Black Sun

MAHOTSUKAI SALLY SONORAMA

2012-03-10T13:53:00.000-06:00

TOHO POSTER GALLERY PART 2

2012-03-01T18:27:00.000-06:00

TOHO POSTER GALLERY PART 1

2012-02-24T15:02:00.000-06:00

KAMEN RIDER SONORAMA

2012-02-10T18:26:00.000-06:00

KAPPA NO SANPEI SONORAMA

2012-02-03T20:52:00.001-06:00

ULTRA Q SONORAMA: 5 GIANT MONSTERS APPEAR!

2012-01-28T13:04:00.002-06:00

AKANE-CHAN SONORAMA

2012-01-20T23:24:00.002-06:00

GODZILLA MARCH SONORAMA

2011-11-12T16:17:00.002-06:00

KING GHIDORAH VS. GODZILLA SONORAMA

2011-10-27T18:19:00.002-05:00

MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA SONORAMA

2011-10-07T21:32:00.002-05:00

ULTRA Q SONORAMA: SPACE DIRECTIVE M774

2011-09-24T09:23:00.002-05:00

GODZILLA VS HEDORAH SONORAMA

2011-09-09T21:34:00.003-05:00

Download

ULTRA Q: PEGUILA HAS COME AND ULTRA Q: IN COLOR

2011-09-03T08:48:00.002-05:00

Here's some screen grabs of the new remastered and colorized Ultra Q. The folks at Legends 3D took on the huge task of updating the classic Tsuburaya Ultra series. L3D is not only known in Hollywood for their premier work in the popular 3D industry. The company was behind the colorization of the recently released Ray Harryhausen (EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA) Sci-Fi classics on DVD. Let's hope American audiences will be able to enjoy a subtitled DVD release of this kaiju masterpiece in the near future.

MAGMA TAISHI SONORAMA 2

2011-08-27T14:47:00.001-05:00

DAIKAIJUSEN SONORAMA

2011-06-24T22:00:00.001-05:00

KAIJU BIG PICTORIAL SONORAMA

2011-06-16T20:17:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to check out my Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot article in the new issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland #256

ULTRA 7 SONORAMA

2011-04-29T21:15:00.001-05:00

ULTRAMAN SONORAMA

2011-04-22T21:13:00.005-05:00

GONE FISHING

2011-04-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

DAIMAJIN SONORAMA

2011-04-09T08:13:00.001-05:00

AKUMA KUN SONORAMA

2011-04-01T14:48:00.001-05:00

I love sharing but I really like hearing what you think. If you're grabbing please take the time to say hi and let me know what tracks you dig or what you like about the sonorama. Oh yeah become a follower too knucklehead, so you don't miss anything. Special thanks go to Rogue Evolent and Prof. Grewbeard, I look forward to hearing from you every week.

GAMERA VS GYAOS SONORAMA

2011-03-25T19:32:00.001-05:00

GODZILLA, EBIRAH, MOTHRA: BIG DUEL IN THE SOUTH SEAS (GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER) SONORAMA

2011-03-18T20:04:00.001-05:00

ULTRA Q SONORAMA

2011-03-11T20:46:00.002-06:00

MAGMA TAISHI SONORAMA

2011-03-04T18:32:00.004-06:00

1973 TOSHIBA TOHO PROMOTIONAL CALENDAR

2011-02-25T18:45:00.001-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: LEVIATHANG FINAL CHAPTER

2011-02-18T18:03:00.000-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: LEVIATHANG PART 3

2011-02-11T20:29:00.000-06:00

.......TO BE CONTINUED.....FINAL CHAPTER NEXT WEEK

GEGEGE NO KITARO: LEVIATHANG PART 2

2011-02-04T16:40:00.001-06:00

...............TO BE CONTINUED

GEGEGE NO KITARO: LEVIATHANG PART 1

2011-01-29T19:28:00.000-06:00

To Be Continued........

GEGEGE NO KITARO: GHOST TRAIN

2011-01-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: THE GOBLIN OF OBEBE SWAMP

2011-01-14T15:33:00.000-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: THE DEMON BELIAL

2011-01-07T20:36:00.000-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: THE CAT WIZARD

2010-12-31T08:20:00.000-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: ORITATAMI NYUDO, THE FOLD UP MONSTER

2010-12-23T15:53:00.000-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: NOPPERABO, THE FACELESS GHOST

2010-12-17T21:25:00.001-06:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: DARUMA

2010-09-24T21:44:00.000-05:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: AMANOJAKU

2010-09-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

GEGEGE NO KITARO: THE GREAT GOBLIN TRIAL

2010-09-10T20:12:00.001-05:00

I hope you enjoyed this installment of GeGeGe no Kitaro. I apologize for no updates in the last month. My job got really, really busy and the Shonen King needed a little rest. For now you will get to see "Black Sun Lite". Posts will return to normal as soon as things slow down a little. Thank you very, very much for your patients and to my followers who were checking in on me to see if I was alright. I'm having a good problem. See you next week. Oh yeah, click on the images to see them larger.

GEGEGE NO KITARO: THE HELL SINK

2010-07-23T20:06:00.003-05:00

Busy week for the Shonen King. Enjoy some GeGeGe goodness in ENGLISH!!!!!! Double click on the images to enlarge. I found these online 2 years ago. I have quite few more if you dig em'.

SHONEN SARUTOBI SASUKE

2010-07-16T23:01:00.001-05:00

Toei Doga’s 1959 theatrical film SHONEN SARUTOBI SASUKE 少年猿飛佐助 (SASUKE, THE YOUNG SARUTOBI)(MAGIC BOY), was the company’s second animated feature, and the first to be released in the United States. This also marked Toei Doga’s first cinemascope anime venture as well.

A young boy Sasuke and his sister, Oyuu, live in the beautiful mountains of Shinano. The two are friends with all of the mountain animals, which included deers, bears, squirrels, and Japanese macaque monkeys. One day a giant eagle appears and takes a away a deer fawn. Sasuke and the fawn’s mother pursue the feathered beast to a mysterious dark lake. The fawn is dropped into the murky body of water where a monstrous salamander-like creature is lurking. During the attempted rescue the fawn is brought to safety but it’s mother is devoured. The salamander soon reveals itself to actually be an evil demon princess, Yasha Hime (Devil Woman). Easily beaten in a small skirmish against the witch, Sasuke needed to rethink the situation. Soon the story turns a little “Karate Kid” when Sasuke meets an old ninjutsu master, Tozawa Hakuunsai who teaches him martial art skills and most of all ninja magic. Meanwhile bandits join Yasha Hime, who go on to burn villages and even kidnap Sasuke’s sister. A young prince whose city was burned down, saves Oyuu so Sasuke can focus on defeating the evil witch. Sasuke and Yasha Hime finally engage in a pretty cool battle, evil witchcraft vs. ninja magic. It doesn’t get better than that.

The animation in this one is very smooth and flowing. This is apparent during scenes where characters are using magic. Fire and energy blasts pour from the characters like water. Again, like most of Toei Doga’s early efforts, pay close attention to the hand painted backgrounds. They highlight Japan’s beautiful countryside and mountainous regions. The visuals are treated like an art house live action film.

G-FEST IN CHICAGO TODAY

2010-07-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

G-Fest was a blast today. My son Christian who is now 8 years old, was a maniac. It's funny how he's not really a Godzilla fan, but his Ultraman and Kamen Rider knowledge would destroy you. Of course we hit the dealers room first. Christian stocked up on some Ultra Monsters he was looking for and some Pokemon Kids candy toys. Myself I got my laser disc of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster signed by Akira Takarada and picked up some Kamen Rider and Ultra stuff as well. My friend Ken Gage assisted Oriental Cinema's Damon Foster in a hilarious panel covering oddities of tokusatsu films ripped off by other asian countries. It was a nice low key con topped off with a huge Giordano's Italian Beef for lunch.

G-FEST THIS WEEKEND PLUS MONSTER KID REPOST

2010-07-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

I'm heading to G-Fest (http://www.g-fan.com/) this Saturday, so in the the spirit of all things Godzilla, I'm reposting my Growing Up a Chicago Monster Kid-Godzilla article I did last year. I hope to see some of you at the fest. Please come and say hello. Also remember it's about passing the torch too. Talk to the all of the kids that come out this weekend, keep the fandom growing and alive. You would laugh at how many kids I contaminated through out the years in my neighborhood. All thirsting Kamen Rider, Macross, Gundam, Baoh, Super Sentai and a little Brave Series. One of them could even play the end credits theme to Kamen Rider Black RX on his guitar. Most of them have wives and kids now, but on their computer desk or at work sits that cool Gundam model, Voltron, or Battroid Valykrie, from days of long ago.......

I still remember it clearly today. I think I was around 3 or 4 years old. My family lived in the rear apartment of a small two-flat. We had a black and white TV, the kind with a hard to turn channel dial that went clunk! clunk! when you changed channels. Like any kid I was glued to the TV all day long. In the morning I would watch GARFIELD GOOSE AND FRIENDS with Frazier Thomas on WGN Channel 9. Frazier and his puppet friends would host a daily fix of the coolest cartoons. The variety of programming was amazing. Not only did you get classics like CLUTCH CARGO and SPACE ANGEL, but they also ran the original FLASH GORDON serial with Buster Crabbe. I couldn’t wait for the day when they would show the episode when Flash would fight the Mongo dinosaur in the cave. The icing on the cake was when they showed Karel Zeman’s Czech classic, JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING OF TIME (CESTA DO PRAVEKU) shown in daily 10 minute clips. If you saw this one when you were a kid, no other dinosaur movie would have mattered.

The rest of the day I would jump back and forth between WFLD-32 and WSNS-44, both UHF heaven. WFLD would broadcast shows like FELIX THE CAT, POPEYE, LOST IN SPACE, BATMAN, and THE OUTER LIMITS. WSNS would give you a small dose of Japanese cartoons like PRINCE PLANET and SPEED RACER. Oh yeah the WHITE SOX too. A few years later all the good stuff came, JOHNNY SOKKO, SPACE GIANTS, and ULTRAMAN.

One Saturday afternoon, I was probably playing with my Mego dolls, I looked up at the TV and saw something I never saw before…..GIANT MONSTERS!!! What’s this? A mutant dinosaur fighting giant mantises with a baby dinosaur too. Yep that was SON OF GODZILLA. In fact WFLD’s Saturday afternoon MONSTROUS MOVIE at 1:30 showed others like GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER, GODZILLA VS. THE THING, and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. WGN would show KING KONG vs. GODZILLA and GHIDRAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER. Icon, hero, imaginary friend, what ever you want to call it, I lived and breathed Godzilla. Every FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND was bought with hopes of a picture of Japan's mightiest monster. My parents bought me a paperback called THE WORLD’S GREATEST MONSTER QUIZ. Within this little bible had pictures of UNIVERSAL MONSTERS, ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS and a treasured still from KING KONG VS. GODZILLA. I looked at that book over and over. Then came a 70’s staple, my Dad came home one day with the Godzilla Aurora model kit. My Dad took his time and built it for me with all of the glow in the dark pieces instead of the regular ones. He even splashed a little red paint on the tongue and claws, then a little blue on the fins.

One Christmas I had two rather large presents under the tree. When I opened them, to my surprise they were giant robots, SHOGUN WARRIORS to be exact. One was red, Dragun from GETTER ROBO G and the other with a bird-like head was Raydeen from YUUSHA RAIDEEN. Shogun Warriors had my full attention, especially when the next year I saw a commercial that added Godzilla to their toy line. To tease me even more, the Sears catalogue had pictures of it. I begged and begged all year until the next Christmas. I was like Ralphy waiting for a Red Ryder BB-Gun, then my dream came true. I didn’t care about the design of the toy, his fins were too small or that his fist shot off, it was Godzilla! In years to come I found a bendy Godzilla, a Barrel of Monsters, and Godzilla’s Gang. Did anyone else get Blue Oyster Cult’s Extraterrestrial Live, with the best version of their hit single Godzilla?

From the first movie to the 28th and final one, Godzilla went through several changes, as far as character design and personality. Some fans brush off the the oldies (Showa era) and only prefer the 90’s (Heisei era) or Millennium series. There are others who believe the series should have ended after the fourth film MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA and some after the ninth, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. Myself, I lean towards the old school, and only favor only a few of the new. When I think of the Big G, it’s not the radioactive monster from the 1954 film, that reminds people of nuclear horror, or the long drawn out military stories that are more important than the monsters in the Millennium series. For me it’s Godzilla the hero. It’s Ken from GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER yelling “Come on Godzilla”. It’s Godzilla kicking boulders back and fourth with Ebirah in GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER. It’s Godzilla leading Earth’s monsters into battle against the Kilaaks in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. And yes, Godzilla showing Minya how to use his atomic breath in SON OF GODZILLA.

GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER was the beginning of what I like to call the island series. After ripping off a yacht to find his brother lost at sea, Ryota and his two buddies, along with a bank robber Yoshimura, get stranded on an island. The survivors not only have to deal with a terrorist (Red Bamboo) operation on the island, but a giant lobster, Ebirah as well. While hiding out in a cave they discover Godzilla sleeping beneath them. They decide no revive the monster to help them escape from Red Bamboo and Ebirah. As an extra treat, Godzilla fights a giant condor and Mothra shows up to save the day.

The music in GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER is a plus too. You get cool go-go music early in the film during a dance contest. When Ebirah first surfaces it's almost like he has his own wrestling entrance theme, a catchy repetitive acoustic surf guitar. You can't beat the new Mothra tune either.

Shot on location, SON OF GODZILLA features an adventure on a beautiful tropical island. A team of scientists conduct weather experiments on the remote Sollgel Island. A mishap causes a weather balloon to rain radioactive particles on the island and cause mutations among the flora and fauna. Roaming around the island now are giant mantises (Kamakiras) and a giant spider (Kumonga). The Kamakiras dig up an egg out of a pile of boulders that reveals a baby Godzillla called Minya. The little G's cries are heard by Daddy who comes to save the day.

Everything from Godzilla and Minya fighting Kumonga together, to them getting ready to hibernate, seems so serene and satisfying at the end. Watching this one in January really warms you up for summer.

Imagine turning on the television when you were a kid one afternoon seeing a movie with eleven giant monsters battling it out on the screen. I never heard of DESTROY ALL MONSTERS until that day. It was a high without caffeine. It was the debut of my favorite Godzilla design and also became my favorite movie of all time. The story was simple, a race of aliens known as the Kilaaks take control of Earth’s monsters and unleash them on the whole world. Of course we get control back, to have the greatest movie ending EVER!!!! Godzilla, Minya, Rodan, Angilas, Gorosaurus, Baragon, Manda, Mothra, Kumonga, and Varan vs. King Ghidorah.

After watching this I could run around the house ten times, ride my bike up and down the street 15 times, then still would have energy to burn. The visuals are just so impressive in this film. During the attack on Japan, there is a scene where Manda appears wrapping itself around the railway while Godzilla is stopping around in the background. That was too sweet. Another memorable scene is when the SY-3 rocket ship is chasing the last Kilaak ship, which is on fire in order to burn our cities down. The two ships pass over the monsters at the base of Mt. Fuji. Just as they go over Godzilla, the Big G launches his atomic breath at the Kilaak ship, which at the same time lights up the evening sky. It’s a quick scene, but the fact that they said hey, Godzilla’s atomic fire is bright and powerful, then took the time to highlight that, was cool.

For me GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER is Godzilla at it’s best. I know, I know, you might say what about MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA or the 1954 original. They are awesome, but here you get the DESTROY ALL MONSTERS suit and a Godzilla that has personality in a bizarre, surrealistic atmosphere that was ahead of it’s time, grasping a real problem issue in Japan, pollution. Hedorah a life-form from space, takes advantage of the nature crushing pollution by consuming it and growing to monstrous proportions. The monster evolves throughout the movie, also spreading toxic gases and flesh eating sludge on the way. Godzilla appears, he seems tired and tired off the human race and it’s mistakes. After getting poisoned, acid burned, and beaten to death, Godzilla finally destroys Hedorah.

GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER blends visuals of beauty (flowers, Mount Fuji) and psychedelic imagery against fuming factory smoke stacks. The enemy is not Hedorah, it’s ourselves. Director Yoshimitsu Banno had it figured out, taking Japan’s biggest icon to send the message. In the young boy Ken’s school report he writes “If Godzilla were here he’d save the day”. I just turned 40, and 30 years later that line still crosses my mind with all of the world’s problems. Speaking of Ken, how many of you wanted to hang out in his back yard! Geez, I was finally able to get a recast of that freakin’ Godzilla he was sliding down the slide. The end of this movie would always make my eyes water, with Ken yelling “Godzilla stay here!!” “Godzilla thanks a lot” with the upbeat music kicking in, just left me fulfilled and smiling

UCHUJIN TOKYO NI ARAWARU: WARNING FROM SPACE

2010-07-02T19:55:00.001-05:00

Daiei’s 1956 feature UCHUJIN TOKYO NI ARAWARU 宇宙人東京に現わる(SPACEMEN APPEAR IN TOKYO)(WARNING FROM SPACE, MYSTERIOUS SATTLELITE) was Japan’s first full color sci-fi film. The star shaped aliens known as the Paira or Pairan, seen in the film were designed by artist, Taro Okamoto. Okamoto’s most famous design, “Tower in the Sun” was the center piece of Expo 70’.

When a runaway planet “Planet R” is on a collision course with Earth, friendly aliens come to warn us before it’s to late. The one eyed, star fish, aliens, the “Paira”, are too frightening looking and freak people out when they are seen. One of the aliens takes the form of a famous singer/dancer so they can finally present us with the message of the impending doom that faces our planet. Apparently terrorist kidnap the scientist that designed a super weapon that could actually stop Planet R. It’s the Paira to the rescue!!! They save the scientist just in the nick of time and Planet R is destroyed.

UCHUJIN TOKYO NI ARAWARU is science fiction in it’s purest form. The visuals and cinematography is top notch, highlighting the beauty of Japan. For me even watching the grainy public domain version is enough to satisfy my taste for GOOD Japanese fantasy cinema with a thought provoking story.

TOKYOSCOPE VOL. 5 JAPANESE SUPER HEROES

2010-07-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

August Ragone asked me to help spread the word of this exciting event going on in good ol' San Francisco next week. If you live in that area and want to learn more about the world of Japanese Super Heroes, look no further. Learn from a few long time fans of the genre as they share their passion and knowledge in this not to miss event.
Description from Facebook:
Ultraman! Kamen Rider! The Power Rangers! These and many other colorful crusaders of justice are now recognized the world over as essential icons of Japanese pop culture. But where did they come from? Who created them? And what is it really like battling rubber monsters and the forces of evil on a regular basis?

Join hosts Patrick Macias (editor, Otaku USA magazine), August Ragone (author, Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters), and Tomohiro Machiyama (founding editor, Movie Treasures magazine) as they explore the fascinating history and origins of Japanese superheroes using rare film clips and images from numerous tokusatsu, sentai, and henshin hero productions including Ultra Seven, Kikaida, Space Sheriff Gavan, and many others.

Admission $10

Date:	Friday, July 9, 2010
Time:	7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:	VIZ Cinema • New People Mall • Japantown
Street:	1746 Post Street

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=132574243441068&ref=mf

MONOCHROME ANIME: AKANE-CHAN

2010-06-25T19:05:00.001-05:00

Toei-Doga’s 1968, 26 episode, black and white, anime TV series AKANE-CHAN あかねちゃん (LITTLE AKANE) was one of the first programs just for girls. Akane-chan was created by Tetsuya Chiba and appeared in weekly Shoujo Friend comics. Manga artist Tetsuya Chiba is well known for several titles like his baseball manga SHONEN GIANTS 少年ジャイアンツ, HARISU NO KAZE ハリスの旋風 (HARRIS’ WHIRLWIND) and co-creator (with Asao Takamori/writer) of the mega popular boxing series ASHITA NO JOE あしたのジョー (TOMORROW’S JOE). The voice of Akane-chan and opening song vocalist was Minori Matsushima who also played Sayaka in MAZINGER Z マジンガーZ and Candice in CANDY CANDY キャンディ・キャンディ.

After living in the country with her uncle, Akane returns home and goes to a prestigious school. Being a confident and high spirited girl, Akane-chan quickly finds she does not fit in with the snobby school kids who look down on her. She soon befriends a misfit kid named Hidemaro (Hidebaro). The snot-nosed twerp is the object of ridicule and a bullies dream. Akane-chan feels bad for him and sticks up for the obnoxious boy. Later Akane-chan and Hidemaro take in a dog name Chibi. The three go on to have many misadventures innocently getting into trouble, usually with the right intentions.

Akane-chan is of course a comedy, yet has serious tones and good stories. Aside from the goofy characters and silliness, Akane (a good role model) is a kind person always helping animals and people in need. The TV show doesn’t even compare to the original manga which is highly detailed and beautiful like most shoujo works. The animation is simple but good. Be sure to check out Tetsuya Chiba’s other works, his art is stunning. ASHITA NO JOE was one of the most read comics in manga history.

SUPER GIANT

2010-06-18T23:55:00.001-05:00

Shintoho’s SUPER GIANT (スーパージャイアンツ) (Starman) became Japan’s very first movie hero. With the success of the 1957 release of SUPER GIANT-KOTETSU NO KYOJIN, a total of nine features were made. The nine films were spliced together to make only four films and released in the US as ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD, INVADERS FROM SPACE, ATTACK FROM SPACE, and EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE. The formula used in the Super Giant stories would be seen over and over throughout the 50’s and 60’s in such features and TV shows like GEKKO KAMEN, NATIONAL KID, and NANA-IRO KAMEN. Super Giant was played by Shintoho’s contract actor Ken Utsui, who starred in over twenty films for the company before putting on the tights and taking on the super hero role. Super Giant was Japan’s version of Superman at the time.

Super Giant was sent into action by the Peace Council of the Emerald Planet to stop international crime organizations and evil aliens from threatening the Earth. Super Giant uses a cool watch-like device called the Globe-Meter which allows him to fly on or off the planet, speak any language, and locate sources of radiation. When fighting the bad guys, Super Giant uses an array of gymnastics, chops and kicks. My favorite is when he jumps up high in the air during battles or takes off flying, it sounds like a slide whistle is being played for a second.

I really dig the aliens from this series of films. There was nothing like them at the time. You can truly see how they inspired the Shocker monsters from Shotaro Ishinomori's KAMEN RIDER (1971). Even though Super Giant was a very simple character design, the content of the movies made up for it by a high margin. Super Giant sent the message of peace, justice and unity of all mankind. When the Super Giant (Starman as knew him) movies were on when I was a kid, it was a big deal. They always put a big grin on my grill. They were broadcast on Chicago WFLD-TV 32‘s Saturday afternoon Monstrous Movie. That was my source of Godzilla, Gamera, and anything AIP in the early 70’s.

GULLIVER NO UCHU RYOKO

2010-06-11T20:31:00.001-05:00

In 1965 Toei Doga decided to do a new 80 minute animated sci-fi feature loosely based on Jonathan Swift’s GULLIVER’s TRAVEL’S titled GULLIVER NO UCHU RYOKO ガリバーの宇宙旅行 (GULLIVER’S SPACE TRAVELS). Hayao Miyazaki (MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, PONYO) was an in-between animator on this one. He also added many key changes in the script.

The story begins with a young homeless boy Ted getting kicked out of a movie theater he snuck into showing Gulliver’s Travels. Later Ted meets a talking wind up soldier (Colonel) and a stray dog Mack who cheer him up after his string of bad luck by going to an amusement park. The three ride on a giant firework rocket to escape from some carny security guards and crash into a desolate forest. They soon find an old house where they meet Doctor Gulliver and his pet crow, Kuro. The Doctor shows Ted a giant telescope where they view a planet called the Blue Star of Hope. The Doctor tells about his many travels like Lilliput, but for his last great adventure he wants to go to this distant star. They all leave for the planet in a rocket ship the Doctor built designed for deep space travel called the Gulliver.

They finally reach their destination but they are forced to land on a near by purple star instead. The inhabitants are a race of abstract looking robot people. They meet a beautiful princess that explains they were drove to this star by robots that their ancestors made and are frequently attacked by them. They now spend everyday searching for a new star to live on. The evil robots were originally servants that rose against their creators and mechanized everything. Soon they are attacked by the metal servants and the Princess and Mack are kidnapped. Ted and Doctor Gulliver fly to the Blue Star and find that water can dismantle the robotic demons, and are able to stop them. When they finally find the Princess she is unconscious. Ted uses a little water to try and bring her to, but instead her robotic shell splits open to reveal a beautiful human girl underneath. The sun rises and Ted says “The Blue Star will be reborn, just like you”. Ted then wakes up on Earth. Was it real or a dream?

Like all early Toei Doga theatrical features, Gulliver’s Space Travels takes you away to a surreal dreamland. The visuals, as always are breathtaking and atmospheric. You get hooked with the combination of a classic folklore legend and giant robots! Swift would have smiled seeing the all around beauty of the animation along with a respectful take on Gulliver in this sci-fi epic adventure. Several times through out the film, the main message sent to the viewer is to never give up and there is always hope.

SHONEN JET

2010-06-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

Daiei-TV produced it’s first tokusatsu program SHONEN JET 少年ジェット (JET BOY) in 1959. Shonen Jet originally appeared in Bokura Magazine in manga form before appearing as a popular television series. Taking a page out of 1940’s serials, Shonen Jet, blends super hero action with the fun of a detective show. This hugely successful black and white TV program aired for a lengthy 83 episodes.

Shonen Jet tells the story of a young boy detective Jet (Ken Kitamura) played by Hiroshi Nakajima and later by Ken Tsuchiya. Jet and his faithful dog Shane, solve crimes and fight a wide variety villains usually stealing jewelry. The boy super slueth tracks down the baddies riding on a rocket powered scooter with ol’ Shane running along his side. Jet can stun his enemies with his gun called the Super Colt, which can also shoot flares and flames. Jet’s major weapon though is the Miracle Voice, when yelled, “WU YA TAA!!”, it causes what seems like a small earthquake, throwing the bad guys in limbo.

Daiei-TV went on to do other super hero shows like MABOROSHI TANTEI (PHANTOM DETECTIVE) and KAITEIJIN HAYABUSA (SUBMARINER 8823). Like most shows at that time the bad guys were usually gangsters, but sometimes they threw in some deformed ghoul, to creep out the kiddies. I can’t help thinking RIN TIN TIN watching this one.

HAKUJADEN

2010-05-28T20:09:00.002-05:00

1958 was a very important year in anime history. Animation studio Toei Doga released Japan’s very first color anime theatrical feature HAKUJADEN 白蛇伝 (LEGEND OF THE WHITE SERPENT) (PANDA AND THE MAGIC SERPENT). This would be Toei Doga’s first attempt to enter a world animation market dominated by Disney. At that time, animators to be, learned the animation trade in other countries. It was a lengthy two year process to develop the equipment for shooting an anime film since none existed in Japan. I think Toei Doga did a stellar job their first time around.

Based on a Chinese folklore story, Hakujaden, tells the romantic tale of a young boy Xu-Xian and a beautiful girl Bai-Niang. Years ago when he was a child, Xu-Xian is forced to give up his pet white snake. The snake is caught up in a huge storm, but is magically turned into the young girl Bai-Niang. Years later Xu-Xian meets Bai-Niang and falls in love with her. Concerned that Bai-Ning may be evil, a monk/wizard, Fa-Hai, has Xu-Xian arrested and sent away to keep him safe from what he thinks may harm him. With the help of Xu-Xian’s panda friends, Panda and Mimyi and Bai-Niang’s friend Shao-Chan (who is actually a fish), the two lovers hope to be reunited.

Hakujaden highlights the beauty and atmosphere of China and it’s culture. The backgrounds in this film are softly hand painted showing off colorful flowers, waterfalls, and wildlife. The background music has that traditional Chinese sound similar to most Hong Kong period films like, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA and THE SWORDSMAN.

GEKKO KAMEN

2010-05-20T21:18:00.002-05:00

In 1958 Senkosha Productions released Japan’s first TV super hero series, GEKKO KAMEN 月光仮面 (MOONLIGHT MASK). Created by Kohan Kawauchi (RAINBOWMAN), this series was very similar to the golden age of American serials of the 30's and 40's (KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, FLASH GORDON). Gekko Kamen battled gangsters and at one point a giant simian-like creature, Mammoth Kong. Armed with two guns and a cool motorcycle, Gekko Kamen, was dressed all in white, with a turban, and some stylin’ shades. Gekko Kamen’s identity was kept a mystery, but a smart audience could figure out he was Detective Juro Iwai played by Koichi Ose who fought for justice and the Japanese way.

The series ran for 130 episodes, split into 5 story arcs. Most notable was Chapter 1, “Skull Kamen“, just for the character design alone, very reminiscent of THE EMBALMER (MONSTER OF VENICE). The third chapter, “Mammoth Kong“, marked the debut of Japan’s first TV giant monster. A sixth chapter continued the story of Gekko Kamen in manga form titled “The Fang of the Dragon” in Shonen Club Magazine.

Gekko Kamen is one of Japan’s most iconic characters, whose popularity is still seen today saluted in J-Pop songs and in well done parodies. The best known version was the 1972 anime series, SEIJI WO AISURA MONO GEKKO KAMEN 正義を愛する人、月光仮面 (THE MAN WHO LOVES JUSTICE, MOONLIGHT MASK), known to Latin audiences as the eternal hero, EL CAPITAN CENTELLA.

BLACK SUN RADIO VOL. 1

2010-05-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

To show appreciation to all the Black Sun followers, I threw together a compilation of the songs that you hear every week on my blog. Yep there's a catch too. You must be a Black Sun follower and be kind enough to answer a few questions, then send them to blacksun_rx@hotmail.com along with your user name. In return I'll send you the upload link for this 34 track, super duper summer cd. This way I can get to know you better and what you would like to see in future posts. Thank you for your support and kind comments left every week, I have a lot of fun doing this. Don't forget to check out Chicago Ghouls.

Here's the questions. List as many answers as you like.

1. What is your favorite anime?

2. What is your favorite live action/tokusatsu TV show?

3. What is your favorite kaiju/giant monster movie?

4. What Japanese bands or music do you like?

5. What movies or shows would you like to see on Black Sun the most?

I'll reply to e-mails starting this Sunday.

PRINCE PLANET: YUSEI SHONEN PAPII CANDY TOYS AND MORE

2010-05-08T07:52:00.001-05:00

The 1965 classic anime, Yusei Shonen Papii 遊星少年パピイ (Planet Boy Papii) is the staple of my childhood memories known as none other than Prince Planet. I watched this monochrome gem on Chicago's WSNS-TV 44 in the early 70's dubbed by AIP. Instead of giving you a run down of the series that has been done a zillion times before, I thought I would share something a little different. Prince Planet's Japanese sponsor, Glico offered several little extras that came along with their candy products. Not only did these products come with delicious chocolate, gum, or candy, but you got a prize, oh yeah don't forget the cool package design too. Everything from rings to action figures, you were always sure to get something cool.

Papii Gum came with character buttons

Various kinds of chocolate.

A mini light-up pendant!!!

I would have loved these as a kid.

A cool whistle and when you blow it, Prince Planet spins.

Yum! Yum! Prince Planet gum.

Even the girls get something nice.

Papii Panorama Scope

I would have traded all of my Mego dolls for this, bye bye Aquaman.