LEGENDARY MONSTER MAKER: KEIZO MURASE All-New Photobook On His Monstrous Career!

新発売！洋泉社の「怪獣秘蔵写真集 造形師 村瀬継蔵」


Cover for this must-own photobook on classic Japanese monsters!

One of the most prolific publishing houses of genre subjects in Japan today, Yonsensha, has formally announced the impending release of their third, monstrous "Treasured Photobook" related to great figures who worked during the golden age of Japanese visual effects films at Toho Studios. Previous volumes featured the living legend, monster suit actor Haruo "Mr. Godzilla" Nakajima, and the late visual effects director, Koichi Kawakita.

Now, while starting out as an upstart in the late 1950s, working in the fabrication department under visual effects wizard, Eiji Tsuburaya, Keizo Murase's legacy started as a part-timer at Toho, with his prolific career exceeding beyond his work for the great Tsuburaya, and which continues even today. As with the previous volumes, this is a photo-filled book, with page-after-page of photographs, but very minimal text (not counting a lengthy interview with the monster maker), most taken by Murase himself.

Here's the hyperbole from the book's obi (paper book band):

"King Kong and Godzilla Armatures, a Blue King Ghidorah, and the Inside Baragon's Head. Never-Before-Published Photographs Have Been Collected for This Wondrous Monster Photobook."

"An assistant fabricator at Toho who helped create Mothra, King Kong, King Ghidorah, Baragon, etc. Sculptor Keizo Murase eye-witnessed the very moment of many monsters were born. As a camera hobbyist during his youth, the tremendous amount of photographs Murase personally captured of the monster-making process are revealed for the very first time. A breakthrough discovery that turns the history of fabrication onto its head!!"

"Matango, Titanosaurus, Takora, Greenman. Gyaos, Viras, Daimajin. Booska, Belocron, Vaxim, Yongary to the Mighty Peking Man... They're all here in this shocking photo collection!!"

"Plus, Keizo Murase's life as a fabricator is documented in an exclusive 16,000-character interview!"

While that sums up no further need for details, this publication is likely to exceed the roughly 400 pages for the previous volumes on Nakajima and the late Kawakita, since the MSRP is just over ¥1,000 ($8.31) higher than the latter. Hitting Japanese bookshelves this September 9th, "Treasured Kaiju Photobook: Keizo Murase, Monster-Maker", was supervised by modern kaiju-builder, Shinichi Wakasa (Godzilla 2000), and famed collector and toy-maker, Yuji Nishimura (the founder of M-Ichigo).

It goes without saying that this is a must-own, even if you don't read Japanese, because based on the previous volumes, "Keizo Murase, Monster-Maker", should measure up to over 95% photos versus text — and will surely be the book hardcore fans will be talking about for years to come. I mean, aren't your curious why the original King Ghidorah was blue and not gold?

Click on the link below to pre-order:
TREASURED KAIJU PHOTOBOOK: KEIZO MURASE, MONSTER-MAKER
Format: 8.2 x 5.9 inches
ISBN-10: 4800307562
ISBN-13: 978-4800307569
Release Date: September 9, 2015
MSRP: ¥5184 ($43.10 USD)

Special thanks to Shinichi Wakasa and Yasushi Shiroi for info, and a big shout-out to Takao Yoshiba for providing the cover image.

DAIMAJIN KANNON REVEALED: Sneak peek at the all-new character!

「大魔神カノン』登場!


From "Newtype: The Live", July 2009. © Kadokawa Publishing


A blow-up focusing on the face. ©Kadokawa Publishing

Even though I received my copy of the magazine about three weeks ago, I didn't have time to post these photos before leaving for G-Fest in Chicago. But still, after being home for a week, and working on other projects, I finally got around to it — so, here you go!

According to the article in the July 2009 issue of Newtype: The Live, this new Daimajin character will stand 20 meters tall (approximately 66 feet), which is significantly taller than the character featured in the original 1966 trilogy.

Click here for my previous blog entry: Giant Majin Strikes Again! about the upcoming television series, DAIMAJIN KANNON, currently shooting in Japan. The miniature effects are being shot in Studio No. 1 at Kadokawa Studios (formerly Daiei).

Kadokawa has announced that the series will premiere this October. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months!


The 289-foot Great Kannon in Kita-no-Miyato Park, Hokkaido. Any resemblance is strictly coincidental.

GIANT MAJIN STRIKES AGAIN! New Teleseries to Premiere in Japan this Fall

新番組「大魔神カノン』秋に登場!


Returning to life this October... but will we recognize him?

Over the last two decades, there have been numerous revivals and re-inventions of popular Japanese characters and remakes of beloved film franchises. Numerous attempts have been made to resurrect the avenging stone deity, Daimajin, first stirred to life in Kimiyoshi Yasuda's unforgettable 1966 Daiei production of the same name (and quickly spawned a pair of also memorable and iconic sequels), but all have failed to see the light of day. Until now...

In 1991, there were rumblings in the pages of Kinema Junpo, Japan's most respected cinema magazine, that high on the international success of Steve Barron's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990), Golden Harvest had entered a deal with Daiei to produce a new DAIMAJIN film, starring Kevin Costner, who had just swept the Oscars with DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990). After the award-winning accolades garnered by GAMERA: THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (1995), Daiei announced that they would like to revive the hideous stone idol. There was nothing.

When Daiei changed hands and was sold to the giant Kadokawa Publishing empire in 2002, they also had future plans for Gamera and Daimajin. In 2005, eclectic fringe director, Takashi Miike, scored a hit with a re-imagining of Daiei's 1968 film, THE GREAT YOKAI WAR, and was summarily attached to a DAIMAJIN remake. Unfortunately, after the miserable box office receipts from Ryuta Tasaki's GAMERA: THE BRAVE (2006), Miike's DAIMAJIN project was cancelled by Kadokawa Pictures. Again nothing.

Then, on April 1, 2009*, the new issue of Kadokawa Publishing's Newtype: The Live, made an exclusive announcement—Daimajin would return in a new television series produced by Kadokawa Pictures: DAIMAJIN KANNON. Shigenori Takatera, a fan who became an Assistant Producer at Toei in 1986, is slated to produce. Takatera started his career with KAMEN RIDER BLACK (1987-88), worked his way up as the Chief Producer on RACING TASK FORCE: CARRANGER (1996-97) through STAR BEAST TASK FORCE: GINGAMAN (1998-99), and he then moved over to KAMEN RIDER KUUGA (2000-01) and KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI (2005-06).

While the Newtype: The Live article was very coy at divulging details, it does state that DAIMAJIN KANNON will be contemporary, instead of the feudal period-setting of the feature films, and will be aimed squarely at adult viewers, most likely guaranteeing a late-night broadcast (a network has not been announced). The article features an "image sketch" by To-ru Watanabe (Master of Epic), of a young girl, most likely the titular "Kannon" (or "Goddess of Mercy"), an avatar for Daimajin—following the template of the first film. Kadokawa describes the production as a "VFX Fantasy" remake of the original film.

Stay tuned to this blog for more details as they develop on this long-awaited return of Daimajin!

*April 1, known in the west as "April Fool's Day" is not observed in Japan. Therefore, this story is not a "prank," neither from here nor the source.

CAN GIANT MAJIN TAKESHI "BEAT" KAIJU GUILALA? It's the Ultimate War of the Colossal Beasts!

何だ? 大魔神たけし対大怪獣ギララ!?


Coming to your galaxy this summer!

While the details surrounding Minoru Kawasaki’s upcoming MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G-8 SUMMIT (Girara-no Gyakushu Toyako Samitto-no Kiki Ippatsu), a spin off of the Shochiku Studio’s one-shot monster movie from 1967, THE X FROM OUTER SPACE (Uchu Daikaiju Girara), keep getting stranger and stranger — it’s also becoming bizarrely sublime in both the casting and the unveiling of a new colossal character to combat the giant space monster. But, is that any surprise coming from a Kawasaki film?


Actor/Singer Kazuki Kato.

Under the radar of most people outside of Japan are the starring roles, filled by two veteran tokusatsu television actors. 24 year-old actor-singer Kazuki Kato plays a photojournalist caught up in covering the onslaught of the monster Guilala. The popular Kato rose in fame playing Keigo Atobe in the stage presentations based on "The Prince of Tennis" manga and his television role as Daisuke Kazama/Kamen Rider Drake in KAMEN RIDER KABUTO (2006-07). He most recently played Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3 in Ryuta Tasaki’s KAMEN RIDER: THE NEXT (2007).


Actress/Model Natsuki Kato.

His love interest in the film is a plucky news reporter played by 22-year old actress (and professed anime fan), Natsuki Kato, who first appeared in BURN! ROBOCON (1999-00) and was prominently featured in Kenta Fukasaku’s BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM (2003). She can also been seen in Naoyuki Tomomatsu's STACY (2001) and Atsushi Muroga's GUN CRAZY 4: REQUIEM FOR A BODYGUARD (2002). Kato is also notable for playing the first official female Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Femme, in Ryuta Tasaki’s KAMEN RIDER RYUKI: EPISODE FINAL (2002).


Recent photo of actor Susumu Kurobe.

Kawasaki has also sprinkled in a couple of old veterans, who are no strangers to fans around the world — Susumu Kurobe, who is best remembered as Hayata from the original ULTRAMAN series from 1966 has a prominent role as a military official (Kurobe also appeared in similar brief cameos in the recent series of Godzilla films). Kurobe also recently reprised his role as Hayata in the ULTRAMAN MOEBIUS television series and two feature film spin-offs, the latest of which, Takeshi Yagi's DECISIVE BATTLE! THE SUPER 8 ULTRA BROTHERS, opens in Japanese theaters this September. Mr. Kurobe has always been one of my heroes.


Recent photo of actor Yosuke Natsuki.

While his last role in a visual effects film was more than two decades ago, as Professor Hayashida in Koji Hashimoto’s RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984), Yosuke Natsuki has been cast in a featured role in the new film. Under contract with Toho in the late 1950s, Natsuki was a popular young actor whom appeared in everything from comedy programmers to dramatic war films, as well as action potboilers and period dramas, such as Kengo Furusawa’s SIEGE ON FORT BISMARCK (1963) and Hiroshi Inagaki’s CHUSHINGURA (1962). He also appeared in two classic monster movies directed by Ishiro Honda, GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEADED and MONSTER and DOGORA: THE SPACE MONSTER (both 1964). Natsuki recently played Shibahara, the Karate Master in Shunichi Nagasaki's excellent BLACK BELT (Kuro-obi, 2007).

But wait! There’s more!

Japanese press sources have just announced that world-renown actor and director, “Beat” Takeshi Kitano, is appearing in the film as “Takemajin” (pronounced “tah-kay mah-gene”) — a guardian deity who grows to enormous proportions to take on the intergalactic interloper. Loosely based on the deity Fudomuyo-Oh, the new character first appears in the film as a 50 cm edifice (holding an umbrella in one hand and a fire extinguisher in the other). But, when things look their darkest, the statue comes to life as a 50-meter tall, 10,000-ton colossus. Kitano will actually don the suit of Takemajin.


Early design for Takemajin.

Director Kawasaki thought that this would be a perfect role for Kitano, who is no stranger to comedy or elaborate costuming, since he used to play the Ultraman-like character, “Take-chan Man,” on the old “Ultra Quiz” game show, as well as wrote and starred in the “Uchimura Seven” sketches, which were parodies of the old ULTRAMAN television series. Kitano is also known by Japanese audiences for his penchant for dressing up in wacky costumes on the most inconspicuous (or inappropriate) occasions.


Kitano's mug on the statue of Takemajin.

In the story, the mystery surrounding Takemajin — which is also a take-off of Daiei Studio’s beloved DAIMAJIN trilogy from the 1960s — is at the center of the drama, and the avenging deity will make his dramatic appearance at the climax of the film. Kawasaki teased, “This is the culmination of Takeshi-san’s professional career... and in the last scene, there will be a shock similar to [the final duel] in Akira Kurosawa’s SANJURO.”


Who will prevail? Takemajin or Guilala?

MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G-8 SUMMIT goes into nationwide release in Japan this July. Personally, I can’t wait to see this film — it’s either going to be glorious or a glorious mess!