American Tokusatsu Emerges With A New Hero In FUJIYAMA ICHIBAN, Now Filming!

Tokusatsu fanfare still runs high in its vast community of admirers, around the world, particularly over in Los Angeles, California where a new hero has been created in the form of Fujiyama Ichiban. The character is an original serialized work of author and creator, veteran actor, martial artist, stunt coordinator and suit actor Michi Yamato, whose credits include suit acting for the American TV iteration of Kamen Rider, as well as shows such as Robot 8-Chan and Bioman.

Living and working in America since 1993, Yamato is the founder of his own stage combat team over at Samurai Action Studio where he has been ramping up efforts on the action end of things to help bring Fujiyama Ichiban to life right here in America. And this month, off the heels of hosting a successful festival back in December of last year, Yamato is now behind a new directorial effort for the feature film which is possibly being poised to release in 2015. The film marks Yamato‘s latest move to deliver an authentic character for American fans of tokusatsu by way of a character that promises to provoke environmental awareness as well as dazzle audiences.

Coverage over at the Tokusatsu Network provides new set photos, as well as details on the plot synopsis as follows:

The story revolves around a young college student named Sun Taiyo, who was born in Japan and raised in Los Angeles. The alien organization known as the Dark Matter Empire has captured Sun’s father, an environmental scientist developing technology to harvest and utilize natural energy, and is now targeting Sun. With the help of his mentor Tsurugi Sensei, he is able to transform into Fujiyama Ichiban using the solar-powered suit of armor developed by his college instructor, Professor Sebastian. Sun fights side by side with his girlfriend Sakura Sugiyama, who can transform into Sakura Ichiban. In times of need, new weapons and gadgets are delivered to our heroes with the help of the bird-robot Emerald.

Yamato will portay Tsurugi alongside Adam Forrest starring as Sun Taiyo a.k.a. Fujiyama Ichiban, with Yuuki Yamagiwa as Sakura and Bob Telford as Professor Sebastian. There’s no official release date to pinpoint but the film does have a Facebook page where fans can subscribe to learn more about the film as the year moves forward.

For more information on the magazine publication and much more, visit the official website.

H/T: Keith Hayward