Kaiketsu Zubat

First off, I had a new video to show you with some bat action (bat's name is Komori-chan BTW), but YouTube isn't letting me upload it, so let this post see you to the weekend instead.
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Since we have had a few things about bats and masked heroes going on around these parts recently, I thought it would be a good time to introduce you to Kaiketsu Zubat via a YouTube play list.
Zubat is an odd hero that goes around in cowboy attire, impressing ladies with his songs and skills, which always happen to defeat whatever guy is calling himself #1 that week. Then he has a red spandex suit with a mask and a proper jet car. This garb is also the what the Viewtiful Joe games parody.



If you want more masked hero action, may I suggest this post, which covers Gekko Kamen and Tiger Mask?

One of Japan's First Masked Superheroes

I'm going to blend the Pics from the News and Karaoke Posts a bit this time around. Also, the best video in this post is the last, for those of you that are busy. First off, seeing this classic pic reminded me that I've been wanting to post about 月光仮面 (Gekkou Kamen: Moonlight Mask) since I saw it playing outside of a yakitori place on the street. Surprisingly, one of the villains seemed to be be a Japanese-speaking American in the video I saw. Always intrigued by old-school foreigners, I am.

[article and full pic]

Here we see a little dude dressing up like him in 1958, during a shichi-go-san shrine visit. Much more stylish than the traditional kimono, especially with a furoshiki for a cape.


As for that karaoke action... I couldn't find a version of the theme with the lyrics attached, but here is the OP:

And here is a very easy, in terms of listening discernment,version.

This song is unofficial, but pretty funny.
I encountered another series by the same creator, 7 Color Mask. Here is the OP for that one.

But, what I really wanted to seguay into is Tiger Mask! A mysterious pro-wrestler with a mask, the shape of which I think you can guess. Lyrics are there for proper karaoke studiers!


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words that I ran across:
ごっこ遊び, playing make believe, as in dressing up like a hero

Couple Vids and my NPR Thing

A couple vids I found interesting. The first one is from Sayonara Zestubou Sensei (Farewell, Mr. Despair), done for some reason in Mike Mignola's idiosyncratic Hellboy style. Do Japanese people even know what Hellboy is?

Next is a somehow touching 思い出億千万 short. The original song is from Megaman. He is a bit of a meme in Japan.

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I will probably be interviewed by NPR soon. Come to think of it, this will earn me major cool points with myself. I will totally be my hero for a day. Anyways, it's about Japanese game shows. What shows do you watch? I've gotta compile a list of what I think is the most popular and impacting...