"Chodenshi Bioman," one of the Super Sentai Series tokusatsu superhero TV shows, featured a brilliant and unforgettable heroine: Hikaru Katsuragi, or Pink Five in her superhero form. She was one of the two women in the five-member superhero team in the drama.
Her predecessors in the series were all tall, athletic beauties, such as Peggy Matsuyama, or Momorenger, from "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger," but Hikaru was different. She had the look of a very feminine young lady with a good upbringing. I looked up to her a lot as we are of the same generation and her sense of fashion really appealed to me as well. She was normally dressed more like a university student, unlike Peggy and other previous actors who wore very short shorts, which I found too difficult to imitate.
Michiko Makino, who played Hikaru, distanced herself from showbiz activities after getting married. However, several years ago, she agreed to appear in one of the tokusatsu events I organized, which gave her a push to resume her activities. At the same time, it gave me an opportunity to befriend the hero I admired so much. Now she is a good friend of mine both socially and professionally.
Makino took part in an onstage book review competition called "bibliobattle" in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, the other day. Reviewers in the competition are called battlers --they introduce their book recommendations to the audience and battle to see whose is the most appealing. Typically, these events are aimed at high school and university students, but this was the first one in which only those 40 or older competed in an event called, "R40 Otonano Bibliobattle in Saitama" (Bibliobattle in Saitama for adults 40 and over).
As she had already won a regional preliminary in Saitama Prefecture and was going to compete in the semifinals, I decided to go to the event as a surprise and cheer for her. It just so happens that Makino was presenting my book: "Showa Tokusatsu Bunkaron: Hero-tachi no Tatakai wa Mukuwaretaka" (Tokusatsu culture in Showa era: Have heroes been rewarded for their battles? ), published by Shueisha, Inc. So, a former tokusatsu hero was promoting my book about tokusatsu -- my inner child would be so happy she'd somersault three times and strike a super pose in excitement.
Makino really combed over the details in my book much more deeply than I thought she would. She told me she didn't choose the book simply because it was about a subject with which she was familiar. After listening to her review, I fully understood what she meant. She painstakingly detailed what I wanted to get across to people who may not be superhero fans.
Many superheroes who have risen to fame in this country since the days of "Gekko Kamen" in the 1950s have been closely connected to the social climate of the time, and how the female leads have fared in the Super Sentai Series dramas directly mirrors the history of women's participation in society. The social circumstances of the time are also reflected in each show within the series. For example, the superheroes in "Choshinsei Flashman" come to the Earth in search of their parents. They reminded viewers of war-displaced Japanese in China whose search for their families was widely reported at the time of broadcast.
Unfortunately, Makino didn't make it to the finals, but I was very happy that I got the opportunity to hear a "heroine" review my book. I was also glad that general visitors at the event, who presumably had no interest in superheroes, purchased my book at the venue one after another.
"I'm really glad to have come across this book," Makino said. To me, the author, it was a great opportunity to revisit the various great encounters I've had in my life.
Suzuki is a Yomiuri Shimbun senior specialist and an expert on tokusatsu superhero films and dramas.
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