Report on "Electric Light Superhero Gridman" Blu-ray BOX release commemorative event has arrived!

On January 8, 2018 (Monday, national holiday), "Denko Choujin Gridman Special Event - Final Episode Beyond Time and Space" was held at Pony Canyon 1F Event Space.

Denko Choujin Gridman" is a special effects program produced by Tsuburaya Productions and TBS. 39 episodes were broadcast on Saturdays from 17:30 to 18:00 on the TBS network (excluding some affiliate stations) from April 1993 to January 1994. Denko Chojin Gridman (電光超人グリッドマン) is a special effects program produced by Tsuburaya Productions and TBS that aired 39 episodes every Saturday from 17:30 to 18:00 on TBS from April 1993 to January 1994 (excluding some affiliated stations). The story is about a 14-year-old boy, Naoto Sho, who is devoted to building his own computer and transforms into a new century hero to confront the evil forces that are trying to control the computer world.

The following is a report from the "Denko Choujin Gridman Special Event - The Final Episode Beyond Time and Space" held on January 8, 2018 (Monday, holiday) at the Pony Canyon 1F event space.

[Official Report]

On January 8, 2018 (Monday, national holiday), "Denko Choujin Gridman Special Event - The Final Episode Beyond Time and Space" was held at Pony Canyon 1F Event Space.
The final episode "Farewell Gridman" was broadcast on January 8, 1994, and on this day, 24 years after the last episode was broadcast, the final episode was screened.
The event started with Masaya Koo, who played Naoto Sho in "Denko Choujin Gridman," Hirozane Muraishi, director of the special effects work "Denko Choujin Gridman," and Tetsu Amamiya, director of the new TV animation "SSSS. First, each of the three gave a greeting.
Mr. Koo: "Happy New Year!　We have more time than at Comic-Con, so I hope we can talk more in depth."
Director Muraishi: "This will be the third "Gridman" event, after Sunshine, Makuhari, and today, and I hope to share a good time with you all.
Director Amemiya: "I look forward to working with you this year! 　 I've caught a cold today, but I'll catch it while I can and do my best from now on."

Mr. Koo, who said he had prepped up to episode 38 for this day, commented, "Today, I'm wearing my own clothes, but I've made them closer to the costumes from the last episode! I'm wearing my own clothes today, but I've made it look like my costume from the last episode! Director Amemiya said of his memory of the last episode, "I remember it was a rerun and was done in the morning during summer vacation. But only the last episode was broadcast when the summer vacation was over and the new semester started, so I had my friend from ...... record it and watched it on video. Director Muraishi said, "I was young too. The staff gathered for "Gridman" formed the core of the Heisei Ultra series that followed. When Director Muraishi waved his hand and said, "The staff from back then are here today as well," some of the staff from back then waved their hands in the back of the audience.

Finally, before the final screening of ......, our hero, Gridman appeared on stage!　Gridman appeared on stage to loud cheers from the audience. When Gridman posed alongside Mr. Koo, the audience cheered and applauded even louder. Gridman had to fight against Khan Digifer in the final episode, so he temporarily left the stage and the live commentary started while watching the final episode.

First, while watching the OP, Director Muraishi commented, "At the time, it was groundbreaking to shoot the title in CG. The expression of the opening title was passed down to the Heisei Ultra series." He also talked about how "there is a small Gridman in the OP image.

When the main program began and Naoto appeared, he was wearing a G-jacket, which the audience saw and confirmed the attire that Mr. Koo had brought in, and applauded him again. Director Muraishi also shared an episode about how the special effects crew was happy at the time because they had the day off to shoot in the junk room (secret base, the basement of Ippei's house). The audience laughed when Mr. Koo commented, "At the time, we didn't understand blue backgrounds, so we just posed as we were told.

Director Muraishi also appeared in a scene in which he played the role of an adult evacuating with the children. Not only me, but also Director Ishii and others were starring as prayer warriors, so I had to be there...so I appeared in the film," he said.

He also told an episode in which Yuka Inoue's brother (the young man with the hachimaki) appeared in a scene in which all his lines and acting were ad-libbed, and the audience laughed when he appeared later in the scene. In the scene where the "junk" computer in the junk room shorts out, Director Muraishi said, "It's the last episode, so I don't mind if it gets burnt. I was willing to let it break down, so I went all out here," he said with a smile. When it came to the final sunset scene, Mr. Koo commented, "At the time, when we were shooting, the director told us not to make any mistakes (because we could not shoot the scene if the sunset was falling), and I was nervous while acting the part. Director Muraishi said, "I wish I had left the last part as 'continue' instead of ' end .

The three commented on their impressions after watching the film.

Mr. Koo: "The sword of Khan Dejfer is cool! 　 I wonder if they will commercialize it."
Director Amemiya: "I like the part about how having friends is a weapon. I would like to use that as a starting point for the animated version.
Director Muraishi: "It was in the early days when we started using CG and we didn't have much time or budget, but everyone did the best they could. Koo and the rest of the cast gave a wonderful performance, perfectly in tune with each other. It's still wonderful to watch now."

When asked by the MC about episodes from the filming, Mr. Koo replied, "I worked hard on the drama scenes because I didn't have a chance to appear when I transformed!　I also got a bicycle that was used for filming back then and I still use it. I can never get rid of that one.

Gridman appeared on stage again after his battle with Khan Dejfer and was greeted with applause, and when the four of them struck the same pose for a commemorative photo by the audience, everyone snapped many pictures to preserve their memories.

GRIDMAN", Director Amemiya revealed the setting drawing of the 2018 anime version of "Acceptor". Director Amemiya said, "Please commercialize it!" he said.

As the event came to a close, each of the three gave a closing comment.
Mr. Koo: "Is it over already?　We could have talked for another two hours or so (laughs). As some of you know, I also run a gyoza shop. I look forward to seeing you again."
Director Amemiya: "I have been working on animation since last year, and I have been sick, but even when I am not feeling well and taking a break, I am watching the Blu-ray of "Electric Light Superhero Gridman. Although the broadcast is still some time away, I will continue to do my best!　Also, the animation "Denko Choujin Gridman boys invent great hero" that I made at the Japan Anime (Tater) Trade Fair is also available on Blu-ray titled "Dragon's Dentist," so please give me your best!
Director Muraishi: "I hope I was able to share the fun with everyone.　I am very much looking forward to this year's anime adaptation of "Gridman," a work I created 25 years ago. Through this event, I felt Director Amemiya's "love" for Gridman, and I am sure he will create a wonderful new Gridman, so I have high expectations for it!

After the three left the venue, fans were treated to a solo photo session with Gridman and a meet and greet.
The highly anticipated new anime "SSSS!　GRIDMAN"! We look forward to this fall and hope that you will check out what's going on.

Product information】
■"Denko Chojin Gridman" Blu-ray BOX
・Sale date: December 20, 2005
・Price: 32,900 yen (excluding tax)
・Sold by: Pony Canyon TBS
・Number of discs: 7
・Recorded minutes: 946 minutes + 102 minutes of bonus footage
・Total 39 episodes included

＜Bonus＞
Video bonus: Non-credit OP/ED
Enclosed bonus: Special leaflet

＜Performances＞
Naoto Sho:Masaya Koo
Yuka Inoue:Jun Hattori
Ippei Baba:Takeshi Sudo
Takeshi Toudou:Takeshi Sugawara

＜Voice Appearances＞
Hikaru Midorikawa:Gridman
Shoji Sato: Kahndefer the Demon King
Junk: Junko Shimakata
Narrator: Yuji Machi

■TV anime "SSSS.GRIDMAN"
Official website ：#
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