DVD cover art for CASSHERN SINS. Photos courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment. © 2008 Tatsunoko Production/ Casshern Sins Project

Source: FUNimation Entertainment
Official Site: casshern-sins.jp (Japan), funimation.com/casshernsins (US)
Special Thanks to Jackie Smith and Manny Alcala

The complete 24 episode anime series CASSHERN SINS (Kyashan Sins, 2008) has been released on North American DVD and Blu-ray by FUNimation Entertainment. The series is loosely based on the original NEO-HUMAN CASSHERN (Shinzo Ningen Casshan, aka CASSHAN), a 1973 superhero show produced Tatsunoko Production (SPEED RACER, GATCHAMAN). CASSHERN SINS is set in a post-apocalyptic world where mankind is nearly extinct. Robots far outnumber humans, but the inhospitable environment has begun to destroy even their metal bodies as well. Into this world comes the humanoid cyborg Casshern. Extremely powerful but suffering from amnesia, the first things Casshern discovers is that he is responsible for what has befallen the world… and now everyone wants to kill him.
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Ban Daisuke and Kikaida take part in the Nisei Week Parade in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo on August 15th. Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.
Kikaida © 1972 Ishinomori Production Inc. and Toei Co., Ltd.

KIKAIDA star appears at Los Angeles Nisei Week events
Author: Richard Pusateri
Official Sites: Anime Jungle, Generation Kikaida, www.bandaisuke.com
Special thanks: Joanne Ninomiya, Tetsu Shiota, August Ragone

Ban Daisuke’s recent visit to Los Angeles, hosted by Anime Jungle, demonstrated that the appeal of KIKAIDA is not limited to markets where the Japanese TV program aired in the United States. After much success at personal appearances in Hawaii, San Francisco and at San Diego Comic Con in years past, Mr. Ban met his enthusiastic Los Angeles fans August 14 and 15 during Little Tokyo’s Nisei Week celebration.
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Anime Jungle is giving SciFi Japan readers a chance to win KIKAIDA BROTHERS posters personally signed by the shows’ stars Ban Daisuke and the late Shunsuke Ikeda.
Photo courtesy of Anime Jungle. © Ishinomori Production Inc. and Toei Co., Ltd.

Posters Signed by Lead Actors Ban Daisuke and Shunsuke Ikeda, courtesy of Anime Jungle
Source: Anime Jungle
Special Thanks to Tetsu Shiota and Yoichi Kakuma

A look at the complete poster. Photo courtesy of Anime Jungle.
© Ishinomori Production Inc. and Toei Co., Ltd.

Ban Daisuke, star of KIKAIDA (Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, 1972), KIKAIDA 01 (1973), and INAZUMAN (1973) will visit Los Angeles this upcoming weekend for Japantown’s annual Nisei Week Festival. Sponsored by the popular collector’s shop Anime Jungle, Ban Daisuke will take part in autograph sessions, the Nisei Week Parade, and a special dinner and talk show on the weekend August 14-15.

In celebration of the Nisei Week events, Anime Jungle is giving SciFi Japan readers in the United States a chance to win a free KIKAIDA BROTHERS Poster, signed by both Ban Daisuke and the late KIKAIDA-01 star Shunsuke Ikeda (who sadly passed away June 11, 2010).
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Ban Daisuke, star of KIKAIDA, KIKAIDA-01, and INAZUMAN, will make a special appearance at Anime Jungle in Los Angeles next month.
Photo courtesy of Generation Kikaida. © 1972 Ishinomori Production Inc. and Toei Co., Ltd.

Autograph Sessions, Parade, Dinner, and More During Nisei Week Festival, August 14-15
Source: Anime Jungle, JN Productions and Generation Kikaida
Special Thanks to Tetsu Shiota, Yoichi K, and Joanne Ninomiya

Advertisement for the event. Photo courtesy of Anime Jungle.
© 1971 Ishinomori Production Inc. and Toei Co., Ltd.

Anime Jungle, purveyors of everything anime in Japantown is proud to present an autograph session with Mr. Ban Daisuke, star of KIKAIDA (Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, 1972), KIKAIDA 01 (1973), and INAZUMAN (1973) at the upcoming Nisei Week Festival in Los Angeles. KIKAIDA took the Hawaiian Islands by storm over 35 years ago, and still going strong in Hawaii and the mainland due to the successful English-subtitled version of the DVD Box Sets.

KIKAIDA, based on an original story by manga artist and writer Shotaro Ishinomori (Kamen Rider), was produced as a tokusatsu (live action) by Toei Movie Company for television in the mid-seventies. A classic good-versus evil tale, the show pitted a guitar-playing, denim-clad young biker named Jiro, played by actor Ban Daisuke, against the evil DARK, a shadowy criminal organization bent on wreaking havoc upon Japan and the world.
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Author: Bob Johnson

Peter Fernandez at the 2008 premiere of SPEED RACER
during the Tribeca Film Festival.

On Thursday July 15, 2010, the television and movie industry lost one of its truly unsung heroes. Peter Fernandez passed away after a battle with cancer at the age of 83. Although fans of international films and TV know his name and his contributions, Hollywood as a whole has passed over a little-known industry that made it possible to import many foreign efforts that we would have never otherwise seen.

The dubbing of international product was a thankless chore and an underpaid one in the 1960s and 1970s. However, Peter Fernandez was a tireless pioneer and turned out some of the most memorable and highest quality dub tracks of a generation.
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Legendary Voice Actor and Director Has Died
Source: Bill Winckler

Writer, director, and voice actor Peter Fernandez died today.

SciFi Japan was just informed that Peter Fernandez passed away this morning from lung cancer. Long acknowledged as one of the best in the business, Fernandez was a voice actor and dubbing director for the American versions of dozens of films and television series… his long list of credits include such favorites as ULTRAMAN, ASTRO BOY, GODZILLA VS THE SEA MONSTER, THE SPACE GIANTS, SON OF GODZILLA, GIGANTOR, STAR BLAZERS, the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns… and even a “clean version” of George Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD. He may be best known for his work on SPEED RACER, in which he voiced both Speed and Racer X and also wrote the English lyrics for the show’s theme song.

Our condolences to Peter’s family and friends. SciFi Japan will be following with a full tribute soon, but in the meantime please see our 2009 interview with Peter in which he discusses his life and career, and our overview of Peter’s work on SPEED RACER.

Interview with Producer/Director Michael Wang.
Author: Bob Johnson
Official Website: Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
CW 4Kids-TV Kamen Rider Dragon Knight

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

An unmasked Dragon Knight stuntman rehearses for a scene from KAMEN RIDER
DRAGON KNIGHT. ©2008 Adness Entertainment Co., Ltd.

Although the CW has parted ways with KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT, the series continues to receive the notice of fans and now television peers. Recently it was announced that KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT has been nominated for a daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The nomination came for episode 18, in which Len (aka; Kamen Rider Wingknight) battles the Cho Brothers.

On June 25th, the winners of the Daytime Emmys were announced and the winner of the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Coordination went to, KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT!

In a SciFi Japan Exclusive, producer/director Michael Wang discusses the series and what lead to the Emmy nomination.
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The 26 episode television series JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT will finally be released on DVD in America as part of Fox Home Entertainment’s new
MGM on Demand program. Photo courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment. © 1967 Toei Co., Ltd.

Author: Keith Aiken, Oki Miyano, and Kevin Grays
Source: Fox Home Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
Order Page: amazon.com/Johnny-Sokko-His-Flying-Robot
Special Thanks to Jennifer Lang, Mitzi Phung, Gary Teetzel, Ana Kono, and Garo Setian

Cover art for the MGM DVD on Demand complete set of
JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT. Photo courtesy
of Fox Home Entertainment. © 1967 Toei Co., Ltd.

Last December, Fox Home Entertainment launched a DVD on Demand program through online retailer Amazon.com’s CreateSpace service. Similar to Warner Bros’ Warner Archive Collection, CreateSpace DVD on Demand will allow Fox to make available classic titles from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film and television library that would would most likely not be released as mass-market entries, particularly in today’s tough and over-crowded home video market. While mass-produced retail DVDs are manufactured by a factory stamping process, the CreateSpace program individually burns NTSC format, Region 1 DVD-Rs sourced from archived studio materials.

“MGM has a vast library of classic films and TV shows, which up until now have never been available for purchase,” said Eric Doctorow, general manager MGM Worldwide at Fox. “Working with CreateSpace gives us the opportunity to preserve and release some of these films and TV shows for fans everywhere.”

One title of particularly interest to SciFi Japan readers will be JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT (1967), the Americanized version of the Japanese FX show GIANT ROBO (Jaianto Robo). Fox Home Entertainment has announced that the complete 26 episode series will be released in a seven disc set through MGM DVD on Demand.
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Kamen Rider V3, HENSHIN!
©2010 JN Productions/Generation Kikaida

Newly issued KAMEN RIDER V3 DVD Box Set!
Author Bob Johnson
Source: JN Productions and Generation Kikaida

After going out of print, JN Productions received numerous requests for their KAMEN RIDER V3 DVD box set. So now the motorcycle-riding hero is back for an encore. JN Productions is proud to release a newly issued “Special Edition” 6-disc set, which contains all 52 exciting episodes and bonus features originally found on the “Collector’s Edition” box set. The Special Edition box set is available on May 18 and will be priced at $149.50.

Considered, along with the original KAMEN RIDER series, to be the best of the “showa” Kamen Riders, KAMEN RIDER V3 is a series not to be missed.
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SciFi Japan Presents a Second Look at the New Superhero Movie
Author: Kim Song-ho
Official Movie Site: kickass-themovie.com

Nerdy Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) becomes the crime fighter Kick-Ass. © 2010
KA Films LP

KICK-ASS is a superhero film without superheroes. The masked and costumed vigilantes appearing in KICK-ASS are all normal, without super powers. For example, our protagonist Dave, who later becomes the titular hero, is a less-than-average geek. He is not so athletic, has no relationships with girls and sometimes he is picked on by the local thugs along with his equally nerdy friends. One distinctive feature Dave has is a vision. A vision that changes his life forever – having been frustrated by the fact no one ever tries to be a superhero, he decided to become one himself.

SciFi Japan is pleased to present another look at the new hit superhero film.
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Author: Kyle Byrd
Official Movie Site: kickass-themovie.com

Poster for Lionsgate’s new superhero movie KICK-ASS.
© 2010 KA Films LP

KICK-ASS is the story of a nerdy high school kid named Dave (played by Aaron Johnson), who becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming a real life superhero. While his friends laugh at the idea, Dave becomes determined to prove that such a feat is possible. He orders a wetsuit online and becomes Kick-Ass. While he doesn’t do much of what his name would imply, he becomes an Internet sensation practically overnight.

On the other end of the spectrum are Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his daughter Hit-Girl (Chloe Moritz), who he has trained to become a vigilante killing machine like himself. Big Daddy is working on taking down the group of mobsters responsible for his wife’s death. The mobsters are lead to believe that Kick-Ass is to blame for their current difficulties. Subplots develop from there including a blooming romance with Dave’s crush from school, as well as the mob boss’s son becoming the hero Red Mist (SUPERBAD’s Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse) to help draw Kick-Ass, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl out to be caught by his father.

Based on Mark Millar’s graphic novel of the same name, KICK-ASS is an extremely fun, crowd-pleasing film with great action scenes and inspired direction.
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The Exciting Finale of Naoki Urasawa’s Mega Popular ASTRO BOY Update
Source: VIZ Media press release
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq

A new take on Astro Boy wraps up with the 8th volume
of Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Media. © 2008 Naoki Urusawa /Shogakukan Inc.

VIZ Media will be releasing the much anticipated 8th and final volume of Naoki Urasawa’s manga masterpiece Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka on April 6th.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka is a modern reinterpretation of the work by the master of manga, Osamu Tezuka. In an ideal world where man and robots coexist, someone or something is after the seven great robots of the world. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case – and he eventually discovers that he is one of the targets!

In the final volume Atom is back, and the fate of the earth is in his hands! Now that Atom has all the answers to the unsolved mysteries around Pluto, Bora and more, he’s prepared to put everything on the line. With the memory of his fallen brethren – Gesicht, Mont Blanc, North No. 2, Brando, Hercules and Epsilon – etched deeply into his heart, Atom is headed for one last battle to save the world!

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and has a MSRP $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 Canada.
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Source: Monster Attack Team
Special Thanks to Michael G Keller and Edward Holland

Cover for Monster Attack Team Issue 8. Photo courtesy of
MAT. © 2010 Monster Attack Team

After far too long an absence, the popular fanzine Monster Attack Team returns!

Edward Holland and the late Joe Riley began Monster Attack Team (the name taken from the anti-monster team in RETURN OF ULTRAMAN) began in the early 1990s as a fan club for aficionados of Japanese science fiction and fantasy. It soon evolved into a Dallas, Texas cable access television show and a small newsletter that grew to become a fan favorite mag. The print version of Monster Attack Team ran for seven issues, edited by Ed Holland with the assistance of David May and Michael G Keller, and featured articles and contributions by authors such as Ed Godziszewski, Kip Doto, Bob Johnson, Kevin Grays, August Ragone, Daisuke Ishizuka, Norman England, and Damon Foster.

Nearly 15 years after the last issue, Ed Holland and Michael Keller have brought back Monster Attack Team with Issue 8. The editors have rounded up an “all star” group of tokusatsu writers and historians and produced a massive, 132 page edition that matches the quality of those truly great English language genre publications The Japanese Fantasy Film Journal, Markalite, and Japanese Giants.
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Toei Hero Dies at Age 59
Author: Keith Aiken and Oki Miyano
Translations: Oki Miyano and Hiro Sono
Source: Yahoo Japan, various
Special Thanks to JR Lipartito

A recent photo of actor Yusuke Natsu.

SciFi Japan is sad to report the passing of actor Yusuke Natsu, one of the stars of the 1976 Toei Co., Ltd. television series SPACE IRONMEN KYODYNE (Uchu Tetsujin Kyodain), who died at a Tokyo hospital from stomach cancer on January 27th. He was 59 years old.

Besides KYODYNE, Natsu appeared in a number of television shows and movies from Toei, Nikkatsu, Toho, and other studios. A partial list of credits includes CHARGE! HUMAN!! (Totsugeki! Human!!, 1972), SWEET REVENGE (Kiri no Hata, 1977), NEVER GIVE UP (Yasei no Shomei, 1978), THE YAKUZA WIVES 2 (Gokudo no Onna-Tachi 2, 1987), and AFTERNOON WHEN FLOWERS FELL (Hana no Furu Gogo, 1989). He is best known for the TV drama SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION (Tokusou Saizensen, 1977), in which he co-starred with Hiroshi Fujioka of MASKED RIDER fame.

Fujioka only learned of his old friend’s illness shortly before Natsu’s death, when one of his acquaintances told him that Natsu had only a few days to live. On the 27th he told a reporter that, “Natsu’s serious attitude towards acting was impressive. He was still so young… I’ve lost my comrade.”
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SPECTREMAN Star Passes Away
Author: Bob Johnson
Additional Research and Translations: Daisuke Ishizuka
Source: Yahoo Japan, various
Special Thanks to Oki Miyano and Keith Aiken

Actor Tetsuo Narikawa prepares to transform into Spectreman.
©1971 P Productions.

2010 got off to a sad and shocking start with the loss of the star of one of Japan’s more unique superhero series. Actor Tetsuo Narikawa died of lung cancer on January 1 in Tokyo, Japan. He was 65 years old.

Narikawa is best known for his leading role as Joji Gamou (aka; George) in the P Productions TV series SPECTREMAN (Supekutoruman) from January 2, 1971 through March 25, 1972. After SPECTREMAN, he went on to guest star in a few other superhero series, notably LION MARU (Kaiketsu Raion-Maru, 1972) episodes 3 and 5, MASKED RIDER (Kamen Raidaa, 1972) episode 63, ROBOT DETECTIVE (Robot Keiji, 1973) episode 25, and ULTRAMAN LEO (Urutoraman Leo, 1974) episode 36.
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A Conversation with the Production Crew of the Upcoming Korean SFX Hero TV Show
Author / Translator: Kim Song-ho
Official website: T3 Entertainment (RAYFORCE website coming soon)
RAYFORCE demo footage on YouTube
Special Thanks to Ko Jeong-jin, Jun Jae-hoon, Hong Gi-hun and the members of Big Monster Club

The Korean super team Rayforce, ready for action! Photo courtesy of T3
Entertainment. © 2009 T3 Entertainment

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

On October 22, 2009, the Korean game company T3 Entertainment announced the production of a new SFX Hero TV Show called RAYFORCE, WAR RECORD OF TIME AND SPACE (Shigongjeongi Reifosu). Shortly before the official announcement, T3 released a 4-minute video demo of the show on YouTube. The quality of the demo was enough to attract attention from genre fans, and RAYFORCE has become one of the most anticipated SFX shows in Korea.

According to initial news reports, RAYFORCE will be a 2-season show, consisting of 26 episodes for each season. T3 will begin principal photography in next March and the first season of the show will air in September.
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William O’Leary aka; General Xaviax! ©2008 Adness
Entertainment Co., Ltd.

An Interview With Actor William O’Leary
Author: Bob Johnson
Special Thanks to Steve Wang
Official Website: Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
CW 4Kids-TV Kamen Rider Dragon Knight

A superhero television series is only as good as the villain they have to confront. For KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT, the producers turned to a veteran television and movie actor who they felt could carry the series as a villain that would appear from the very first to very last episode.

William O’Leary spoke with SciFi Japan as we looked into just what makes a good villain bad and what it is like to go through the hectic and manic schedule of an independently produced television series.
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Bigger than big! A full scale statue of the classic manga/anime robot Tetsujin 28 (aka Gigantor) has been built in Kobe, Japan.
Photo by Daisuke Ishizuka. © 2009 Kobe Tetsujin Project.

“Life Size” Statue of Giant Robot in Creator’s Hometown
Author: Daisuke Ishizuka
Official Site: Kobe Tetsujin Project (Japan)

TETSUJIN 28-GO (Tetsujin Nijyu-Hachi-Go) is a popular robot comic (launched 1956) and animation TV series (1963) created by Mr. Mitsuteru Yokoyama. The animated series was aired in America as the English dubbed GIGANTOR (1966).

Mr. Yokoyama was born in Kobe in 1934, and died at the of age of 69 in 1995. His works include Giant Robo (adapted as the live action series JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT), Babel II, Princess Comet (Comet-san) and Kamen no Ninjya Akakage (adapted several times, including the 2001 movie RED SHADOW). Tetsujin is considered to be his masterpiece. The character has become a beloved figure in Japan, starring in several animated series as well as a 2005 live action film. Imagi Studios, the animation house behind the CG films TMNT and ASTRO BOY, has produced test footage for a potential computer animated TETSUJIN 28 movie.

The Kobe area was hit by the Great Hanshin earthquake on January 17th, 1995. Nearly 6,500 people were killed and 300,000 lost their homes. As the 15th anniversary of the tragedy draws near, a full scale, 18 meter (59 foot) tall statue of Tetsujin has been built in Kobe as a symbol of the city’s revival and as a guardian from future disasters.
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Zone Fighter join forces with the monster of justice, Godzilla! ©MCC, Toho Co., Ltd

Godzilla, King Ghidorah and Gigan feature in classic Toho TV series
Author: Jim M. Ballard
Special Thanks to Keith Aiken, John Paul Cassidy and Oki Miyano

RYUUSEI NINGEN ZOON (Zone The Meteor Man) was a superhero TV series produced by Toho Eizo that aired weekly on the Nippon Television Network (NTV) between April 2nd and September 24th 1973. Toho has registered the series with the United States copyright office under the English title ZONE FIGHTER.

The series is centered around a family of aliens known as the Zone Family, whose home planet Peaceland was destroyed by the villainous Garoga Baron aliens. Seeking refuge on Earth, they take on their new identity as the Sakimori family, but are soon followed by the Garoga who are on a new mission of a conquest!

The series is best remembered for featuring appearances by Toho’s big screen monsters Godzilla, King Ghidorah and Gigan. The events of ZONE FIGHTER were reportedly part of the Showa Godzilla series, taking place between the movies GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (Gojira tai Megaro, 1973) and GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA (Gojira tai Mekagojira, 1974). The series features the final onscreen appearances of the original incarnations of King Ghidorah and Gigan.

Join SciFi Japan as we look back at this unique episode of Godzilla’s history!
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The “Masked Rider Decade” Limited Edition Blackbird Fly Twin Lens Reflex Camera comes with a custom leather camera strap and film holder.
Photo courtesy of Freestyle Photographic Supplies. © 2009 PowerShovel, Ltd. Masked Rider Decade © 2009 Ishimori Production, Inc., TV Asahi, ADK, Toei
Company Ltd.

Now Available in the United States
Source: Freestyle Photographic Supplies
Special Thanks to Michael Tullberg

Good guys wear pink: Masked Rider Decade. © 2009 Ishimori Production, Inc., TV
Asahi, ADK, Toei Company Ltd.

Last year, the Tokyo-based camera design, production, and distribution company PowerShovel, Ltd. introduced the Blackbird Fly, a new Twin-Reflex 35mm Plastic Camera made in several different colors. The highly anticipated Blackbird Fly has received glowing reviews from camera and photography aficionados worldwide, and the model has been a strong seller for PowerShovel.

In 2009, the Blackbird Fly received some unexpected and highly visible publicity from MASKED RIDER DECADE (Kamen Raidaa Dikeido), the 19th television series is the popular “Kamen Rider” franchise. Premiering this past January 25 on TV Asahi, the show stars Masahiro Inoue as Kamen Rider Decade’s alter ego, Tsukasa Kadoya. Tsukasa suffers from amnesia and tries to hold onto the world around him by photographing it with his camera of choice… a pink Blackbird Fly.

The camera was featured in many episodes and during the opening credits of MASKED RIDER DECADE. The resulting attention— and consumer interest— convinced PowerShovel to make a Limited Edition production run of a Blackbird Fly inspired by the show. From the “Masked Rider Decade” Blackbird Fly production run, only 50 units will be sold outside of Japan, with Freestyle Photo Supplies in Hollywood, CA the exclusive retailer for this camera in the United States.
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