ザ•ハングマン / The Hangman (1980 TV Series)

I'm making a post about this series because it just sounds really interesting to me. I would love to be able to watch some of it someday.

The Hangman was a crime show produced by Shochiku that followed the activities of a clandestine organization named "Hangman", whose purpose is to capture and execute criminals under the supervision of a leader who calls himself "God"¹. It was intended to be a modern adaptation of the Hissatsu series, a massively popular jidaigeki drama about assassins which ran for a whopping 30+ series² and spawned spinoff movies, comics, books, games, and, yes, pachinko machines. The twist is that "execution" in The Hangman does not refer to actual capital punishment, but instead a complicated series of traps and set-ups that lead to the criminals being exposed to the public, which is referred to as a "hanging".

The hour-long show began airing in November of 1980 and would run for seven series until 1987. The first series ran for roughly a year and 51 episodes, while the second series ran for 28 episodes from June to December of 1982. After that it was followed by New Hangman (新ハングマン, Shin Hangman), which ran for 26 episodes from July of 1983 to February of 1984. This is what we're going to be looking at today.

Multiple well-known older actors played God, often in a voice-only role, including Sō Yamamura, Frankie Sakai, and, in New Hangman, Shigeru Amachi, although Amachi only appeared in the first episode. New Hangman was in general a departure from the previous format of the series, and all of the Hangman operatives were in disguise as travel agents. Instead of God appearing directly, his orders were relayed to Hangman throughout the series by his butler, Sonoyama, played by Akihiko Hirata³.

As per some YouTube comments, this series has been (perhaps is?) sporadically rebroadcast as re-runs, and the whole thing was re-aired on Family Theater in 1999. The first series was released to DVD in 2004, and the subsequent series were planned to be released as well, but they were put on hold indefinitely for unknown reasons, so, you know, that's just great. The first episode of New Hangman was actually given away as a freebie with an issue of COMIC Deka, but that's the extent of its home media release.

New Hangman's internet presence amounts to a handful of clips of less than two minutes in runtime. The sole pictorial evidence of Hirata's role that I've managed to turn up is this⁴:

...computer, enhance!

Well, it's something, anyway. Barely. You can also see his name in the credits here.

That's all I've got. If a random magazine with a bunch of drawings of scantily-clad women can give the first episode away on DVD then surely, surely somebody out there has to have the rest of it. Maybe we could crowdfund a full DVD release. I would throw some ducats at it, for sure.

____

¹ I was fully expecting this to just be Google Translate rendering the word "kami" into English, but looking at the Wiki article in the original Japanese, it is actually, literally "God" in katakana.

² Japanese TV often refers to what we would call "seasons" of a single TV series as "series" themselves. So, Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman 80, and Ultraman Orb are all part of the Ultra series, but they're referred to as "series", not "seasons".

³ He also had a guest role in episode 7 of the first Hangman series, but this episode is similarly unavailable unless you have the (out of print) DVD.

 ⁴ Get you it on Mercari if you have a cool $86 to spend on a magazine. Also, be warned, this is, like, extremely NSFW.

Yoshiko Kuga, 1931-2024

Last night I heard that Yoshiko Kuga had died at the age of 93. This came as a surprise because I honestly had no idea she was still alive. There is something really awful about having the first time you find out somebody had still been alive be when you hear of their death.

Yoshiko Kuga started acting in 1946 when she joined Toho at 15. Her filmography is remarkable for the number of critically acclaimed films she was in; there are a few more obscure things, of course, but she was regularly appearing in works from highly respected directors like Keisuke Kinoshita and Yasujirō Ozu. Many of her films can be found either in the Criterion Collection or on the Criterion Channel. (I'm going to recommend Thus Another Day which is quite short if you want something to put on but don't have a lot of free time.) I have not explored her filmography extensively, but it's interesting to me how varied her characters are. She did not end up shoehorned into housewife roles, and was often playing characters going through a lot of personal turmoil (but, yes, some housewives too). She has a lot of screen presence in everything I've seen her in and she's very striking.

She met Akihiko Hirata on the set of Story of Osaka Castle; they married in 1961. They were married until his death in 1984 and were widely known for being an extremely close and affectionate couple.

This story comes from an ancient BBS: Kuga had a role in a television series called Tokyo Combat that ran from 1968-69, and Hirata at one point had a single-episode guest appearance as well. There was a story arc about a kidnapping in which Hirata was considered for the role of the kidnapper, but apparently Kuga declined this and said "With [him] as the other person, I can't make a face of fear. I can't help but smile."

I review Good Morning on my main blog here.

キネマ旬報 1953年11月下旬号No.78 / キネマ旬報 1953年12月上旬号No.79 / Kinema Junpo, November & December 1953 Issues

Kinema Junpo featured Tetsuwan Namida Ari twice in 1953, once as an upcoming film and once as a review after it had been released. These two issues are the ones I've been most exited about among the stack of Kinejun issues I recently bought. It's absolutely thrilling to me to be reading a review from someone who actually watched Tetsuwan Namida Ari in a theater when it first came out.

Late November issue

The text reads, or at least Google Translate claims that it reads:

   "Bunjiro Asakura's original work is adapted by Motosada Nishikame, director of 'Goro Shusse', and directed by Eisuke Takizawa, director of 'Yudachi Kangoro'. The photo was taken for 'Kenkago'. Harumi Fujii and the Takarazuka Music Club are in charge of the music. The performers are Shozo Sugiyama of 'Kuro-obi Arashi', Noboru Kiritate of 'Kekuto'[?], Akihiko Hirata, a newcomer who made his debut in 'Hōyō' on the recommendation of Yoshiko Yamaguchi, and Kahoru Uji of the Takarazuka Revue, as well as Shirayuki Shikibi, Jūshiro Kobayashi, Jiro Ohara, and Sachio Sakai, among others.

   Ryusaku Nishikawa, a student at Kanto University, and his love in the chaotic period immediately after the end of the war. On their way back from seeing a movie, Katsuko is attacked by the town's yakuza. Ryusaku is beaten to the ground due to the sadness of being powerless, and Katsuko is also robbed of her chastity. Ryusaku joins his university's karate club in order to resist the unjust violence in this world.

   After three years of struggle, Ryusaku, who has turned into a demon of revenge, is now competing with Jonan University as a vice-commander[?]. It was about to be a competitive match. Professor Higashino's daughter Sachiko, who works in the academic research lab, looks with fond eyes at Ryusaku's heroic figure.

   Ryusaku, who started working as a part-time disinfectant with [his friend] Koibuchi, meets Katsuko again in a drinking district, but Katsuko's attitude is different from that of Yasuda's mistress, who is a subordinate of Himasa. Ryusaku had a fight with Yasuda and withdrew from school, and he lived a life that was in ruins, remembering the old figure of Katsuko who never returned. However, he was lonely.

   Koibuchi and Sachiko's hard efforts in order to welcome Ryusaku to the school's match bore fruit, and Ryusaku, who had shed his unhealthy lifestyle, prepared enthusiastically for the game. The competition was bright; the crown of victory shining above Ryusaku's head, and with cheerful praise and words of encouragement, he took the first step towards rehabilitation.

   After learning the details, Katsuko desperately ran to Ryusaku. It was an explosion of her anger, which had been deceived until the very end, and Ryusaku's 'iron arm' gradually became filled with murderous intent in front of Himasa and the others. The cowardly Himasa pulled out a pistol. Katsuko tried to stop this and was struck by a bullet, but Katsuko also shot [Himasa] to death. Ryusaku survives, and is welcomed by Sachiko's warm hands, where he works hard on karate and schoolwork."

NB "Akihiko Hirata, a newcomer[...]" my lord. All of this was just about a year before Godzilla came out, so this was the kind of stuff people knew him from.

Early December issue

This issue included mentions of two other relevant films, which I will put up photos of as well. We've got not only Tetsuwan Namida Ari but also Girls in the Orchard (which very recently got subtitled for the first time - gorgeous film, go watch it!) and Tonight for One Night.

But first let's look at that review. This was written by one Yukichi Shinada. Shinada was NOT a fan, to say the least.

   "I think 'Sengoku Gunto-den' [1937] is the oldest work by Eisuke Takizawa that I have seen, but when I saw 'Tetsuwan Namida Ari', I realized that it was very different from the work of the same director who made 'Sengoku Gunto-den'. [...] And since the beginning of this year, Takizawa seems to be on a downward trend, with 'Tetsuwan Namida Ari'. This movie is a third-rate work.

  There is a university student whose lover was taken away by violence. He seemed to think that he had no choice but to rely on his own strength to retaliate against violence. This idea is fine, but he learns karate in order to develop his own strength. Violence is called violence. It's a childish and simple way of thinking that doesn't seem like a university student, does it?

   In the first part of the movie, I learned about this university student's way of thinking, and I thought it was stupid. Therefore, based on this major premise I had no interest in the unfolding story.

   The story itself is also sloppy. Watching this movie, it seems like there is only one organized crime group in Kobe. Everywhere the protagonist goes, even the thugs who happen to appear all belong to the same group. In other words, the script is poor.

   What struck me most about Takizawa's direction were the pointless throwaway shots that served only to slow the movie down. The ending of the episode with the depiction of malnutrition was accompanied by a thoughtful shot, but it ended up confirming the blandness of the episode.

   The Takarazuka Revue plays many roles, including the lead role, but the acting in all of them is poor. Akihiko Hirata, who plays the main character, is as unattractive as a stone and it seems strange that he is attracted to two women. The acting is awkward, as if it has just been added. This is what I think every time I watch a Takarazuka movie.

   However, if Takarazuka films continue to produce stupid works like this one, the notoriety of Takarazuka films will only get worse. I hope that the leadership will be inspired.

   Depth value: A small accessory item with no merit. Karate is the only sacrifice."

Absolutely BRUTAL. Wow. Yukichi Shinada, we have beef now. Meet me in the pit.

After reading that, I'm wondering in the back of my mind... is this the reason why he never got any lead roles? Because the one time that happened, the movie got torn apart? I'll have to try to dig up other contemporary reviews to see if the critical reception was unanimously this bad or if that was just one guy who was really not vibing with Tetsuwan Namida Ari.

Okay, okay, let's move on. Girls in the Orchard. Not an introduction or review, just a mention among Toho's upcoming pictures. The rest of the article also mentions "the highly-anticipated Seven Samurai" having been delayed to the next year.

in my head I refer to this film as "the flute one"

And Tonight for One Night. There is no information about this film in English as far as I'm aware, but doing internet archaeology rewarded me with this two-minute clip from the film. There's no home media/streaming release of this that I know of, so I'm not sure where this person recorded the clip from. (The account who tweeted it says "I want to watch this the whole way through" - me too, buddy, me too.)

"Adaptation of Kazuo Hirotsu's '[The Town of the Inlet]'. Directed by Toshiro Ide of 'Nigorie Machi' and supervised by Yasuki Chiba of 'Kofuku-san'. Seiichi Endo of 'Seishun Zenigata Heiji' was the cinematographer. Kaoru Yachigusa, Sadako Sawamura, Kunitaro Sawamura, Shoji Nakayama, Akihiko Hirata, Mistuko Miura appear. Starring Nobuo Nakamura and others.

   There is a restaurant and inn called Kotobukiya in a beautiful inlet town on the Seto inland sea. Who are Kiyosaku and Ohama, husband and wife?

   Kiyosaku is a good-natured man who moved to Hawaii to work, and his only son, Seiichi, is attending university in Tokyo. Okei, an older maid, is the daughter of a poor fisherman who works hard to save up money to open a haberdashery shop, while Omiyo is a twenty-seven-year-old woman who likes men and is currently flirting with Koizumi, a salesman, but she also has feelings for the young master Seiichi. The young Oharu recently started working in the tatami room, and she is a pure and innocent girl who also seems to like Seiichi. Kotobukiya is frequented by the town bosses, including Yamacho, Maruhachi, Umino, and Ikezu. They all secretly have their eye on Oharu, but she is firm in her position.

   Omiyo, who had run away with Koizumi, came back when she found out that the man was a salary earner with a wife and children. Oharu and Omiyo are heartbroken when Seiichi comes home for school vacation. Okei had enough money and left town.

   One day, a showy young couple arrived and became the envy of everyone, but soon a detective arrived and led them away. Traveling actor Uzaemon has feelings for Oshima, who resembles his old mistress, but she doesn't believe in men's love. The relationship between Oharu and Seiichi progresses rapidly, and Omiyo is filled with jealousy, but changes her mind and tries to let the two escape to Tokyo.

   When Uzaemon shows his love to her for the second time, Oshima joins in, knowing that it will be difficult. 

   Will happiness come to young Oharu and Seiichi?"

Hope this was as interesting for you as it was for me. Because for me it was extremely interesting. As per usual, nobody but me bid on these on Yahoo! Auctions, and they were going for the equivalent of $2.50. I'm not going to stick any of these in a scanner, they're already falling apart, but as always if anybody out there wants more extensive pictures of other sections of the magazines (like the features on foreign films) I can provide those.

キネマ旬報 1953年３月下旬号No.59 / Kinema Junpo, Late March 1953 Issue

So, remember when I said in my post about The Last Embrace that if I ever lost my fool head and paid a decent chunk of change to import the Kinema Junpo issue featuring that film, I would make a new post about it?

Wellllll...

As it turns out, the only mention of The Last Embrace in this issue amounts to a two-page ad spread. But to my surprise there was a feature on Mr. Pu [Pu-san] in there! We all know Mr. Pu, right? The one with Yūnosuke Itō? The one that Akihiko Hirata is in for about ten seconds playing a university student with a lung disease, which made me feel really weird when I watched it? Yeah, that one.

I wish I could just scan this entire magazine and show it to you all. Despite the lack of Last Embrace, there is so much cool stuff in here. I'm excited to own this issue, which to me is a piece of history. Let's get on to some photos.

Here is the spread featuring The Last Embrace. The title is the first on the list on the left-hand page.

the gloves are more for my protection than the magazine's - pieces of it were flaking off in my lap

Here's a feature on Yoshiko Yamaguchi. I tried to run this through Google Translate multiple times but it was coming out absolute garbage; hopefully this photo is clear enough that you can read it for yourself if you happen to read kanji (I can read kana but that doesn't really get me anywhere with this).

Here's the feature on Mr. Pu:

The machine translation on this was a bit better. It reads something like:

   "It goes without saying that Taizo Yokoyama's manga is currently being serialized in Mainichi Shimbun. This is a film adaptation of 'Pu-san', which is mixed with 'Miss Ganko', a manga serialized in Sunday Mainichi by the same author. Also in manga, there are various types of manga, including current events manga and reading manga that are appealing to children, but Yokoyama's manga has a fan base among the intelligentsia class due to its unique style and satirical nature. This characteristic is clearly reflected in 'Pu-san'.

   The inconsistent and fragmented manga was compiled into a script by Natsuto Toshikawa, with the cooperation of Kon Ichikawa and radio writer Shigeaki Nagaki, and Ichikawa directed it. An urban comedy with sophistication.

   How to make use of the humor and satire of the manga - Yūnosuke Itō as Noro, who plays the role of Pu-san, and Kang, who plays the role of Ganko. Ganko is played by Koshiji Fubuki, and while Ganko is a trickster, Noro is a humble teacher and shows off his good-natured demeanor and timidity. The depiction of Yūnosuke Itō's humble demeanor as he is bullied by the turbulent waves of the world seems both funny and sad.

   According to the script, rather than the satirical nature of Yokoyama's manga, I can sense more strongly his intention to depict the 'absolute grace' of the good little citizen Noro in a comedic style.

In addition to Itō and Koshiji, Yoko Sugi, Keiju Kobayashi, Kaoru Yachigusa, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Isao Kimura, Fujiwara Kamatari, Daisuke Katō, Sakae Miyoshi also appear. Produced by Masumi Fujimoto. Cinematography by Choichi Nakai. Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi. [Toho Movies]"

Finally, here are a few of the cute little illustrations that I found throughout the magazine:

cool tattoo idea if you're a girl who bikes

"over there"

Stay tuned for more Kinejun issues. I got a part-time job so I can afford to do this stuff more often.