An Evening of Song and Dance in Tokyo!

Yumi Yoshiyuki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Wednesday night, July 15, I attended a singing performance by director-actress Yumi Yoshiyuki, with whose work I am not too familiar, but I certainly hope to change that very soon. But who is Yumi Yoshiyuki, you might be asking yourself?

Yoshiyuki-san has directed numerous pink eiga since the 1990s but has also appeared onscreen herself in countless roles, including director Akio Jissoji's adaptation of an Edogawa Rampo story, Murder on D Street (1998), for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Award from the Yokohama Film Festival for her portrayal of Tokiko Sunaga, as well as playing Noriko Murakami in Takashi Shimizu's V-cinema horror classic Ju-On: The Curse (2000). She can also be seen in episode 40 of Ultraman Tiga (1996-97) and episode 37 of Ultraman Dyna (1997-98).

Yoshiyuki-san didn't know me from Adam when I arrived, but she invited me to sit next to her, which I did for the next two hours. I got to know her during the evening, and we had a fun chat after the show. I most definitely look forward to seeing her again!

A Dramatic Reading Has a Distinctly Tokusatsu Finish!

Masanori Machida with an Ultraman Tiga script. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday evening, June 26, I attended another dramatic reading performed by former child actor Masanori Machida. As always, it was a fun performance, with Machida-san giving it his all, even though he was reading from a script.

Masanori Machida with a Gappa card set. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After the performance, another tokusatsu fan approached Machida-san with some items to get signed, including a Gappa card set whose case was designed to look like the cover of the movie's fictional Playmate magazine. (Nice touch!) He also brought an Ultraman Tiga script to get signed.

The three of us had a nice tokusatsu-related chat together. I hadn't seen Machida-san in several months, so I was pleased to find out about this performance, despite the sweltering heat of Tokyo. (Yes, it's that bad already, unfortunately.)

Here's to next time!

Ultraman Tiga Flies into Shibuya Station!

While in Shibuya, I happened upon the Ultraman Tiga Tsuburaya Imagination set-up at Shibu Hachiko Box just in front of Shibuya Station. The event offers a photo spot and even a virtual-reality experience where you can experience what it's like to do battle as Ultraman. What a great way to celebrate Tiga's 25th anniversary!

Super Festival 79

Today I attended Super Festival 79. I attended earlier than normal (partly to attend Bin Furuya's Q&A session, but also because I had several other appointments later on in the day), so I ran into more familiar faces than I usually do. Anyway, I'll let the photos do the talking.

Gappa Star Tamio Kawachi Passes Away at 79

Tamio Kawachi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The Japanese media is reporting that actor Tamio Kawachi, the star of Gappa the Triphibian Monster (1967) and a regular on Ultraman Tiga (1996-97), passed away on February 10 of a cerebral infarction. He was 79.

Almost exactly a year ago, I had the priviege of meeting Kawachi-san following a screening of one of his Nikkatsu movies. I was surprised to find that he could speak English. I found him to be quite friendly and had hoped our paths would eventually cross again. 

Rest in peace, Kawachi-san.

TOKUSATSU TONIGHT! Meeting Actress Hitomi Miwa!

Actress Hitomi Miwa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I was privileged to meet actress Hitomi Miwa for the first time. While her name may not be very familiar to Western tokusatsu fans, her acting credits ought to be. She has appeared in a wide variety of movies and TV programs (genre and non-genre), and she continues to act to this day.

She guested on Ultraman Tiga (1996-97) episode 37 as a Manon alien and Ultraman Cosmos (2001-2002) in episodes 13 and 14 as Leni. She was also a semi-regular on the Super Sentai series Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger (2002-03) as Lady Gozen, as well as Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006-2007) as Rena Mamiya. She also acts in the horror movie Eko Eko Azarak: Misa the Dark Angel (1998) as Mami Mizushima. Other credits include the movie Mirrorman Reflex (2006) ... and many more!

I met Miwa-san at the Tokyo-area restaurant-bar Bonne Eau, and I found her to be a very open and friendly person. She truly enjoyed herself, and all the folks in the restaurant did, too. Many thank to Miwa-san for her generosity!