Assault! Human!! (1972)

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Assault! Human!!
Assault! Human!!
Air date October 7, 1972 -
December 30, 1972
Channel(s) Nippon Television
Genre(s) Tokusatsu
Episodes 13

Assault! Human!! (突撃!ヒューマン!!,   Totsugeki Hyūman) is a Japanese tokusatsu series co-produced by Nippon TV and Union Motion Picture Co. in cooperation with Mot Boule. Filmed as a live stage show, it was broadcast on television from October 7, 1972 to December 30, 1972. Having never been released on home video and the master tapes believed to have been overwritten, the show is now considered completely lost. Many of the suits used for the kaiju were acquired by Toho through Bin Promotion, using them for their 1973 series, Go! Greenman.

Plot

Junichiro Iwaki, an alien from "Planet Human" who inhabited the Earth under the guise of a gymnastics coach, suddenly resigned from his job after sensing an impending invasion. Junichiro began traveling Japan to train children in martial arts, equipping them with the skills to combat the malevolent monsters and aliens. Junichiro's prediction soon proved true, with the Flasher Corps beginning their invasion, led by their overlord King Flasher. Together, Junichiro and the children defended the planet, with the children utilizing mysterious devices known as Human-Signs to transform Junichiro into the superhero Human No. 1. Along the way, the reporter of "Monster Newspaper" Rumiko Hoshiyama, cameraman Yasube Hirai, and Junichiro's brother Junjiro pitched in to the cause.

Together, Junichiro and his allies were able to best King Flasher's forces and defeat him once and for all. However, a new being named Grand Flasher emerged to replace him, battling Junichiro to the point of death. With Junichiro unable to continue, Junjiro bravely stepped forward to confront Grand Flasher, transforming into Human No. 2. Eventually, Junichiro was miraculously transported to a dimension known as the Miracle Zone, where he was revived and allowed to return to the front lines. The two brothers then continued their battle with the Flasher Corps, including a mob of revived kaiju which Junichiro had previously defeated, until their final duel with Grand Flasher. Ultimately, Grand Flasher was defeated in a duel of epic proportions, and the Flasher Corps' invasion was thwarted.

Episodes

Episode no. Title Writer[1] Air date[1] Recording date[1] Recording location[1]
1 "What is the Human" Keisuke Fujikawa 1972/10/07 1972/09/23 Kawaguchi Civic Hall
2 "3,000 Monsters Shibiretta!" Shunichi Yukimuro 1972/10/14 1972/09/30 Ageoshi Civic Hall
3 "Bloodsucker! Monster Dragonda" Shozo Uehara 1972/10/21 1972/10/07 Tsuchiura Civic Hall
4 "Flying Monster Blanca!" Maru Tamura 1972/10/28 1972/10/14 Koto Public Hall
5 "Kill!! Monster Red Rock" Keisuke Fujikawa 1972/11/04 1972/10/21 Ashikaga Community Hall
6 "Death of Kaijin Gegil!!" 1972/11/11 1972/10/28 Fuchu City Hall
7 "Kaijin Megahertz Blows Up the Television Station!!" Keisuke Fujikawa,
Maru Tamura
(adapted by Suya Shirai)
1972/11/18 1972/11/04 Soka City Culture Hall
8 "The Flasher Demon Boy!" Keisuke Fujikawa 1972/11/25 1972/11/11 Shibuya Public Hall
9 "King Flasher's Demise" Maru Tamura 1972/12/02 1972/11/18 Kashiwa Civic Cultural Hall
10 "Death of the Hero Human!!" Keisuke Fujikawa 1972/12/09 1972/11/25 Omiya Citizen Hall
11 "The Return of Human!" Shozo Uehara 1972/12/16 1972/12/02 Kawaguchi Civic Hall
12 "The Human Brothers' Great Success!" 1972/12/23 1972/12/09 Koto Public Hall
13 "Farewell, Humans" Keisuke Fujikawa 1972/12/30 1972/12/16 Fuchu City Hall

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Mochi Sunuma, Fumihiko Kanbe, Osamu Shigematsu
  • Written by   Keisuke Fujikawa, Shunichi Yukimuro, Shozo Uehara, Maru Tamura, Suya Shirai
  • Planning by   Suya Shirai
  • Produced by   Koichi Nakamura, Masao Tanaka
  • Executive producer   Tatsuhiko Goto
  • Music by   Kenichiro Morioka
  • Production design by   Tohl Narita
  • Opening and ending themes "Assault Human" and "Human Warming-Up Exercises" performed by   Columbia Yurikago Kai, Tomato Ketchup, Yusuke Natsu
    • Lyrics by   Takashi Takase
    • Composed and arranged by   Kenichiro Morioka
  • Narration by   Yasuo Yamada

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Live performances

Following the show's conclusion, ownership of the kaiju suits fell to Bin Promotion, who had handled suit acting and stunts during the series' original run. The company continued to put on live performances in subsequent years, including one at the Bali Hai Center in Miyagi (which opened its doors in December of 1973) and another atop the Endochain EBeanS building. Amateur 8 millimeter recordings from both shows were discovered sometime before 2010 and included in the documentary This Was Sendai, Miyagi.

Footage from two Miyagi performances, included in This Was Sendai, Miyagi
Excerpt from the full documentary

Trivia

  • Because of this series being filmed live as a stage show, it utilized many innovative techniques incorporating smoke, stage lighting, and special effects.[2]
  • Artist and production designer Tohl Narita hand crafted a bronze statuette of Human No. 1 in 1987 in commemoration of the series,[3] alongside statues of Ultraman and Ultraseven which were collectively referred to as his "Trinity."[2] The original is currently held in a personal collection,[2] however 40 copies of it were created and made available for sale in 2016.[4]

External links

References

This is a list of references for Assault! Human!!. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Uchusen. Asahi Sonorama. 1 July 1987. p. 50. Unknown parameter |ed= ignored (|edition= suggested) (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Tohl Narita and "Assault! Human!!" (成田亨と『突撃!ヒューマン!!』)". shop.totsugekihuman.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. "Assault! Human!! Tohl Narita (突撃!ヒューマン!! 成田亨)". shop.totsugekihuman.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  4. "Reproduction Carved "Human" Bronze Statue (彫刻作品「ヒューマン」複製ブロンズ像)". shop.totsugekihuman.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.

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