Assault! Human!! (1972)
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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. that aired from October 7, 1972 to December 30, 1972. Filmed as a live stage show which was broadcast for television, it is now considered lost. Many of the suits used for the kaiju were inherited by Toho, however, who used them for their 1973 series, Go! Greenman.
Plot
Junichiro Iwaki, an alien from "Planet Human" who became famous on Earth as a gymnastics coach, suddenly resigned from his job after sensing an impending invasion of the planet. 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 fight through the hordes of kaiju to eventually destroy King Flasher 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.
- Kai Natsuyube as Junichiro Iwaki / Human No. 1 (voice)
- Akihiko Nishijima as Junjiro Iwaki / Human No. 2 (voice)
- Yoshiko Tanaka as Rumiko Hoshiyama
- Shun Yashiro as Yasube Shirai
- Keiko Aramaki
- Ritsuo Sawa as Flasher / Flasher Red Eye / Flasher Black Mask
- Miki Kageyama as Queen Flasher / Flasher Pink Mask
- Ichiro Murakoshi as King Flasher / Grand Flasher (voice)
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Trivia
- Most of the kaiju suits that appeared in Assault! Human!! were reused for Toho's Go! Greenman.
- All of this series' footage was unintentionally lost at some point following the series' first and only rebroadcast. It is commonly theorized that the reason for this loss is as a result of Nippon TV accidentally overwriting the master tapes for the show.[citation needed] As a result, footage from the show is virtually nonexistent, with only a short clip from a Japanese documentary surfacing.
- 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]
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