Last summer fans of “The Street Fighter” himself, Sonny Chiba, all collectively gasped when word started to circulate that their favorite action star was going into semi-retirement…. But wait! Word is out today that Chiba, who seems to be following the lead of Sean “Puff Daddy/ P. Diddy/ Diddy” Combs and who’s now going by the name JJ Sonny Chiba will be returning to the screen and returning to his roots in “Nana Iro Kamen (7 Colour Mask)”. Do I hear a collective cheer?
“Nana Iro Kamen” was the first masked superhero or “tokusatsu” TV show airing from 1959 to 1960 on the then fledgling TV Asahi network. It also marked the acting debut of the then 19-year-old Chiba who took over the role of Nana Iro Kamen from the original actor Susumu Wajima. The series followed the exploits of Pvt. Detective Kotarô Ran as he fought crime using his skill as a master of disguise. From a totally un-PC Chinese coolie-type to a magician Ran had seven distinctive personas, but none was more feared by evildoers than Nana Iro Kamen, a masked and caped superhero who looked like he came from outer space.
Ultraman, Kamen Rider and the Power Rangers all owe a debt to “Nana Iro Kamen” and his creator Kohan Kawauchi, and it was Kawauchi who before his death on April 6th asked Chiba to don the mask and cape again in a big screen update of the series. From the looks of the original series clip below this could be really hilarious, and with Hitoshi Matsumoto’s “Dainipponjin” being a major festival hit and anticipation mounting for Minoru Kawasaki’s “X from Outer Space” sequel building online it looks like Chiba may be in the right place at the right time for a comeback.
Read all the details at Tokyograph: http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-3163
“Nana Iro Kamen” was the first masked superhero or “tokusatsu” TV show airing from 1959 to 1960 on the then fledgling TV Asahi network. It also marked the acting debut of the then 19-year-old Chiba who took over the role of Nana Iro Kamen from the original actor Susumu Wajima. The series followed the exploits of Pvt. Detective Kotarô Ran as he fought crime using his skill as a master of disguise. From a totally un-PC Chinese coolie-type to a magician Ran had seven distinctive personas, but none was more feared by evildoers than Nana Iro Kamen, a masked and caped superhero who looked like he came from outer space.
Ultraman, Kamen Rider and the Power Rangers all owe a debt to “Nana Iro Kamen” and his creator Kohan Kawauchi, and it was Kawauchi who before his death on April 6th asked Chiba to don the mask and cape again in a big screen update of the series. From the looks of the original series clip below this could be really hilarious, and with Hitoshi Matsumoto’s “Dainipponjin” being a major festival hit and anticipation mounting for Minoru Kawasaki’s “X from Outer Space” sequel building online it looks like Chiba may be in the right place at the right time for a comeback.
Read all the details at Tokyograph: http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-3163
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