ULTRA-HEROES EXPO 2018! Ultraman Takes Tokyo Dome City!

Thanks to a very kind invitation to a couple of friends of mine, I attended the Ultra-Heroes Expo 2018 today in Tokyo Dome City. It was quite reminiscent of Ultraman Festival in Ikebukuro, though this exclusively focused on Ultraman Geed (2017), which I've never seen. I even attended the live stage show with various Ultra Brothers and assorted kaiju duking it out for the amusement of the audience. (This was actually my first time seeing such a show in Japan.) It was quite fun, but it was absolutely packed with people, which of course is never fun. Anyway, enough said. On with the photos!

Hangin' with the Ulf-Man

Yesterday, December 29, I visited Ulf Otsuki again at his home. Unlike our usual meetings, we didn't watch a movie. Instead, we had a bit of a night on the town. It was an interesting change of pace.

Seeing Ulf again was certainly a great way to close out 2017!

End-of-the-Year Meeting with Kato-san

Shigeo Kato. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I've fallen behind in blog updates in the past few days, but I'm finally ready to get up to speed. Anyway, on with the updates. On Wednesday, December 27, I returned to Kamakura to pay a visit to retired Toho actor Shigeo Kato. At the age of 92, Kato-san is still going strong, and we had a great conversation about his days at Toho as an actor.

I'm sure we'll get together again very soon in the New Year. And I'm really looking forward to it!

An Evening with Actress Anne Mari

Anne Mari. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I just returned from a special event with actress Anne Mari, the focus of which was her work in Nikkatsu's erotic thriller Zankoku onna joshi (1970). 

Mari-san appears in episode 32 of Ultraman (1966-67), episode 34 of Ultra Seven (1967-68), episodes 11 and 12 of Mighty Jack (1968), and episodes 16 and 17 of Kamen Rider (1971-73). However, in the West, her biggest credit is her starring role in Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill (1967). She can also be seen in The Killing Bottle (1967).

About The Killing Bottle, Mari-san said that director Senkichi Taniguchi was a nice person but a strict director. It was a lot of fun spending the evening with Mari-san, who is very friendly and open-minded. I certainly hope to have the chance to meet her again soon.

CHRISTMAS WITH IZUMI YUKIMURA! The Celebrated Actress-Singer Performs Live in Roppongi!

Izumi Yukimura. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I attended a special Christmas dinner show performed by Izumi Yukimura, one of Japan's most popular singers of the postwar era. She also starred in numerous Toho movies during the 1950s and '60s, including Kihachi Okamoto's classic Desperado Outpost (1959) and the all-star musical You Can Succeed, Too (1964). Not only that, but her credits include Ichimatsu Travels with Ghosts (1959) and The Princess of Badger Palace (1958), which owe more to the genre we're all interested in.

I'm glad I got to spend time with Yukimura-san after the show. She is doing very well and was in high spirits, even joking around a bit. I certainly hope there's another show next Christmas. If so, I'll most certainly be there!

SHINICHI YANAGISAWA AND HIS ALL-STARS! It's Christmastime at the HUB Asakusa!

 Shinichi Yanagisawa takes the stage. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I attended another great live jazz show with Shinichi Yanagisawa and His All-Stars. While there was certainly a Christmas theme to the proceedings, there were just as many non-Christmas songs performed. All in all, it was very entertaining.

Shinichi Yanagisawa, of course, is a longtime actor and singer. He is best known in the West for playing Miyamoto in The X from Outer Space (1967) and has starred in countless movies since the 1950s, mostly for Nikkatsu and Shochiku.

He's also one heck of a nice guy, and I always look forward to seeing him. I was able to give him my Christmas card, which I do every year. Can't wait to return to the HUB in two months!

MACHIDA-SAN IS BACK IN THE HOUSE! The Longtime Actor Closes 2017 in a Big Way!

After attending Ishimori-san's play in Asakusa, I had to attend a performance by Masanori Machida. After the performance, I stayed for the bonenkai (end-of-the-year party) and met some very nice and friendly folks.

That said, the highlight was seeing Machida-san again. Already looking forward to next time, but that will have to wait until next year.