A Great Evening with a Great Kaiju Suit Actor!

Mizuho Yoshida. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Wednesday, November 1) marked another great meeting with a Toho luminary. After we met Yasuhiko Saijo, my friend Jacob and I made a beeline for kaiju suit actor Mizuho Yoshida's stunt gym for our next appointment. Jacob had arranged to meet with Yoshida-san and invited me to join him. With an offer that good, how could I say no?

We met Yoshida-san at the gym where his suit-acting colleague Akira Ohashi was leading a class. Stuntman and action director Makoto Yokoyama was also there and greeted us, too. I was particularly impressed by Yokoyama-san's English-language skills. Yoshida-san recommended that we go to a quieter place to continue the conversation, so we went to a nearby cafe.

I assisted Jacob with his questions, and we had a fun and informative conversation. Yoshida-san was quite thoughtful and candid in his answers. Yoshida-san signed a couple of things for Jacob, and we posed for a few more photos. 

But that wasn't all! Yoshida-san recommended that we eat dinner together. We agreed on the type of dinner we wanted, and Yoshida-san chose a restaurant in Akihabara that we walked to. We ended up having a delicious shabu-shabu dinner with Yoshida-san essentially making it for us at the table. (That's the second Godzilla suit actor to make dinner for me and Jacob!) During the dinner, Yoshida-san talked more about his career, such as suit-acting onstage alongside Hiroshi Fujioka, as well as his appearance in a Wonda coffee commercial, which was filmed after GMK (2001) wrapped. 

Mizuho Yoshida and his kaiju counterpart. Photo by Brett Homenick.

But that still wasn't all! After dinner, Yoshida-san took us inside Akihabara Station, which was hosting a Godzilla pop-up store. Coincidentally, there was a GMK-themed jacket on sale, which was too good a photo opportunity to pass up. We arrived just before closing, so we had just enough time to look around the store. 

Suffice it to say, today was full of surprises. I had no idea that we'd be hanging out with Yoshida-san in a grand total of four different locations. But that's a testament to the kind of person he is. I'm certainly grateful for the hospitality Yoshida-san showed us today. Many thanks!

An Afternoon with the Creator of Kaiju!

Hideo Okamoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today, I spent the afternoon with kaiju designer Hideo Okamoto. His credits are legendary, but his best-known projects are Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Rebirth of Mothra (1996), Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), and Godzilla 2000 (1999).

Suffice it to say, it was a fun and informative time. Okamoto-san had many wonderful stories to tell about his career. I hope to meet him again soon!

A Visit to Chofu's Tokyo Laboratory!

A Yuji Sakai Godzilla at the entrance of Tokyo Laboratory. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, September 30, I had an appointment with former Toho assistant director Toshifumi Shimizu at Tokyo Laboratory (a.k.a. Togen) in Chofu. The appointment lasted a couple of hours and was quite enjoyable.

Toshifumi Shimizu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Shimizu-san started his work at Toho with Rebirth of Mothra (1996) and became an assistant director on Godzilla 2000 (1999). He worked on each Millennium series Godzilla movie (in one capacity or another) all the way through Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). He served as an SFX director in his own right on the Toho film A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies (2007).

Toshifumi Shimizu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I certainly appreciated all the hospitality that Shimizu-san showed me. I didn't expect it, but he definitely went above and beyond my expectations. It was a great afternoon and a very enlightening one, too.

And that's a wrap!

Attending a Gathering of Tokusatsu Fans and Pros!

Atsushi Hagiwara. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, May 20, I attended a tokusatsu gathering of fans and professionals. Two of the pros on hand were ones I'd never met before, so I was eager to make their acquaintance.

One of them was Atsushi Hagiwara, who helped build many of the spaceships for Sayonara Jupiter (1984), one of Toho's most ambitious tokusatsu films of all time. Whatever you might say about the quality of the storytelling, no one can deny the quality of the SFX work. Hagiwara-san was surprised that I was familiar with his work, but it is most definitely great work!

Hideo Okamoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was kaiju designer extraordinaire Hideo Okamoto. His credits are legendary, but his best-known projects are Yamato Takeru (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Rebirth of Mothra (1996), Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), and Godzilla 2000 (1999). 

I didn't have much of a chance to chat with him, so I just expressed my admiration for his work. He seemed pleased by that.

Overall, it was a fun evening, and the recently released Shin Ultraman was a hot topic of conversation.  A lot of interesting opinions were shared!

MOTHRA FLIES AGAIN! But Was the Third Time the Charm?

Kenji Suzuki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I took in a screening of Rebirth of Mothra III (1998) in glorious 35mm. I don't think I'd seen the movie in close to 20 years, and I'd only seen it once before. I basically remembered only two things from the film -- that King Ghidorah captures children, and the less-than-convincing dinosaur puppets. 

Overall, I found the film a bit too slow for my liking. I'd rank it as my least favorite of the late '90s Mothra trilogy (with the first Rebirth of Mothra being my favorite). The only characters who stood out were the returning characters from the previous entries: Moll, Lora, and Belvera. The rest were instantly forgettable. It was nice to see the ubiquitous Koichi Ueda in a small role, but that's about all. It's not a bad film, but it is a something of a let-down.

The special guest of the screening was SFX director Kenji Suzuki. Before joining Toho, Suzuki-san was a freelance SFX director who did some work at Tsuburaya Productions, most notably Ultraman 80 (1980-81). At Toho, he served as an assistant SFX director on The Imperial Navy (1981) and Sayonara Jupiter (1984). On Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Rebirth of Mothra (1996), and Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), he served as the chief assistant SFX director under Koichi Kawakita. On Rebirth of Mothra III, Godzilla 2000 (1999), and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), he was the SFX director. In the 2000s, Suzuki-san returned to Tsuburaya Productions and lent his talents to various Ultra-projects.

And that's about all. I had an enjoyable afternoon. I'm glad I saw the film again, and despite my misgivings, I can recognize the film's positive aspects. It's been great to reevaluate the entire Mothra trilogy this year.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA II! The Director Joins SFX Alums for a Special Screening!

 Director Kunio Miyoshi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a special screening of Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), which was the first time I'd seen the film in many years. Overall, it was OK. I expected worse, and even though it bored me to distraction a few times, I still had a good time with it.

The guest of honor was Rebirth of Mothra II director Kunio Miyoshi. Prior to his helming Mothra II, e was an assistant director on Conflagration (1975) and Deathquake (1980), as well as chief assistant director on Sayonara Jupiter (1984), Reiko (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), and Rebirth of Mothra (1996).

Toshifumi Shimizu. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Production manager and assistant director Toshifumi Shimizu was another guest. He worked on every Godzilla movie in the Millennium series as either assistant director or visual effects supervision assistant.

From left to right: Yosuke Nakano, Kunio Miyoshi, yours truly with a shooting script, and Toshifumi Shimizu.

SFX assistant director Yosuke Nakano was another guest, as well. I really regretted having to leave the event a bit earlier than I usually do, but that's life. As brief as it all was for me, it was a heck of a good time.

MOTHRA REBORN! Toho SFX Alums Gather to Celebrate Mothra's 1990s Rebirth!

Suit actor Mizuho Yoshida (right) poses with Death Ghidorah (a.k.a. Desghidorah) next to assistant SFX director Yoshiaki Kondo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I was pleased to take in a screening of a 35mm print of Rebirth of Mothra (1996). I was never that much a fan of the movie, and I don't believe I'd seen it in its entirety since the late '90s. Other than catching bits and pieces of it on the Sci-Fi Channel in the early 2000s, it'd probably been at least 15 years since I'd seen so much as a frame of it. 

Mizuho Yoshida. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Despite not having seen it in such a long time, there were a few specific scenes I remembered quite well (which surprised me). But after about the first 30 minutes, I pretty much had no memory of anything that happened. Overall, I can't say the movie was all that bad, but I found the action repetitive the story line (to the extent there is one) paper-thin. I've seen worse, but I've seen much, much better.

The guest of honor for the screening was suit actor Mizuho Yoshida. Yoshida-san portrays Zeiram in both Zeiram (1991) and Zeiram 2 (1994), Legion in Gamera 2 (1996), Death Ghidorah (a.k.a. Desghidorah) in Rebirth of Mothra, Dagahra in Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997), and Godzilla in GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), among other suit-acting roles.

Yoshiaki Kondo worked as an assistant director on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Rebirth of Mothra, and Godzilla 2000 (1999).

It was nice to see Rebirth of Mothra again after so many years (even if the film itself isn't so hot), and it was a blast meeting Yoshida-san for the first time. He's incredibly friendly and loves mugging for the camera. His Godzilla might be among the meanest, but the suit actor is among the nicest!