This has been a sad day for the tokusatsu fandom and pop culture in general. It's a shame that this has to be my second post after just starting this blog, but I feel it's appropriate to talk about a few legends who have passed away within the last week.
Roger Ebert (1942-2013)
Yeah, it seems weird to discuss Ebert on a blog revolved entirely around tokusatsu, but hear me out. This man was THE critic. I think all internet reviewers across the globe have read or at least of Roger Ebert. I have been following Ebert's reviews since I was roughly 6 or 7 years old, not too long after I had become a movie fanatic. I disagreed with him plenty (his review of Godzilla (1954) is still questionable with its number of mistakes about the movie's plot), but he usually had strong reasoning that was hard to argue with him against since he was just so good at making a point.
He was never a huge fan of the daikaiju genre (he gave scathing reviews of both Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla 1985), but he did enjoy Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and gave it a surprising thumbs-up on his show (something ADV Films proudly advertised during its limited theatrical run). However, he was always an advocate for other "nerdy" niches such as sci-fi, fantasy and anime as a whole. For that reason alone, I believe fandom owes a great deal to him. He was a powerful voice that millions listened to, and even after he lost that voice, his words never stopped.
His sudden death comes just two days after writing a "Leave of Presence" blog entry, which indicated that he was only going to take it easy for some time while he underwent cancer treatment. He even outlined future plans in his final post, including a Kickstarter for a revival of "At the Movies", a new book, and a revamping of his website. Naturally, his death has blindsided the entire entertainment industry and his fans across the globe.
Well, I'm sure Ebert's spirit will still live on in movie watchers everywhere. While he won't physically be in a movie theater ever again, his words and wit will leave a permanent impact on everyone who wants to write about a movie and whether or not it is bad or good. Like me.
[Sources: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/04/a_leave_of_presense.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/showbiz/roger-ebert-obituary/index.html]
Takao Nagaishi (1945 - 2013)
In far more directly toku-related news, prolific director Takao Nagaishi recently passed away on March 31st at the age of 68. For those who don't know his name (it's okay, I didn't either until I read about his death), he was head director for 10 tokusatsu shows and 4 films from Toei. His first gig as head director of a program was the 1987 Super Sentai Hikari Sentai Maskman (although he did direct a whopping 16 episodes each of 1985's Dengeki Sentai Changeman and 1986's Choushinsei Flashman). After that, he worked as head director for the next three Sentai, with his most famous work being 1988's widely-praised (and rightfully so) Choujuu Sentai Liveman, of which he personally directed 24 out of all 49 episodes.
In the 1990's, he only directed two tokusatsu for Toei, both in 1996: Chokou Senshi Changerion and Denji Sentai Megaranger. However, in the 5 years Fiveman and Changerion, he directed the first 7 live action films based on the black comedy manga The Rapeman for hentai studio Pink Pineapple. I kinda feel like I should see these now...
A few more years passed and Nagaishi returned to the helm of head director for 2001's Kamen Rider Agito. The show packs an experimental visual punch other toku of its time didn't have, and he would bring this unique style back for Kamen Rider 555, Kamen Rider Blade, and Kamen Rider Kabuto. In this period of time, he also directed the 2005 reboot Kamen Rider: The First and Den-O's first foray into movie theaters: Kamen Rider Den-O The Movie: I'm Born!
After directing a few episodes of Kamen Rider Decade, he returned to Sentai in 2009 when he directed a few episodes of Samurai Sentai Shinkenger and became head director of Tensou Sentai Goseiger (however, he only personally directed 4 episodes and the V-cinema Tensou Sentai Goseiger Returns: Last Epic - The Gosei Angels are National Idols?!).
Needless to say, he is one of the main reasons shows like Liveman, Maskman, Megaranger, and Agito are still remembered and praised to this very day. He often experimented with strange or frantic camera angles, as well as a knack for allowing his shows to be taken seriously with their dark atmosphere and heavy weights placed on the characters. A truly talented director who will hopefully find some international recognition now that we finally know his name.
[Sources: http://risingsuntokusatsu.com/?p=8374
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619103/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1]
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