PIGMON TURNS 70! Actor-Singer Hiroshi Chiba Celebrates His Birthday in Concert!

Hiroshi Chiba performs onstage. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, September 18, I made my way to Yotsuya to attend a special birthday-themed concert held by Hiroshi Chiba. Of course, Chiba-san's actual birthday falls on September 19, but the big celebration took place the night before.

Mariko Matsuoka presents a birthday cake to Hiroshi Chiba. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Chiba-san (under the stage name Masahiro Oyake) played Pigmon as a suit actor in episode 37 of Ultraman (1966-67). He also appears in human form in episode 36 of the same series. In the movies, he played the main character Tetsugoro (who was performed by Hideki Takahashi) as a boy in the Nikkatsu actioner Family Crest: Man against Death (1969). Another role of his is in Tsugunobu Kotani's film F2 Grand Prix (1984), starring Ken Tanaka and Katsuhiko Sasaki.

Mariko Matsuoka and actress Nikki Morita (right) look on as Hiroshi Chiba blows out the candles on his birthday cake. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Chiba-san also played Yasohachi Yamagishi in a series of Nikkatsu films based on the risque Go Nagai manga called Harenchi Gakuen ("Shameless School"), namely: Harenchi Gakuen: Shintai Kensa no Maki (1970), Harenchi Gakuen: Tackle Kiss no Maki (1970), and Shin Harenchi Gakuen (1971).

With Mariko Matsuoka.

His best-known role (in Japan, at least) would have to be his appearances as a regular on the massively popular TV series G-Men '75 (1975-82), playing Detective Akio Taguchi from 1979 through 1981. In fact, about halfway through a concert, a salaryman who probably already had a bit too much to drink, entered the venue and shouted to Chiba-san, who was onstage, how much he loved Chiba-san on G-Men '75. Later on, when Chiba-san was singing, he started waving around several pieces of paper that, near as I could tell, were printouts that featured images from the show on them. Kinda amusing but reallllllly weird.

By far, the highlight of the evening for me was running into Mariko Matsuoka again. When she saw me, she exclaimed how surprised she was to see me and gave me a big hug. I came prepared and brought my Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75) Blu-ray set, and an Ultraman Leo (1974-75) booklet, to get signed.

Of course, Matsuoka-san plays android girl Carolyn in episode 24 of Ultraman Leo, Ritsuko Okamura in Kamen Rider Amazon, Misaki Minekawa in episode 29 of Akumaizer 3 (1975-76), episode 32 of UFO Great War Fight! Red Tiger (1978), and Jun in episode 37 of Kyoryu Sentai Koseidon (1978-79). She also appears in the Fumio Ishimori-penned Shochiku film Frozen River (1976) as Harumi Hayata.

We live about a train station apart and discussed getting together in the future. Looking forward to that!

Congrats to Hiroshi "Pigmon" Chiba on turning the big 7-0!

Two Tsuburaya Pro Veterans Perform Onstage!

Hiroshi Chiba and Mariko Matsuoka perform onstage. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight (Friday, November 10), I attended another live performance by Hiroshi Chiba and Mariko Matsuoka. Chiba-san came all the way from Fukuoka for the event, so you could imagine he gave it his all!

Mariko Matsuoka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mariko Matsuoka plays android girl Carolyn in episode 24 of Ultraman Leo (1974-75), Ritsuko Okamura in Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75), Misaki Minekawa in episode 29 of Akumaizer 3 (1975-76), episode 32 of UFO Great War Fight! Red Tiger (1978), and Jun in episode 37 of Kyoryu Sentai Koseidon (1978-79). She also appears in the Fumio Ishimori-penned Shochiku film Frozen River (1976) as Harumi Hayata.

I was able to spend more time with Matsuoka-san after the show than with Chiba-san. Matsuoka-san mentioned again that we should go to a particular pizza restaurant near where she and I live, so hopefully we can do that soon. I'm waiting patiently for it!

With Mariko Matsuoka.

Chiba-san (under the stage name Masahiro Oyake) played Pigmon as a suit actor in episode 37 of Ultraman (1966-67). He also appears in human form in episode 36 of the same series. In the movies, he played the main character Tetsugoro (who was performed by Hideki Takahashi) as a boy in the Nikkatsu actioner Family Crest: Man against Death (1969). 

Another role of his is in Tsugunobu Kotani's film F2 Grand Prix (1984), starring Ken Tanaka and Katsuhiko Sasaki. Chiba-san also played Yasohachi Yamagishi in a series of Nikkatsu films based on the risque Go Nagai manga called Harenchi Gakuen ("Shameless School"), namely: Harenchi Gakuen: Shintai Kensa no Maki (1970), Harenchi Gakuen: Tackle Kiss no Maki (1970), and Shin Harenchi Gakuen (1971).

With Hiroshi Chiba.

Due to my work schedule, I came in late. When I entered the venue, Matsuoka-san was performing onstage, and Chiba-san was in the audience. Chiba-san greeted me as I entered. When it was over, Chiba-san asked me if I enjoyed myself, which I did, particularly the part of the show that focused on West Side Story. As I was leaving, Chiba-san thanked me for coming.

And that's a wrap! 

Actor Hiroshi Chiba Turns 67 in Style in Roppongi!

Hiroshi Chiba. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Sunday, September 10) I had the privilege of attending actor Hiroshi Chiba's 67th birthday event at the piano bar MyScotch in Roppongi. Of course, the actor won't actually turn 67 until his birthday, which will take place on September 19.

Hiroshi Chiba on the guitar! Photo by Brett Homenick.

This was my first time meeting Chiba-san, so I was quite excited. When I showed up, I was surprised to see actress Mariko Matsuoka there. It turns out that she's been friends with Chiba-san for a long time. When I walked in, Matsuoka-san waved to me and beckoned me over to her table, at which she offered me a seat.

Hiroshi Chiba blows out his birthday cake. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I also greeted Chiba-san, who was just getting ready to start, when I came in. Matsuoka-san asked him if we knew each other, to which Chiba-san replied that we had only communicated via social media when I made my reservation.

Actors Hiroshi Chiba and Mariko Matsuoka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

But just who is Hiroshi Chiba? Well, Chiba-san (under the stage name Masahiro Oyake) played Pigmon as a suit actor in episode 37 of Ultraman (1966-67). He also appears in human form in episode 36 of the same series. In the movies, he played the main character Tetsugoro (who was performed by Hideki Takahashi) as a boy in the Nikkatsu actioner Family Crest: Man against Death (1969). Another role of his is in Tsugunobu Kotani's film F2 Grand Prix (1984), starring Ken Tanaka and Katsuhiko Sasaki.

Mariko Matsuoka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Chiba-san also played Yasohachi Yamagishi in a series of Nikkatsu films based on the risque Go Nagai manga called Harenchi Gakuen ("Shameless School"), namely: Harenchi Gakuen: Shintai Kensa no Maki (1970), Harenchi Gakuen: Tackle Kiss no Maki (1970), and Shin Harenchi Gakuen (1971). 

His best-known role (in Japan, at least) would have to be his appearances as a regular on the massively popular TV series G-Men '75 (1975-82), playing Detective Akio Taguchi from 1979 through 1981.

Mariko Matsuoka plays android girl Carolyn in episode 24 of Ultraman Leo (1974-75), Ritsuko Okamura in Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75), Misaki Minekawa in episode 29 of Akumaizer 3 (1975-76), episode 32 of UFO Great War Fight! Red Tiger (1978), and Jun in episode 37 of Kyoryu Sentai Koseidon (1978-79). She also appears in the Fumio Ishimori-penned Shochiku film Frozen River (1976) as Harumi Hayata.

Hiroshi Chiba on the piano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As you could imagine, it was a lot of fun being seated next to Matsuoka-san for the event. We chatted in between the songs that Chiba-san performed. We live very close to each other, so hopefully we'll get together soon. We discussed grabbing dinner in the near future, so let's hope it happens soon.

After the show wrapped, Matsuoka-san brought me over to Chiba-san for a formal introduction. We had a brief chat -- as you could imagine, Chiba-san was swamped by admirers -- and I didn't want to take up too much of his time. But it was great to get a proper introduction by a close friend of his.

After that, Matsuoka-san escorted me to the elevator to see me off. We again talked about getting together soon. What a fun and lively time! Many thanks to Chiba-san and especially Matsuoka-san for making it one for the history books!

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! 

OUR TOKUSATSU! Chofu City's Special Exhibit on Japanese SFX!

From March 5 until March 12, an exhibit entitled "Bokutachi no Tokusatsu!" (roughly, "Our Tokusatsu!") was held in Chofu, Tokyo, at the Chofu City Cultural Hall. Because of a last-minute cancellation, I found myself with some extra time today and was able to check out the exhibit firsthand. A picture truly does speak a thousand words, so I'll let them do the talking.