all a lot of fun to see. And that's a wrap! 

Chargeman Ken! in Concert!

This concert was a just a bit tongue-in-cheek. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Really, I just wanted to hear some Tsuburaya Productions theme songs. That's all. I really didn't expect to be sucked into the world of Chargeman Ken! (1974) so completely. Chargeman Ken! is a low-budget anime from Knack Productions, which in the last 10 or so years has become something like The Room for anime fans. I was totally unaware of this cartoon or its reputation prior to the concert. As I said, I just came for the Tsuburaya stuff, so suffice it to say, I was caught off-guard by what was to come.

Despite the humorous presentation, there was nothing funny about the quality of the music. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today's concert was held at Shibuya Cultural Center Owada's Sakura Hall. The show started off with a performance of the theme songs from Ultraman (1966-67), Ultra Seven (1967-68), and Mighty Jack (1968). Admittedly, that was the sole reason I came. The concert also included several cues from Gundam and Dragon Ball Z, which were well performed, but I didn't recognize them at all. Hey, I'm just not into cartoons. Chumei Watanabe's "Laser Blade Medley" from Toei's Space Sheriff series was also performed, and in the house was Watanabe-sensei himself. I was pleased that I got a chance to greet him at the concert.

Chargeman Ken stands guard at the entrance of the concert. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The real fun started when it switched to Chargeman Ken! The concert suddenly became almost Rocky Horror-esque in its presentation. Voice actor Noboru Sato, who voiced the villainous General Maou and other characters in the series, voice-acted live from the stage during the concert, as episodes of the series played on a giant screen. Then various cosplayers would come onstage and perform various bizarre antics that left the audience howling with laughter. I was mostly bemused, but certainly interested. 

The evil General Maou attempts to block tokusatsu fans from entering the concert. Photo by Brett Homenick.

And yes, it was quite interesting. Another tokusatsu luminary in the house was director Minoru Kawasaki. As I was looking for my seat, I passed his and exchanged a brief greeting with him. I was expecting a pretty straightforward concert of tokusatsu and anime music, but things didn't quite turn out that way. I'm still digesting what I saw. The juxtaposition of seeing an orchestra decked out in fine evening wear performing alongside yelling and screaming cosplayers in funny outfits was not what I had in mind. It was fun, for sure.

Tokyo Comic Con 2018

 The entrance to the Tokyo Comic Con. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended the first day of the Tokyo Comic Con. It's the only day I could attend the convention, and my overall reaction was that it was okay. The event was held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, which is far from the center of Tokyo. I was surprised to see that the event itself was smaller in size than Wonder Festival, even though I'd say that both events are quite similar.

Aside from bumping into cult director Minoru Kawasaki, I didn't see any familiar faces from the world of tokusatsu. Anyway, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy! 

ULTRA ONE-MAN SHOW 2016! Meeting the VIPs!

With Bin Furuya.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, there is much more to talk about from the Ultra One-Man Show 2016. So let's get to it!

With Nami Tamura.

One of the highlights for me was seeing actress Nami Tamura again. Although she is best known for her guest appearances in Ultra Q (1966) and Ultra Seven (1967-68), she was a Toho actress who appeared in numerous films for the studio, including the thriller Terror in the Streets (1970) along with a bevy of Kihachi Okamato actioners. 

With Minoru Kawasaki. 

Also on hand was Minoru Kawasaki, the director who created Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008). Kawasaki-san was there promoting his new film, Daikaiju Mono (2016), and he took part as an emcee of some of the Q&A sessions.

With Hiroyuki Takano. 

Hiroyuki Takano co-starred in the Toei superhero series Barom-1 (1972) as Kentaro Shiratori. Takano-san has also appeared in episodes of Ultra Seven, Fight! Mighty Jack (1968), Operation: Mystery (1968-69), Spectreman (1971-72), Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Kamen Rider (1971-73), Silver Mask (1971-72), and Submersion of Japan (1974-75). Takano-san attended the show as a friend of Furuya-san.

Sojiro Uchino. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While there, I bumped into former child actor Sojiro Uchino, who appeared in episodes of Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Kaiju Booska (1966-67). I hadn't seen Soji-san since the summer, so I enjoyed chatting with him again.

With singer Grace Mika. 

I've gotten to know Grace Mika since last year, and I always enjoy her company. As always, it was a blast talking with her.

With Atsuko Tanaka. 

I met Tsuburaya Productions scripter Atsuko Tanaka at last year's Ultra One-Man Show, and I was fortunate enough to see her again. She thanked me for sending her photos from last year's event.

With Eiichi Kikuchi.

Last, but certainly not least, was Eiichi Kikuchi, the Return of Ultraman suit actor. He's a gentleman who always makes time for his fans.

And that's a wrap from the Ultra One-Man Show. What a great time it was!