, born , is a Japanese actor. He was born on May 5, 1947 in Saitama prefecture, north of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He is best known for portraying several heroic roles in tokusatsu, including Jiro in '' Android Kikaider'' and Goro Watari in ''

Inazuman is a television series starring a mutant fictional character of the same name created by Shotaro Ishinomori. The first television series ran from October 2, 1973 to March 26, 1974 with a total of 25 episodes. A second season named aired in 19 ...

''.

Life

Ban attended Saitama-Ken High School. While in college, Ban performed in a theater group that performed the works of French playwrights. He held a small job at a

teahouse A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whi ...

during college. Though he considered becoming a

salaryman In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

, ultimately he turned to acting. His first role was '' Oumuto Ni Watori'', in 1971. He did not, however, audition for his breakout role in ''Kikaider''. His photo was one of many sent in to

NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

while they were casting the programme - Ban was one of several finalists, and the producer's wife reportedly looked at his photo and said, "He's the one!". He was then cast in the title role. According to Ban in an interview in '' Otaku USA'' magazine, his casting was fairly typical, with him meeting Toei executives. Ban appeared in all 43 episodes of the original ''Kikaider'', and also appeared in several episodes of the sequel series ''

Kikaider 01 (Pronounced as ''Kikaider Zero One''), is a tokusatsu superhero TV series, and a sequel series to ''Android Kikaider''. Produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, it was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from May 12, 1973 to March 30, 1974 ...

''. According to Ban, ''Kikaider'' was very much like a typical television drama, and not significantly different despite the subject matter and formula of the show. He felt that the strength of the series lay in the story and characters, even though the action scenes are those most typically highlighted. He has described ''Kikaider'''s story as "perfect", and expressed his desire for the series to be remade (he did not mention the anime adaptation released in 2000). He also commented in the ''Otaku USA'' interview that he only met Kikaider's creator,

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as '' Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), ...

, once. He played the title character on ''

'', Ban was also a regular on ''

Ninja Captor is a Japanese tokusatsu TV series which aired from April 7, 1976 to January 26, 1977. It appeared on TV Tokyo, Channel 12, and was produced by Toei Company, Ltd. ''Ninja Captor'' is similar to Toei's own Super Sentai series (it has been sometim ...

'' and ''

Gridman the Hyper Agent , known as ''Gridman the Hyper Agent'' in some English-speaking territories, is a 1993–1994 Japanese tokusatsu " Giant Hero" series created by Tsuburaya Productions (the producers of '' Ultraman'') and would be Tsuburaya's last non-Ultra superh ...

''. Later in life, he starred in ''

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'', '' Spiral'', ''

Ring 2 is a 1999 Japanese supernatural horror film, directed by Hideo Nakata and serves as a sequel to '' Ring''. ''Ring'' was originally a novel written by Koji Suzuki; its sequel, ''Rasen'' (a.k.a. ''Spiral''), was also adapted into a film as the ...

'', and '' Ring 0: Birthday'', renewing some of his cult popularity. He also starred in television

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

for

Ajinomoto is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, ...

and

Marui Department is a Japanese multinational retail company which operates a chain of department stores in Tokyo as well in other major Japanese cities. They are best known for their women's fashion and accessories, which are aimed at the 25–35 age range. ...

stores. He took over Yukio Itô's role as Battle Cossack in the ''

Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The ...

'' series, ''

Battle Fever J is a live-action Japanese-American TV series. The third entry of the ''Super Sentai'' series franchise, ''Battle Fever J'' was a co-production of Toei Company and Marvel Comics. A total of 52 episodes aired on TV Asahi from February 3, 1979 to ...

''. Despite the iconic nature of his tokusatsu performances, he has said that he doesn't believe modern henshin hero shows have the same positive spirit as they once did, and that they are not able to excite children the way they used to. Ban, along with the star of ''

'',

Shunsuke Ikeda was a Japanese actor and model. Acting career Born , he was best known to ''tokusatsu'' fans as the android Ichiro in the ''Kikaider 01'' series (1973–74). Ikeda's interest in acting came at an early age from his father, respected sword figh ...

, has gained cult popularity in both

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

due to ''Kikaider'' being broadcast there. Both of them attribute this to the flawed nature of the characters, the vibrant colors of the show, and the power of the good-vs-evil story. Though he is best remembered for his performances in

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, war, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is som ...

programs, he has appeared in numerous different television series' of varying genres. Most recently, Ban appeared in the short film ''House of the Restless Spirits'', released as part of the compilation ''

Scary True Stories Scary may refer to: * Scary, West Virginia, U.S. * Scary, a village in the Shire; a location in the novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by J. R. R. Tolkien * "Scary" (song), a 2016 song by Stormzy * "Scary", a song by Britney Spears from the album '' ...

'' produced by horror film magazine '' Fangoria''. Ban currently resides in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

, Japan, and his autobiography, ''Jinzo Ningen Kikaidā: Jiro Tabi no Tochu de'' ("Super Android Kikaider: In The Midst of Jiro's Journey"), was published in August 2001 by Kadokawa Shoten.

References

* * *

External links

Ban Daisuke official website
- features several images. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ban, Daisuke 1947 births Living people Japanese male actors