A New Interview About Classic Tokusatsu on Vantage Point Interviews!

With Minoru Kujirai in November 2021.

My interview with animator Minoru Kujirai has just been posted on Vantage Point Interviews. In the interview, Mr. Kujirai discusses working for Toei Animation in the mid-1960s, on which he worked on the animated series King Kong (1967). From there, Mr. Kujirai would briefly work on a few Toei tokusatsu series, including the original Kamen Rider (1971-73), but it would be his work at Tsuburaya Productions throughout the 1970s, including the Ultraman series, that would define his tokusatsu career. Read all about it on Vantage Point Interviews where content is king!

Lunch with an Animation Legend!

Minoru Kujirai. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I enjoyed a pleasant lunch with animator and tokusatsu veteran Minoru Kujirai, whose career in animation and tokusatsu is quite impressive. He worked on tokusatsu projects for Toho, Toei, Tsuburaya Productions, and beyond.

It was my first time to visit with Kujirai-san since the pandemic, so it had been quite a while. Hopefully, we can do it again much sooner!

WONDER FESTIVAL! Seeing Some Cool Models on This Cold Winter Day!

Earlier today, I attended the winter edition of Wonder Festival 2019. There were lots of interesting models and even a new Legendary Godzilla statue. Anyway, a picture's worth a thousand words, so here ya go!

"Permission to come aboard?" "You have my permission to come aboard." Photo by Brett Homenick. 

 Oh, no! The Great Buddha has arrived! Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

Minoru Kujirai. Photo by Brett Homenick.

WONDER FESTIVAL 2018! More Photos from the Event!

The Godzilla Store at Wonder Festival. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Below are a few more shots from Wonder Festival 2018. I was pleased to see animator/designer Minoru Kujirai at the show. I hadn't seen him in more than two years. My only purchase was the new Hideyo Amamoto photo book available through the Godzilla Store. Would you believe I still haven't opened it yet? Anyway, let's get on to the photos. 

AN ANIMATING DISCUSSION! Meeting Animator-Designer Minoru Kujirai!

Minoru Kujirai at a restaurant in Hino, Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, February 13, I was pleased to have a chance to spend an evening with animator-designer Minoru Kujirai, whose work has been featured in many classic TV show and films. He began his career as an animator at Toei Studios, working on many cartoons that the studio produced.

In the 1970s, he turned his attention to live-action tokusatsu, and not only continued to work for Toei (on the Kamen Rider series) but eventually went to Tsuburaya Productions. At Tsuburaya, Kujirai-san worked on the Ultra-series (namely Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Leo), designing the beams for Ultraman and his kaiju foes. He later worked on movies like The War in Space (1977) and Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis (1988).

Yours truly with Kujirai-san, following dinner and a lively conversation.

It was a wonderful experience to get to know not just an unsung hero of tokusatsu, but also a fellow fan. I can't thank Kujirai-san enough for his kindness and hospitality. Let's meet again soon!