Sunrise Festival 2019 Special】Juzhin Thunder Liger descends on theaters! Report on the "Jushin Liger" talk event where the secret story of the birth of Masked Man Liger was fully discussed.

Sunrise Festival 2019 Fugetsu, an annual event in which Sunrise, which has produced numerous animated films, screens its works in movie theaters every day, was held from September 13, 2019 to September 27, 2019. Among them, the "Beast God Liger" screening event was held at Theatre Shinjuku in Tokyo on September 23, 2019 (Monday, national holiday).

Director Norio Kashima and New Japan Pro Wrestling's Beast Thunder Liger took the stage for a talk show held before the screening. The talk show was a lively affair, with the director Norio Kashima and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Thunder Liger taking the stage to share their behind-the-scenes secrets.
Here is a report on the event.

To commemorate the Sunrise Festival special, we are giving away a special "Beast God Liger" poster to five lucky visitors!

For details, please refer to the article linked below.

To apply for the present, please click here.

Jushin Liger" is a TV animation written by Go Nagai and produced by Sunrise that was broadcast in 1989. In 1989, Jushin Thunder Liger made his "debut" on the mat as a masked man in a tie-up with this work. This event was the first "Beast God Liger" talk event held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the debut of Beast God Thunder Liger and the anime "Beast God Liger.

After the invocation, Director Norio Kashima appeared first. Then, when Jushin Thunder Liger made his entrance with the entrance theme "Beast God of Rage," the audience cheered and clapped. Liger came to the talk fully armed, wearing not only a mask but also a full-body costume and a silver cape.

The day before the event, Liger told a story about his attack on Minoru Suzuki as "Onigami Liger" at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Kobe event, and he was in such a good mood that even through his mask, he happily revealed many secret stories. He was in such a good mood that you could see it through his mask, and happily revealed many secret stories.

Director Kashima began by explaining how the project came into being between the Sunrise Planning Department and the original author, Go Nagai. Nagai's mechanical concepts and character designs were developed, and the directors took the lead in creating the storyline from there. The tie-up with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which was of interest, was not part of the original plan, and it was not until two or three months after the project was launched that "Liger" was told he would debut as a pro-wrestler.

Liger was in Liverpool, England, training abroad at the time. The company (New Japan Pro-Wrestling) called him internationally and asked him, "Are you willing to do it (as a masked man)? Liger readily agreed. I wanted to be a masked man since then. I didn't like my real face, so I was just happy to be able to wear a mask. The theme of "Jushin Liger" is anger, and Liger expressed his sympathy for this work, saying, "Antonio Inoki, who taught me many things, always told me that I should never forget my anger. As for his activities as a masked man, he said, "I enjoy wearing a mask, so I think my emotions come out even through the mask. It's strange to say this to fans, but wrestling is something you do rather than watch," he said, describing how rewarding and fulfilling it is to be a masked wrestler.

Liger said that he returned to Japan after "Jushin Liger" started airing, so he watched the main broadcast from the middle of the show. His impression at the time was "I was surprised that Liger was bigger than Bill," and he was blown away that he could not fill this gap in the flesh, so he decided to do whatever he wanted.

In the first episode of "Jushin Liger," there is a shocking turn of events in which the heroine-like character is suddenly killed. Director Kashima explains the reason for this: "I wondered whether an elementary school child could become an emissary of justice so easily. I had my own childish feelings of wanting to save his friend, and I hoped that I could turn his anger at being killed into anger at Liger. At the time, I received some complaints, but I am sure that Mr. Nagai's dirty hero spirit and anger were at the root of the work," he revealed.

Here, the talk turned to the roots of the professional wrestler "Jushin Thunder Liger," who was clad not only in a mask but also in a full-body battle suit. Liger had decided to become a masked man, but the company did not provide him with any specific materials or concepts, and he was left to his own devices. He said, "So I consulted with the mask maker about what I wanted to do. I even studied designs that would look cool with the hair in the back. I even consulted with him about the fabric of the costume. That's why I'm so attached to Liger. Liger added his own original touches to the costume, but Go Nagai gave his permission with a smile. Liger said, "When I had dinner with Mr. Nagai the other day, he told me that I could continue to be Liger after I retire. He said that after he decided to debut as a pro-wrestler, he made his works more towards physical confrontation.

In "JUJIN Liger," JUJIN Liger evolves into FIRE LIGER and THUNDER LIGER as the story progresses. Director Kashima revealed that while Go Nagai designed the initial idea for Beast God Liger, Thunder Liger was actually designed by character designer Yuhisa Uchida. Mr. Nagai told me not to make the image too evil. My first idea was retaken as too evil," he said. According to Director Kashima, Mr. Nagai's insistence was that a design with gouged-out cheek lines would make the character look villainous.

On the other hand, Liger, who was unaware that the design of Liger would be changed to Thunder Liger, persuaded the reluctant craftsmen to prepare a new mask design in a hurry. When he debuted, "Jushin Liger" had natural hair, but Kensuke Sasaki suggested that it would be better if the appearance of the mask did not change depending on the state of the hair of the fighter inside. Kensuke Sasaki's advice, "It would be better to have the mask and the fake hair integrated into a single design.

Liger said, "At first, I had an idea to have Liger's rival (the Demon Dragon King Dorga) make his pro wrestling debut. But because he was a dragon, he had a tail, and we thought that would not be cool as a wrestler, so we rejected the idea.

The anime "Jushin Liger" and the pro-wrestler "Jushin Thunder Liger" celebrated their 30th anniversary this year, 2019. Director Kashima said, "I thought 'Liger' as a wrestler would disappear after a year or so. So after the production of the anime finally settled down, I went to see a few matches. But it has already been 30 years. I am very grateful for that. The reason we were able to have this screening today is because Mr. Liger left us this name," he said, expressing his gratitude.

Liger explained the reason why he has been able to continue his activities: "I had an attachment to the mask and other things that I created with him. Also, I didn't want to compete with my bare face, so I was able to keep doing it," he said, making the audience laugh.

At this point, the MC, DJ Express, read out a surprise letter from the original author, Mr. Go Nagai, which I would like to introduce.

Mr. Go Nagai's comment on the 30th anniversary of "Jushin Liger" (Beast God Thunder Liger)

I am very happy that Jushin Thunder Liger, the pro-wrestler born from my anime, has been very active for 30 long years. Mr. Liger has evolved from the original anime character, created new masks one after another, and continued to fascinate fans with his unique wrestling style. I was moved by his spirit of defeat, overcoming sometimes life-threatening injuries to return to the ring. He is a rare master in the history of professional wrestling. It was my greatest pleasure to be associated with such a great athlete, and congratulations on your 30th anniversary."

Liger, who had been listening to the speech, said, "I think it was written in the gentle and kind style of Mr. Go Nagai. He always takes care of me." Director Kashima nodded his head and said, "At first, I was scared because I thought he was that Go Nagai of "Devil Man" fame, but then he welcomed me with open arms. I trusted him with the production of the film, and he supported me.

Liger will retire as a professional wrestler at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Tokyo Dome on January 4 and 5, 2020. During the talk related to his retirement, Liger said that in the final episode of the anime, Liger merges with Dorga and changes into "Zenjin Argama," a centaur-like form, so Liger asked the craftsman if he could be a centaur again for his last match. Liger also suggested the idea of "asking the craftsman again if I can be a centaur for my last match. Regarding his enthusiasm for his retirement match, Mr. Liger said, "It's fine to play as usual (even in a retirement match). I'm going to get in shape and play the match as usual. So I hope the fans will also enjoy the match in their daily lives," he said calmly.

After the talk, there was a raffle for the fans who came to the event. The event ended in a relaxed atmosphere as fans were thrilled to meet their idol, Liger.

Director Norio Kashima and Thunder Liger commented after the event

───What did you think of today's event?

Director Kashima: Actually, today was the first time for me to meet Mr. Liger in person. So anyway, it was the best thing for me to meet him. I was grateful that so many fans came to the event.

Liger We are about to start the screening, but actually I haven't seen the last episode (which will be shown on this day) yet. So I would like to enjoy it with my fans. I still have 3 months of active life as a liger, so I will do my best.

───Please tell us again what "Jushin Liger" means to you.

Director Kashima: I never thought it would be a work that would leave such a lasting impression on the world. I think it is all because of Mr. Liger's continued success as a professional wrestler. I feel really happy to have come across such a work.

Liger: That would be myself. I have been doing this for 30 years as a liger. So I don't separate my liger from the anime liger, but I think of each as a part of the liger.

─ The theme song "Beast God of Rage" is Liger's entrance song and the song that is played when he wins.

Liger: Yes, it does!　Whenever I compete in a ring in a foreign country, fans from overseas sing the song in Japanese. They sing "Moyase, Moyase, Moyase. It makes me very happy.

Director Kashima: Whenever I hear Mr. Liger's entrance music, I am really glad that we chose this song as the theme song. Usually, the song comes first and then the lyrics are added later (song first), but I wrote the lyrics with the theme of "Jushin Liger" first and then put the song on top of it.

Liger I see that you did that, thank you very much!

Director Kashima: I really appreciate you using it for such a long time.

Liger I can only think of one theme song for my entrance.

Director Kashima: Lastly, do you have a message for the fans?

Director Kashima Please promote it so that it will remain in everyone's memories and the existence of "Liger" will continue!

Liger Please take care of both the anime Liger and the pro-wrestler Jushin Thunder Liger. We are still running!