(a.k.a. ''The Moonbeam Man'') is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

appearing in 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 ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television shows and movies since his TV debut in 1958. The six theatrical films were made (between 1958-1959) in black and white/ToeiScope format. Created by writer

Kōhan Kawauchi (February 26, 1920 – April 6, 2008), also known as Yasunori Kawauchi, was a Japanese screenwriter who created various tokusatsu series, including the first, ''Moonlight Mask'', in 1958. He was originally from Hakodate, Hokkaido. His series ''W ...

, Moonlight Mask is best described as Japan's answer to

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

and

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

. Moonlight Mask's popularity resulted in the appearance of several other Japanese superhero characters soon thereafter, including ''Iron Sharp'' a.k.a. ''Space Chief'' (from 1961's ''

Invasion of the Neptune Men is a 1961 superhero film produced by Toei Company Ltd. The film stars Sonny Chiba as ''Iron Sharp'' (called ''Space Chief'' in the U.S. version). The film was released in 1961 in Japan and was later released in 1964 direct to television in the U ...

''). and the ''

Planet Prince is a 1958 Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series created by Masaru Igami and produced by Senkosha, the series aired on NTV from November 4, 1958 to October 6, 1959, with a total of 49 episodes (comprising four separate adventures). I ...

'' TV series (1958) Kawauchi followed-up the success of ''Moonlight Mask'' with the tokusatsu superhero shows '' Seven Color Mask'' (1959) and '' Messenger of Allah'' (1960), both starring a young

Sonny Chiba , known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fuku ...

Japan's first TV superhero

Whereas Super Giant (Starman) is Japan's first celluloid superhero, debuting in movies in 1957,Galbraith, Stuart (1994). ''Japanese Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror Films''. McFarland and Co., Inc. it was Moonlight Mask (Gekko Kamen) who set the standard as Japan's first live-action TV superhero, and was a huge success with children. Television was new in Japan, so many children who did not have a TV set were gathered around to watch it at a friend's or neighbor's house. Children also bought toy capes, sunglasses, masks and pistols, and played Moonlight Mask in schoolyards and backyards (but as with every children's superhero, Japanese or American, Moonlight Mask was not without liability casualties; see Liability issues and cancellation below).

Who is Moonlight Mask?

Moonlight Mask's identity has always been a mystery (which is why the Moonlight Mask persona is credited as being played by "?" in the original series). Decked out in white tights, a white & red cape, a white scarf, yellow gloves & boots, dark glasses, a cloth face mask and Indian-style

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promin ...

(pinned with a "moon" ornament), Moonlight Mask is armed with a whip, two six-shooters,

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they wer ...

and moon-shaped

boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

s, and rides a motorcycle. However, only audiences know that Moonlight Mask could very well be detective , who seems to disappear from his friends just before the caped crusader rides to the rescue on his motorcycle! Even his comical assistant , his friend Inspector Matsuda, and children Shigeru, Kaboko and Fujiko are oblivious to Iwai's secret identity.

The original 1958 TV series

The original B&W ''Moonlight Mask'' (月光仮面)

TV drama series, produced by the advertising agency Senkosha, was aired on KRTV (now TBS) from February 24, 1958 to July 5, 1959, with a total of 130 episodes, the series being divided into five story arcs (or chapters). Jūrō Iwai/Moonlight Mask was played by Ose Koichi.

TV Series Story Arcs

*''Skull Mask'' (どくろ仮面 - ''Dokuro Kamen'') - Episodes 1-71, 71 episodes (broadcast from February 24, 1958 – May 17, 1958) *''The Secret of the Paradai Kingdom'' (パラダイ王国の秘密 - ''Paradai Ōkoku no Himitsu'') - Episodes 73-93, 21 episodes (May 25, 1958 – October 12, 1958) *''Mammoth Kong'' (マンモスコング - ''Manmosu Kongu'') - Episodes 94-104, 11 episodes (October 19, 1958 – December 26, 1958) features TV's first

daikaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

Mammoth Kong A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, i ...

. *''The Ghost Party Strikes Back'' (幽霊党の逆襲 - ''Yureitō no Gyakushū'') - Episodes 105-117, 13 episodes (January 4, 1959 – March 29, 1959) *''Don't Turn Your Hand to Revenge'' (その復讐に手を出すな - ''Sono Fukushū ni Te wo Dasu na'') - Episodes 118-131, 14 episodes (April 5, 1959 – July 5, 1959)

The six theatrical movies (1958-1959)

To coincide with the

Nippon Gendai Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

/ Senkosha TV series, Toei Films produced six Moonlight Mask theatrical movies screened in theaters from 1958 to 1959. This was Toei's first involvement in the

genre. All six movies are feature adaptations of the TV show's popular story arcs, and were filmed in "ToeiScope" (2.35:1). Three movies were released in 1958, and three in 1959. In these six movie versions, Jūrō Iwai/Moonlight Mask was played by Fumitake Omura. *''Moonlight Mask'' (月光仮面 - ''Gekkō Kamen'') July 30, 1958; Directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi *''Moonlight Mask - Duel to the Death in Dangerous Waters'' (月光仮面 - 絶海の死斗 - ''Gekkō Kamen - Zekkai no Shitō'') August 6, 1958; Directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi *''Moonlight Mask - The Claws of Satan'' (月光仮面 - 魔人〈サタン〉の爪 - ''Gekkō Kamen - Satan no Tsume'') December 22, 1958; Directed by Eijiro Wakabayashi *''Moonlight Mask - The Monster Kong'' (月光仮面 - 怪獣コング - ''Gekkō Kamen - Kaijū Kongu'') a.k.a. ''The Monster Gorilla''; April 1, 1959; Directed by

Satoru Ainoda is a Japanese verb meaning "to know" or "understand". It is a common masculine Japanese given name. Satoru is the root of the Zen Buddhist word . Possible writings ''Satoru'' can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *悟 ...

*''Moonlight Mask - The Ghost Party Strikes Back'' (月光仮面 - 幽霊党の逆襲 - ''Gekkō Kamen - Yureitō no Gyakushū'') a.k.a. ''The Challenging Ghost''; July 28, 1959; Directed by Shoichi Shimazu *''Moonlight Mask - The Last of the Devil'' (月光仮面 - 悪魔の最後 - ''Gekkō Kamen - Akuma no Saigo'') a.k.a. ''The Last Death of the Devil''; August 4, 1959, Directed by Shoichi Shimazu

Manga adaptation

A few months after the show first aired, a

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

(comic book) tie-in was commissioned. There were different artists drawing the manga, the majority of which was done by young artist Jiro Kuwata, who would later become the co-creator of ''

8 Man or or is a manga and superhero anime created in 1963 by science fiction writer Kazumasa Hirai and manga artist Jiro Kuwata. 8 Man is considered Japan's earliest cyborg superhero, pre-dating ''Kamen Rider.'' The manga was published ...

''.

Liability issues and cancellation

Children watching superhero shows sometimes attempted to imitate the hero's dangerous feats, and ''Moonlight Mask'' was no exception. Because a boy in Japan jumped to his death imitating Moonlight Mask's dangerous stunts, the show was cancelled on July 5, 1959, following the ending of the final story arc, ''Don't Turn Your Hand to Revenge''. Toei's movies, however, continued to appear in theaters well into August 1959. Moonlight Mask made a return to Japanese TV 13 years later.

The 1972 anime series

The

adaptation ''Seigi wo Ai Suru Mono - Gekkō Kamen'' (正義を愛する者 - 月光仮面), translated as ''The One Who Loves Justice: Moonlight Mask'', was produced by

Knack Knack or The Knack may refer to: Music and entertainment * The Knack, an American pop-rock band famous for their hit "My Sharona" * The Knack (1960s US band), an American garage rock band active in the 1960s * The Knack (UK band), a British frea ...

, and aired on

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed ...

from January 10, 1972 to October 2, 1972, with a total of 39 episodes (divided into three story arcs or chapters). The show also became very popular in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

under the title '' Centella''. Japanese

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

Michihiro Ikemizu is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Kanagawa Prefecture and a graduate of Waseda University who works for Aoni Production. Among his other roles, he has performed the characters Hot Springs Emblem (''Urusei Yatsura''), Isao Ohta ...

provided the voice of Jūrō Iwai/Moonlight Mask. The hero now wears an open face helmet instead of a turban, and his cape has an ornament with the scarf attached.

Anime Chapters

*The ''Claw of Satan'' Series (Episodes 1-13) *The ''Mammoth Kong'' Series (Episodes 14-26) *The ''Dragon's Fang'' Series (Episodes 27-39)

The 1981 movie

The

movie ''Moonlight Mask'' (月光仮面), produced by Purumie International/ Herald Enterprises and distributed by Nippon Herald Pictures, was released theatrically on March 14, 1981. Considered Japan's answer to the American box office fiasco, ''

The Legend of the Lone Ranger ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' is a 1981 American Western film that was directed by William A. Fraker and stars Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd. It is based on the story of The Lone Ranger, a Western character creat ...

'' (released the same year), this updated version of the Moonlight Mask legend also bombed at the Japanese box office. Daisuke Kuwahara (who, like Klinton Spilsbury, disappeared from doing films) played George Owara (Moonlight Mask's new alter-ego), and the rest of the cast made up of veteran action starlet

Etsuko Shihomi Etsuko (written: 悦子, 英津子, えつ子, えつこ in hiragana or エツコ in katakana) is a feminine Japanese given name. The most common meaning is joy child. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese football player *, Japanese c ...

, Daijiro Harada and

Takayuki Godai is a Japanese actor best known as the '' shōgun''s ninja Saizō in the long-running prime-time television '' jidaigeki'' ''Abarenbō Shōgun''. Godai first appeared as Saizō in Episode 57 of Series III, and continued through Series IV and V, abo ...

, with none of the original characters turning up. The movie was directed and co-written by Yukihiro Sawada.

The 1999 gag-anime series

The gag-

series ''We Know You, Moonlight Mask-kun!'' (ごぞんじ!月光仮面くん - ''Gozonji! Gekkô Kamen-kun''), a very comical take on the famous masked hero, was produced by

Tokyo Movie Shinsha , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as '' Lupin the Third'' ...

, animated by

Actas is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1998. It is currently a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Filmworks, which in turn is a subsidiary to Bandai Namco Holdings. History Actas was founded on July 6, 1998, by Hiroshi Katō and Jūtarō Ōba, who pr ...

, and broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

from October 3, 1999 to March 26, 2000, with a total of 25 episodes. The opening theme song is an updated version of the original theme song, and is sung by

COA Coa may refer to: Places * Coa, County Fermanagh, a rural community in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland * Côa River, a tributary of the Douro, Portugal ** Battle of Coa, part of the Peninsular War period of the Napoleonic Wars ** Côa Valley ...

Parodies

''Kekkō Kamen''

Controversial

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist bef ...

Go Nagai made a very raunchy parody of ''Moonlight Mask'', titled ''

Kekkō Kamen is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. It was serialized in ''Monthly Shōnen Jump'' from September 1974 to February 1978, with the chapters collected into five ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shueisha. It fo ...

'' (けっこう仮面 - ''Kekkō Kamen'', roughly translated as "Splendid Mask"), a pun on ''Gekkō Kamen'' (Moonlight Mask's Japanese name). The manga depicts the adventures of a young

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, o ...

who wears a red mask, scarf, an occasional cape, gloves, boots and nothing else. She has various weapons like

nunchaku is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person w ...

and a feather on her mask.

''Moonlight Knight''

In the anime ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The se ...

'', the character

Mamoru Chiba Mamoru (まもる, マモル) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * Marcus Mamoru Toji (born 1984), American actor *, Japanese composer *, Japanese composer best known for his work with animator Hayao Miyazaki ...

appears in the ''

Makaiju The '' Sailor Moon'' manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Naoko Takeuchi. The series takes place in Tokyo, Japan, where the , a group of ten magical girls, are formed to combat an assortment of antagonists attempti ...

'' arc as the "Moonlight Knight" dressed in a white costume and turban similar to that of Moonlight Mask.

''Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo Masaru-san''

In the anime '' Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo Masaru-san'', Yoroshiku Kamen and his various previous reincarnations (Bye-bye Kamen, Aisatsu Kamen, etc.) all parody Gekkou Kamen and his appeal to children.

''Spectreman''

In episode 42, '' Spectreman'' faces a mysterious new villain called Solar Mask, a reversed parody of Moonlight Mask whose looks greatly resemble the original hero.

''Yo-Kai Watch''

The second entry of the Yo-Kai Watch video game series produced by Level-5 features an in-universe fictional character called "Guts Kamen", or "Moximous Mask" in the English translation, who is modeled after Showa period superheroes in general, and Moonlight Mask in particular.

References

External links

*
InfoPreview
{{Actas 1972 anime television series debuts 1999 anime television series debuts Fantasy anime and manga Nippon TV original programming TV Tokyo original programming Jiro Kuwata Tokusatsu films Tokusatsu television series TMS Entertainment