A is a Japanese superhero who is created to represent a particular region of Japan, such as a prefecture or city. They often perform in special martial arts

stage show A theatrical production is any work of theatre, such as a staged play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. Theatrical productions also extend to other performance designations such as Dramatic and Nondramatic theatre, a ...

s. Created either by local groups or the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

, a local hero is modeled after the superheroes of Japanese

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 ...

. A local hero is often themed around the city or prefecture's local mythologies or industries, are created to teach the children who watch the stage shows certain things (like of

Fukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or sometimes "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to: Places * Fukui Domain, a part of the Japanese han system during the Edo period * Fukui Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in ...

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, G ...

), or are themed after the event that they are used to promote (the group performed at the

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show ...

to act in both the latter forms for

road traffic safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-ro ...

). Although local heroes are produced to act in a local area, some gain fame throughout Japan by performing at other local heroes' shows or being featured in mainstream media. from Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, has had two theme songs recorded by

anison , also shortened to , is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime ...

recording artist

Ichirou Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

(the first of which was previously available on the Japanese

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

) and a subsequent EP featuring

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Master ...

's vocals. from Okinawa Prefecture was featured in his own syndicated television series. from Tōno, Iwate Prefecture, was featured in an episode of the TBS program ''Kizuna Dining'' when they visited Tōno and appears at hero shows throughout Japan. The

Marimokkori is a character popularized in Hokkaidō, Japan. Much like the Tamagotchi, the name "Marimokkori" is a portmanteau: marimo is the word for the green algae clusters that grow in some of Hokkaidō's lakes, while '' mokkori'', literally "bulge", is a ...

of Hokkaidō has become a popular character throughout Japan, sold as

mobile phone charms Phone charms (also phone danglers, phone lanyards, phone chains and phone straps) are charms that are connected to a mobile device either via a phone connector or silicone plug that fits into the jack port sometimes provided with circle cotte ...

, claw machine prizes, among other merchandise. Independent film releases also use the "local hero" motif to present their characters. is portrayed as a local hero for

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, ...

, and is portrayed by Kazuyoshi Sakai of ''

Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger is Toei's twenty-fifth production of the ''Super Sentai'' metaseries airing in 2001 and celebrated the franchise's 25th anniversary. Footage from this show was used in the 2002 American series '' Power Rangers Wild Force'' and was later dubbed ...

''. Anison artist

Takayuki Miyauchi , is a Japanese vocalist best known for his work on theme songs for tokusatsu and anime. A resident of Ibaraki Prefecture, he began his career as founding member and lead vocalist of the band "WHY" in 1981 before making his solo debut in 1984, s ...

performs the second film's theme song. is a series of DVDs that feature the heroes (Zan Saber, Zan Dagger, Zan Axe) as local heroes of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, starring Ryunosuke Kawai of ''

Tenimyu , also known as for short, is a series of live action stage musicals directed by Yukio Ueshima based on the manga series ''The Prince of Tennis'' created by Takeshi Konomi and serialized by Shueisha in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. The first music ...

'' fame as the lead character. The anime ''

Tentai Senshi Sunred is a Japanese manga created by Makoto Kubota. It started serialization on Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Gangan Comics, ''Young Gangan'' from December 3, 2004 to December 19, 2014. An anime adaptation produced by AIC A.S.T.A. aired fr ...

'' is based on the local hero theme, featuring the title character as the protector of the city of Kawasaki in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

. Another TV tokusatsu series, Houjin Yatsurugi was shown as the local hero in Chiba. In 2008, Symantec created the character of for its Japanese advertising campaign alongside celebrity otaku

Shoko Nakagawa is a Japanese media personality, actress, voice actress, illustrator, and singer. Also known by her nickname , she is best known as the presenter of '' Pokémon Sunday'', and as the performer of the opening theme from the anime '' Gurren Lagann ...

for their new software, including several other characters to go with him.

Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...

has recorded a song for Norton Fighter as well titled . As a local hero, Norton Fighter is based in the Akihabara region of

. During 2020, a new Local Hero series premiered: Dogengers, a show starring a group of Local Heroes from Fukuoka which comprises their leader: Ohgaman, representative of the Ohga Pharmacies, Kitakyuman (Stylized as KitaQMan), who represents Kitakyushu (stylized as KitaQChu), Yamashiron, who stands for the Yamashiro Gas Company, El Brave, who appears to be the Local Hero that represents

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

, and Fukuokalibur, the Local Hero that represents

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

's silk artisans. These five heroes are joined by a new Ohgaman (dubbed "Ohgaman Rookie", or "Rookie", for short) as they fight Yabai Mask and the Secret Society of Darkness, Incorporated, a villain-distributing corporation. The first season was so successful, a second one was made, with mixed reception.

References

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See also

References

See also