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. in association 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[1]
| No. | Title | Written by | Air date | Recording date | Recording location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "What is Human?" | Keisuke Fujikawa | 1972/10/07 | 1972/09/23 | Kawaguchi Civic Hall |
| 2 | "3,000 Monster Shibirettas!" | Shunichi Yukimuro | 1972/10/14 | 1972/09/30 | Ageoshi Civic Hall |
| 3 | "Bloodthirsty! Monster Dragonda" | Shozo Uehara | 1972/10/21 | 1972/10/07 | Tsuchiura Civic Hall |
| 4 | "Flying Monster Blanker!" | 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 | "The Death of Monster Gegil!!" | 1972/11/11 | 1972/10/28 | Fuchu City Hall | |
| 7 | "Monster Megahertz Blows Up the TV Station!!" | Keisuke Fujikawa, Maru Tamura (adapted by Soya Shirai) |
1972/11/18 | 1972/11/04 | Soka City Culture Hall |
| 8 | "The Demon Flasher 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[1]
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Planning director Soya Shirai
- Directed by Mochi Sunuma, Fumihiko Kanbe, Osamu Shigematsu
- Written by Keisuke Fujikawa, Shunichi Yukimuro, Shozo Uehara, Maru Tamura, Soya Shirai
- Stage director Shuro Agawa
- Tape producer Tatsuhiko Goto
- Produced by Koichi Nakamura, Masao Tanaka
- Musical performances by Kenichiro Morioka, Tatsuya Takahashi and the Tokyo Union
- Opening and ending themes "Assault Human" and "Human Warming-Up Exercises"
- Performed by Columbia Yurikago Kai, Tomato Ketchup
- Spoken lines by Yusuke Natsu
- Lyrics by Takashi Takase
- Arranged and composed by Kenichiro Morioka
- Sound effects by Masakazu Goto
- Art director and character producer Tohl Narita
- Lighting by Yoshichika Hashizume
- Special effects by Hiroshi Arai
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 Yasubei Hirai
- Keiko Aramaki as Kyoko Hanawa
- Ichiro Murakoshi as King Flasher (voice) / Grand Flasher (voice)
- Yasuo Yamada as narrator (voice)
- Yoshio Sudo as Human No. 1
- Ritsuo Sawa as Flasher / Flasher Red Eye / Flasher Black Mask
- Miki Kageyama as Queen Flasher / Flasher Pink Mask
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles, and races
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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.
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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]
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