| Synopsis |
Moonlight Mask As Japan’s first ever superhero TV series、 Moonlight Mask ran for five seasons from February 1958 to July 1959.The detective Juro Iwai cooperates with the police in combatting various villains and evil organizations. Whenever the police are in danger、 he comes to the rescue on his motorcycle as Moonlight Mask、 a superhero wearing a white mask、 turban、 and sunglasses、 to vanquish evil. Although Juro Iwai always leaves the scene when Moonlight Mask appears、 the story progresses without directly revealing the identity of the superhero. It ran for five seasons、 each featuring struggles with different evil organizations、 including Skull Mask (Season 1、 71 episodes)、 The Secret Treasure of the Baradai Kingdom (Season 2、 21 episodes)、 and Mammoth Kong (Season 3、 11 episodes). It was produced by KTR (currently owned by TBS) and Senkosha. The story was created and written by Kohan Kawauchi. A total of 130 episodes were produced across five seasons from February 1958 to July 1959. Moonlight Mask garnered huge popularity as a superhero with the philosophy of “don’t hate or kill、 but forgive.” Later、 Toei joined the producers to created film adaptations. Six theatrical films were simultaneously created through 1958 and 1959. In these Toei films、 Fumitake Omura played the leading character、 Juro Iwai、 instead of Koichi Ose. Although Juro Iwai’s identity as Moonlight Mask is implied throughout the series、 the role of “Moonlight Mask” has never been explicitly described in any database. This may reflect the intentions of the creator、 Kohan Kawauchi. Some argue that Moonlight Mask was not only Japan’s first superhero TV series but also its first tokusatsu superhero series.
|
