A Trip to Kaiju Paradise!

With Tomoo Haraguchi and some of his incredible props.

On Wednesday, November 4, I was privileged to visit the kaiju bar owned and operated by Tomoo Haraguchi, the director of such tokusatsu movies as Mikadroid (1991), Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (2000), and Death Kappa (2010). Among many other credits, he was a modeler for all three Heisei Gamera movies, as well as Gamera the Brave (2006). 

Angilas' 1968 carapace. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I'd heard about the bar for years but never had a chance to visit until last night. A couple of weeks ago, I made my reservation directly with Haraguchi-san and brought my friend Jacob with me. It was amazing to see all the props on hand.

Haraguchi-san gave us full permission to photograph any items in the bar proper. The stuff on display would be enough to make it a tokusatsu museum in its own right. The original Jet Jaguar flying prop from Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Angilas' carapace from Destroy All Monsters (1968), which was also used through Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), the English-language newspaper front page from War of the Gargantuas (1966), the photo of Akiko Wakabayashi from Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), a Return of Ultraman (1971-72) flying prop, and so much more.

In all, we spent about two and a half hours at his bar. Since the establishment is technically closed, Haraguchi-san made an exception and opened it just for us. As a result, the three of us spent the evening hanging out together. Now how's that for hospitality?

With a Return of Ultraman flying prop.

Haraguchi-san talked about a variety of subjects, revealing that he worked on the suits as an unpaid volunteer on Godzilla vs. Megalon when he was 12 years old. Of course, he did it just for fun, so money was of no concern to him at the time. His first paid gigs in the business were a bit later in the '70s. 

The Jet Jaguar flying prop from Godzilla vs. Megalon. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was especially fascinated to learn that Haraguchi-san loves pretty much all the Showa-era Godzilla movies. I suppose, because his style seems so contemporary, I expected him to be more captivated by modern movies. Of course, he's also into Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen flicks, as well as movies with Rick Baker SFX. 

When it was all said and done, Haraguchi-san refused to be paid. We were both surprised and insisted we pay, but Haraguchi-san would not accept any money. He said it was fun, so no money was required. I can't tell you how grateful I felt, and I did my best to express that sentiment to Haraguchi-san. Suffice it to say, you just don't see that spirit very much anymore.

Many thanks to Haraguchi-san for the wonderful evening! Please enjoy the rest of the photos.

Dichard Nixon back again! The newspaper front page from War of the Gargantuas. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The story reads: "The fishermen fled in terror from the scene as if pursued by the devil." Hey, Gaira isn't the devil! Fake news! Photo by Brett Homenick.

A newspaper from King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Akiko Wakabayashi from Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Seeing 'Frankenstein Conquers the World' and 'War of the Gargantuas' As They Were Meant to Be Seen!

Inside the Shin Bungeiza theater. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Thursday, September 10, I saw Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) in 35mm at the Shin Bungeiza theater in Ikebukuro. Then, on Friday, September 11, I took in a screening of The War of the Gargantuas (1966), which was also presented in 35mm, at the same venue.

The print for FCTW in particular was incredible; there was a barely a noticeable flaw. WOTG, on the other hand, had its share of scratches and imperfections but was still duly impressive. It was certainly a cool double feature, even if it took place on separate days.

For the last 15 or so years, I've been somewhat perplexed by the fact that FCTW is often cited by tokusatsu fans as one of the best kaiju movies of the Showa era. I mean, I like it, too, but it's always felt more like a dress rehearsal for WOTG to me than anything else. It's just missing that certain something to push it over the top. It's hard not to come away with the distinct impression that Nick Adams was more enthusiastic about making the film than everybody else was.  

It doesn't help matters that Baragon is a JTTS whose sole purpose is to get beaten up by Frankenstein and make him look good. The monster scenes are a bit underwhelming.

I first saw FCTW in the spring of 1994 when it aired in TNT's 100% Weird late-night programming block. Even though I had mostly stopped watching Godzilla and other giant monster movies at this point, I was still looking for movies like this -- especially Destroy All Monsters (1968), the holiest of holy grails -- to air on cable TV.

I set my VCR to record it (since it was airing overnight) and probably watched it the next day. My reaction wasn't very strong; I thought it was fine but quickly moved on to other things. It wouldn't be until we discovered DAM and the post-Biollante Heisei movies later that year that we really got back into tokusatsu in a big way.

The version of FCTW I saw used the giant-octopus ending, which is notable. It's not the first time I've seen this cut theatrically in Japan, so I wonder if the original version has now been officially supplanted. I do prefer the original ending, and I think the giant-octopus ending is best left as a curiosity than the actual conclusion of the film, but it is what it is, and things are as they are.

I first saw WOTG when I was about eight years old on Super Scary Saturday, and I've loved it ever since. The battle between the Gargantuas is much more compelling than the one in the previous film, as Sanda and Gaira are not only more evenly matched, but we also know why they're fighting, apart from the fact that they're huge monsters, and that's just what huge monsters do. 

For all the criticism he gets, I don't think Russ Tamblyn is that bad in the role of Dr. Paul Stewart. His character as written doesn't have much going on in the first place, and his performance more or less suits the part of a slightly awkward scientist who was probably too devoted to his work to have much of a social life.

Contrast that with Nick Adams' acting choices in FCTW as Dr. James Bowen, which sort of make you wonder how such a happenin' hodad who gives a too-cool-for-school finger point to bid farewell to Yoshio Tsuchiya's character ever had the patience to earn his seven Ph.D.s from the University of Higher Learning.  

The only real downside to the WOTG screening is that it wasn't the UPA release, which is definitive for me. That dub is one of the best of all time.

Overall, it was a fun couple of nights at the flicks, and I had a blast. Let's do it again soon!

The Trouble with Toy Dispensers

A toy dispenser in Toho Cinemas Shinjuku with lots of Toho kaiju goodness inside. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today, I briefly stopped by Toho Cinemas Shinjuku with the hope that I might find the toy dispenser I'd recently heard about that offers four different Toho kaiju, of which I was particularly interested in Sanda and Gaira from The War of the Gargantuas (1966). But, hey, Godzilla and Gigan aren't half bad, either. In any case, I was in luck because there it was!

Well, it didn't take me long to realize that I didn't have enough change on hand, so I went ahead and bought a small trinket (in this case, a Godzilla-themed magnet) in order to make more change. The cashier gave me exactly what I needed -- a 500-yen coin! Or so I thought.

While I had the exact amount of change I needed, I found out real quick that the machine didn't accept 500-yen coins. No way was I going to make change again when I already had a pocketful of it. Much like Jumpin' Jeff Farmer, I don't like it when things aren't going my way, so I metaphorically threw up my hands and gave up. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

A Reunion of Two Toho and Tsuburaya Pro Legends!

Bin Furuya poses with actress Wakako Tanabe in front of a Gamera Super Monster (1980) poster. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Saturday, August 12, was an interesting day for me. I had to work that day, as usual, but I also committed to attend a dinner in Daikanyama with some of my work colleagues. After I agreed to attend, however, I found out about an event with Bin Furuya, the original Ultraman (1966-67) suit actor himself, and actress Wakako Tanabe to be held in Jimbocho. I was in luck, however, because the timing of the event ensured that I had just enough time to finish work, stop by Jimbocho for about an hour, and then head over to my dinner. Ultimately, everything worked out according to plan. 

Naturally, I arrived a bit late. Shortly after I took my seat (toward the back of the room), Furuya-san saw me and gave me a shout-out in the middle of his interview. After Furuya-san wrapped up talking about his days at Toho, it was time for Tanabe-san to talk about her days as an actress at Toho and Tsuburaya Productions.

Tanabe-san would be best remembered by kaiju fans in the U.S. as the unfortunate victim who gets eaten by Gaira at the airport in War of the Gargantuas (1966). She played Torahata's companion while he speaks to Kumayama on the phone in Godzilla vs. the Thing (a.k.a. Mothra vs. Godzilla, 1964), as well as a Kilaak in Destroy All Monsters (1968). Her other action/tokusatsu credits include: The Lost World of Sinbad (1963), Ironfinger (1965), episode 19 of Ultra Q (1966), episode 45 of Ultra Seven (1967-68), episode 21 of Fight! Mighty Jack (1968), episode 8 of Operation: Mystery! (1968-69), Konto 55: Space Adventure (1969), and episode 12 of Horror Theater Unbalance (1973).

In between Wakako Tanabe and Bin Furuya.

Tanabe-san presented a slideshow featuring photos taken in more recent years with actors Yosuke Natsuki and Hisaya Morishige, as well as director Shue Matsubayashi. She described her relationship with these Toho legends toward the end of their lives and what they were like offscreen.

When I got close enough in line for Tanabe-san to see me, she said "Wow!" and instantly recognized me, even though we'd only met twice before (including our 2018 interview). When I knelt down next to her to take our photo, she asked if I recognized her, which obviously I did. (I mean, how could I not?!) The only downside is that there wasn't much -- OK, any -- time to chat, as the line had to keep moving, and I had to leave. But it was well worth it, even if our interaction was all too brief.

With director Minoru Kawasaki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

And, as an added bonus, director Minoru Kawasaki showed up, too, to join the festivities. All in all, it was a great event (especially for the limited time I was able to spend there), and I'm relieved the timing worked out as well as it did. I hope to see Tanabe-san for a longer period of time soon!

GAIRA SWAM HERE! A Visit to Shimoda's Sotoura Beach!

A view of Sotoura Beach. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Monday, July 31, I visited Sotoura Beach in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, for the first time. Given that it's the southernmost point on the Izu Peninsula, it goes without saying that it took me a long time to get there. Luckily, I was able to take an limited-express train directly to Izukyu-Shimoda Station from Yokohama Station for 5,000 yen, a rather reasonable price. On the way back, however, there were no more limited-express trains in service, so I had to take local trains. (Thankfully, I didn't have to change trains a whole lot, but it certainly was a long trip back!)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Why did I travel so far to see this random beach? Well, it's a filming location in The War of the Gargantuas (1966)! Some locals are trying to pull a heavy object out of the ocean before the thing they're trying to pull starts pulling them toward the water instead. Then Gaira suddenly pops out of the sea, sending the terrified locals scurrying away. 

It's a fairly short scene in the movie, but it's one that made an impression, especially the triangular rock (or would that be an islet?) seen in the background. I first saw War of the Gargantuas when I was about eight years old, which was the perfect age to see this movie. I never thought I'd one day walk around the beach featured in the film, but life is full of surprises.

Since school's out in Japan, there were a lot of families at the beach, so photographing the area was a little tricky. Still, I was able to get some pretty good shots without swimmers or other beach-goers in them, so it all worked out in the end. 

I didn't go swimming, even though I considered it. With all the stuff I brought with me, I decided it would've been too much trouble. I haven't ruled out returning someday with a lighter load and a bigger emphasis on having fun than documenting a filming location, but we'll see how that plays out. Even if this visit turns out to be a one and done for me, I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Below are just some of the photos I took at Sotoura Beach. Enjoy!