MONOCHROME ANIME: RAINBOW SENTAI ROBIN

In 1963 Shotaro Ishinomori (KAMEN RIDER, KIKAIDER), Fujiko Fujio (DORAEMON), and animator Shinichi Suziki founded a new animation production company Studio Zero (OSOMATSU KUN, PA MAN). One of their early projects, RAINBOW SENTAI ROBIN (Rainbow Squadron Robin or Rainbow Task Force Robin) was produced by Toei Doga, and directed by Shinichi Suzuki. Based on manga published in Weekly Shonen Magazine by Shotaro Ishinomori, this black and white sci-fi action adventure TV series ran 48 episodes. RAINBOW SENTAI ROBIN also inspired Toei’s CAPTAIN FUTURE (1978).

On the other side of the solar system the planet Palta faces extinction with only two years left before the planet is destined for destruction. Desiring the Earth’s resources, Emperor Palta launches an attack on our planet. The only one who can save Earth is a young boy Robin, and his team of robots. Fifteen years earlier Robin’s father Dr. Polto, was actually an alien spy from Palta who was sent to Earth, but fell in love with a human woman Sumiko. Before Robin’s father and mother were taken against their will, back to Palta, the doctor created six robots to take care of his son.

The robots include Lili, Wolf, Benkei, Pegasus, Professor, and Bell. Lili is a nurse robot who can emit a healing light ray that can fix anything. She is very sweet and takes it upon herself to fill in as the motherly roll in Robin’s life. The super fast Wolf, is an expert marksman and has aim more accurate than any machine. Benkei, the iron strong man, aside from being the muscle of the group, has a compartment in his chest in which Professor and Bell ride in. Pegasus, transforms from robot to rocket and flies at speeds up to mach 18 and can act as a submarine. Bell, is a cute cat that acts as a walking, talking radar and can also scramble any signal or radio wave. And lastly, Professor, a science genius and researcher who is very proud of his intelligence and is not afraid to tell you so. Robin is armed with a lightning ray gun and is a highly skilled trained fighter. Along with his robot family, Robin and the Rainbow Sentai are an unstoppable fighting team. Not only can they battle on Earth, but they can take the war into space and go head to head with alien battleships.

During down time, characters like Lili and Wolf, shed their robot appearance and look more human and even have normal relationships. Professor and Bell are the comedy relief, and are always goofing off. Robin dreams of the day when he can reunite with his parents, not knowing if they are dead or alive. This story is weaved throughout the series and draws you to the character. When it’s time for action Robin shouts out “Rainbow Sentai Go Forth!” “ Pegasus Stand By!” “Let’s Go!” and they fly off in formation to defend Earth.

RAINBOW SENTAI ROBIN has lots of sci-fi drama, and like other favorites from the 60’s, it instills that cool atmosphere we all dig from black and white anime. Similar to Shotaro Ishinomori’s CYBORG 009, the Rainbow Sentai would have been a hit in the states.

GROWING UP A CHICAGO MONSTER KID: GODZILLA

   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.

MONOCHROME ANIME: HUSTLE PUNCH

In the early 60’s Toei Doga had success with talking animal characters in their handful of theatrical features (WAN WAN CHUSHINGURA, SAIYUKI). Even though these were serious toned features, they still drew the interest of a younger audience. In 1965 Toei produced Hustle Punch, an all comedy anime more in the direction of slapstick cartoons released in the US like MERRY MELODIES, TOM AND JERRY, and TEX AVERY cartoons. This 26 episode black and white series was directed by animator/character designer Yasuji Mori (HAKUJADEN, UCHU PATROL HOPPER). Yasuji Mori is considered the “God of Animation” in Japan by his peers. After he left Toei Doga, Mori went on to be the anchor of Nippon Animation, with such hits as FUTURE BOY CONAN, DOG OF FLANDERS, and HEIDI, GIRL OF THE ALPS.

Hustle Punch follows the comedic antics of three animal friends, Punch (voice of Nobuyo Oyama)(Doraemon) a bear, Touch a mouse, and Bun a weasel. The three pals live in an old car on top of a giant junk pile in the city’s dump. In the same town, lives the cliché bad guy, Dr. Garigari a wolf, and his two minions Black, a gangster cat, and Nu, an eye patch wearing pig, who is the muscle of the group. Punch and his pals live a carefree life in the junkyard, until they have to deal Dr. Garigari and his never ending schemes to get rich. Dr. Garigari tries to steal everything from expensive jewels to a king’s royal crown. Punch and his friends take it upon themselves to foil Garigari’s plans from episode to episode. Garigari orders Black and Nu to do his dirty work which ends up with them getting beat up, blown up, and embarrassed in THREE STOOGES-like situations. Even though Hustle Punch was designed to be similar to American Saturday morning cartoons, you’ll find it still has that Japanese anime flare and atmosphere. The stories are actually not dumbed down for comedic effect. Along with the chaos and goofy stuff, comes pretty fun original plots for each episode. Punch and his friends are untouchable characters. For instance, they never get hurt, always win, etc., sort of like BUGS BUNNY or JERRY THE MOUSE. When Black or Nu would hit Punch over the head, the bad guys feel the pain instead, since Punch has such a hard head.

Aside from Yusuji Mori, Hustle Punch was worked on by an all-star team from the anime industry, including Hayao Miyazki and Isao Takahata, who both continued on to start Studio Ghibli. Hustle Punch also has a happy-go-lucky theme song that’s sure to drive you nuts by Asei Kobayashi (DORORON ENMA-KUN, KAGAKU NINJA-TAI GATCHAMAN). You definitely can see the wonderful character designs are very close to the ones seen later down the road in each of these creator's later projects.

KAIJU OUJI: MONSTER PRINCE

In 1967, P-Productions (MAGMA TAISHI, SPECTREMAN) rolled out their second TV series Kaiju Ouji (Monster Prince). This 26 episode color series takes elements from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan, the prehistoric flair of dinosaurs and to top it off, invading aliens.

The story opens with a jetliner flying over the Pacific Ocean. Onboard, Professor Ibuki and his wife, enjoy their twin newborns Takeru and Mitsuru. Below the plane a volcano rises and erupts from the ocean surface. The unusual monolith has a white glow that seems to pull the jetliner out of the sky causing it to plunge into the ocean. The professor and his wife manage to make it aboard a rubber rescue raft, but unfortunately one of the twins are missing. Suddenly the jet explodes into a fiery inferno, leaving the new parents with no hope of recovering their lost child. Ten years pass and the Ibuki’s have moved on along with their surviving son Mitsuru, who now has a younger sister. Professor Ibuki has been investigating seismic waves that have been coming from the volcanic area which is now a full fledge island. Meanwhile a fishing boat is caught up in a severe storm causing it to be engulfed by high waves and submerging it. The only survivor washes ashore the new island paradise that’s flourishing with plant and animal life. The fisherman, still out of it, manages to pick himself up and start to explore. He comes upon huge holes in the ground, and soon realizes they’re giant footprints! Hungry, he moves on and uses his knife to make a spear. Finally he sees a bird, but just as he is about to go for the kill, a boomerang zips by and takes out his dinner. A young boy picks up the bird and runs. The fisherman stunned there’s a boy in the middle of the jungle, pursues the youngster only to be cut off by the owner of the giant footprints. The prehistoric behemoth (Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus) wades through the jungle, trying to stomp out the fisherman that seems to be a threat to the boy. The boy appears again with a younger version of the first dinosaur, known as Nessie and tries to call off the rampaging horror. The fisherman manages to make it back to his raft and escapes sure death. A naval ship rescues, the now in shock man, who recounts the events that happened on the island.

 The story soon hit’s the newspaper headlines, which eventually reaches the Ibuki family. It appears that their lost son Takeru has survived after all these years. To make the situation worse it seems a comet-like object is heading towards Earth, in the direction of the island. Takeru sees first hand that the projectile is not a comet, instead it is an alien invasion. Swarms of gargoyle-like creatures fall out of the sky, armed with laser guns and missiles. Takeru wails out a Tarzan-like yell, that calls for the help of his dinosaur friends. Armed only with his boomerang, Takeru surprises the invaders and is able to ward them off and they retreat. The next morning the aliens return prepared and ambush Takeru. Again Takeru calls his dinosaur friend to come out and fight off this menace, but the mighty beast is no match for the alien’s weaponry and sadly dies in the battle. Takeru and Nessie manage to escape, but the loss of their giant friend saddens them deeply. The next day a research group headed by Professor Ibuki arrives on the island along with a special military ranger squad. They soon run into the alien creatures and get caught in a barrage of lasers and missiles. During the battle Takeru and Nessie appear, and Professor Ibuki is shocked to see his son is alive and well like he had hoped. The aliens soon send a mutant Pteranodon to the island. Nessie engages the monster and is able to push it off a cliff, then finish it off by exhaling a stream of fire that cooks the stone age bird. Before Professor Ibuki can stop him, Takeru hops up on Nessie and rides off into the jungle.

 Later it is discovered that the aliens have appeared because of the island’s rich abundance of uranium. Through out the series Takeru and Nessie battle a huge array of prehistoric menaces that invade the island for it’s natural resources. Later in the series a second insect-like alien race comes to Earth. At this point Nessie has grown to adult size to fight off a more threatening invader. These aliens have the ability to resurrect prehistoric monsters from fossils and bones. At one point they actually break into a museum and bring the skeleton of an Iguanodon to life, that looks more like YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP, one of my favorites. The soundtrack is a hyperactive mix of pop and jazz reminiscent of MAGMA TAISHI. You can’t beat the 1/1 scale Nessie head built for Takeru to ride on. Imagine having that in a school playground. After watching Kaiju Ouji, one can only wonder where Sid and Marty Kroft got their idea for LAND OF THE LOST.

MONOCHROME ANIME: WOLF BOY KEN

1963 was a huge year for anime in Japan. Most of the popular TV series from that year were released in the US market and became staples of Saturday morning viewing like ASTRO BOY, GIGANTOR, and 8TH MAN. Already Toei was in the anime market with high end theatrical films with Disney quality (HAKUJADEN, SAIYUKI, SHONEN SARUTOBI SASUKE). Wolf Boy Ken (OOKAMI SHONEN KEN) would be their first animated TV series. The 86 episode, black and white series was all original and not based on a manga story like most later productions. Toei’s new series also added more frames per second to their show to give it a smoother look, unlike Tezuka’s Mushi Prod. who had far less. The cool character designs were by Sadao Tsukioka, who also directed along with Isao Takahata (STUDIO GHIBLI). Wolf Boy Ken also became Morinaga, one of Japan’s leading candy company’s first anime/manga sponsored product with “Morinaga Manga Cocoa“.

Wolf Boy Ken tells the story of a young boy named Ken who is raised by an intelligent pack of wolves, very similar to Tarzan with the apes, in a jungle overlooking the Himalayan region. A passing comet causes disastrous changes in the jungle, including famine. Ken, being a part of the wolf family, helps the pack survive and looks over two young, playful twin wolves, Chicchi and Poppo. Ken spends a lot of time keeping the two out of mischief and safe from humans. Jack, a one-eyed wolf in the pack despises Ken’s presence among the wolves, for one Ken was human, and two it was a human who took his eye. Ken later saves Jack from a hunter’s trap and later saves the pack’s leader “Boss” from a forest fire. At one point Jack has a chance to be rid of Ken when a poisonous snake is about to bite him while the young boy sleeps. Remembering the kindness Ken showed towards his family, Jack kills the snake at the last second, saving Ken’s life. Ken and Jack, now friends, go on together to keep the wolf pack safe from hunters, armies of apes, or anyone who’ll cause harm to their jungle paradise.

Wolf Boy Ken has plenty of comedy relief and slapstick to lightened up the drama too. There are a few animals who either hate the wolves or want to eat them, like Kuma a big black bear, a gorilla simply called Gorilla, a leopard named Yamaneko and my favorite Tora, a killer tiger. When Chicchi and Poppo venture out on their own, they usually run into the other animals in the jungle. This usually turns into a cat and mouse chase and then Ken saves the day. What makes this show so fun is that the animals talk, something I have a weakness for in Japanese cartoons. The voice actors are dead on, especially for characters like the evil Tora, who has a dominating samurai-like voice.

The theme song to Wolf Boy Ken is probably the most catchy of all the early anime TV series. Sorry if this one gets caught in your head. The drum beats and the WA OOO WA OOOWAOOO from the Victor Children’s Choir makes it memorable.

VAMPIRE

After the success of manga to television hits like ASTRO BOY, JUNGLE EMPEROR, and MAGMA TAISHI, creator Osamu Tezuka added one more to the mix with the horror story Vampire. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday in 1966 and then continued in Shonen Book, but unfortunately the manga was never finished due to the publishing company going out of business.

 Tezuka’s very own Mushi Pro. released a black and white 26 episode live action TV series mixed with animation for Fuji Television . The story follows a 15 year old boy named Toppei (Yutaka Mizutani [also a famous singer]), a descendant of a race of shape shifting vampires. These vampires differ from the Transylvanian blood suckers you‘re used to, they crave human beings in the way a wild animal hunts prey, yet have more lycanthropic abilities. Each vampire is different, some transform into wolves, others into bears, snakes, even butterflies.

The people in Toppei’s village are tired of hiding from humanity and being pushed from place to place, so they burn down their homes and leave to secretly start a vampire revolution. Not agreeing with this decision, Toppei separates from the others to find his missing father and pursue his dream of being a manga artist. He later runs in to a reporter, named Morimura (Fumio Watana [ULTRA Q episode 15]) who helps Toppei land an internship at Osamu Tezuka’s Mushi animation studio.

 Later Toppei gets involved saving a woman who is being attacked by two men, but during the scuffle a full moon rises. This causes Toppei to transform into a wolf and he wards off the aggressors. Each vampire’s transformation is triggered by a different things, not just the moon. The woman laughs and reveals she is actually a he, a master of disguise named Makube“Rock”Rokuro (Hiroshi Sato, Kaze Takeshi in some later episodes). Rock is a shady character using the war between humans and vampires to his advantage and own self gain. At one point Rock visits three creepy fortune tellers that predict he’ll actually take control of the world in the future. Throughout the series Rock is a constant thorn in Toppei’s side doing everything he can to gain power among the vampires. Rock is originally a character from Tezuka’s DETECTIVE BOY ROCK HOLMES. His name, Makube is derived from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Rokuro a combination of rock and the Japanese word for black (kuro).

Things get even more complicated when the police get involved, constantly in pursuit of the vampires. The second person to know Toppei’s secret is Morimura, but unlike Rock, he aids Toppei to help stop the vampire revolution and hopefully find a way they can live in peace with humans. In the manga version it’s Tezuka that helps Toppei, not Morimura. Also joining Toppei is his 6 year old brother Chippei, who also changes into a wolf, which is triggered by sphere-like objects.

The series becomes intense near the end with Rock drawing closer to becoming the king of the vampires and the development of a drug that can cure a vampire from it’s beast-like tendencies. This show was unique since it was a pioneer for mixing animation with live action on an entire television program. Toppei’s transformation is amazing, starting with contact lenses in the actor’s eyes, then animated hair growth, ears pointing upwards, canine fangs appearing, all while twisting in pain to become a wolf. This show was very enjoyable in black and white, all old school horror is, but the pilot episode was in color. Even Toppei’s wolf design was different, and in my opinion cooler. Vampire is a must for Tezuka fans just for being an oddity.

MONOCHROME ANIME: BIG X

In 1963 Osamu Tezuka (ASTRO BOY, PRINCESS KNIGHT) created a fantastic post WWII manga story published in Shonen Book (YUSEI KAMEN, MACH GO GO GO) called Big X. The story starts in Nazi Germany, when Hitler has a Japanese scientist, Dr. Asagumo and a German scientist Dr. Engel invent a powerful new weapon, codename “Big X”. The project would allow a soldier to inject a super serum into his system that would then allow him to increase his body mass. He would have the height of a giant, super-human strength, and a body as strong as steel. The allied forces would now have no chance against an army of giant super Nazis.

Luckily the fall of Berlin postponed the development and use of the project. Dr. Engel and Dr. Asagumo were then murdered to bury the secret of Big X forever. Before his death, Dr. Asagumo decides to surgically hide the formula inside his son Shigeru’s body. 20 years later remnants of the Nazi army led by Dr. Engel’s grandson Hans remove the formula printed on metal plates from Shigeru’s body. The plates are soon recovered by Shigeru’s son Akira. Akira injects the formula into himself to become Big X and fight of the new generation of Nazis.

This would be the first anime series produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsa (OBAKE NO Q-TARO, ATTACK NO. 1), which would begin in 1964 and run for an astonishing 59 episodes. Unfortunately the early part of the series is considered lost. A majority of the series were stories of mad men and their destructive weapons, robots, dinosaurs and spaceships trying to gain world domination and less of a Nazi based theme. Big X is very similar to many 1960’s black and white anime series (PRINCE PLANET, GIGANTOR) with the same pacing and very imaginative sci-fi storylines. Akira protects the world with the help of his friend Nina Belton, a psychic girl and his guardian Dr. Hanamaru.

 Unlike the manga where Akira actually injects himself with the Big X formula, the anime version has the young boy uses a sophisticated pen-like device that releases electromagnetic waves. The transforming pen also has a numbered dial that can select the intensity of the wave and choose the amount of growth needed for a particular situation. Once Akira transforms into Big X, he takes on the appearance of a giant German soldier with Achilles wings and a large “X” on his helmet. Big X’s most famous enemy aside from Hans Engel was the giant robot Number V3. A very cool green robot with a huge steel mohawk similar to designs by Mitsuteru Yokoyama (GIGANTOR, GIANT ROBO). Big X is for fans of Astroboy and Prince Planet with everything that makes those shows so fun, like alien invasions, armies of tanks getting smashed, robot dinosaurs on the loose, and evil scientists.

KAPPA NO SANPEI: YOKAI DAISAKUSEN

Manga artist Shigeru Mizuki already started interest in the Yokai/ghost genre with his beautifully drawn horror manga/comics which began in late 1950’s and through out the 1960’s. Popularity picked up in 1966 with the release of AKUMA KUN a live action TV series produced by Toei Productions and based on Mizuki‘s manga. 1968 would change everything and be considered the year of the Yokai in Japan. Now with the “Yokai Boom” in full swing, fans would get their fulfillment of ghostly anime and feature films. Daiei released the first two theatrical features in their Yokai trilogy, 100 MONSTERS and THE GREAT YOKAI WAR, Daichi Doga added an anime TV series YOKAI NINGEN BEMU, and finally Toei’s animated version of Mizuki’s manga GEGEGE NO KITARO hit the airwaves. Toei Productions also added one more live action feature to the mix as well, KAPPA NO SANPEI: YOKAI DAISAKUSEN (SANPEI THE KAPPA: THE GREAT GHOST STRATEGY).

Kappa no Sanpei begins with a young boy Sanpei Kawahara (Yoshinobu Kaneko)(AKA KAGE, WATARI) and his two friends exploring the attic of his house. The three come upon a museum-like room full of creepy artifacts, taxidermies and a statue that resembles a mythological water creature known as a Kappa . The Kappa is holding a scroll that mentions the Kawamura family name which puzzles Sanpei. Soon they are drawn to a door in the room which opens, to reveal a stairway leading downward into darkness. Sanpei begins to go down the steps when they suddenly disappear and he falls into a dark abyss leaving his friends behind.

Sanpei lands in a swampy wetland where a giant gillman-like hand grabs him and takes him away. He awakens on a stone slab surrounded by strange people who seem not to happy he is there. Soon Sanpei realizes he’s in the ancient forbidden country of the Kappa who despise humans for driving their race into hiding. The Elder Kappa sends Sanpei to be sacrificed, when a huge tree monster Mizu-Oni (Water Demon) suddenly rises out of the ground. Mizu-Oni attacks the Kappa temple grabbing it’s people with long tentacle-like branches, draining the water from their bodies which is the life-blood of a Kappa and leaves them as dried up carcasses.

The Mizu-Oni grabs a young Kappa princess Kan (Matsui Yachie)(THE SNAKE GIRL AND THE SILVER-HAIRED WITCH) and takes her away. Sanpei goes to the Elder Kappa with Kan’s guardian Rokubee (Fuyukichi Machi)(AKA KAGE, HENSHIN NINJA ARASHI) and offers to help. Elder Kappa lets Sanpei return to his house to get matches to burn Mizu-Oni. When Sanpei returns home he runs into a weird man snooping around in his house, Itachi Otoko (Weasel Man)(Ushio Kenji)(KAMEN RIDER, JAKQ DENGEKITAI VS. HIMITSU SENTAI GORANGER). Sanpei chases him out, but Itachi Otoko who is now bumming food, becomes an ally in later episodes. Sanpei quickly grabs the matches and returns to the Kappa’s temple. Before Sanpei and Rokubee leave to battle Mizu-Oni, Elder Kappa casts a spell on Sanpei which gives him the powers of a Kappa.

Rokubee and Sanpei finally find the monstrous tree demon. Sanpei tests his new abilities by firing off water shurikens at the behemoth with no effect. The new boy Kappa starts striking matches and can’t get one lit, while the demon closes in. One of Sanpei’s hands are touched by Mizu-Oni and it is immediately dried like that of a real Kappa. Realizing the situation has elevated from bad to worse, Rokubee makes his way to a boarded up sealed well which contains a flammable liquid. Rokubee sucks up all of the liquid until his belly looks as if he is pregnant. He runs back to aid Sanpei who is fighting alone. Rokubee lets the demon tree absorb all of the liquid from his body leaving him a dried up corpse. Finally Sanpei lights a match and throws it at Mizu-Oni, which along with the absorbed liquid from Rokubee causes it to be engulfed in flames and defeated. Sanpei soon finds Rokubee’s and Kan’s bodies, dried up and lifeless, so he throws them into a lake which replenishes their liquids and brings them back to life. Sanpei’s hand is restored too. Now that Kan is saved Sanpei is sent back home only to find Itachi Otoko again. Sanpei asks where his mother is and is told she had been taken away to the Yokai world. Throughout the 26 episode series Rokubee and Kan help Sanpei search for his mother while running into a wide variety of ghosts, demons and other hellish creatures which they must defeat. Kappa no Sanpei is another black and white classic tokusatsu show that has a fun light-hearted atmosphere along with some cool creepy yokai. The soundtrack by Asei Kobayashi is loaded with a very effectively used theremin to add that horror vibe.

Introduction to Kappa

Kappa are supernatural creatures which live both on land and in water. They are as tall as a four or five year old child. They have a beak-like snout, and fins on their hands and feet. They also have a shell on their back, and a water-filled dish on their head. As long as the dish is full of water, kappa keep their supernatural powers. Although kappa harm people sometimes, there are also many tales where they have helped people. They are very curious. They often appear in cartoons because of their lovable images. Kappa love sumo wrestling and cucumbers. That is why cucumber sushi rolls are called "kappa maki". "Okappa" are bobbed hairstyles because they look like the kappa's hairstyles. Kappa are excellent swimmers. There is a saying "Kappa no kawa nagare (a drowning kappa)" which means, even an expert can make mistakes sometimes. (Kappa Intro from GoJapan.about.com)

MONOCHROME ANIME: CYBORG 009

Quite a few black and white anime/cartoon TV series (ASTRO BOY, GIGANTOR, PRINCE PLANET, EIGHTH MAN, etc.) have made it to the US airwaves in the 60’s and 70’s. Unfortunately, a lot of classics never made it here that could have been huge hits if they had been dubbed for the US market. One such TV series was Toei Production’s action packed sci-fi adventure Cyborg 009. Originally a manga/comic series which began in 1964, created by legendary artist Shotaro Ishinomori (KAMEN RIDER, JINZO NINGEN KIKAIDER, INAZUMAN). Ishinomori got his start working along side Osamu Tezuka (ASTROBOY, KIMBA, UNICO), after winning an art contest.

Cyborg 009 was published in Weekly Shonen King magazine and Weekly Shonen Magazine, then later chapters appeared in other publications. Ishinomori’s Cyborg 009 was cutting edge and ahead of it’s time, with stories reflecting shocking and sometimes chilling issues of the 1960’s such as racism, corporate business, and weapons of mass destruction, among others. Cyborg 009 was the first super powered hero team ever from Japan, which was the prelude to the future SUPER SENTAI series, also started by Ishinomori with HIMITSU SENTAI GORANGER.

Cyborg 009 tells the story of nine cybernetic super-charged humans created to be the next stage of the arms race. The evil organization Black Ghost, with their leader Skull, profit from global fear with the sale of military weaponry. They plan to sell the world powers the new super soldiers who’ll now be able to take war into space. Resenting what Black Ghost had done to their lives and bodies, the nine 00 series Cyborgs, who still have souls and a conscience, rebel against their warmonger creators. Realizing the threat the 00 Cyborgs are to their plans, Black Ghost unleashes armies of soldiers, tanks, robots, even cybernetic dinosaurs to try and stop them. Along with their new abilities, each Cyborg has a cool laser blaster which shoots lightning-like bolts of electricty to battle off these menaces. Joining the Cyborgs, Dr. Gilmore, a Black Ghost scientist, turns his back on his corrupt employer, instead he aids and advises the 00 Cyborgs. The unique thing about Cyborg 009, was that the heroes represented all walks of life, emphasizing on color, race, and upbringing. Yet they were all different they still came together as a team to fight the world menace. There were a lot of messages woven into each storyline that even today plagues our news headlines.

Cyborg 009 really gained popularity with the release of Toei Productions two color theatrical films, CYBORG 009 (1966) and CYBORG 009: KAIJU DAISENSO (1967). The success of the two films led the way for a brand new 26 episode black and white TV series. The original manga is pretty grim and adult themed, but the TV series was geared towards kids. Each episode was a self contained story, instead of one running the length of the series. Most of the stories were new ones written just for the TV show, along with a few from the latter part of the first manga series. So the hardcore fans of the manga were not disappointed, a couple episodes even had stories with the Skull and Black Ghost. Cyborg 009 has all of the elements of the black and white era of anime, fast paced action, laser guns, rampaging robots, ferocious dinosaurs and arrogant villains.

Cast of Characters

Cyborg 009-Joe Shimamura

Joe was a juvenile delinquent who escapes from a boy’s home, but is then captured by Black Ghost. Joe’s Cyborg ability is an upgrade of 002’s acceleration module, he is now able to move at speeds beyond comprehension. With his strong personality, Joe takes the role of leader of the 00 Cyborgs. In the manga story arc “The Underground Empire of Hades” Joe becomes a famous race car driver "Hurricane Joe".

Cyborg 003-Francoise Arnou

Francoise was a famous ballet dancer in France, until Black Ghost kidnapped her. She was given super hearing and sight. This allows her to hear and see enemies from long distances. Most of the time she takes care of 001, but will go into battle if needed.

Cyborg 001-Ivan Whiskey

An ill Russian infant Black Ghost performs surgery on to give him a super enhanced brain. Ivan, with a mind that processes like that of an adult, now has ESP, telekinesis, and telepathy. Ivan is one of the most important members of the group. He keeps the Cyborgs together and out of tight spots, using his abilities.

Cyborg 005-Geronimo Jr.

Geronimo Jr. is a Native American, tired of being looked down on and stereo-typed. Desperate for employment he accepts a job from Black Ghost not realizing their intent. G-Junior is given super strength and armor-like skin. He can now throw tanks like they are empty cardboard boxes.

Cyborg 004-Albert Heinrich

Albert Heinrich’s fiancée is murdered by soldiers while trying to escape from West Berlin, disguised as circus performers. The injured Albert is taken away by members of Black Ghost to be the next human enhanced. Albert has an array of weapons installed in him, including finger guns, missiles from his knees, and a hand that can cut like a knife.

Cyborg 002-Jet Link

Originally a juvenile delinquent gang member from New York, Jet is captured by Black Ghost after a stabbing incident. Jet has rockets installed in his legs allowing him to fly at mach 5 speed. He also has an acceleration module installed in him as well, so he is able to move at lightning speed.

Cyborg 006-Chang Changku

Chang was a penniless Chinese farmer starving and ready to give up on his life. Black Ghost stepped in and took him away to be apart of the 00 Cyborg program. Chang is now able to breath fire hot enough to even melt rock and burrow tunnels underground. On the side, he is a master of the culinary arts and cooks for his fellow Cyborg friends.

Cyborg 008-Pyunma

In Africa, Pyunma and his tribesman are captured by slave drivers. While trying to escape, Black Ghost kills the slave drivers and takes him away. Pyunma has artificial lungs installed which enables him to submerge himself underwater for long periods of time. This ability comes in handy when engaging nuclear submarines and cybernetic dolphins.

Cyborg 007-Great Britain

Great Britain was a famous British actor whose financial problems draw him to the bottle. Black Ghost takes advantage of his fall from stardom to add him to the Cyborg program. Great Britain becomes the ultimate shape shifter, able to transform into any object, animal, or resemble any person. In the animated version he’s a kid and is used comedy relief.

AKUMA KUN

 1966 was a great year for Japanese children’s television. With the “Kaiju Boom” moving full steam ahead, there was still room for other memorable tokusatsu and anime. Shigeru Mizuki’s super popular ghost and goblin manga GEGEGE NO KITARO was already spooking millions of readers, thus creating the “Yokai Boom”. However, this was not the only work by Mizuki that got attention. In October 1966, Toei Prod. rolled the cameras for a live action version of Mizuki’s supernatural story Akuma Kun (Devil Boy) which ran simultaneously with the manga in Shonen Magazine. The black and white TV series ran for 26 episodes and starred Mitsunobu Kaneko (GIANT ROBO) who was also Johnny Sokko.

Akuma Kun starts out with a funeral in procession under a dark, ominous sky. The back doors of the hearse suddenly open and the casket comes crashing out. Before the eyes of the horrified mourners, the casket opens and the body rises, then floats away into the forest. Later a group a boys come upon the lifeless body now devoid of eyes. Only one boy Shingo Yamada (Mitsunobu Kaneko) seems unafraid and intent on finding the answer to this strange mystery. Looking around, he sees an old man watching nearby in the woods. The strange man turns and walks slowly away almost beckoning Shingo to follow. Shingo is led to an old abandoned well in the middle of nowhere. The old man becomes a glowing figure and floats into the well. Shingo, now convinced the old man is behind the strange happenings, follows the old man down the dark well. Exploring a maze of underground passages, Shingo comes upon a large room. A shaft of light points down to a giant circular stone slab, with strange hieroglyphic-like writings and numbers on it. The old man steps out of the shadows and introduces himself as Doctor Faust, assuring Shingo he will not harm him. Faust explains that he has spent hundreds of years, guarding against the appearance of demons in our world, which he fears has already begun. Faust takes Shingo to a baptismal-like font, then begins to play a hypnotic melody on magical instrument known as Solomon’s flute.

Images of demons and spirits begin to ripple through the water, among them is the creature responsible for the corpse, the eye stealing demon, Ganma. Shingo, still unafraid, realizes his whole life is about to change. Faust brushes Shingo’s hair to one side revealing a birthmark. This is the mark of Shingo’s destiny, to step in and protect the world as a demon fighter. Knowing his life is in it’s last hours, Faust dedicates his remaining time on earth to show Shingo how to summon the only being that can help save humanity.

The surprise is that this savior just so happens to be a devil. Materializing at the spoken word of Faust, which is repeated by Shingo, Meliesdes Niche Mephisto (Yoshio Yoshida) steps out of the stone circle, which is now revealed to be a gateway to hell. Joining forces seems to be a doomed idea from the start, since Mephisto arrogantly refuses to have any part of saving the human race from demons. Only by signing a contract, Mephisto can be used to battle against this threat to humanity. Mephisto almost succeeds in eluding this request, by attempting to tear the document in half. Faust quickly plays the magic flute, causing great pain to the snobbish pointy nosed devil. Faust releases Mephisto from his agony only after he signs the contract. Shingo is now handed the flute and is advised to keep a watchful eye on his devil companion. Faust’s time has now ended and fades away into thin air. Aware of the dangerous task ahead Shingo and Mephisto fly off to stop the demon Ganma.

Mephisto doesn’t fit the look of your traditional devil, red, horns, pitchfork, etc. Instead he is quite the gentlemen, dressed in a tuxedo, top hat, and cape. The only thing unusual is the bump on top of his head that radiates with pain when he is being punished by the melody of the flute. Mephisto is armed with a jewel capped cane that can be transformed into sword, drill, and even a flame thrower, The cane can also warp time, magnify energy from the sun, and also can give the power of flight. Unfortunately, the pointy nosed devil would rather be chasing women than saving the world. Instead of using the flute, sometimes Shingo would use Mephisto’s passion for chocolate or a magazine of bathing beauties to steer him in the right direction. In episode 10 “Daimajin of Shiba”, Mephisto is summoned back to hell, a request that he is unable to deny. Mephisto decides to let his younger brother, Shira Sultan Mometto Mephisto, take over in his place. The brothers reunite later in the series.

Akuma Kun is rich in memorable visuals and atmosphere. Being black and white adds to this sense. Whether it’s ghosts, ghoulish mummies, or the woman of the snows, embracing her helpless victim in her arctic clutches, the show has a creepiness reminiscent of silent era horror. The soundtrack is primarily jazz oriented which gives a cool vibe. Other tracks include everything from electric guitar to ghostly chants (apparent in the opening credits). The special effects and monster suits are outstanding for their time. The multi-eyed demon Ganma in episode 1 is a good example of Akuma Kun‘s uniqueness . Akuma Kun is a monochrome gem, surely to please any kaiju fan.

MONOCHROME ANIME: GEGEGE NO KITARO

GeGeGe no Kitaro was created by manga/comic artist Shigeru Mizuki (AKUMA KUN, KAPPA NO SANPEI). Shigeru Mizuki is a legendary artist of horror and yokai manga. Yokai literally translated means, a ghost, an apparition, or a spectre, to which Mizuki is responsible for keeping it’s folklore alive in Japan. The brilliant artist who lost his left arm in World War II, got his start telling his stories using kami-shibai(story telling using picture cards)as his medium.

Originally titled HAKABA KITARO(Graveyard Kitaro)for the rental-manga scene in 1959, Mizuki’s most famous story was later serialized in Shonen Magazine as GeGeGe no Kitaro in 1965.

GeGeGe no Kitaro tells the story of a young boy who is the last remaining family member of the “Ghostly Tribe” (Yurei Zoku). Kitaro was born in a graveyard just as his parents passed on. His mother was a witch and his father a mummy. The mummy dad’s eyeball leaves it’s eye socket and grows arms and legs. This way Kitaro’s father is reincarnated as Daddy-Eyeball (Medama-Oyaji)so he can still raise his son. Kitaro grows up to fight monsters, ghosts, and goblins, to keep peace between the paranormal world and human beings. Kitaro is aided in his fight for peace with the help of a variety ghastly characters Cat-Girl (Neko-Musume), Rat-Man (Nezumi-Otoko), Old Man Crybaby (Konaki Jijii), The Sand-Witch (Sunakake-Babaa), Rollo-Cloth (Ittan-Momen), and Wally Wall (Nurikabe).

In the 1960’s Japan was already experiencing the “Kaiju-Boom” because of the huge wave of giant monster movies (GODZILLA, GAMERA, MOTHRA, etc.) over running movie-goers. The popularity of GeGeGe no Kitaro and other works by Shigeru Mizuki spawned the “Yokai-Boom”. Kids started going crazy for horror and ghost manga. So in 1968 GeGeGe no Kitaro became a hit anime TV series released by Toei Animation. The 65 episodes released in black and white, captured the nice creepy atmosphere of the classic manga stories as well as new original ones created for the show. Even though some stories are gloomy and the characters are scary, the show is light-hearted and really fun.

Cast of Characters:

Kitaro: a young boy who is the last of the “Ghostly Tribe”, who spends his days keeping peace between yokai and humans. Kitaro who is missing his left eye sometimes carries his father in the empty socket. His weapons include, remote control sandals, snake handcuffs, detachable hands, magical vest, a chameleon tongue, blows flames, yokai detector, and can shoot strands of hair like needles. One of my favorite things Kitaro can do is he can fly from place to place with the help of ravens carrying him and his friends.

Daddy-Eyeball: The extremely intelligent father of Kitaro, is gifted with the knowledge of all yokai and their habits. The walking and talking eyeball, rose to life from his own dead mummy corpse to watch out for, and aid his son. During down time, he likes to relax in a nice cup of warm tea or coffee.

Cat-Girl: Cute girl always at Kitaro’s side, who is not able to control her craving for fish. Don’t get her angry or you’ll see her feline teeth come out as she attacks.

Rat-Man: The bottom of the barrel when it comes to loyalty. Rat-Man would stab his own mother in the back for money. Somehow or another he turns out okay at the end by aiding his companions in his own miserable way. Look out he fights by breathing his bad breath on you or with flatulence.

Old Man Crybaby: A very strange man who’ll cry like a baby, until you pick him up or he jumps on you. Old Man Crybaby has the ability to turn to stone so heavy he’ll crush his victims under the tremendous weight.

The Sand-Witch: A kind old women who cares deeply for Kitaro. Always ready to fight, the Sand-Witch can throw sand at her victims eyes, that comes from within her body.

Rollo-Cloth: Faithful kite-like companion of Kitaro, who can fly his friends quickly anywhere. Beware Rollo-Cloth can wrap his cloth body around his enemies and strangle them to death.

Wally-Wall: The giant stone wall from the mountains that is a perfect barrier against any attacks. Wally-Wall can increase his size at will or fall over and smash any threat.

Since the 1968 TV program, GeGeGe no Kitaro has been re-introduced to a new generation of yokai fans every decade, spawning new color TV series, as well as theatrical movies, both animated and live-action. But nothing beats the creepy and ghoulish atmosphere brought to you with the glorious black and white version.

GROWING UP A CHICAGO MONSTER KID PART 3

When I was a kid, all I did was read Famous Monsters and draw monsters. I drew everything from Frankenstein’s Monster to The Monster from Piedras Blancas. Those monsters were fun to draw, but nothing made me happier than drawing Japanese Monsters. So when WSNS-44 started broadcasting Space Giants, Johnny Sokko, and Ultraman, I had a lot of drawing to do. I always had a three-ringed notebook in which I had pages and pages of every monster that drew from magazines and TV. Other kids in my neighborhood started doing the same thing, thus creating my first Monster Kid gang. I also remember having a giant piece of cardboard on my bedroom wall, I called my “Monster Board”, again I drew all kinds of monsters on it. The 70’s were great, no video games or soccer moms, just lots of monsters, super heroes, and imagination.

One particular episode of Ultraman really inspired myself and other kids to draw more. Episode 15: The Space Ray of Terror, which told the story of a young boy Mushiba, who was being made fun of by other kids, for not drawing very good monsters. Mushiba drew his monster he called Gabadon on the side of a concrete drainage pipe.

 Meanwhile the Science Patrol receives a call from the Space Ray Research Center, claiming there was a change in the “Space Rays” entering our atmosphere. Oddly enough this strange event causes Mushiba’s simple drawing of Gabadon to grow and come to life. Later when the sun set it seemed that Gabadon became a star. When the children discover it was Mushiba’s drawing that came to life, they decide to help him draw Gabadon even cooler than before. The next day when the sun rose, the new version of Gabadon came to life. Gabadon caused no harm or damage, he just slept all day. People were still afraid and left the city, thus hurting the economy, since no work could get done. The Science Patrol has no choice but to try and rid the city of the nonthreatning monster. First the army attacks the gentle monster causing it to become violent. Unfortunately this causes Science Patrol member Hayata to use the Beta Capsule and become Ultraman. During the battle, the children plead to Ultraman, not to hurt their monster. Instead of destroying Gabadon, Ultraman flies the monster into space.

 Later that evening the children stare at the starry sky saddened by the loss of their monster friend. Ultraman tells them not to cry, and that they will be able to see Gabadon once a year, July 7th, during Tanabata, the Japanese Star Festival. The very last scene of the episode shows a school yard full of children drawing monsters with chalk and the Science Patrol feeling the need to monitor them.

One Sunday morning when my sister was little, she wanted me to draw with chalk in the church parking lot with her. So what do you think I drew. We heard the next day, when the day care kids came in and went to recess to play, they went crazy. The teachers had to run out and get a ton of chalk so the excited kids could follow our lead. Yes, it was cool to make more Monster Kids.

INTRODUCTION TO TANABATA

Tanabata is a Japanese tradition wherein people write their wishes on Tanzaku Papers (colorful, small strips of papers) and hang them on bamboo branches. People also decorate bamboo branches with various kinds of paper decorations and place them outside their houses. The most common tanabata decorations are colorful streamers. Streamers are said to symbolize the weaving of threads. Other tanabata decorations are toami (casting net), which means good luck for fishing and farming and kinchaku (hand bag), which means wealth.
Tanabata originated more than 2,000 years ago with an old Chinese tale called Kikkoden. Once there was a weaver princess named Orihime and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi living in space. After they got together, they were playing all the time and forgot about their jobs. The king was angry at them and separated them on opposite sides of the Amanogawa River (Milky Way). The king allowed them to meet only once a year on July 7th. This is why tanabata is also known as the star festival. It's believed that Orihime and Hikoboshi can't see each other if July 7th is rainy, so people pray for good weather and also make wishes for themselves.
Depending on regions, tanabata is celebrated on July 7th or August 7th (which is near July 7th on the lunar calendar). If you are in Japan around these days, stop by a tanabata festival near your destinations. Many cities and towns hold tanabata festivals and have tanabata displays, decorating the main streets. It's fun to walk through the long streamers on the street. In some regions, people light lanterns and float them on the river, or float bamboo leaves on the river.
Tanabata festivals in Sendai-city, Miyagi Prefecture and Hiratsuka-city, Kanagawa Prefecture are particularly well-known. Huge Tanabata decorations fill the main streets in these cities and attract millions of visitors every year. (Tanabata Intro from GoJapan.about.com)

LITTLE NORSE PRINCE: TAIYO NO OUJI HORUS NO DAIBOUKEN

In 1958 Toei Doga produced Japan’s first color animated theatrical film, HAKUJADEN (aka THE PANDA AND THE MAGIC SERPENT). This was the start of a long series of original animation movies which let you witness the beginnings of some of the most famous creators of manga and anime. For instance Osamu Tezuka (ASTROBOY, UNICO) was brought in for Toei’s third feature SAIYUKI (aka ALAKAZAM THE GREAT) and Shotaro Ishinomori (KAMEN RIDER, KIKAIDER) for a double dose of CYBORG 009 along with SORA TOBU YUREISEN (aka THE FLYING GHOST SHIP). But none would compare to the 1968 feature TAIYO NO OUJI HORUS NO DAIBOUKEN (aka LITTLE NORSE PRINCE). This would mark the first collaboration of the most famous anime director in Japan, Isao Takahata along with the founder of the future Studio Ghibli (MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, PONYO), Hayao Miyazaki, Hiroshi Okawa legendary producer and Yasuo Otsuka as animation director. LITTLE NORSE PRINCE surpassed any animation of it’s time, including the serious tone of it’s story reflecting labor disputes within Toei during it’s production. Because of the problems it was not supported at the box office during it’s first run, but was re-released as part of Toei’s Manga Parade, along with GEGEGE NO KITARO, ULTRA 7, and SALLY THE WITCH. LITTLE NORSE PRINCE is now considered a masterpiece in the animation community.
LITTLE NORSE PRINCE begins with Hols (aka Horus) fighting a pack of silver wolves in a northern part of Europe. Hols is armed with an axe on a short handle attached to a rope, very similar to the character in Toei’s live action film DAI NINJUTSU EIGA WATARI. This scene pulls you right in due to the very fluid animation and detail. During the fight a giant stone figure rises out of the earth, with a deep commanding voice, “Who dares disturb mighty Rockor!”. Rockor (aka Moog) is the man of the mountains, made of boulders and trees with a god-like presence. Hols explains it was the silver wolves who disturbed his sleep. Realizing the source of the disturbance, Rockor acknowledges the presence of Grunwald the Frost King. Rockor then complains about a pain in his shoulder, in turn Hols easily scales the mountain man to find the problem. Hols discovers Rockor’s ache is actually a sword stuck into the groggy giant’s shoulder. Hols removes the sword from Rockor’s shoulder and is told that it’s not just any sword, but the Sword of the Sun. The sword is worn and dull and needs sharpening. Rockor tells Hols if he sharpens the sword, the mighty mountain man will come see it for himself. On that day when the sword is sharpened, Hols will be known as “Prince of the Sun“. Hols soon runs home to see his ailing father. On his death bed the young boy’s father explains to Hols about how they fled their village when he was a baby to escape Grunwald’s attack and spare them a life of misery under the Frost King’s rule. Now Hols is told he must go back to the village and be with the people where he would not be lonely. Hols sets sail due north with his bear cub pal, Koro to find the village. The two friends finally find land and are soon are attacked by giant black eagles that separate them and carries Hols off into the mountains. One of the giant feathered monstrosities drops Hols in mid-air to his death, but he saves himself with his trusty axe and starts scaling the mountain with the rope attached to it. Hols finally makes it to the top edge of the huge cliff only to find the other end of his rope is being held by the Frost King himself, Grunwald. In a very intense scene, Grunwald asks Hols to be his ward while the puzzled boy is teetering on the edge of the cliff. Hols of course declines because he was told by his father, Grunwald burned down his village. Grunwald lets go of the rope and Hols is sent plunging towards death off the mountain side. Luckily Hols ends up plunging in to a river and floats down to a near by fishing village. The people welcome him with open arms, but you soon find out darkness hovers over the villagers heads. There had been no fish run in ages due to a giant pike Grunwald unleashed to starve the people. The brave Hols sets out to get the giant fish who also murdered villagers who tried to capture it. In a thrilling battle Hols is almost drowned and beaten, but manages to kill the monster pike. The end of Grunwald’s demon fish allowed for a huge fish run and happiness ran through the village once again. With the loud cheering and song, Coro finds the village and is reunited with Hols. The laughter soon ends when a huge pack of silver wolves invade the village and destroy the days catch. Hols follows the damned beasts deep into the woods only to find a flooded and abandoned village. In the village Hols finds a lonely girl named Hilda along with her animal friends Chiro, a squirrel and Toto (aka Tata) an owl. Hilda says the monster destroyed her village and she is the only survivor, since then she has been under Grunwald’s spell. Hols takes Hilda back to his newly adopted village where she entertains the people with her beautiful, mesmerizing singing voice. The plot thickens as we find that Hilda shies away from the unsharpened Sword of the Sun and she becomes very short with Hols upon speaking with him. Grunwald reveals Hilda is his sister and orders Toto to aid her in turning the villagers against Hols, for he is the Frost King’s biggest threat. Hilda also takes advantage of a disgruntled villager named Drago to aid her in her cause. Hilda is conflicted inside with her destructive directive, since the villagers showed her what life can really be like and what could be happiness in her future, including marriage. Hilda instead gets angry, for this could not possibly happen to the sister of the Frost King, so she sends a horde of rats to overrun the village. Soon Hilda convinces the innocent minded villagers that all of the bad luck that they have been suffering is because of Hols, who is stoned by the villagers, and then chased from his new found home. The conflict in Hilda’s heart thickens when Toto is ready to make the final strike on the village but she wants to spare a little girl Mauni’s life. Hilda is then torn when Toto reminds her that she wears the Medal of Life that gives her immortality. She then accepts her doomed life and sets out for the destruction of Hols. Hilda finally confronts Hols and reveals her dark secret to him that she is sister of the Frost King sent to destroy man. Hols is shoved off a cliff into the Lost Woods where he is left to die. Resenting what she has done, Hilda tells Grunwald she will no longer aid him in the attack on mankind and leaves to live at the Frozen Lake alone. Grunwald soon unleashes frozen hell on the villagers with a pack of silver wolves and an ice storm, but they retaliate by building a giant fire to protect their homes. Back in the Lost Woods Hols is being haunted by visions of circumstances leading to his discovery of Hilda being Grunwald’s sister. Suddenly a bright light grabs his attention and he is led out of the woods by the power of the Sword of the Sun. Hilda meets Hols at the end of the woods and says farewell and warns him of Grunwald’s attack on the village. Along with the silver wolves, a giant ice mammoth emerges to lessen the villagers chance of survival. The villagers exhausted, cry out what could they possibly do, what kind of weapon could defeat the king of the frost. Hols arrives and says “the Sword of the Sun!!”, so everyone pitches in to harden the sword in the giant fire made to protect the village. Meanwhile a young boy Frepp and Koro get lost in the storm looking for Hols, but they run into Hilda instead. Knowing they wouldn’t survive in the storm with the silver wolves in the area, she gives them her Medal of Life which flies them back to the village. There Hilda stays, where she lets herself get beaten unconscious by the silver wolves. Now that the Sword of the Sun is finished, Hols engages in battle with Grunwald. Just as promised Rockor arrives to see the Sword of the Sun. Frepp and Koro safely return and give Hols, Hilda’s Medal of Life. In turn, Grunwald realizes he has been betrayed and flees back to his frozen castle. Rockor takes care of the frozen pachyderm while Hols and the villagers pursue Grundwald. Inside his the frozen lair, Grunwald and Hols go head to head. Rockor arrives and knocks out the side of the castle, and sunlight comes blazing in to give energy to the Sword of Sun. This unites the villagers who start chanting Sun! Sun! Sun!. Hols finally strikes down the mighty Frost King and sinks his castle into the abyss. Hols realizes the Metal of Life is gone as well. Hilda awakens finding she is still alive without the Metal of Life so she returns to the village. Hols sees Hilda and welcomes her back home where she can now live like a normal human girl with him and the villagers happily.
The first time I saw this unbelievable film was in the early 80’s. Okay here’s a good example of how big of a geek I am. I noticed after school one day a new UHF station started in the Chicagoland area, WPWR-60. Their normal programming didn’t start yet so they were broadcasting cartoons all day long instead. They were showing toons I hadn’t seen in years like Toei’s KING KONG among others. I said to myself, “I can’t miss any of this!!!”, so the next morning cough cough, and I was home from school watching cartoons all day. Well that’s when LITTLE NORSE PRINCE was shown and blew me away. The story and characters were like no other cartoon I’ve ever seen. Everything in this film is about being positive, beating the odds, never giving up, and most important the power of the sun. Dubbed by Titan Prod., released by American International Pictures, and yes you would recognize the voice actors, basically all SPEED RACER alumni, like Corinne Orr. The beautiful songs were sung by none other than Adryan Russ, the Save the Earth, GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER girl. I can now watch this movie crystal clear with subtitles, but nothing beats an AIP release and UHF grain.

KENJI SAHARA: G-FEST 2009

Like myself, my son Christian loves monster movies, especially Japanese ones. His devotion to his hobby amazes my friends and I. Christian knows all the monster names and even the episode numbers to where the giant behemoths appeared in their respective TV series.

This summer I took Christian to G-Fest 2009, a convention devoted to Godzilla movies in Chicago. The funny thing is Christian is not really into Godzilla, but this kid loves Ultraman and all of the monsters. This brings us to this years guest of honor at the fest, Kenji Sahara. Mr. Sahara is the John Wayne of Japanese Monster movies. He's best known for his brilliant performance in Rodan, the Flying Monster (1956) and several Godzilla films. My personal favorites are Frankenstein Conquers the World and Son of Godzilla. Mr. Sahara also starred in Tsuuraya's 1966 TV series Ultra Q. This program was the predecessor to Ultraman. Ultra Q was a half hour black and white TV program similar to the Outer Limits except with giant monsters. Mr. Sahara played Jun Manjoume, an airplane pilot, along with Yuriko Edogawa and Ippei Togawa investigated supernatural phenomena, alien encounters, and of course giant monsters.

When I told Christian he was going to meet Mr. Sahara this summer, he was so excited. Christian and I just got done watching the whole Ultra Q series together last winter. Christian has a huge heart and is a really kind kid, and he told me "I'm going to draw a picture for Kenji!!". I was thinking that's cool, but then he blew me away when I saw he sat and drew a picture of every monster from Ultra Q. He even drew Kenji Sahara in the picture!!!! My wife suggested we frame it before Christian presented Mr. Sahara with his gift. G-Fest arrived and Christian could not wait to meet Mr. Sahara. We got in line early, but suddenly this year the knuckle-heads who run G-Fest decided to make people draw numbers for line placement, after we were there waiting a long time and dropped us way back to 300 and something. Nice thing to do to a 7 year old. Well the long wait was completely worth it. Mr. Sahara loved Christian's picture and the fact he was into a show nobody really talks to him about. Mr. Sahara is really proud of his work in Ultra Q and was very moved by Christian's picture. Christian also got his original Ultra Q book and record signed by Mr. Sahara. The chance to meet such a legend of Japanese film is something Christian and I will treasure forever.

Believe it or not the story doesn't end there. On Tuesday I got home from work and checked the mail. In the mail there was a letter addressed to Christian. I'm like what's this and noticed an airmail label on it. I flipped the letter over and my eyes were as big as silver dollars, it was from Kenji Sahara!!! Holy @$%%^!!! Christian came home from school and I said "Hey buddy, you got a letter today" he said "really, from who?" with excitement. Kids do love mail. I said "I don't know what does it say?" Christian sounded out the name "Ken Ken Kenji Kenji Sah KENJI SAHARA!!!!!" Mr. Sahara sent his biggest, now 8 year old fan a very nice thank you letter and autograph picture. Watching Christian receive a letter from one of my childhood heroes couldn't have made me happier, yes my eyes got watery. All I can say is there is nothing cooler than your kid appreciating the old-school and the hard work put into our favorite classics films and TV shows that made us into Monster Kids.

EVERYDAY IS HALLOWEEN IN MONSTERLAND

When I was a kid watching Ultraman on WSNS-TV 44, I remember a two part story where our silver and red hero battled the subterranean monster Gomora. These two episodes stood out, because there was a monster obsessed boy in the story just like myself and many other kid’s in my neighborhood. The boy had Bullmark vinyl figures of various Ultra Q and Ultraman monsters on his desk at home. That alone made you drool. The real cool thing was, that he and his friends had Ultraman and Kaiju Halloween masks that they play battled in. My friends and I always pretended we were Ultraman, Goldar, or Giant Robot fighting monsters, but just how much cooler would it had been if we had Halloween masks of our favorite heroes.
Here’s a few of the Japanese kid’s masks I’ve collected over the years. In Japan you can get a mask of basically any anime or tokusatsu character you can think of like Kamen Rider, Ultraman, Doraemon, Hello Kitty. I remember finding my first one in a Spencer’s Gifts of all the places, a Kamen Rider mask. You can find them pretty easily in Japanese gift and grocery stores, especially during festivals. They are great for display with your toy collection, check them out.

GROWING UP A CHICAGO MONSTER KID PART 2

WSNS Channel 44, was a local UHF station in the early 70’s. They were home to the Chicago White Sox, Blackhawks, and Bulls. Like most kids when you come home from school (me 2nd grade then), I turned on the television to watch cartoons. I would usually catch Speed Racer, Prince Planet, or Hercules. One day that all changed, the cartoons were not on when I came home. Instead there was a live action show (?). I saw a giant robot with long golden hair and big antennas on his head. I watched and holy crap he changed into a rocket and he’s fighting, ah yes my new love GIANT MONSTERS!!!! Yep this was Goldar the Space Avenger in Space Giants. Later that week there was other shows just like it, Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, and Ultraman. For these groundbreaking Japanese TV shows there were no books, no reference, no toys available in my area, but I could draw. For weeks and weeks I drew every single monster I saw so I would never forget that daily treat of sweet foam rubber. Of course I wasn’t the only one in my small Mayberry-like neighborhood who experienced this. Soon everyone followed my lead and had their own hand drawn Monster Books. Even my Mom’s best friends daughter was sucked in. These were some of my best childhood memories, everyday seemed like it was sunny and alive. I still live my life grasping and obtaining those positive feelings as much as possible. I’m extremely blessed to have like 8 best friends who are just as corrupted as me and grew up the same way and share this madness with me.
SPACE GIANTS
Bum Bum Bum BumBumBumBumBum…. “From the far reaches of Outer Space comes a threat to Planet Earth.” That was, along with some cool music, the opening to Space Giants. Created by Japanese manga artists Osamu Tezuka (best known for Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy), Magma Taishi (Ambassador Magma) told the story of a robot family who protected Earth from the alien invader Goa. In 1966 the popular manga was created into a live action TV series by P-Productions in Japan. Of course by the time it made it stateside the title was changed and some names as well.
A young boy Miko and his father Mura, a news reporter are contacted by the evil planet conqueror Rodak to spread the word of his arrival on Earth, and his plans for conquest. Miko meets Goldar the Space Avenger who takes him to his base inside a volcano to meet his robot family and Mathusum his creator. They review pictures Miko took with his camera and acknowledge the sudden appearance of Rodak on Earth. Miko is given a rocket shaped whistle to summon anyone in the rocket family if Rodak makes his move and his threats prove to be true. He blew the whistle once for Gam (Goldar’s son), twice for Silvar (Goldar’s wife), and three times for Goldar himself. Rodak attacked the Earth (Japan) with giant space monsters every week. Every episode had pretty intense drama, and you really felt like Rodak was a real threat. My favorite part of Space Giants were probably the fights Miko and Gam would have against Rodak’s henchmen, the Lugo-Men. Gam would fire laser blasts from his helmet antennae and it would melt the Lugo-Men into a jelly-like substance. I really dug the background music "Gam's Song" for those sequences .
JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT
“Come on Giant Robot!!!!” is what you heard kids in in my neighborhood shout into their wrist watches, mimicking Johnny Sokko calling his Giant Robot. Mitsuteru Yokoyama manga artist and creator of Gigantor (Tetsujin 28) jumped into the live action game when Toei Productions produced a 26 episode television series of Giant Robo. Of course we were served it in the States as Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot. The story begins with the full on invasion of Earth by the Gargoyle Gang (Big Fire in Japan) led by the Emperor Guillotine. Meanwhile Johnny Sokko is befriended by Jerry Mano who he meets on a cruise liner. Jerry is a secret member of the Unicorn Agency who is basically an Interpol like organization who deals with the constant terrorist attacks by Gargoyle. Jerry is investigating the disappearance of ships in the area. The cruise liner is soon attacked and sunk by a giant monster Draculon. Johnny and Jerry wash ashore of a deserted island that ends up being a Gargoyle base. The two quickly discover the Gargoyles have had a giant robot built to take over the world. Johnny mistakenly shouts a command into the robot’s controller, a special wrist watch, which gives him sole command of the metal titan by being the first voice recorded into Giant Robot’s brain. Johnny becomes a Unicorn Agent and uses Giant Robot in every episode to destroy the Gargoyle Gang’s evil space monsters. This show has one of my favorite dubs. At some points you forget this was originally in Japanese. The voice actors were perfect castings. The soundtrack is very jazzy and Bond-ish at times. Giant Robo also spawned two anime mini series as well.
ULTRAMAN
Created by the Toho (the Godzilla guys) special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya, Ultraman is Japan’s equivalent to our American Superman. Responding to a UFO sighting the Science Patrol, a specialized police force with high-tech weaponry, investigates the phenomenon. One of two of the UFO’s reveals a giant space monster Bemular. The other UFO crashes into Science Patrol member Hayata‘s jet. The mystical silver and red alien inside merges consciences with Hayata to save his life. Hayata is given a device called a Beta Capsule which allows him to transform into the giant hero to fight aliens and giant monsters. When Hayata becomes Ultraman, he has a limited amount of time to fight. Attached to Ultraman’s chest is the color-timer which signals Ultraman when he is running low on solar energy. Most of the monsters in Ultraman were just as popular as the hero himself. One such is Gomora, a two part episode, is star of his own series, Ultra Galaxy. Ultraman became the standard in giant hero/monster television shows which spawned several sequels and copycats.
Ultraman was actually the second Ultra series Tsuburaya Productions unleashed on the masses. The first was Ultra Q, a hero-less series that followed three news reporters that investigated strange happenings including alien invasions, giant monsters on the loose, and the supernatural. If you like the Outer Limits, you’ll really dig Ultra Q. Shot in glorious black and white.

LOOK UP IN THE SKY!!!! IT’S RODAN!, ITS THE SY-3!, NO!!! IT’S NATIONAL KID!!!!!

In 1955 Matsushita Electric (aka National now Panasonic) in Japan introduced their new ad mascot National Kid. Created by Minoro Takesegawa and Juzo Umino, National Kid has a very obvious Superman look to him by sporting a large capital “N” on his chest.
August 4, 1960 National Kid debuted in his own television series which broadcast on Net TV, nowAsahi TV Thursdays 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. with a total of 39 black and white episodes. National Kid was the first science fiction based TV hero. The TV series was produced by Toei along with Matsushita Electric backing. Ichiro Kojima starred in the lead role which was later taken over by Tatsume Shiutaro.
Each episode started with the narrative monologue, “He is faster than a jet aircraft, stronger than the steel! The invincible knight of peace and justice.... National Kid! .”
The monologue was followed by the “Song of National Kid” by Masayoshi Onuki, composed by Masami Sano, and sang by the Victor Children's Chorus. In the context of the series, National Kid is a messenger from the Andromeda system who is immortal and protects the Earth from invaders. National Kid’s alter-ego on Earth was Massao Hata. Massao was the son and apprentice of the world renowned scientist, Dr. Masachika Hata, who holds his practice in a suburb of Tokyo. His powers include supreme strength and flight. He also carried the “Aurora Laser Beam Gun”, which was similar too the flashlight sold by National Electric.
The National Kid series is contained in four stories serialized through 39 episodes. The first story, “Inkazoku no Raishu” (Attack from the Inca Invaders) lasted 13 episodes. The very basic story has National Kid defending the Earth from alien invaders. This time he must protect us from the Inca, who arrive from the planet Venus. Throughout the attempted invasion the Incas unleash massive UFO attacks on Japan. The UFO scenes are supported by great jaw-dropping effects. One scene that stands out is when an Inka UFO hovers over Japan’s Diet Building similar to Ray Harryhausen’s Earth vs. Flying Saucers. The Inca also release a virus in which National Kid struggles to find a cure. NK flies into the mountains and uses his Aurora Laser Beam Gun to blow apart some boulders in order to uncover some rare minerals that helped in creating a remedy for the virus’ effects. The remainder of the episodes primarily had National Kid saving children and himself from Inca attacks.
National Kid leaned towards the beginnings of the kind of action and atmosphere that would set Toei apart from other studios superhero fare. In a very enlightening scene, children are menaced by the Inca and all seems lost. National Kid arrives with his theme music playing the background, forced at you with a blaring saxophone. Though he is surrounded by evil, National Kid stands confidentially ready to go. This style would forever be duplicated in great effect from then on in Toei Hero television series.
The second story “Kaiteimao Nerukon” (Nerukon, Devil from the Ocean Floor) ran 9 episodes. Already using new techniques including blue screen, the special effects are significantly improved over the first story’s efforts. This time National Kid battles an army of oceanic creatures called the Nerukon. The Nerukon walk around in black masks with ceremonial robes and a humanoid appearance. When unmasked, their true forms are revealed as creatures with Coelacanth-like heads and gillman bodies. The Nerukon come to the surface world riding in a submarine that looks like a giant mutated prehistoric angler fish causing seismic waves destroying naval ships. This story is probably the most exciting of the whole series because of it’s imaginative monstrous villains and all the crazed fights National Kid has with them.
The third story arc titled “Chitei Maba Jyou” (Underground Magic Castle) ran eight episodes. The role of National Kid was taken over by actor Tatsume Shiutaro for the remainder of the series. It’s back to basics this time as National Kid takes on armed forces from beneath the Earth’s surface. The subterranean people are looking for the formula to a rare element that will give them supreme power. Once again UFO’s attack Japan killing civilians.
The fourth story arc titled “Mei no Uchu Shonen ( Space Boy Mystery) were the final nine episodes. A space boy named Taro accidentally falls to Earth. Then Taro’s father mistakenly threatens the destruction of Tokyo and unleashes the giant monster Gyapura for his boys blunder. Taro befriends Massao Hata’s students, and tells his father Earth is a peaceful planet. After this final threat, Massao Hata reveals he is the Earth’s hero National Kid and returns to Andromeda.
National Kid was the most expensive Japanese program on during it’s time. The show employed the use of cutting edge special effects. The flying scenes stood out the way the old Republic serial Captain Marvel did… it actually looked like National Kid was flying. The series became a huge hit in Brazil, but wasn't distributed in the United States unfortunately. For me National Kid is the coolest of the monochrome heroes of Japan’s yesteryear. If you like the movies Invasion of the Neptune Men (Uchu Kaisoku-sen)(1961) and Prince of Space (Yusei Ouji)(1959), National Kid is for you.

GROWING UP A CHICAGO MONSTER KID PART 1

I was born in 1969, in the Chicagoland area. Growing up a Monster Kid, this was a great time. In the early 70’s the Chicago airwaves were filled with monster movies every weekend. WGN-9 had the legendary Creature Features, WFLD-32 had the groovy ghoul, Svengoolie and WSNS-44 treated us to the Monster Rally. Even ABC-7 had a daily afternoon movie in which they would have a Hammer Films week, King Kong week, or a Planet of the Apes week. The genre would change week to week. The first house I grew up in was very small. I was in second grade at the time when parents upgraded to their first color TV setand I got the old black and white one. This was like Christmas day in the summer for me. One late Friday night I was watching WSNS-44 and caught for the first time The Monster Rally, my first horror host experience. The show opened with a cloaked figure with a wide brimmed hat walking out of a thick fog slowly. When the ghoul got closer he stopped and said in a sinister voice “Welcome to the Monster Rally HA HA HA HA!!!” The two movies I remember seeing was Caltiki, the Immortal Monster an Italian classic which Mario Bava worked on and Majin, Monster of Terror from Daiei studios Japan, the guys who brought you the giant atomic turtle Gamera. I was hooked, I became a Monster Kid. I still remember the Saturday afternoon I was mesmerized by a movie I saw that was like no other up until that point in my life. I was checking out WFLD-32’s Monstrous Movie. That was the day they unleashed the Son of Godzilla on me. I thought this was the coolest thing I ever saw. A giant radioactive monster and his son fighting enormous praying mantises and a huge spider. I pushed aside the Mego dolls and GI Joe (12 inches tall and he talked!!), to make room for the King of the Monsters. I knew what a Japanese Monster movie was now and nothing else from then on would ever measure up in this Monster Kid’s life again.