This may not be the article you are looking for. For other uses of the word "Mirrorman", see Mirrorman (disambiguation).
Mirrorman is a tokusatsu television series airing on Fuji TV from December 5, 1971 to November 26, 1972. It was Tsuburaya Production's first non-Ultraman superhero series, originally intended to be a tense, character-driven drama. In comparison to most of the Ultraman Series, 'Ultraman is bright like the sun, but Mirrorman is the moon, shining on the dark of night'.
Initially tonally similar to Ultraseven, the network eventually forced Mirrorman's brooding, tense, and understated tone to shift to be more special-effects and combat focused. Mirrorman is made to face more dramatic and flashy fights, but the series becomes less focused on mysterious or spy-TV-esque Invader plots. SGM, previously a practically unarmed scientific investigation squad, is revamped to be more in line with a traditional Ultraman defense team, and the whole series takes on a tone more similar to other Kyodai Hero shows.
Production[]
The manga version of Mirrorman, illustrated by Fumio Hisamatsu, used character designs created by Yoshihiro Morito at the time.
At the beginning of 1969, after the end of Operation: Mystery, Tetsuo Kinjo and Shozo Uehara resigned. At that time, Tsutomu Kazuho Mitsuta and Shigemitsu Taguchi took over Tsuburaya Productions' planning department. Although Tsuburaya Productions launched the project Horror Theater Unbalance, the main task of the planning department was to continue the orthodox planning of Ultraman or to create a new television hero project to replace Ultraman. This task was mainly undertaken by Mitsuda and Taguchi. During this period, Tsuburaya Productions planned several drama series for different TV stations, including The Single's Scat for TBS, Fight! Ultraseven for Fuji TV, Ultra Fight 130 for TBS, and Kaiju Town Block 0 for Nippon TV. Meanwhile, they also started planning new hero projects, such as Mirrorman and Jumbo X.[1]
The planning of Mirrorman began shortly after Kinjo left, based on a rough draft written by Tetsuo Kinjo for Tsuburaya Productions.[2] The program title was decided from the very beginning because it was a project that started with the title. During his time at Tsuburaya Productions, Kinjo often wrote down his ideas for Mirrorman on washi paper when inspiration struck. He once got the inspiration for the image of Mirrorman from the mirror world while shaving during a stay in a hotel. Taguchi tried to develop Kinjo's idea into a television hero, expanding Kinjo's draft to construct the setting of Mirrorman, a hero from a two-dimensional world. They first commissioned manga artists to serialize the manga in educational magazines according to Taguchi's plan.[1]
Taguchi wanted to serialize the manga in educational magazines because TV stations at the time preferred to use popular manga as source material to promote their programs and achieve high ratings. Therefore, "Mirrorman" needed to be serialized in influential magazines so that children would become familiar with the character through print media. Since the manga was scheduled to be published in magazines in August 1969, the general content and design of Mirrorman had to be finalized by April or May 1969 and then promoted to TV stations.[1]
Due to not operating the project through an advertising agency, Tsuburaya Productions had to single-handedly promote the program plans to various TV stations. However, in early 1970, with the favorable reception of the "Ultraman" series reruns, the Return of Ultraman project with TBS gradually took shape. Meanwhile, the project Kaiju Town Block 0, which was negotiated with Nippon TV, began broadcasting under the name Chibira-kun in March. In this context, the planning of Mirrorman did not find a decisive breakthrough, and the project's realization was repeatedly postponed. Around 1971, the production of Return of Ultraman was realized, and Tsuburaya Productions also focused their attention on this project.[1]
Mirrorman in the pilot episode.
At that time, it was the local Osaka TV station, Yomiuri TV, that showed interest in the "Mirrorman" project. Since the anime Star of the Giants was set to end in the fall of 1971, Yomiuri TV originally intended to consider Mirrorman as a candidate for the subsequent program. To promote the project's decision, Taguchi wrote a short pilot script, directed by Seiji Tani, which was completed between June and July 1971. However, the slot was never realized.[3]
Meanwhile, Fuji TV’s Sunday 7 PM anime series Pippi Longstocking, scheduled to air on December 5, 1971, was canceled due to copyright issues. As a replacement, Mirrorman was urgently put on the schedule. The advertising agency responsible for the slot at that time was Asatsu-DK. Upon hearing this, Sano from Yomiuri TV recommended Mitsuda and Taguchi to Asatsu-DK and submitted the Mirrorman project proposal. Asatsu-DK internally approved the project and requested a new proposal for Fuji TV's time slot. Taguchi completed the proposal overnight, utilizing elements from Fight! Ultraseven. Ultimately, the proposal was officially approved at Fuji TV's planning meeting on September 3. [4][5]
Since there were only three months from the project's decision to its broadcast, production work began swiftly. Otsuka Pharmaceutical joined as a sponsor, and after several meetings, the details were gradually finalized. Taguchi recommended Toyoaki Dan as the production producer, and through personal connections, Tanabe invited Yoshiyuki Kuroda from Daiei Kyoto. Additionally, directors such as Ishiro Honda, Toshitsugu Suzuki, Kimiyoshi Yasuda from Daiei Kyoto, Yoshikazu Otsuki from Shochiku, Jun Fukuda from Toho, and Harunosuke Nakagawa from TBS were selected.[4]
During the planning stage, "Mirrorman" not only included the concept of "transformation" but also introduced the concept of "reversion," where Mirrorman would revert to Kyotaro Kagami, visually depicted as the reverse process of transformation. However, this setting couldn't be effectively utilized in the storyline, so it was entirely unused in the actual production. In the initial plan, due to the protagonist's setup, emphasis was placed on depicting his anguish and youth, with enemies portrayed in a dark atmosphere. During planning, invaders were not a specific name but a collective term for invaders, including examples like beings from other dimensions and aliens, with various types of invaders initially set.[4]
The proposal document for Mirrorman.
As production began, chief writer Bunzo Wakatsuki expanded on the literary imagery from Taguchi's plan, presenting a starkly different, cool style from Return of Ultraman. This style aimed to develop the story through the protagonist's emotional tension, the nature of incidents and investigation processes, and serious human drama, excluding fantasy elements. Upon airing, this version of "Mirrorman" achieved a 27% viewership rating for the first episode, indicating that the show's tough style was initially well-received by a certain audience. However, subsequent episodes failed to maintain this high rating. From the second season, the production team changed the monster designs, gradually enhancing visual splendor and story clarity, and strengthening action elements. At the start of the third season, Mirrorman was equipped with a suspenseful color timer, SGM transformed from a research investigation team into a combat team, and the combined mechanical Jumbo Phoenix appeared.[4][6]
In the final stages of the series, the occasional inclusion of invaders' emotions and sharp perspectives on humans remained clear, and Mirrorman successfully excluded fantasy elements, achieving certain success as a science fiction work.
Synopsis[]
An group of aliens attacks Earth in the 1980s, as predicted by Dr. Mitarai, who terms them "Invaders." He organizes SGM (Science Guard Members) to investigate and counter the threat. However, he also raises Kyotaro Kagami after the death of his father, who was an alien from the second dimension.
As a half-alien, Kyotaro is able to transform into Mirrorman. Mitarai reveals this to him, as well as the fact that his father was killed by the Invaders while his mother had to flee for safety. Targeted by the enemy, Kyotaro must defend earth from the Invaders while coming to terms with the impact his father and mother, whom he never knew, had on his life.
Characters[]
Protagonist[]
SGM[]
Others[]
- Asako Mitarai
- Ichiro Okawa
Heroes[]
Kaiju[]
- Invaders
- Iron
- Kitty Fire
- Darkron
- Multi
- Noppera-bō
- Inbera
- Kitty Fire II
- Gold Satan
- Iron II
- Multi II
- Gravity Machine
- Zailas
- Gold Satan II
- Noah
- King Zaiger
- Iron III
- Kitty Fire III
- Zailas II
- Jabala
- Kinder
- Chamelegon
- Aroza
- Big Eye
- Sphenodon
- Darkron II
- Taigan
- King Wonder
- Androsaurus
- Coldon
- Haebun
- Gokibura
- Mothgojira
- Dustpan
- Snake King
- Harigojira
- Killergon
- Gorgosaurus
- Mayasaurus
- Arigeida
- Sea Killersaurus
- Pair-Mons King
- Smoke Ness
- Mogura King
- Pair-Mons King β
- Gorgosaurus β
- Mayasaurus β
- Halley Jack
- Androsaurus II
- Androsaurus Jr.
- Magmagon
- Zangani
- Shadow Mons
- Teroringa
- Invesaurus
- Ghost
- Boasaurus
- Black Gon
- Lisa Okano
- Red Mons
- Giranda
- Boasaurus II
- Iezu
- Electricsaurus
- Dead King
Cast[]
- Kyotaro Kagami : Nobuyuki Ishida
- Asako Mitarai : Takako Sawai
- Hiroshi Murakami : Shunya Wazaki
- Takeshi Fujimoto : Kentaro Kudo
- Hidehiko Yasuda : Hajime Sugiyama
- Yuki Nomura : Yoko Ichiji
- Kenichi Mitarai : Junya Usami
- Ichiro Okawa : Tadayoshi Kura
- Desk : Fujio Murakami
- Reporter Asai : Kenji Nagisa
- Yuko Kagami : Sachiko Kozuki
Voice Actors[]
- Mirrorman's Father : Nobuo Tanaka
- Narrator : Hikaru Urano
Suit Actors[]
- Mirrorman: Mitsuru Saijo , Kinichi Kusumi
- Kaiju: Shinichi Umeda , Michiharu Sakamoto
Staff[]
- Directors: Ishiro Honda, Toshitsugu Suzuki, Yoshiyuki Kuroda, Kazuho Mitsuta, Shohei Tojo, Hiroshi Shimura, Jun Oki
- Screenwriters: Bunzo Wakatsuki, Keisuke Fujikawa, Hiroyasu Yamaura, Shigemitsu Taguchi, Toyohiro Ando, Showa Ota
- Special effects directors: Koichi Takano, Nobuo Yajima, Yoichi Manoda, Kazuo Sagawa, Jun Oki
- Supervisor: Hajime Tsuburaya
- Producers: Kazuho Mitsuta, Toyoaki Dan, Masahiro Tsukahara, Higashi Kasuga, Takaharu Bessho, Tsutomu Yaoita
- Music composer: Toru Fuyuki
- Cinematographers: Takeshi Goto, Toshiyuki Machida, Senkichi Nagai
- Art: Akira Kikuchi
- Character and kaiju designers: Kako Yonetani, Noriyoshi Ikeya, Tetsuzo Osawa, Akihiko Iguchi, Kengo Kime, and others
- Character modeling: Kaimai Productions, Irie Productions, Ryosaku Takayama
- Compositing: Minoru Nakano, Sadao Iizuka
- Production: Tsuburaya Productions
Music[]
- Mirrorman no Uta (opening / ending of episodes 1-29)
- Artists: Hiroshi Ueki and Honey Knights
- Tatakae! Mirrorman (ending of episodes 30-51)
- Artists: Nobuyuki Ishida, Hajime Sugiyama, Yoko Ichiji, Takako Sawai, Tokyo Arakawa Boys and Girls Choir
Home Media[]
Japan Columbia released Mirrorman on 17 VHS volumes from 1993 to 1994, with each containing 3 episodes, as well as on a LaserDisc set in 1996. VAP released the series as two DVD box sets on November 23, 2005 and January 25, 2006.
From December 2011 to April 2012, Toei Video rereleased the series on 10 DVDs, each with 5 episodes and 7 episodes of Mirror Fight, apart from volume 9, which has 5 episodes, 9 Mirror Fight episodes and the pilot episode, and volume 10, which has 6 episodes and a new 6-episode miniseries titled Mirror Fight 2012.[7][8][9] Toei Video later released a 10-disc box set on March 9, 2016 alongside box sets of Fireman and Jumborg Ace.[10][11]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 13: Mirrorman, pg 4
- ↑ https://x.com/sandae2356/status/1590818681717948416
- ↑ https://magmix.jp/post/70171
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 13: Mirrorman, pg 5
- ↑ https://x.com/sandae2356/status/1714395852712874482
- ↑ https://magmix.jp/post/214093
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-1141
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/heroseries/mirrorman/dvd.html
- ↑ https://www.toei-video.co.jp/special/tsuburaya/
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-3471
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-3679