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Bannai Tarao
is the name of a set of Japanese mysteries (the first, , being made in 1946), featuring a detective of the same name who could take on seven different faces, in similar fashion to the protagonists of later series '' 7-Color Mask'', '' Rainbowman'', and ''Cutie Honey''. In the film series, Bannai was played by Chiezō Kataoka. He portrayed the character in eleven movies from 1946 until 1960, first for Daiei, then as a contract actor for Toei. After him, Akira Kobayashi portrayed the character in two other movies in 1978. Bannai Tarao is credited on several songs on Japanese rock pioneers Happy End's 1971 album ''Kazemachi Roman is the second album by Japanese folk rock band Happy End, released on URC Records in 1971. In this concept album, Happy End attempted to paint a musical picture of Tokyo before the 1964 Summer Olympics, through which sweeping changes transformed ...''. References External links''七つの顔'' on Amazon.co.jp [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Fiction
Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective (such as Sherlock Holmes), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism. Mystery fiction can involve a supernatural mystery in which the solution does not have to be logical and even in which there is no crime involved. This usage was common in the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads them to arrest criminals and enable them to be convicted in court. A detective may work for the police or privately. Overview Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is a licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, by examining and evaluating clues and personal records in order to uncover the identity and/or whereabouts of criminals. In some police departments, a detective position is achieved by passing a written test after a person completes the requirements for being a police officer. In many other police systems, detectives are college graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. Some argue that detectives do a completely different job and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist. The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist. The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. Etymology The term ''protagonist'' comes , combined of (, 'first') and (, 'actor, competitor'), which stems from (, 'contest') via (, 'I contend for a prize'). Ancient Greece The earliest known examples of a protagonist are found in Ancient Greece. At first, dramatic pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7-Color Mask
is the name and title character of a tokusatsu TV series, later called . It was created by Kōhan Kawauchi, who also created ''Moonlight Mask''. This B&W TV show was the first superhero TV series by Toei Company Ltd. It was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from June 3, 1959 to June 30, 1960, with a total of 57 episodes divided into 7 segments. Aside from being Toei's first TV superhero show, this series was also the debut of actor Sonny Chiba, who was 19 at the time, who took over the title role from Susumu Namijima after Episode 32. Summary The hero of this series is a young detective named Kotarō Ran, unknown to anyone (even his friends), is a master of disguise, utilizing seven different personalities. Most of his disguises are odd characters, like a magician and a cigar-smoking Indian, but Kotarō's 7th disguise is the 2-gun-toting caped, golden-masked superhero, Seven Color Mask! In the first story arc called the ally of justice Seven Color Mask must confront the evil Cobr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warrior Of Love Rainbowman
is a tokusatsu series created by Kōhan Kawauchi. This was the first superhero TV series produced by Toho Company Ltd., and was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from October 6, 1972 to September 18, 1973, with a total of 52 episodes. Mitsuru Adachi wrote a manga series based on the show which was serialized in ''TV Magazine Otomodachi'' from 1972 to 1973. Overview The series focuses on pro wrestler Takeshi Yamato, a young man who, after training in India with the yogi sage Devadatta, gains the ability to transform into a superhero called Rainbowman who possesses seven different superhero forms called "Dashes", with the seven Dashes representing yin and yang (the Moon and the Sun) and the five elements (wu xing) of ancient Chinese philosophy. In each Dash form, Rainbowman is endowed with a color-coded costume and powers related to that element. Dash 1 (yellow) represents the Moon, Dash 2 (red) represents fire, Dash 3 (blue) represents water, Dash 4 (green) represents wood, Das ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who transforms into the busty, red or pink-haired heroine Cutie Honey to fight against the assorted villains that threaten her or her world. One of the trademarks of the character is that the transformation involves the temporary loss of all her clothing in the brief interim from changing from one form to the other. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist of a ''shōnen'' manga series. The ''Cutie Honey'' franchise spans many works, including numerous manga series, three anime television series, two OVA series, two drama CDs, three live action adaptations, and four stage plays. The first anime aired in 1973 and is considered a magical girl series in retrospect. In addition, the theme song of the series has become one of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiezō Kataoka
(March 30, 1903 – March 31, 1983) was a Japanese film and television actor most famous for his starring roles in jidaigeki. Career Born in 1903 in Gunma Prefecture (his real name was Masayoshi Ueki), he was raised in Tokyo. As a child he began training in Kabuki in a theatre troupe run by Kataoka Nizaemon XI, and appeared in one film in 1923. He eventually entered the movie world for good in 1927 first at Makino Productions, but following the lead of other former Makino stars like Tsumasaburō Bandō, Chiezō started his own independent production company, Chiezō Productions, the next year. That studio became the longest lasting of the independent, star-centered productions, in part because it had such talented directors as Mansaku Itami and Hiroshi Inagaki, and produced such masterworks as '' Akanishi Kakita''. He folded the company in 1937 and joined Nikkatsu. Specializing in ''jidaigeki'', he played the lead in various films before and during World War II. During the Occu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daiei
, based in Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni Corporation and ÆON Co., Ltd., another Japanese supermarket chain. Daiei Inc. runs more than 3,000 stores under the Daiei name as well as through its subsidiaries. In addition to groceries, Daiei is also a department store, selling electronics, home furnishings, and clothes. In terms of net sales, Daiei was formerly the largest retailer in Japan. However, total sales declined by nearly a quarter in the five years leading up to 2003. History The retail chain expanded rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Also, stronger sales from competitors such as Ito-Yokado, ÆON, and other regional supermarket chains have hurt Daiei's sales record in recent years. As a part of the series of bootstrap restructuring efforts to avoid filing for IRCJ ( Industrial Revitali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toei Company
() (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by its subsidiary, T-Joy), studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a shareholder in several television companies. It is notable for creating animated programming known as anime, and live action dramas known as tokusatsu which use special visual effects. It also creates historical dramas (jidaigeki). Outside Japan, it is known as the controlling shareholder of Toei Animation and the owner of the '' Kamen Rider'' and ''Super Sentai'' franchises. Toei is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is therefore one of Japan's Big Four film studios. The name "Toei" is derived from the company's former name . History Toei's predecessor, the , was incorporated in 1938. It was founded by Keita Goto, CEO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akira Kobayashi
is a Japanese actor and singer. His nickname is . Biography Kobayashi attended Meiji University but left before graduating. He became an actor at Nikkatsu and made his film debut with "Ueru Tamashii" directed by Yuzo Kawashima in 1956. He solidified his popularity with such films as ''Nangoku Tosa o Ato ni Shite'' (''A Farewell to Southern Tosa'') and starred in the '' Wataridori series'' and "Senpūji" ("Whirlwind Child") film series. Kobayashi, along with Yujiro Ishihara and others, formed the core of Nikkatsu Action's golden age. Kobayashi produced and starred detective tv drama series ''Target Men'' in 1971. In 1972, he left Nikkatsu and signed with Toei film. There he starred in many yakuza films, including Battles Without Honor and Humanity series. In 1989, Kobayashi made his director debut with ''Haru kuru Oni''. Marriage Kobayashi was married to popular singer Misora Hibari in 1962, but the marriage ended in divorce two years later in 1964. He remarried actress ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Happy End (band)
was a Japanese folk rock band active from 1969 to 1972. Composed of Haruomi Hosono, Takashi Matsumoto (lyricist), Takashi Matsumoto, Eiichi Ohtaki and Shigeru Suzuki, the band's pioneering sound was regarded as avant-garde to most Japanese at the time. They are considered to be among the most influential artists in Music of Japan, Japanese music. MTV described Happy End's music as "rock with Psychedelic music, psych smudges around the edges." History Career When his band Burns needed a bass player, drummer Takashi Matsumoto (lyricist), Takashi Matsumoto reached out to Haruomi Hosono, a Rikkyo University student whom he heard was quite skilled. After playing shows together, Hosono eventually invited Matsumoto to join the psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool, which the drummer described as being influenced by bands like Vanilla Fudge, "really progressive sounds for the time." When their keyboardist, Hiro Yanagida, started getting more into music like Buffalo Springfield and the Califor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazemachi Roman
is the second album by Japanese folk rock band Happy End, released on URC Records in 1971. In this concept album, Happy End attempted to paint a musical picture of Tokyo before the 1964 Summer Olympics, through which sweeping changes transformed the city forever. “The band’s 1971 album ‘Kazemachi Roman,’ a classic of the genre, describes with a shrug how the Tokyo of their childhood was being swept away and replaced by a high-tech metropolis.“ Background and release OK Music's Naoto Kawasaki notes how Eiichi Ohtaki and Shigeru Suzuki did not contribute to "Kaze wo Atsumete", with Haruomi Hosono playing the bass, guitar and organ and providing its vocals while Takashi Matsumoto plays the drums. Suzuki is also absent from "Kurayamizaka Musasabi Henge", which Kawasaki felt was inspired by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Bannai Tarao, a fictional detective who has appeared in many Japanese crime thrillers, is credited on several of the album's songs. Ohtaki even opens "Haikar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
