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The Mike Toole Show - Ishinomori's Story

Is it because he was born this week, on January 25th, 1938? Or perhaps it's because he also died this week, on the 28th of January in 1998? No, that... wait a minute. Was this guy really only 58 when he died? Good lord, that's dreadful.

later the rep came with bad news

There's even a museum dedicated to Ishinomori's work. in the town of Ishinomaki, not far from Sendai. The route from the train station to the museum is scattered with brightly colored sculptures of Ishinomori characters.

Also, Mike, you bring up how Ishinomori kept topping himself with each Super Sentai show, but the man himself was only involved with the first two shows, Goranger and JAKQ. After JAQK's low ratings, Ishinomori left the series, but the production company kept his name as "original creator" as a sign of respect. As for Kamen Rider I think he was involved with each of them all the way up through the 90s movies.

In addition to children's entertainment, Ishinomori also did more adult stuff. He illustrated for Playboy. Unfortunately at this point it's simply hearsay, but another major work of Ishinomori's which has far less recognition among fans is HOTEL, whose adaptions is considered a seminal work in modern japanese "Dorama".

It's also worth noting that Cyborg 009 mimics X-Men, an American contemporary, in that it used a motif of catch-all "outsiders" to subtly criticize cultural prejudices. From a fat, buffoonish Chinese man to a minstrel-style escaped slave, each character is introduced as a simplistic stereotype, and Ishinomori strives, in turn, to deconstruct the stereotypes and get the audience to see beyond the character's looks and recognize their humanity.

Kikaida's fanbase is mostly Hawaiian because the show wasn't popular in Japan. It was cancelled partway through the run

Surprised you didn't bring up Harmageddon though. Unlike Genma Wars, it doesn't suck.

Not to fixate on a single point int he article or anything, but no, he was 60 when he died if those dates you gave are right. 60 and 3 days.

I wonder if this has an entry in Jonathan Clements' Dorama Encyclopedia? I'll give it a look. And I'd love to see those Playboy illos, though I'd have no idea where to look.

This is a good point, though if you ask me Ishinomori struggled to give Francoise a role beyond "designated baby holder."

Really? The show and its sequel ran for more than 80 episodes combined, and the character stuff never felt tacked on to me (though it is corny as all hell). You got a source on this one?