The Kaiju Club 〜A Special Effects Fantasy Story of Youth〜 is a 4-episode docudrama broadcast on MBS's late-night slot Dramaism in June 2017.[1] Produced in collaboration with Tsuburaya Productions, the story is based on the real-life Kaiju Club, a group of tokusatsu fans from the 1970s who released a fanzine under the same name.
Each episode involves the Kaiju Club researching a specific Ultraman Series episode, of which the episode is named after, and features surreal, imaginary Showa Ultraman Series kaiju that accompany the characters.[2][3]
Synopsis[]
Set in the 1970s, a period when tokusatsu TV shows and movies, namely the Ultraman Series, were predominantly viewed as "children's programs" and not something adults would typically watch, there was the Kaiju Club, a group of young men who were captivated by tokusatsu despite societal norms.
They meticulously studied kaiju from various perspectives and held editorial meetings to publish a kaiju fanzine. The drama uniquely portrays their enthusiastic meetings, where they thoroughly researched actual episodes of Ultraman and Ultraseven.
In an era before the now commonplace TV recording features existed, how did they make these works their own and engage in discussions? Viewers will be amazed by the techniques shown in the drama and overwhelmed by their passion for kaiju.[4][5]
Episodes[]
| No. | Title | Airdate | Director | Screenwriter | Kaiju |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Marked Town | June 5, 2017 | Takashi Sumida | Kota Fukihara | Alien Metron |
| 2 | The Seven Assassination Plan | June 12, 2017 | Takahiro Aoyama | Yu Tomisaka | Alien Guts |
| 3 | Farewell, Ultraman | June 19, 2017 | Takashi Sumida | Kota Fukihara | Zetton |
| 4 | The Biggest Invasion in History | June 26, 2017 | Takahiro Aoyama | Kota Fukihara | Alien Ghose Alien Baltan |
Barkeeper and Waitress Afterwards[]
Barkeeper and Waitress Afterwards is a series of shorts that released on Twitter during the show's airing. It is also called Daily Life of the Barkeeper and Waitress in the DVD and Blu-ray release.
| No. | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barkeeper and Waitress Afterwards #1 | June 7, 2017 |
| 2 | Barkeeper and Waitress Afterwards #2 | June 14, 2017 |
| 3 | Barkeeper and Waitress Afterwards #3 | June 21, 2017 |
Cast[]
- Ryota : Kanata Hongo
- Katsuo : Ryusei Yokohama
- Shingo : Masato Yano
- Yusuke : Ryo Kato
- Nishi : Shogo Yamaguchi
- Joe : Tokio Emoto
- Cap : Muga Tsukaji
- Barkeeper : Toshimasa Komatsu
- Waitress : Ano
- Yuriko Hishida : Fumika Baba
- Satoru : Aoi Imagawa
- Narration : Ryo Kamon
Guest Actors[]
- Ryota's Mother : Chieko Miyazaki
- Female Reporter : Yuki Tayama
- Yuriko's Brother : Taro Nakamura
- Used Bookstore Clerk : Kenji Ohara
- Yuriko's Mother : Yuriko Hishimi
Staff[]
- Directors: Takashi Sumida, Takahiro Aoyama
- Screenwriters: Kota Fukihara, Yu Tomisaka
- Executive producer: Masayasu Atsumi
- Planning, composition and scriptwriting cooperation: Kensaku Sakai
- Planning and production: Keiko Matsumoto
- Producers: Hiroo Maruyama, Yanghew Yoon, Keiko Matsumoto, Tahahiro Aoyama
- Music: NAOTO
- Original logo designer: Kako Yonetani
- Logo and illustrations: Nielsen
- Character managers: Tomohiro Igari, Hiroyuki Okano
- Research cooperation: Kaiju Club (Yuji Kaida, Shinsuke Nakajima, Hiromitsu Nishiwaki, Tomoo Haraguchi, Ryusuke Hikawa), Toshihiro Iijima (ep. 2, 4)
- Planning cooperation: Tsuburaya Productions
- Production cooperation: Dreamax Television
- Production and copyright: Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS)
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- Recollections
- Artist: Rico Sasaki
- Ending Theme
- GEEKDOM
- Artist: Traffic Light.
Home Media[]
The series was released on DVD and Blu-ray box sets on October 25, 2017. Both include bonus features such as the Barkeeper and Waitress Afterwards shorts, behind-the-scenes footage and a 32-page booklet.
Gallery[]
- Stills
Trivia[]
- The Kaiju Club used the kyūjitai form of the kanji for "Kaiju" in their magazine at the time.[6] Although this kanji can be seen in the docudrama's logo, the show itself uses the modern kanji for Kaiju in its title.
- An event about the Kaiju Club was held at TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2019 on December 14, 2019.[7]
External Links[]
References[]