Akira Tsuburaya (円谷 粲, Tsuburaya Akira, born February 12, 1944) is a former Japanese film and television producer. The third son of special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, he began his career at his father's company Tsuburaya Productions while at Tamagawa University in 1966.[2] Tsuburaya had an extremely prolific five-decade career in film and television, during which he worked on over 80 productions.
Akira Tsuburaya | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
円谷 粲 | |||||
.jpg) Tsuburaya, c. 1965 | |||||
| Born | February 12, 1944 | ||||
| Alma mater | Tamagawa University[2] | ||||
| Occupation(s) | Film and television producer | ||||
| Years active | 1965–2006 | ||||
| Children | Yūko Tsuburaya | ||||
| Parents |
| ||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 円谷 粲 | ||||
| Kana | つぶらや あきら[1] | ||||
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Life and career
editAkira Tsuburaya was born on February 12, 1944[3] in Tokyo.[1] He was the third son of special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya and his wife Masano Araki as well as their first child to be baptized.[3] While at Tamagawa University, Tsuburaya began his career working in film at his father's company Tsuburaya Productions on the domestically popular Ultra Q episode, "Kanegon's Cocoon" as an assistant director in 1965.[2] He subsequently returned to work as an assistant director on the Ultra Q episode "Challenge From the Year 2020" and the following year worked in the same position on Ultraman (TV 1966-1967). He later served as the chief assistant director of special effects on Ultraseven (TV 1967) and was also an assistant director on Operation: Mystery! (1968).[2]
Tsuburaya began working as a producer in 1970, receiving his first credit in that position on Chibira-kun in the same year.[1] He continued working at Tsuburaya Productions on productions such as Triple Fighter (1972), Fireman (1973) Army of the Apes, Pro-Wrestling Star Aztecaser Ultraman Leo (both 1974), Dinosaur War Izenborg (1977), and Star Wolf (1978)[4] until leaving the company in June 1989.[1]
In July 1989, a month after leaving, he established Tsuburaya Eizo.[1] He would serve as executive producer for many television shows by his company, including Babel II: Beyond Infinity (2001) and Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology (2002).[5] In February 2002, he rejoined Tsuburaya Productions and became the head of the production department as vice president. In May 2005, however, he left Tsuburaya Productions once again and was appointed director of Tsuburaya Dream Factory that June.[1]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Position | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Ultra Q | Assistant director | Episodes "Kanegon's Cocoon" & "Challenge From the Year 2020" |
[2] |
| Ultraman | Four episodes | |||
| 1967 | Ultraseven | Of special effects | ||
| 1968 | Operation: Mystery! | |||
| 1970 | Chibira-kun | Producer | [1] | |
| 1972 | Triple Fighter | [4] | ||
| 1973 | Fireman | |||
| 1974 | Army of the Apes | |||
| Ultraman Leo | ||||
| 1976 | Star of Pro-Wrestling Aztecaser | |||
| Kyoryu Tankentai Born Free | ||||
| 1977 | Dinosaur War Izenborg | |||
| 1978 | Dinosaur Corps Koseidon | |||
| Star Wolf | Executive producer | |||
| 1979 | White Hand, Beautiful Hand, Cursed Hand | |||
| 1980 | Bizarre! Golden-eyed Girl | |||
| Vengeful Spirit! Sneering Doll | ||||
| Bokura Yakyu Tanteidan | ||||
| 1981 | All Robots Who Can Feel Gather | |||
| 1982 | Princess Sakurako, the Evil Spirit | |||
| Cute Demon | ||||
| Midare Karakuri | ||||
| 1983 | In the Eye of the Devil | |||
| The Legendary Ghost Cat | ||||
| Picture Book of Sweets | ||||
| The Lost Honor of Natsuko Aizawa | ||||
| Adventurous Trip to the End of the Universe | ||||
| 1984 | Cursed Mannequin Doll | |||
| Popular Kaiju Parade | ||||
| Two Women | ||||
| 1985 | The Night I Died | |||
| Demon Within | Producer | |||
| 1986 | The Samurai | Executive producer | ||
| 1987 | Fear of 3:00 AM | |||
| 1988 | Sorry for the Wait! The Complete Works of Ultraman | |||
| Office Love | ||||
| 1989 | Pursue the 7 Mysteries of Ultraman! | |||
| Decision! Best Ten of Ultraman | ||||
| 1990 | Superman Detective Schwatch | |||
| Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of the Stars | Producer | |||
| 1991 | Crystal Blue Shadow | Executive producer | ||
| Yōka Mandragora's Counterattack | ||||
| Skyscraper Hunting | Planner | |||
| Mikadroid | Producer | |||
| 1993 | Legendary Fairy Woman, Siren 1 | Planner | ||
| 1994 | Legendary Fairy Woman, Siren 2 | |||
| 1995 | Corporate Warrior Yamazaki | |||
| Prisoner Maria: The Movie | Producer | |||
| Female Prisoner Executioner Maria 2 | ||||
| White Coat of Amazoness | ||||
| Legendary Fairy Woman, Siren 3 | ||||
| 1996 | Heisei Shameless Academy | Executive producer | ||
| Legendary Fairy Woman, Siren 4 | Planner | |||
| 1997 | The Messiah from the Future | |||
| Devil Summoner | Executive producer | |||
| 1998 | I Want to Play and Live for the Rest of My Life | Planner/Acting role | ||
| Kachiri the Locksmith | Executive producer | |||
| The Mysterious Transfer Student | Planner | |||
| Neptune in Dotsuki Dotsukare | ||||
| Women Who Slept with Bubbles | Producer | |||
| Informant (Chikuri) Maru Backstory Investigation | Executive producer | |||
| Rosetta: The Masked Angel | ||||
| 1999 | Danger de mort | Planner | ||
| The Man Who Shot Don | ||||
| 2000 | Būba Sensei | Executive producer | ||
| Chinpira | Producer | |||
| 2001 | STAR BOWS | Executive producer | ||
| Zombie Snake | Planner | |||
| 2002 | Wild 7: another | Executive producer | ||
| Barom-1 | ||||
| Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology | ||||
| Beast Fighter | ||||
| Demon Lord Dante | ||||
| Got Mars | ||||
| Babel II | ||||
| Submarine Super 99 | ||||
| Gun Frontier | ||||
| Cosmo Warrior Zero | ||||
| Fortune Dogs | ||||
| 2004 | Eko Eko Azarak | Producer | ||
| Space Symphony Maetel ~Galaxy Express 999 Gaiden~ | ||||
| Mysterious Case Special Investigation Team S.R.I Laughing Fire Daruma Man |
Executive producer | |||
| 2005 | Kazuo Umezu's Horror Theater | Planner | Six-part film | |
| 2006 | A Chain of Cursed Murders | |||
| Cat Eyed Boy | [6] | |||
| 2008 | Bringing Godzilla Down to Size | Interviewee | [7] |
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "円谷夢工房" [Profile Page]. Tsuburaya Dream Factory (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Ragone 2014, p. 159.
- ^ a b Ragone 2014, p. 28.
- ^ a b "円谷粲の主な作品リスト" [List of major works by Akira Tsuburaya] (PDF). Tsuburaya Dream Factory. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "Akira Tsuburaya". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "猫目小僧" [Cat Eyed Boy]. Eiga.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE- PART 1". SciFi Japan. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
Sources
edit- Ragone, August (May 6, 2014). Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (paperback ed.). Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1-4521-3539-7.
External links
edit- Akira Tsuburaya at IMDb
- Akira Tsuburaya at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Akira Tsuburaya at Rotten Tomatoes