• Home
  • Tag Archives:  Japan
Zone Fighter GO! ファイター緊急発進

Zone Fighter Episode 17 – GO! Faitaa Kinkyuuhasshin

Zone Fighter Episode 17 – GO! Faitaa Kinkyuuhasshin

aka GO! ファイター緊急発進 aka Go! Fighter Emergency Take off! aka Go! Fighter, Scramble
Zone Fighter GO! ファイター緊急発進
1973
Written by Satoshi Kurumi
Directed by Jun Fukuda

March of Godzilla 2014

Dancing with the Stars under the stars

Today we have a very special episode of Zone Fighter, because the star of our show isn’t the Zone Family, but their crap. Yes, the focus is on Smokey the spaceship and Mighty Liner the flying car. I guess the Garoga forgot about the other Zone Family spaceship, the Pandora Capsule. But you know about it because you read the Zone Fighter Splash Page, where all that stuff is listed!

Garoga laugh because they’re in space in a Garoga Spaceship that is now sucking up the Zone Family spaceship Smokey into their own larger ship and flying away. That’s actually a cool power, but instead of dismantling Smokey or lacing it with lots of bombs that will explode whenever a Zone person gets in it, they just move the ship to somewhere else.

Zone Fighter GO! ファイター緊急発進

Each week a different monster barfs on Zone Fighter. Because Zone Fighter’s a freak!


Hotaru is awake at night looking out the window and Akira talks to her…

Wait a minute, Akira and Hotaru share the same room, and even have bunk beds????? WTF???? In a prior episode Akira was sleeping in the room where the phone was, which is near the living room. AKira is like a hot potato they move from room to room I guess. No one likes Akira.

Anyway, they both had the same dream about Smokey, which just goes to show how lame you are when you dream about your spaceship, in a world where you use your spaceship every day, making it not unique, so it’s like dreaming about your mom’s minivan.

Zone Fighter GO! ファイター緊急発進

The hell kind of ending was that, How I Met Your Mother?


They fly up to where Smokey is parked…and it’s gone! But an outline of Smokey remains, which is weird. At first I thought it was one of their other craft cloaked, but it doesn’t match either one, only Smokey. Maybe it is a decoy put in place to not trip alarms. It’s too hard to figure out without subtitles, I guess this will always be a mystery until someone comments below 8 years later after subtitled DVDs have been out for years like I’m some sort of idiot for not knowing.

Hotaru and Akira know the Garoga are behind it, and go home to activate the tracking beacon of Smokey and find where the Garoga hid it, which turns out to be near the Tanzawa woods.

Zone Fighter GO! ファイター緊急発進

Madballs’ dark reboot!

Zone Fighter 恐怖の襲撃! ガロガロボット

Zone Fighter Episode 16 – Kyoufu-no Shuugeki! Garoga Robotto

Zone Fighter Episode 16 – Kyoufu-no Shuugeki! Garoga Robotto

aka 恐怖の襲撃! ガロガロボット aka Counterstrike of Terror! Garoga-Robot! aka Terrifying Attack! The Garoga Robot
Zone Fighter 恐怖の襲撃! ガロガロボット
1973
Written by Susumu Takeuchi
Directed by Akiyasu Kikuchi

March of Godzilla 2014

Whoa, I drank waaaaaay too many V8s! Sorry, dude!

Zone Fighter returns because there are always more Zones to fight, be it the Twilight Zone or Commerce Zones in Sim City or the No Passing Zone, Zone Fighter will punch them all while grunting like a giant pervo. Today we have a very special episode that shows the Zone Family/Sakimoris think they are above the laws of Earth and endanger the lives of small children, including kidnapping. Sure, it turned out it was all part of a hideous Garoga plot, but they didn’t know that at the time! The Zone Family also shows a nice disregard for innocent casualties by blowing up a house in the middle of a neighborhood. This is in addition to all those fights they have with giant monsters in occupied cities. Of course, the Garoga are worse, but the Zones are only barely better at this point. If they didn’t have a theme song, the Zone family would be in jail right next to Baron Garoga. Find out the Zone Family’s crimes with the Zone Fighter Splash Page!

A kid named Hiroshi Teramura spots a meteor flying to earth via his telescope. Quick Quiz: Is Hiroshi wearing short shorts? A: YES! Of course he is. Pajama versions. Yeesh. Hiroshi is so excited about seeing the meteor, he bursts into his parents’ bedroom, which had the door shut, and his parents are moaning and groaning from just off camera, Hiroshi getting a look of horror on his face….

Zone Fighter 恐怖の襲撃! ガロガロボット

I’m not a mechanical horse!


No, he didn’t just see his parents banging, they’re tied up! That’s almost as bad. Almost. Garoga stroll out and are like “we’re in charge now, sucker!” and then hypnotize Hiroshi and start controlling his mind via remote control!

The Zone family discusses the meteorite crash – could it be Garoga? Everything is Garoga, you dolts! At this point, they should be blasting everything that even remotely looks like it came from space.

Zone Fighter 恐怖の襲撃! ガロガロボット

Zone Fighter shows the concern for human life that made him a hero!


The meteor from last night has been immediately taken from the impact site and put in a children’s museum with a box and sign already, and the only people there to look at it are a bunch of kids and Hikaru, Hotaru, and Akira (who is also a kid!) This sort of stretches plausibility, I guess scientists aren’t interested in a new huge mysterious meteor, nor worried it might have deadly levels of space radiation or something.
Zone Fighter 恐怖の襲撃! ガロガロボット

A Horta???

Zone Fighter 流星人間ゾーン

Zone Fighter Episode 14 – Takerikuruuzo! Garoga Shounen Kougekitai

Zone Fighter Episode 14 – Takerikuruuzo! Garoga Shounen Kougekitai

aka 猛り狂うぞ! ガロガ少年攻撃隊 aka Insane With Anger! The Garoga Boy’s Squadaka Rampage! The Garoga Boys Attack Force
Zone Fighter 流星人間ゾーン
1973
Written by Masaru Takesue
Directed by Akiyasu Kikuchi

March of Godzilla 2014

Zone Fighter has become the ending of The Wild Bunch!

Zone Fighter is a big bully, there is no denying that. So when the Garoga and a bunch of tiny tots get involved in a conspiracy that involves bullying, Zone Fighter is suddenly anti-bullying! Well, sort of, the bullying just resolves itself naturally, but it is a reason why the main child suddenly goes evil. If you like shows with mobs of boy children in short shorts running around like peewee droogs and smashing up everything and everyone they see, then you will be in for a treat! Unfortunately, we got to sit through a lot of junk before that scene, thought at one point a bird goes evil and starts screaming “Garoga! Garoga!”, so that’s pretty cool. Thanks to the weird factor and the minimob montage sequence, Zone Fighter Episode 14 becomes one of the better Zone Fighter episodes. If you need some Zone Fighter infotainment, stop on by the Zone Fighter Splash Page and get your education on!

This is the first episode where the new credits first appear, the synopsis is ditched and we see it happen as the credits roll, but so do a lot of shots of the show itself, including many many images of Godzilla, almost as if they are trying to emphasize Big G is part of the show for ratings. But he doesn’t show up in this episode, so go back to waiting until I get to an episode that he does appear in!

Zone Fighter 流星人間ゾーン

Baron Garoga died before he finished his scenes, so the rest were filmed using Baron Garoga’s chiropractor!


Baron Garoga has made some chemical so evil he’s totally laughing. Considering it looks like pond scum in a Erlenmeyer flask, maybe it is evil…or it at least smells bad. Baron Garoga gives it to some Garoga in white lab coats with big red crosses (complete with skull at the tope) and huge yellow rubber gloves. I dub them Garoga Scientists, because I can. The Garoga Scientists may have specialized lab coats and safety gloves, but where is their eye protection? Come one, Garoga Scientists, do you want to get a fine???

The Garoga Scientist adds more stuff to the potion and it turns light green, then they rocket it to the Earth. Yes, they waste a rocket transporting a small amount of liquid to some guys who are standing by a truck in the middle of a field. It’s an Undercover Truck, despite the Garoga logo that is an evil snarling Garoga face (minus antennas) Way to keep a low profile, dudes!

Zone Fighter 流星人間ゾーン

Why you shouldn’t masturbate!


A boy in tiny tiny shorts named Tsuyoshi is being lectured by a his mom about how he should go to school and not be afraid of everyone being mean to him because he sucks. Then Akira comes and takes Tsuyoshi, walking him to school while holding his hand. No wonder everyone makes fun of Tsuyoshi! Akira is probably the dorkiest friend you could ever have, and when four bully kids appear and lock arms in front of them, they all attack Tsuyoshi instead of Akira. Also, there is waaaaaay more physical contact between friends in Japan, I guess. Tsuyoshi hangs his head in shame after being mocked.
Zone Fighter 流星人間ゾーン

Say my name!

Zone Fighter 8 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー

Zone Fighter Episode 08 – Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa

Zone Fighter Episode 08 – Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa

aka 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー aka Smash the Terrifying Invader! aka Defeat the Invader of Fear!
Zone Fighter 8 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー
1973
Written by Satoshi Kurumi
Directed by Akiyasu Kikuchi

March of Godzilla 2014

Kirk! Is better! Than! Picard!

This episode of Zone Fighter is pretty darn weak, though it has a nice gruesome scene involving two unfortunate fishermen, and a nice fight at the very end in which the outcome is never in doubt. But to get to it we have to follow the Garogas make a bunch of dumb moves and our heroes also make a bunch of dumb moves. And that’s just not fun! If you need a Zone Fighter refresher course, feel free to drop by the Zone Fighter Guide Page. And now on with the show…

Zone Fighter 8 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー

Buy Icebreakers Gum!


Zone Fighter Episode 8 Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa (Smash the Terrifying Invader! or Defeat the Invader of Fear! depending on who you trust has a better translation) opens with Akira and a pack of his young friends hanging out in Takeru Jou’s model shop. The terrifying realization that we might have FOUR children in short shorts starring instead of just one begins to materialize, luckily it will prove not to be the case. The kids are unimpressed by model trains, but one kid really likes the telescope. So much so that he notices a rocket heading for impact nearby.

Said rocket is one of the Garoga Terror-Beast Rockets, which Takeru recognizes immediately. He and Akira track the course on a map to a lake, then head over there in a car, ditching the young friends. None of the friends seem to be disturbed their young friend is getting into a car with a strange man who hangs out with young boys all day. I predict a Lifetime movie in the future…

Zone Fighter 8 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー

You’ve been in all these films, help us!


Two fishermen are at the lake and having their little argue moment when the missile lands in the water. One of them is actor Senkichi Omura, who played the translator in King Kong vs Godzilla, an escaped convict in Godzilla Raids Again, a villager in Godzilla vs Mothra, a guy who tries to retrieve a hat in Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, a cameraman in Frankenstein Conquers the World, and a drunk in the first episode of Ultra Q. And all those Akira Kurasawa films he was in. The other fisherman (who isn’t instantly recognizable) drops his food. The horrors of the Garoga terrors will be sung in songs for ages!
Zone Fighter 8 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice!

Lupin III Live Action

Live-action Lupin III looks amazing!

Lupin III ルパン三世 Live Action
Lupin III Live Action

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Lupin III (ルパン三世), it’s a long-running manga series written and drawn by Monkey Punch (a pen name) about master thief Arsène Lupin III, who is the grandson of Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief Arsène Lupin (and Monkey Punch didn’t get permission to use Arsène Lupin, which lead to rights problems outside of Japan until Arsène Lupin entered public domain in France.) The series has run since 1967, and has spawned numerous anime series, films, OVAs, live-acton television shows, and a 1974 live-action film entitled Lupin III Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (ルパン三世 念力珍作戦). And the big news is the new live-action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (of Godzilla: Final Wars fame) that comes out August 30th.

The live-action film will star Shun Oguri as Lupin III, Meisa Kuroki as Fujiko Mine, Tetsuji Tamayama as Daisuke Jigen, Go Ayano as Goemon Ishikawa XIII, and Tadanobu Asano as Inspector Koichi Zenigata. And thanks to some recently release publicity images, you can see they are going for a style that’s similar to the classic character styles and looks fantastic. Hopefully the film will live up to the art and be a great ride!

Shun Oguri trained for 10 months to do the action sequences as Lupin III, and the filming locations are across Asia, with some local stars thrown in for box office juice. I’ve never watched any of the anime or read the manga, but this looks and sounds cool enough from the promotional material that it’s on my “must watch” list, especially since Ryuhei Kitamura is directing and Tadanobu Asano is in it!

via itMedia and AsianWiki

Zone Family’s Critical Moment!Zone Fighter 7

Zone Fighter Episode 07 – Zoonfamirii Kikiippatsu!

Zone Fighter Episode 07 – Zoonfamirii Kikiippatsu!

aka Zone Family’s Critical Moment!
Zone Family’s Critical Moment!Zone Fighter 7
1973
Written by Satoshi Kurumi
Directed by Kengo Furusawa

March of Godzilla 2014

A fancy new back massage technique!

March of Godzilla 2014 kicks off with an entry where there is no Godzilla! Yes, we’ve gone loco, because we’re plugging the holes in the Godzilla collections. Which means I have to take care of all these Zone Figher episodes that I didn’t do the last time I was doing Zone Fighter. Never fear, Godzilla will show up again in some of the upcoming episodes, along with Godzilla films getting reviews and a few other cool things. For now, it’s Zone Fight Power!

For those of you who need a refresher course of who is who in the world of Zone Fighter, stop on by the Zone Fighter Splash Page to get all your questions answered…and then some! Who knew Zone Fighter would be so complicated?

Zone Family’s Critical Moment!Zone Fighter 7

Mecha Big Bird!


Now that you are all caught up, let’s get Zone Fighter Episode 7 Zoonfamirii Kikiippatsu! (Zone Family’s Critical Moment!) started! It is critical (that’s what the title says!) that we begin…

A giant monster called Dragon King is having fun burning a local city and headed to a dam, until Zone Fighter spoils his fun and easily defeats this fire-breathing idiot. Except for the small bit where Zone Fighter manages to get himself buried under a bunch of rocks. That’s pretty rock-headed of ol’ Zone! Zone Fighter guns him down and Baron Garoga is totally mad and smashes his tv! Yes, Dragon King was one of Baron Garoga’s Terror-Beasts, and he’s terrible in his not very goodness. Dragon King breathes fire and has a temper, and that’s about the only notable thing about him!

Baron Garoga already has a new plan, he’s got a duplicate of Hotaru Sakimori all set to do evil stuff! Diabolical!

Zone Family’s Critical Moment!Zone Fighter 7

Take this tea away, it’s not warmed to the proper temperature!