Mirrorman

Mirrorman
Title card
Genre	Superhero Science fiction Kaiju Kyodai Hero
Created by	Tsuburaya Productions
Based on	Mirrorman byFumio Hisamatsu
Developed by	Bunzo Wakatsuki Hiroyasu Yamaura
Directed by	Ishiro Honda
Starring	Nobuyuki Ishida,Junya Usami,Takako Asai
Country of origin	Japan
No.of episodes	51
Production
Running time	24 minutes (per episode)
Original release
Network	Fuji Television
Release	December 5, 1971(1971-12-05)– November 26, 1972(1972-11-26)

Mirrorman(ミラーマン,Mirāman)is aJapanesetokusatsuscience fiction television seriesproduced byTsuburaya Productions,the series aired onFuji TVfrom December 5, 1971 to November 26, 1972, with a total of 51 episodes. This was Tsuburaya Productions' first non-Ultrasuperhero (even though there were concepts that were similar toUltraman,which became Tsuburaya trademarks). LikeUltraseven,Mirrormanwas more of a dark and brooding science fiction drama than most other shows of its ilk, but by Episode 26, after major changes were forced upon the series by the network (making the action lighter and the hero more like Ultraman), it became a typical action-orientedsuperheroadventure of its era.

A short spinoff series titledMirror Fightwas broadcast onTV Tokyofrom April 1, 1974 to September 27, 1974, with a total of 65 short episodes. It was similar in concept to the earlierUltra Fight.

After years of sequel series rumors, the 2005 straight-to-DVD seriesMirrorman REFLEXwas released and later compiled into a film. Featuring no characters or connection to the old series,REFLEXhas a darker tone on par with the first half of the original television series.

In July 2018, the series was released in United States, after 47 years, on the television channelToku.A month later, the series was added to its streaming platform.

On June 7, 2021, Tsuburaya announced a manga reboot,Mirrorman 2D,written and drawn byNobunagun's Masato Hisa, to celebrate Mirrorman's 50th anniversary. The series was made available on Tsuburaya's subscription service Tsuburaya Imagination and the Japanese online manga site Comiplex. Tsuburaya also made English subbed episodes of the original series available weekly on Mondays on the official Ultraman YouTube channel.

Plot

In the 1980s, an evil alien race known simply as theInvadersare about to take over the Earth, using assorteddaikaiju(giant monsters) and other fiendish plots. Assigned to investigate this threat is an organization called theScience Guard Members (SGM).But another hope comes from someone, unbeknownst even to himself, possessing otherworldly power.Professor Mitarai,the leader of SGM, finally shares a secret with his foster son, a young photojournalist namedKyôtarô Kagami( "kagami" = Japanese for "mirror" ), a secret only he himself knows: Kyôtarô is a half-caste of an alien father and a human mother (both of whom are missing — captives of the Invaders). Kyôtarô discovers that he is actually the son ofMirrorman,a superhero from the 2nd Dimension.

However, the original Mirrorman was defeated by the Invaders' toughest monster King Zyger (explained in Episode 14), but his son Kyôtarô survived, and shares the same powers as his namesake. Naturally, the young man had difficulty accepting his destiny, but he soon realizes that he is the only one who can save the Earth from the Invaders, when they try to assassinate him. In order to transform into Mirrorman, Kyôtarô must stand in front of any reflective surface (mirrors, water, etc.), and flash his Mirror-Pendant, and utter the words "Mirror Spark".

Production Crew

• Supervisor: Hajime Tsuburaya
• Producers: Toyoaki Tan, Kazuho Mitsuda, Koji Bessho, Tsutomu Yatai
• Script: Bunzo Wakatsuki, Keisuke Fujikawa, Hiroyasu Yamaura, Shigemitsu Taguchi, Toyohiro Ando, Showa Ohta
• Music: Toru Fuyuki
• Directors of Photography: Takeshi Goto, Toshiyuki Machida, Senkichi Nagai
• Lighting: Kazuo Kobayashi
• Production Designer: Akira Kikuchi
• Assistant Directors: Hiroshi Shimura, Takeshi Kitamura
• Props: Moriaki Uematsu
• Progress: Une Honkou, Yu Iwatsubo, Terukichi Kokubo

Special Effects Unit

• Director of Photography: Katsutsugu Furuichi
• VFX Unit Cameraman Kunihiko Kimizuka
• Lighting: Yasuo Takakura
• Production Designer: Tetsuzo Osawa
• Assistant Director: Yoshiyuki Yoshimura
• Synthesis Technology: Minoru Nakano, Sadao Iizuka
• Practical Effects: Shoji Ogawa, Sadashige Tsukamoto, Fumio Nakadai, Kame Ogasawara, Eiji Shirakuma
• Mechanical Effects: Shigeo Kurakata
• Optical Photography: Kaneo Kimura, Michihisa Miyashige, Bunzo Hyodo, Kazuo Matsumoto
• Production Manager: Kazuo Ohashi
• Scripter Girls: Mihoko Kuroiwa, Keiko Suzuki, Haruyo Matsumaru, Kunie Nakanishi, Chieko Sawada, Masako Hisamatsu, Yoshie Yaguchi, Fumie Fuji, Settsu Kamiya
• Editing by: Yoshihiro Yanagawa
• Effect: Kiyasu Hara
• Production Managers: Masahiro Tsukahara, Masayuki Shitara
• In Charge of Production: Masahiro Tsukahara
• Recorded at: Central Recording
• Film Processing: Tokyo Lab

Live Action Unit

• Toshihiko Nakajima, Nobuo Ishiyama, Noriaki Yoshino, Shoichi Shinokawa, Tsuneko Ozeki, Takako Sekizawa, Kumiko Takagi

VFX Staff

• Kiyotaka Matsumoto, Masao Sekiguchi, Kenichi Amano, Kazuo Takano, Yukitsu Kanno, Shuichi Kishiura

Special Thanks to

• Sea Museum
• Hotel Shoto
• Yongda Boats
• Nagashima Onsen

Film

Mirrorman
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ishirō Honda
Screenplay by	Bunzō Wakatsuki
Produced by	Toyoaki Awa
Cinematography	Takeshi Goto
Edited by	Yoshihiro Yanagawa
Music by	Toru Fuyuki
Production company	Tsuburaya Productions
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	March 12, 1972(1972-03-12)(Japan)
Running time	25 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Mirrorman(ミラーマン,Mirāman)is a 1972 Japanesetokusatsusuperherokaijushort filmdirected byIshirō Honda.The film consists of re-edited material from the first episode of the original television seriesMirrorman.

A tornado sucked the city into the sky, and mysterious events occurred one after another in various parts of the world, and people's lives were filled with anxiety. Journalist Kyotaro saw an enigmatic man standing in green liquid and a spaceship. The Invaders were about to invade the earth. Dr. Mitarai, who has advised Kyotaro for a long time on the earth's crisis, revealed a surprising fact to him. Kyotaro discovers that he is actually the son of Mirrorman, a superhero from the 2nd Dimension. Kyotaro was shocked. The city of Tokyo was about to be destroyed by another dimension monster, the Iron, a few days later. As Kyotaro listened to it, the voice of his dying father was heard. A few hours later, Iron and Mirrorman engaged in a fierce battle, but Iron collapsed before Mirrorman's Mirror Knife.

Cast

Source:

• Nobuyuki Ishida as Kyoutarou Kagami
• Yōko Ichijias Yuki Nomura
• Jun Usami as Dr. Mitarai
• Takako Sawai as Asami Mitari
• Hajime Sugiyama as Hidehiko Yasuda
• Shunya Wazaki as Hiroshi Murakami
• Kentaro Kudo as Takeshi Fujimoto
• Tadayoshi Kura as Ichiro Okawa

Release

Mirrormanwas released in Japan on March 12, 1972, where it was distributed byToho,as part of the Spring 1972 Toho Champion Festival.It was accompanied byGodzilla vs. Gigan,Pinocchio: The Series,Hutch the Honeybee: Hold Me, Momma,andThe Genius Bakabon: Night Duty is Scary.

In popular culture

The nickname "Mirrorman" was applied by the mass media and the Internet toKazuhide Uekusa,an economist who was arrested in 2004 for sexual offenses involving looking up girls' skirts with a hand mirror.

Cameos and other appearances

• The characters of Chief Murakami, Yasuda and Nomura would later return inJumborg Ace.A bank of Mirrorman can also be seen in one episode.
• The monster Gorgosaurus also appears inUltraman Taro.
• The monster Dustpan would appear again in the Thai/Japanese co-productionThe 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army.
• Mirror Knight, an homage to Mirrorman, appears in the filmUltraman Zero The Movie: Super Deciding Fight! The Belial Galactic Empire.

External links

• Mirrorman 2005-2006 DVD boxset release