Agon (TV 1968)
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Agon (アゴン) is a 1968 black-and-white Japanese tokusatsu kaiju miniseries supervised and co-written by prolific Toho screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa. The first half was directed by Norio Mine and written by Sekizawa, while the second half was directed by Fuminori Ohashi and written by Kozo Uchida. Ohashi also served as the director of special effects on all four episodes. Produced by Nippon Denpa Eiga, the series aired on Fuji TV from January 2 to 5, 1968.[1] It was later edited into a 96-minute film, which Toho Video released on VHS in the 1980s.
Plot
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To be added.
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Air date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Agon Appears: Part One" | Norio Mine | Shinichi Sekizawa | 01/02/1968 |
2 | "Agon Appears: Part Two" | 01/03/1968 | ||
3 | "Hanging by a Thread: Part One" | Fuminori Ohashi | Kozo Uchida | 01/04/1968 |
4 | "Hanging by a Thread: Part Two" | 01/05/1968 |
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Supervised by Shinichi Sekizawa
- Directed by Norio Mine, Fuminori Ohashi
- Written by Shinichi Sekizawa, Kozo Uchida
- Produced by Tsuneyasu Matsumoto
- Music by Wataru Saito
- Sound recording by Masao Takegawa
- Cinematography by Takao Kawarazaki
- Production design by Seiichi Toriizuka
- Lighting by Hisao Matsumoto
- Director of special effects Fuminori Ohashi
- Special effects photographer Haruki Kageyama
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Shinji Hirota as Goro Sumoto
- Asao Matsumoto as Detective Yamato
- Yasuhiko Shima as Dr. Ukyo
- Akemi Sawa as Satsuki Shizukawa
- Yoshihiro Kobayashi as Monta
- Etsuji Azuma as Agon
Appearances
Monsters
Development
Agon was initially planned as a series of 26, 30-minute episodes entitled Atomic Monster Agon.[2]
Production
Four episodes of Agon were completed by 1964. However, Toho used the no-compete clause in creator Shinichi Sekizawa's contract to prevent them from being broadcast for four years, citing Agon's resemblance to Godzilla.[3]
Alternate titles
- Atomic Monster Agon (原子怪獣アゴン Genshi Kaijū Agon, planned title)[2]
- Monster Agon (怪獣アゴン Kaijū Agon, erroneous title)[1]
- Phantom Monster Agon (幻の怪獣アゴン Maboroshi no Kaijū Agon, Japanese VHS/Betamax title)
- Giant Phantom Monster Agon (幻の大怪獣アゴン Maboroshi no Daikaijū Agon, Japanese DVD title)
- Agon: Atomic Dragon (English title on Japanese VHS)
- Atomic Dragon (English title on Japanese DVD)
Video releases
King Records DVD (2005)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 2
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: None
- Special features: Audio commentary, interviews
TC Entertainment Blu-ray (2017)
- Region: A/1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: None
- Special features: None
- Notes: Cropped to 1.78:1.
References
This is a list of references for Agon (series). 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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Bibliography
- Sakai, Yukio, ed. (24 March 1990). All Kaiju Kaijin (First Volume). Keibunsha. ISBN 4-7669-0962-3.
- We Loved It: Tokusatsu Heroes BEST Magazine. Kodansha. 22 April 2009. ISBN 978-4-06-375707-1.
- Derendorf, Kevin (2018). Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 "Alternative" Giant Monster Movies. Maser Press. ISBN 9781983293771.
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