Patrons, check your emails for Part 2 of the SPACE SHERIFF FILES!
Want to get access to this and more exclusives like The Lost Tapes? Join the VH Patreon today! -
Newspaper clipping of a story about Shigeru Araki/Kamen Rider Stronger himself visiting a child w/ leukemia — in costume — circa 1975.
According to the OP, Araki went for it as he was worried for the child if someone else’s voice came from the mask.
A real hero to the last.
> can’t sleep
> goes on Twitch
> tunes in just in time to see
@ironmouse
watching our Year In Indies showcase LIVE
> proceeds to LOSE HIS MIND
Seriously, glad you enjoyed it, Mousey!
MBS aired a special TV cut of the first 20ish minutes of SHIN KAMEN RIDER. Heads up that spoiler images may be floating around, but on the upside, there is this slick as hell eyecatch.
So this footage comes from the Toei Tokusatsu Encyclopedia documentary. It’s basically one big effects showcase with some rare behind-the-scenes moments.
Successfully got it on VHS this past year, but the dream is to Domesday capture the LD for preservation.
The passing of Sadao Iizuka is a tragic one. And really, it feels like Iizuka's contributions to tokusatsu at large are grossly understated. Short tribute thread incoming...
I've been getting reports that the Marvel 616 series, which included the documentary on Japanese Spider-Man that we covered on VH Extra, has been removed from Disney+.
No word on whether or not it will resurface anywhere, but in the meantime, it's a damn shame.
ULTRAMAN Z has won the Best Media prize for this year's Seiun Awards!
Existing since 1970, the Seiun Awards are the Japanese equivalent of the Hugos, carrying with it a ton of prestige in the world of science-fiction! Congrats to the cast/crew!
Source -
SHIN KAMEN RIDER is trending Stateside and I am really hoping the higher-ups notice.
Even if it's just a convention-based premiere, they'd be crazy not to make something happen this Summer ala SHIN ULTRAMAN's festival run.
SHIN ULTRAMAN Blu-Ray from RAVEN BANNER!
Region-Free!
Brand-New Subtitles!
English Commentary with some rad people!
A killer new cover and video master!
Pre-Order the heck out of this, folks!
Shin Ultraman dropping on Blu-ray in Canada this December from
@RavenBanner
with exclusive cover, Feature - length commentary track and introduction from myself and Kevin Derendorf! It even comes with a new video master on a BD50!
LRT: Everyone over here is freaking out over the reveals of the monster updates or having takes about the CG.
I'm over here freaking out because Higuchi and Anno decided to bring everything full circle with the Goddamn THUNDERBIRDS Shoutout (right hand of the shot).
PSA: KAMEN RIDER BLACK SUN is now available on US Amazon Prime -
Make sure to mute key words (i.e Black Sun, Kotaro, etc) on socials until you get the chance to watch it. Because spoilers are basically everywhere at this point.
Today is Eiji Tsuburaya's birthday, but it's also been dubbed "Tokusatsu Day" in recent years by fans!
So go pop in your favorite Ultraman episode or Godzilla movie today and live it up!
Fun bits of trivia here - the stage show was thrown together within a few days because the network bumped up plans for ULTRAMAN’s first episode…which was still being finished.
Only a handful of rehearsals and the director straight up went uncredited for it b/c of the chaos.
Ultraman's first ever appearance consists of him just kinda showing up randomly in the middle of a stage show, shuffling down some stairs and then getting into the world's most awkward slapfight
The Tokusatsu Laboratory (effects team for KAMEN RIDER, SUPER SENTAI, and OPERATION JET JAGUAR) now has an official website!
It covers their history and has links to a behind-the-scenes YouTube channel! Check it out below!
Welp, it happened. TOEI TOKUSATSU WORLD has released KAMEN RIDER ZO with English subtitles on YouTube!
This movie was part of my gateway into Kamen Rider, and after years of singing its praises, it's legally available to watch!
The Sonny Chiba news hit me hard this morning.
To understand the magnitude, along with his incredible filmography, Chiba was the founder of the Japan Action Club in the 1970s. The goal was to revamp the world of Japanese action and holy hell did they do it...
Any articles for this turn up an error - thinking this may have been revealed a bit early or something else was botched?
Either way, looks like the salty distributor who let the details out about SHIN KAMEN RIDER coming to Prime Video months back was right on the money.
Reports have been coming out regarding the retirement of Kiyoshi Kobayashi from voice acting.
Best known as the voice of Jigen in LUPIN III, Kobayashi's voice is familiar to tokusatsu fans as the narrator in KAMEN RIDER BLACK, VRV Master in CARRANGER, and Dr Gori in SPECTREMAN.
Just learned about this via video comments but along with ZEIRAM II, Tokyo Shock is putting out new blu-ray releases for ZEBRAMAN and MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER!
Here are some photos from the Power-Up Tour today in the interim. Big takeaways:
> smol Pink
> Yellow for photo ops has a skirt
> invisible Putties
> ZERO promotion of the Netflix movie
> coloring masks they gave kids had no eyeholes. they kept literally running/flipping into me
Reminder to everyone Stateside that the Uniqlo Shin Japan Heroes Universe line of graphic tees will become available tomorrow at mid-morning ET. Best to get in while you can because larger sizes tends to vanish fast.
Mill Creek Highlights from the "Our Hero, Ultraman" panel:
> Stuff not coming yet: Q: DARK FANTASY, GREAT, POWERED, USA/ADVENTURE BEGINS
> Stuff that is coming: A LOT. Things mentioned include ULTRAMAN KIDS: 3,000 LIGHT YEARS IN SEARCH OF MOTHER and GRIDMAN
(cont'd)
Sad to wake up to the news that Kiyoshi Kobayashi passed away on July 30th.
A prolific voice actor, toku fans will remember him for his role as Dr Gori in SPECTREMAN, along with narration for the Heisei Godzilla Series theatrical trailers, as well as KAMEN RIDER BLACK.
"Daigo...welcome back."
After years of being kept from streaming, ULTRAMAN TIGA is coming to Tsuburaya Imagination starting today! And yes, "Take Me Higher" is intact!
Watch the tear-jerker of a PV here -
It's been reported that Sompote Sands tried to appeal the court's decision regarding the Ultra Series rights in Thailand.
It didn't go through, but the kicker? The court ruled that Tsuburaya has the rights to both of the Chaiyo/TPC movies.
Source -
I am absolutely gutted by the passing of Masanari Nihei. Ide was hands down my favorite member of the original Science Patrol. I’d hoped someday for the chance to tell him that in person.
It's that time of year, again! Here's one of the holiday brand commercials put out by Tsuburaya in the 90s!
According to Brad Warner: "I had to write the letter asking George Michael for permission...It must have been a good letter because he immediately said yes."
Ultraman Number 6 is coming! New Amazon listings for
@MillCreekEnt
's steelbook and standard releases of ULTRAMAN TARO have revealed box art & a January 12th, 2021 street date!
That said, pre-orders have yet to be opened. Stay tuned for updates, Computer Boys and Girls!
@MillCreekEnt
has released details for the ULTRAMAN GINGA COLLECTION!
The 6-disc set contains GINGA, GINGA S, GINGA S: THE MOVIE, and ULTRA FIGHT VICTORY!
Pre-orders are available via Amazon for a September 15th release!
Another thing worth mentioning is that the teaser poster references one of Zoffy's lines to Ultraman in the original series' finale: "Have you become so fond of humans, Ultraman?"
...And now I'm hoping for a truly terrifying climax with Zetton.
LRTs: I am so absolutely embarrassed and annoyed by fans right now.
For the love of everything, stop acting like angry children and harassing the producer of the goddamn franchise you claim to love.
Didn’t want to start my day frustrated but sure, why not?
It's been reported that Shozo Uehara has passed away. One of the all-time great writers of the Showa era, his main writer credits include RETURN OF ULTRAMAN, SUPER ROBOT RED BARON, The Space Sheriff Trilogy, SUN VULCAN, and UFO ROBO GRENDIZER.
Just came back from the POWER RANGERS POWER-UP TOUR. First stop in a nationwide run over the next six weeks.
I’ll be doing a short vid on it within the next few days!
Welp it's that time of year again! Today, July 10th, is
#UltramanDay
! The day officially recognized by
@tsuburayaprod
as the birthday for the Ultra Series! Here's a quick thread explaining the details:
In honor of
#SSSS_GRIDMAN
's 2nd anniversary
@tsuburayaprod
will be releasing GRIDMAN THE HYPER AGENT on YouTube for a limited time!
No word on region-locks, but the episodes begin on 10/30!
Reports have been coming out that Sompote Sands passed away at the age of 80.
His passing marks the true end of an era for Ultra Series fans, with Sands having been responsible for the decade-long legal battle with Tsuburaya.
We don't have much in the way of April Fool's stuff due to Life happening at 11th hour.
But at the same time, I needed to have some fun after a bad week. So here's me syncing "M6" from the SHIN KAMEN RIDER score to Hongo's first Cyclone transformation.
Because someone had to.
Looks like we’re starting to see showtimes for the limited Fathom screening of SHIN KAMEN RIDER.
That said, I suggest holding off on buying tickets ATM. The listings are looking incomplete, never mind some venues won’t allow purchase yet so there’s an announcement coming…
Also according to Winckler on the stream, Ultraman King in ULTRA GALAXY LEGENDS was Robert Axelrod's final role.
Which blows me away as that's one hell of a role to go out on.
Good news! Tsuburaya has lifted the region-locks on their limited two-week uploads of ULTRAMAN TOWARDS THE FUTURE and ULTRAMAN MAX!
Watch them now on Ultraman Official -
BRUSH OF THE GOD had launched another Kickstarter campaign to finish the special effects and make them shine.
*PLEASE* support this and/or spread the word. This will be Keizo Murase’s first and last directed kaiju flick.
Computer Boys and Girls, I know feelings are rough right about now with the recent Toei situation. But all I ask is that you so not make the situation worse by harassing the higher ups about it. It’s just going to make things worse and it’s really not a good look period.
Total bomb drop on stream:
According to William Winckler, there were plans to do an American localized version of ULTRAMAN 80. Had things worked out, Adam West (!!!) would've been a host on a space station reporting in to UGM as a segeway into the action.
My mind has been blown by the knowledge that on the 15th, Beat Takeshi's next episode of his True History of Japanese Entertainment will focus on tokusatsu! Guest stars include Takeshi Tsuruno & Atsuko Takahata (Maribaron in BLACK RX)!
More info here -
MISS KUROITSU FROM THE MONSTER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT is a show that is inherently made for me.
Largely because to date, toku vets Hiroshi Watari (SHARIVAN, SPIELBAN) and Hiroaki Murakami (SKYRIDER) have been narrators, and the abundance of Local Heroes who appear throughout.
Thanks to a friend, I'm going to be watching the Marvel 616 Japanese Spiderman episode. I've heard some good things thus far so I'm looking forward to it.
Happy to eat my hat a bit on the SHIN KAMEN RIDER advance tickets. A few more venues did open up but not as many as I thought. Also, thankfully, no booking shenanigans have come up.
Puzzled by the staggered roll-out on this one, but either way, got my tickets and I can't wait.
I'm so happy that THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN is now available on
@tokushoutsu
and
@ShoutFactoryTV
. It's one of the all-time greats, with some of the most beautifully shot moments of the franchise.
It's been reported that Shozo Iizuka, prolific VA of characters like Hakaider in ANDROID KIKAIDER, Gabura in AKUMAIZER 3, & Ryu Jose in GUNDAM passed away on Feb 15th due to acute heart failure.
He was one of the all-time greats, I'd always wanted to meet him.
Just in time for the 45th anniversary, Toei is releasing a two-volume KAMEN RIDER STRONGER Blu-Ray Box!
Box 1, containing the first 21 episodes, will be released in Japan on 10/14. Box 2, containing the rest & ALL GATHERED! THE 7 KAMEN RIDERS, comes out 12/2!
Today marks the 52nd anniversary of KAMEN RIDER's first episode, first broadcast on April 3rd, 1971!
Looking for a way to experience the best of the original series? Check out our Masterpiece Binge list!
*breaks through your wall* AS COMMANDED BY LOVE AND JUSTICE! I-I mean, you can now watch Seasons 1 and 2 of TOCHIONGAR SEVEN with English subtitles on YouTube!
Check them all out here (and get in while you can, Season 2 is up for a limited time!) -
One last Altea-related treat for you guys: here's a special bit of art from our good friend,
@dotemcee
!
(I can neither confirm nor deny if this based on actual events.)
Current (tentative) Release table:
> TARO - January 2021
> ZERO: REVENGE OF BELIAL (Movie+Tie-in?) - Spring 2021
> SAGA - Spring 2021
> ZERO: THE CHRONICLE (w/ KILLER THE BEATSTAR) - Spring 2021
> ULTRA GALAXY (TV, DARCLOPS ZERO, & UGL: THE MOVIE) - Spring 2021
Tsuruno is now joking about being close to hitting the tokusatsu grand slam, having performed songs for Ultraman and now Super Sentai.
TSURUNO: "All that's left now is Kamen Rider!"