An Evening with Showa- and Heisei-Era Tokusatsu Legends!

Director Shusuke Kaneko and actor Tatsuhito Go. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I attended a special event with director Shusuke Kaneko and actor Tatsuhito Go. While most readers of this blog are familiar with Kaneko-san's credits in tokusatsu, I'm sure most may not be familiar with Go-san's. So let's take a quick look at the highlights.

Tatsuhito Go (whose previous stage name was Haruo Nakazawa) was a regular on the Super Sentai-esque TV series Strada 5 (1974) as Ichinen Takenaka/Apollo (Strada 3), and appeared in episode 8 of the series Jekyll and Hyde (1973) and episode 11 of Zone Fighter (1973) as the jealous racecar driver Yukio Sasaki. (This episode features both Godzilla and Gigan and was directed by Jun Fukuda.) 

Tatsuhito Go. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the big screen, he appears as a youth in Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971) and in Conflagration (1975) as helmsman Tamura. I brought my Blu-ray of Strada 5 for Go-san to sign, as well as a DVD sleeve of Conflagration. When Go-san saw it, he laughed and exclaimed the title of the film in Japanese.

I had fun chatting with Go-san about his tokusatsu experiences, although his memories of those projects have mostly faded these days. Still, he was an entertaining storyteller who had everyone (including me) laughing about his memories.

Shusuke Kaneko. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I also enjoyed hanging out with Kaneko-san again. We chatted about various tokusatsu topics, as well as more mundane, everyday things. Earlier in the evening, Kaneko-san signed my DVD sleeve of GMK (2001).

And that's about all. It was a very fun evening, with two cinematic luminaries whose career cover works as vastly different as the Heisei Gamera series and Zone Fighter. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

A Performance in Nakano!

Yumi Mizusawa and Tatsuhito Go. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a play in Nakano Ward in which actress-singer Yumi Mizusawa was one of the ensemble performers. Mizusawa-san starred in the TV series What Is Youth? (1965-66) alongside Yosuke Natsuki. While her credits are mostly non-genre, she appeared in episode 91 of Kamen Rider (1971-73) and episode 16 of Iron King (1972-73). Her most notable film appearance is in Kihachi Okamoto's Epoch of Murder Madness (1967).

After the show, I realized that I was sitting one seat away from actor Tatsuhito Go. Go-san was a regular on Strada 5 (1974) and appeared in episodes of the series Jekyll and Hyde (1973) and Zone Fighter (1973) as well as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971). After chatting with Mizusawa-san, she invited Go-san over for a photo op. It was certainly an unexpected bonus!

A WILD DAY FOR WILD 7! Actors from Wild 7 and Strada 5 Join Forces in Tokyo!

Shinya Ono, Yusuke Koike, Anne Mari, and Tatsuhito Go share the stage at Nakano Sun Plaza. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

I enjoyed attending a special Showa Hero event on the 15th floor of Nakano Sun Plaza. The event reunited cast members from the action series Wild 7 (1972-73) and Strada 5 (1974).

Anne Mari poses for photos. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Shinya Ono was a regular on both series. Tatsuhito Go was a regular on Strada 5 and appeared in episodes of the series Jekyll and Hyde (1973) and Zone Fighter (1973) and is credited with appearing in Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971). Yusuke Koike regularly appeared on Wild 7, among many other movie and TV roles.

 Meeting Tatsuhito Go.

The guest I was most interested in meeting, however, was Anne Mari. Anne Mari inspired the naming of Yuriko Hishimi's character in Ultra Seven "Anne Yuri." She appears in the Toho caper The Killing Bottle (1967) with Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, and a bevy of other Toho stars. She acted in several notable Nikkatsu films, particularly the international cult flick Branded to Kill (1967).

With Shinya Ono. 

In Japan, Anne Mari is best remembered for her guest appearances in Ultraman (1966-67) and Ultra Seven (1967-68). She can also be spotted in Mighty Jack (1968), Kamen Rider (1971-73), and Unbalance (1973). In addition to all that, she was a regular on Wild 7.

Meeting Anne Mari, an actress familiar to Toho, Tsuburaya, and Nikkatsu fans. 

All the guests were wonderful and very friendly. Anne Mari signed a couple of Ultra-books I brought. I told her I enjoyed The Killing Bottle, which prompted her to shake my hand and talk a bit about her role.

With Yusuke Koike.

Ms. Kojima produced another great event, and I cannot wait for the next one. I always enjoy meeting movie actors and actresses whenever I have the chance. Many thanks to everyone involved!