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Shoji Takeuchi[2] (武内 正治, Takeuchi Shōji) is a former Japanese actor and suit actor. He was Ultraman Ace's second suit actor after Tadashi Nakanishi, portraying him in a majority of his eponymous series.

Career[]

Takeuchi originally wanted to be a chef and trained for three years before instead joining a company called the Ouchi Sword Club and becoming an actor at the age of 19. He portrayed Ultraman Ace at 29 and was part of a production company called Kikaku 70 at the time. When he was first starting, he would dream of battling kaiju and break glass or kick his wife in his sleep.[1]

Roles[]

Year Title Role Notes
1972 Ultraman Ace Ultraman Ace Suit
Scene with Ultra Brothers in episode 1 "Shine! The Five Ultra Brothers"[3] (uncredited)
Episodes 3-52

Trivia[]

  • As the Ultra Brothers' scene in episode 1 was filmed later in production, Takeuchi played Ace in the scene rather than Nakanishi.[3]
  • At the same time Takeuchi took over the role as Ace, the Ultra's suit was changed from a two-piece design to a more traditional one-piece design.[2] However, he appeared to have worn the original suit in episode 1.
  • According to Takeuchi, the Ace suit was incredibly hot and was suffocating to wear for more than two minutes, and he lost 4 kilos suit-acting.[1]
  • The CCP 1/6 Ultraman Ace figure was based on Takeuchi's body shape.[4]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Niigata Nippo newspaper, July 23, 1972 morning edition. Image posted by makaroni1986 on Twitter.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 13: Mirrorman, pg 30
  3. 3.0 3.1 Ultraman Ace Terrible-Monster Encyclopedia, pg 20
  4. https://www.amazon.co.jp/ウルトラマンエース-特撮シリーズ-Vol-06-6スケール-塗装済み完成品フィギュア/dp/B07PN425BQ

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