DESTROY ALL MONSTERPALOOZAS! Godzilla Actor Crashes Event This Weekend

この週末は、中島ゴジラ様はカリフォルニア州に来る！


Exclusive 11x17 Event Poster: "The Man of a Thousand Monsters"

Finally, Godzilla is coming to town! This weekend, the man who played the original Godzilla, Haruo Nakajima, will stomp into Burbank for the third annual Monsterpalooza horror film celebration at the Marriott Convention Center, April 8, 9 & 10, 2011! The "Man of a Thousand Monsters" will be signing autographs all three days, and will also be on stage for two presentations over the weekend, speaking about his experiences in bringing these characters to life — including the various accidents and injuries he sustained while taking on the roles of Rodan, Varan, Baragon, Green Gargantua, and many other titanic terrors, as — arguably — the world’s foremost monster suit actor.

“Mr. Nakajima starred anonymously in one of the greatest movie franchises in history — from the somber allegories of the 1950s to the colorful monster mashes of the 1960s. For many westerners, these films stimulated an interest in Japan, with Godzilla serving as a surrogate cultural ambassador — largely thanks to his performances. Mr. Nakajima is a living legend, and bringing him to Monsterpalooza is an honor, and he’s looking forward to meeting American fans,” said August Ragone, author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters. This may be Mr. Nakajima's last visit to the US, and his first trip back to California since 2000, and this may be the opportunity of a lifetime for some fans — so don't miss this event!

Monsterpalooza, organized by Eliot Brodsky, has quickly become the premiere gathering of fans of creature features in the US. Having hosted scores of actors and filmmakers from classic films to today's latest shockers, including this year's guests: Julie Adams and Ricou Browning (The Creature from the Black Lagoon), Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man), Carla Laemmle (Dracula), Joe Dante (The Howling), Alan Ormsby (Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things), Bob Dix (Forbidden Planet), Jack Hill (Spider Baby), James Hong (Big Trouble In Little China), and many, many more! But, this will mark the event’s first guest from Japan — a great opportunity for monster mavens to meet the one-and-only Godzilla himself, Haruo Nakajima — truly making this Monsterpalooza an international event!

At Mr. Nakajima's booth, all weekend, there will be several event-exclusive items for sale and auction, with a large portion of the proceeds going directly to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund, including (see top image for a look at our exclusive 11x17 "The Man of a Thousand Monsters" poster), while supplies last:



Glossy Color 8x10: "Godzilla Conquers Monsterpalooza"


Glossy B&W 8x10: "King of the Suit Actors"

In addition, we will also be auctioning off a handful of incredible and limited-edition 20x25 giclée prints of "The Man of a Thousand Monsters" poster art at Monsterpalooza (see top image), signed and numbered by Mr. Nakajima and the artist, Jolyon B. Yates. The entire amount raised in the auction of these beautiful giclée prints will be donated in full to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund.

For more information on this weekend's event, please visit the official Monsterpalooza website!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE, KIKAIDA! Daisuke Ban's So Cal Autograph Sessions!

ロスアンジェルスに伴大介様／ジロー・キカイダーが招待参加!



Los Angeles' own Anime Jungle, purveyors of everything from anime to tokusatsu in Little Tokyo, is proud to be presenting two autograph sessions with Mr. Daisuke Ban, popular star of KIKAIDA, KIKAIDA 01, INAZUMAN and BATTLE FEVER J, for the upcoming 70th Annual "Nisei Week Japanese Festival". Back in the mid-1970s, the local broadcasts of KIKAIDA took Hawaii by storm, and the series was subsequently aired on Japanese language stations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other US cities. KIKAIDA made a strong return to Hawaii back in 2001, and is still going strong — even outside of the Islands — due to the successful release of the English subtitled DVDs produced by JN Productions and Generation Kikaida.

Created by mangaka Shotaro Ishimori and creative producer Tohru Hirayama, JINZONINGEN KIKAIDA (Android Kikaida) debuted on the Nippon Educational Television network on July 8, 1972, and received outstanding viewer ratings. This colorful, exciting and outlandish superhero series was produced by Toei Television Productions on the heels of the ratings successes of KAMEN RIDER, SUPERHUMAN BAROM-1 and TRANSFORMING NINJA ARASHI, during the "Henshin Boom" on Japanese television in the early 1970s. The popular 43-episode series was quickly followed by KIKAIDA 01 (starring the late Shunsuke Ikeda).

Riding astride his sidecar superbike, Jiro (Daisuke Ban), a young man clad in blue denim, with a guitar slung across his back, swings his arms and transforms into a red and blue combat android known as Kikaida. The yin-yang patterned android, with exposed circuitry flashing under his glass-domed head, smashes through hordes of monstrous automatons in order to save Mitsuko (Jun Mizunoe) and Masaru (Masahiro Kamiya), the children of the scientist who created him, Dr. Komyoji (Hajime Izu).

Kikaida's mission: to reunite Mitsuko and Masaru with their fugitive father, and bring down the sinister secret group known as the "Dark". This underground organization composed of monster androids, is masterminded by the evil Professor Gill (Mitsuo Ando), who plots to take over the world through subversion and violence. Only Kikaida stands in his way. But, like all legendary heroes, Kikaida has a flaw: an incomplete "Conscience Circuit", which keeps him from being the "perfect android" — a flaw that Professor Gill can exploit...

On Saturday, August 14th, Daisuke Ban's first appearance in Los Angeles will have him signing autographs at the Anime Jungle Shop at the Japanese Village Plaza, 319 E. 2nd St. #103, from 3:00-4:00pm (admission and autographs are free), followed by a Dinner & Talk Show at Focus, Salon de Cafe at 319 E. 2nd St. #202. Tickets are $40 (including dinner and tip) and must be ordered through Anime Jungle (in-store pick-up only). Seating is limited to 30. For further details and information, call Anime Jungle directly at 213-621-1661.

On Sunday, August 15th, Daisuke Ban will be participating in the Nisei Week Japanese Festival's Grand Parade through Little Tokyo at 5:30 pm, replete with Cosplayers. This will be followed by the final Autograph Session at the Anime Jungle Shop at the Japanese Village Plaza from 8:00-8:30pm (admission and autographs are free). Copies of all of JN Productions/Generation Kikaida's DVDs for KIKAIDA, KIKAIDA 01, INAZUMAN and KAMEN RIDER V3, and other Japanese Superhero goods, will be available for purchase at Anime Jungle.

Come down and welcome KIKAIDA's Daisuke Ban to the Jungle!