is a former Japanese actor known for his role as Mirai Hibino/Ultraman Mebius in the 2006-2007

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 film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

series ''

Ultraman Mebius is a Japanese television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. It is the 20th TV series and 40th anniversary production in the Ultra Series, which first began in 1966. It premiered on the Tokyo Broadcasting Sys ...

'' and several spin-offs in the

Ultra Series ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman (character), Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman (1966 ...

following that. Igarashi was affiliated with the acting unit

D-BOYS D-Boys (stylized as D-BOYS) is a young male actors group affiliated with Watanabe Entertainment. The ''D'' in the group's name stands for "Drama" (acting work), "Dream", "Debut", "Discovery" and "Development" (growth and advancement). Although ...

, produced by Watanabe Entertainment.

Career

Igarashi started his entertainment career auditioning for

in the group's first open audition, held on July 27, 2004. Winner of the Grand Prix second place, Igarashi joined the group shortly after, along with first placer Yuichi Nakamura and third placer Katsuki Nakamura. In early 2006, Igarashi conquered his first lead role as Mirai Hibino/Ultraman Mebius in the

series

, the 40th anniversary production in the Ultraman series. He was chosen for the role for being able to convey the part of a "rookie" hero well, being at the time a new actor with little experience in demanding lead roles himself. A fan of the Ultraman series, Igarashi has declared that the desire to play the role of Ultraman was one of the reasons he entered the entertainment world, and that being able to work with the same actors who had played his childhood heroes was one of his highest personal accomplishments. Igarashi was so fond of his work in the series that he eventually incorporated the

Möbius strip In mathematics, a Möbius strip, Möbius band, or Möbius loop is a surface that can be formed by attaching the ends of a strip of paper together with a half-twist. As a mathematical object, it was discovered by Johann Benedict Listing and Augu ...

sign "

∞ The infinity symbol (\infty) is a List of mathematical symbols, mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. This symbol is also called a lemniscate, after the lemniscate curves of a similar shape studied in algebraic geometry, or ...

" to his autograph. With the end of Mebius in March 2007, Igarashi turned his focus to television series and invested on broadening his work. The heroic Mirai of Mebius was followed by diverse characters such as the young psychopath Otoya in the adult drama Watashitachi no Kyokasho, the naive

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

Shinji in the teenage comedy Hana-Kimi and the lively street musician Mitsuru in the late night suspense Shigeshoshi, allowing Igarashi to develop his acting through various genres and different character types. June 2007 marked Igarashi's theatre debut, guest-starring in the musical ''D-BOYS STAGE Volume 1: Kanbai Onrei'', a

project featuring all group members, in the same manner of the 2006 drama/documentary series ''DD-BOYS''. In 2008 he will again guest star in ''D-BOYS STAGE Volume 2: Last Game''. In October 2007 came Igarashi's radio debut with D-RADIO BOYS, another D-BOYS project. Igarashi hosts the weekly show with ''Shigeshoshi'' co-star

Masato Wada is a Japanese actor and singer. He is known for his role as Sengoku Kiyosumi in ''The Prince of Tennis'' musical series, Tenimyu (and making a cameo in the ''Prince of Tennis'' live action film adaptation). He is also part of a young men's sta ...

, featuring guest D-BOYS members in each show. He has also been chosen as a member of D-BOYS special unit D*DATE. After the successful release of D*Date's 2013 single "Glory Days", Igarashi Shunji declared his retirement by the end of November 2013 from the Entertainment Industry in one of the D8Date live performances. At the beginning of November prior Igarashi announcing his retirement, this announcement was officially introduced in the D-Boys official page. On March 4, 2021 Igarashi has expressed in interest in returning to the entertainment industry.

Filmography

Television

Cinema

Other media

Theatre

* Out of Order (2007) *

STAGE Vol.1: Kanbai Onrei (2007) *

STAGE Vol.2: Last Game (2008, in pre-production)

Radio

* D-RADIO BOYS (2007–present, Bay FM)

Promotional media

Igarashi has been featured in the following promotional releases: CDs :* ''Ultraman Mebius/Run through! -CREW GUYS-'' - Project DMM with Ultra Bouei-tai (

) Photobooks :* D-BOYS: D-BOYS (2005/04, ) :* D-BOYS: START! (2006/03, ) :* mirai (2006/09, ) - ''solo photobook'' :* Hanazakari no Kimi Tachi e - Ikemen Paradise Making Book (2007/09, )

References

External links

Official BlogOfficial Profile at Watanabe EntertainmentShunji's Official friendster pageD-BOYS official website
* Wikipedia Japanese article on 五十嵐隼士 * Wikipedia Japanese article on D-BOYS {{DEFAULTSORT:Igarashi, Shunji 1986 births Japanese male television actors Living people