TOKYO TOY BASTARD: retro tv

Showing posts with label retro tv. Show all posts

Sunday, January 15, 2023

AN EVEN MORE BADASS JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRL (with a yo-yo)

Monday, January 2, 2023

THIS JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRL IS A BADASS (with a yo-yo)

Monday, September 28, 2020

WEIRD GODZILLA TV PROMOS FROM JAPAN (1983-1993) - RETRO COMMERCIALS

I was bored after midnight, so I threw together some retro Godzilla TV commercials from Japan.

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Monday, February 6, 2017

TINY TOON HANGOVER

I have mostly fond memories of the animated TV show, Tiny Toon Adventures. As a kid in the early 90's, it was a regular staple of my afternoon cartoon intake after coming home from my backwoods elementary school in Kentucky. The show was always very funny to me and consisted mostly of short skits, much like it's classic predecessor, Looney Tunes. Albeit, Tiny Toons was far less violent than Looney Tunes in retrospect.

There were many episodes and moments from Tiny Toons that have remained in my memory or subconscious for the past 20+ years, but one skit in particular aired the day before my 9th birthday on September 18th, 1991. It was the skit entitled "One Beer".

Considering violence in the original Looney Tunes episodes were mostly made up of mindless, inconsequential, slapkstick fun. Tiny Toon's One Beer, on the other hand, was probably one of the darkest segments I'd ever witnessed in an animated comedy television program produced for young children.

The episode quickly goes from awkward hilarity to deeply horrifying within it's roughly seven minute run-time. So rather than give a detailed synopsis and in-depth analysis, just check it out for yourself.

Unfortunately, this episode may have inadvertently turned many people into alcoholics.

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Due to YouTube copyright claims, I wasn't able to upload the video to my official YouTube channel. But please check out my other video content as well as my previous blog articles for more retro fun :)

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

PEE-WEE HERMAN'S GREMLINS COLLECTION

Back in the mid to late 80's I was completely terrified of the movie Gremlins. I remember watching it (somewhat) at my grandparent's house as a young child, not being able to make it through the film after the mogwai had completed their evil metmorphases, resorting to hiding behind the couch.

Now as an adult, Gremlins has become one of my favorite films. Childhood memories of fear have been replaced with fun and nostalgia. However, I can understand how my younger self reacted in such a frightened manner after viewing the film. It is a fucking creepy movie. When you are only five years old, you simply do not grasp the idea that grown men with puppets and cameras are able to achieve such horrifyingly awesome magic. To you it is real. As real as anything else, and it's immensely fucked up.

I suppose as time goes on, you learn to appreciate films that once horrified you. Certainly that was the case with Gremlins. But how can a movie I was barely able to make it through as a kid, account for so much nostalgia?

The answer may reside within the realm of vintage Gremlins toy lines.

As a child of the 80's, I had fond memories of fuzzy creatures like My Pet Monster, the Ewoks, and of course, Gizmo the Mogwai. Unlike the foul and freaky Gremlin monsters, Gizmo had a much larger resonance with a younger demographic, including myself. It was only natural that young children, even those who had not really even seen the film, would gravitate toward the cute cuddly creature.

So of course many Gizmo toys and dolls were produced under the official Gremlins licence. I fondly remember carrying around a plush Gizmo doll as a young boy. Unfortunately an ex-girlfriend in high school threw it into a fireplace after I broke up with her...

Strangely, I have no memory of the extremely terrifying Gremlins toys that were lurking around toy shelves back in 1984. Possibly the memories have all been wiped or blocked as a consequence of sheer trauma.

Just take a look at LJN's large scale Posable Stripe Figure...

... imagine being 5 years old and getting that for Christmas. Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah and speaking of being terrified as a child, also try to imagine seeing one of your favorite Saturday morning TV show hosts dressed up like Satan, acting as if he's on more drugs than usual (although a couple of years before Pee-wee's Playhouse first aired on TV), whilst presenting his extensive Gremlins collection to David Letterman... HOLY SHIT!!

Still, as batshit insane as that video clip was, at least he wasn't wearing this. . .

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Monday, July 18, 2016

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS PROMO PILOT

Many of you are probably familiar with The Real Ghostbusters, the animated series version of the Ghostbusters that ran from 1986 until 1991. It was one of the most popular cartoons of the 1980's and was even nominated for two Emmy Awards. But how many of you have ever witnessed the original short promo pilot that was used to sell the show to the American Broadcasting Company?

Various versions of the promotional pilot have been floating around on the internet for years in varying poor quality. There is also a copy of it on The Real Ghostbusters DVD collection released by Time Warner in 2008. The problem is that all of these version were taken directly from a single VHS copy.

The original film for the pilot was animated in Japan by the now defunct Studio Kuromi and directed by Kevin Altieri. If there were any chance of tracking down an original version of the actual film roll in order to be converted into proper, true HD, you could possibly have some luck with one of the ex-studio executives or animators from Studio Kuromi somewhere over here in Tokyo. But your best bet would be Kevin Altieri, the director of the promo, who still has the original VHS transfer - that's as good as it's going to get for now.

Upon viewing the promo pilot, which is essentially a glorified music video of the theme song, you will notice a lot of similarities between it and the original opening sequence to The Real Ghostbusters animated series that aired on TV. For those of you who haven't had it visually copied into your brains from repeat viewings as kids, I've posted it below for reference :)

However there are also some major differences in the promo pilot version when compared to the official TV series version above. Firstly, it's much longer than the official TV series opening, running nearly three minutes longer. Secondly, the Ghostbusters themselves look a bit... eh... different, especially Peter Venkman. You will also notice that our four main heroes are not wearing the multicolored suits that they normally have on in the animated series, which help to differentiate them and give them more of a cartoon flavor. Instead they are all wearing the same tan colored uniforms that appeared in the live action film.

It's also apparent that several items from Kenner's 1986 Real Ghostbusters action figure line used the promo pilot as a basis for some of their sculpt designs, including the Ecto-1. The inclusion of a chair on the roof of the Ecto-1 is something that does not appear in the original cartoon's intro or initial run of episodes, however Ray Stantz is shown sitting on the roof of the Ecto-1 in the promo pilot, just as Peter Venkman is shown sitting on Kenner's Ecto-1 box art.

Kenner's proton pack designs were also lifted directly from the versions shown in the promo pilot. Notice the 'smiley face' at the bottom of both the promo pilot version and the Kenner version of the proton packs in the image below, while the TV series version has more of a 'surprised' expression. You will never look at a proton pack the same way again ;) There are some other details that separate them as well, such as the placement of the yellow tubing coming from the bottom center in both the promo pilot and Kenner versions - which was changed to come out of the 'nose' on the 'smiley face' in later runs of the action figures - while the TV series version's yellow tubing connects slightly from the right. The TV series version also sports a couple large cylindrical shapes in the center, while the promo pilot and Kenner versions do not.

I could go into detail about all of the many events and occurrences that happen throughout the duration of the promo pilot and post some more choice screen captures for you to study... but I'm guessing at this point you'd much rather just watch the damned thing.

Below I've uploaded a restored version of the promo pilot that was found in the wild by a fan and uploaded to YouTube. So for those that have never seen it, sit back and enjoy :)

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For more info on the promo pilot check out Spook Central's awesome database on it's history. I got a lot of great information from it as well as the photo of Kevin Alteri's original VHS. Spook Central is an all around great resource for Ghostbusters fans. If you've never checked it out, please do!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

FOR THE LOVE OF MICROMAN

If you are not familiar with either Microman or the Micronauts, you probably didn't grow up in the 70's. I sure didn't. It wasn't until my second time living in Japan, at the age of 31, that I finally caught onto the awesomeness that makes up these micro-sized action figures.

Fortunately for those of you too young to have caught the original wave of these guys, IDW has recently resurrected the Micronauts comic book series and Hasbro is joining in on the fun by releasing a new set of vintage style Micronauts action figures exclusive to this summer's San Diego Comic-Con. However most die-hard MicroFans will tell you that there have been a few minor changes made to these new figures... oh well :)

Back in the mid 70's through the mid 80's Microman and the Micronauts were the shit. For those of you who want a quick overview of the history of Microman and the Micronauts please check out my article from last year, it'll catch you up on all of the basics.

As I mentioned before, it wasn't up until a few of years ago during my return to life in Tokyo that I actually discovered the phenomenon that was known as Microman. It was essentially the first 3 3/4" action figure ever produced. Not only that, it also had the articulation of a G.I. Joe and came in awesome sci-fi inspired cyborg characters. Too bad I was born right as the US version, the Micronauts, were being phased out of toy stores :(

Anyway, one day after moving back to Tokyo, I was on a toy hunt, looking for Godzilla sofubi (soft vinyl) and vintage Star Wars toys on the Western side of Tokyo in a town called Kichijoji. I eventually came across a toy shop called TOY CATS SHOWCASE. It was down in the basement level within a cluster of shops so I couldn't really see what was inside without going in to have a look around. The sign outside said "OLD & NEW TOYS", so that was a good sign.

That was the moment that my eyes were opened to Microman in all of it's chrome headed glory.

Earlier this year the owner of TOY CATS, whom is now my good friend, let me borrow an old and somewhat rare CD-R that was absolutely full of vintage Japanese action figure commercials. Specifically it contains TV ads for action figures that were produced by the toy company Takara, whom created Microman. He gave me permission to copy the disc and upload any of it's content to my Youtube channel. Of course I wasted no time going through the entire disc and the first thing I decided to upload was a complete collection of the vintage Microman commercials. Now I would like to share them with you . . .

. . . so sit back with a hot coffee or cold beer and enjoy these mega awesome TV ads.

MEEE-KUUU-ROOO MAAAAAAAN!!

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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

BUBBA FETT, PRINCESS LAIR & DARF FARTER

The British toy company Palitoy created some of the best Star Wars action figure commercials ever made and possibly some of the greatest action figure commercials in general. In one of my previous articles, I featured their TV ad for the Return of the Jedi Speeder Bike, which was a significantly better advertisement when compared to Kenner's TV ad.

Just check out this awesome ad for the exclusive Palitoy 'Death Star Playest', which was not for sale in the USA and made entirely of fucking cardboard!!

However, one of my favorite Palitoy commercials of all time is the infamous 'Bubba Fett' ad. Although it features a really cool atmosphere and tangible imagination, the narrator of the damned thing goes and screws it all up by pronouncing Boba Fett, Princess Leia and Darth Vader's names in the most fucked up ways I've ever heard...

...being British is no excuse.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS WERE FROM JAPAN

You may be aware that many iconic animated American TV shows have often been animated in South Korea, especially during the last few decades. Some of those shows have included The Simpsons, Futurama, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Back in the 1980's, several popular animated American TV programs were still being animated in America, such as Masters of the Universe. However the ones that weren't being animated at home didn't outsource their animation work to Korea like they do today, they outsourced to Japan.

Japanese animation studios worked quickly, efficiently and produced high quality, slick animation at a very low cost. You can actually see a lot of Japanese handiwork in the opening sequences to many, if not most, 1980's animated TV shows.

One of my favorite animated television shows from that era not only had an opening sequence animated in Japan, the entire show itself was animated in Japan...

That show was The Real Ghostbusters.

Fans of the animated series and even the films should definitely check out this fun documentary made in 1990 about the history and production of The Real Ghostbusters. It follows the process of script writing, storyboarding and voice acting with the American production staff, then takes us to Japan where the animation itself is produced. There are even interviews with the Ghosbusters' creators and actors, Dan Aykroyd (Ray) and Harold Ramis (Egon), discussing how the whole proposition of an animated Ghostbusters series came into fruition.

The only downside to this documentary is that it's hosted by a convicted pedophile...

...who ya gonna call?

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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

WHICH X-MEN INTRO KICKS THE MOST ASS?

"Look, it's the wicked Japanese version of our show's intro!"

One of the best animated TV series of the 90's was Marvel's X-Men. It was just too damned awesome. Today it is still one of the few animated TV shows that I watched growing up that is still enjoyable to watch as an adult.

Now the X-Men are a worldwide phenomenon with a new movie being released every other year, however 30 years ago your average kid didn't know who the X-Men were unless they had an older brother that had read the comics and happened to let them borrow some. But that was all about to change.

In 1989, Marvel aired a TV pilot based on the X-Men for the very first time, it was called 'Pryde of the X-Men'. It was produced by the Japanese animation studio Toei, who at the time was working on the extremely popular Dragonball animated series. It aired rather infrequently before making it's way to VHS. My first introduction to the X-Men was a copy of that VHS, and it was glorious. Unfortunately Marvel's budget for animation had dried up around that time so fans had to wait three years before they could gaze upon new animated adventures of the X-Men. Check out the VHS version of the pilot below.

The 1989 VHS version of 'Pryde of the X-Men' introduced a whole new audience to the X-Men, just as it had to me. But if it weren't for the 1992 debut of the X-Men animated series, many kids would have never been properly introduced to those marvelous mutants, at least not as a staple of modern popular culture like they are today.

When the X-Men animated series was released internationally, naturally there were dubs of the dialogue, but for some reason the 1994 Japanese version not only dubbed the show's dialogue, it also presented two different opening animations as well as brand new theme songs. Although I've always loved the original 1992 US opening theme and animation, the first Japanese opening is an explosion of badassary with insane animation and a wicked power metal track to back it up. It will truly blow you away if you've never experienced it before... however the second version is a bit of a boner-killer, especially after seeing the first one, but at least it does feature all new animation again. Check out both versions below.

Which intro was your favorite?

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Tuesday, August 4, 2015

WEIRD GODZILLA TV COMMERCIALS [UPDATED]

Godzilla is recognized around the world as the most iconic Japanese character ever created. Even people who have never even seen one of Godzilla's roughly 30 movies, know who he is and what he looks like. Godzilla is a giant monster with giant appeal. So of course, just like Star Wars, marketing and advertising companies around the world try their damndest to slap the big G onto their products and TV commercials. However, if you don't ask the company who owns the rights to Godzilla, TOHO, for permission to use him commercially... you can expect a visit from their relentless lawyers.

Big companies like Subway learned that lesson the hard way after using a giant green lizard monster in their 2008 '$5 Footlong' TV ad, resulting in a $150,000 lawsuit. Although, there are rare occasions when TOHO actually works together with foreign companies to produce officially licensed Godzilla TV commercials. Such was the case for this awesome Nike commercial from 1992, in which TOHO gave the rights for Industrial Light & Magic (the special effects team behind Star Wars) to produce it's own version of Godzilla to go one on one against NBA superstar... Charles Barkley.

For more info, check out 'The Making of Godzilla vs Barkley'.

Last year we got a fun new officially licensed Godzilla commercial, this time advertising everyone's favorite candy bar, Snickers.

But that wasn't Godzilla's first try at helping to sell sugary junk food to Americans. Nearly 30 years before, in 1985, he was promoting Dr. Pepper in these two classic kaiju styled commercials.

Another 'sweet' TV ad not made in Japan featuring Godzilla comes to us from Dutch candy makers, VENCO. I'm not entirely sure if this commercial was given the OK by TOHO, but it's pretty damned funny.

Next up we have a "Godzilla" TV ad from Thailand... well, it's technically not Godzilla, even though I'm fairly sure they are using the exact same Godzilla suit that was used in Godzilla vs Barkley. It's a Thai gas company ad that obviously didn't ask TOHO for any type of official approval, which is why Godzilla appears to have grown a horn on his snout... but whatever, it still counts.

Back in 1984, TOHO had just relaunched their Godzilla franchise and were busy promoting the big G wherever they could. In order to appeal to the adult audiences who had grown up watching Godzilla as kids in the 1950's-1970's, TOHO collaborated with the Asahi beer company to create a couple of family friendly beer commercials. While they aren't wild and wacky like the commercials above, the somberness portrayed by Godzilla as he stares into the distance holding a giant glass of beer is just strangely beautiful...

...I could use a beer that big too...

Being a lot more wacky this time around, Japanese electronic company Hitachi used Godzilla to advertise their state of the art home karaoke system back in the early 90's. Even though karaoke is as normal in Japan as anything else, I'm not sure if it did very well, but this particular ad is one of the big G's most entertaining. Enjoy!

UPDATE July 23, 2016:

With the brand new Godzilla Resurgence (シン-ゴジラ）coming out in less than a week over here in Japan, I will be adding brand new Godzilla TV ads to this article. You can also expect a review of the film opening night ;)

First up, a TV spot for the Japanese department store, PARCO. The footage from this ad is taken taken directly from the new film itself, however some sequences have replaced Godzilla with a CG koala bear, whom is the current mascot for PARCO stores, and made it appear as if it and Godzilla are gearing up for battle.

And here is a TV spot for the 'Shin-chan vs Shin-Gojira' episode of the animated series Crayon Shin-chan. The full episode aired last night here and it was pretty cool to see the new incarnation of Godzilla in animated form. It was a fun episode full of the kinds of gags you would normally expect from the long running Crayon Shin-chan series. I'm a fan of both Godzilla and Shin-chan, so I really enjoyed the episode, as did my kids. I tried finding the full episode online today but they had all been taken down by TV Asahi, so until that becomes widely available, enjoy the teaser TV spot below this promo image :)

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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

STRANGE STAR WARS TV ADS FROM JAPAN

(A 'force' filled three-way on a satellite dish)

George Lucas and his Star Wars franchise are no strangers to Japan. Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith was the highest grossing film of all time on it's opening weekend there, so it's no surprise that Japanese advertising companies would want to cash in on the success of the popular sci-fi fantasy franchise.

(Star Wars opens in Tokyo, 1978)

The original Star Wars film from 1977 wasn't released in Japan until a full year later, in 1978. Following the film's success, the Hagoromo Food Corporation released this bizarre unlicensed TV commercial for it's canned "sea-chicken".

Later on, sometime between the 80's and 90's , Panasonic not only produced a series of officially licensed Star Wars themed TV commercials, they also got George Lucas to star in them...

Japanese TV ads still feature Star Wars' iconic characters in their TV commercials on a yearly basis, advertising everything from cars to instant ramen noodles. This trend will most likely continue with the release of the upcoming new Star Wars films. Until then, enjoy this more recently produced Nissin Cup Ramen noodle commercial featuring Yoda and a really bizarre ending tag line...

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