12:00 JST, June 14, 2024
Last month I organized Rescue Kanshasai II, an event to show gratitude for the Rescue Police series, in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. The series’ tokusatsu superhero action TV dramas aired in the early 1990s.
The event featured two actors: Masaru Yamashita and Koichi Nakayama, who played the lead roles in two of the special police dramas. Yamashita played Ryoma Kagawa, also known as Fire in “Tokkei Winspector” (Special Rescue Police Winspector), which aired for about a year from 1990. Nakayama played Daiki Nishio, also known as Solbraver in “Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain” (Super Rescue Solbrain), which also aired for a year from 1991. Singer Takayuki Miyauchi, who sang the theme songs of both shows, attended as a special guest event.
“Solbrain” aired after “Winspector” ended, and the two share some setting and characters. Yamashita, who starred in ‘Winspector’, and Nakayama are on good terms despite appearing in separate dramas, as Yamashita also appeared in ‘Solbrain’ as a veteran of the police special unit. His background includes training as an action artist at Kurata Action Club.
“At that time, I was all about action, so I was always dressed in a tracksuit,” Yamashita said. “On the other hand, Nakayama was good at skiing and surfing, and he was always dressed fashionably. I felt like we were opposites of each other.”
Now, thirty years later, the two actors feel they have more in common than differences.
“We may look friendly, but we are both very stubborn,” Nakayama said with a wry grin.
The two now work together to create YouTube videos and other projects. We had an exciting discussion about their joint YouTube channel at the event that day. What excited fans most was a video recreating a famous scene from ‘Solbrain’. Kagawa, secretly investigating a case, comes across Nishio and roundhouse kicks the younger agent without saying a word, without explaining his mission.
Yamashita’s kick looked as sharp as it did over thirty years ago. Nakayama’s acting when he was hit showed that he had more experience and maturity than at that time.
“Now that I think about it, he could have said, ‘I can’t say anything right now, but I’m on duty,’ before he kicked me, even though he was on a secret mission,” Nakayama said in a bitter voice. smile.
“Yamashita’s moves are amazing,” he added emphatically. “That’s why I’ll let him do more from now on, so stay tuned. He can do a lot of things, like jump from high places and blow things up.”
Later, Miyauchi came on stage in the cheerful and fun atmosphere. He sang not only the opening and ending theme songs, but also other songs from both dramas, much to the delight of the fans. Yamashita and Nakayama, who say they love to sing, performed some songs with him. The actors also performed their original song, “Don’t Wanna Regret,” which incorporates their thoughts as of late. The audience applauded loudly.
The two have called on Koichi Sakamoto, the director of some TV shows from the Kamen Rider series and other tokusatsu works, to record a music video for the song. Sakamoto, a veteran director, was another guest at the event and rushed to the stage near the end. He also belonged to the Kurata Action Club and was Yamashita’s junior. When I saw Sakamoto go completely with Yamashita, I felt like I had just witnessed a strong bond between action specialists. Perhaps the two and Sakamoto will continue to create collaborative work.
The event featured songs, games, candid conversations and more. I believe the event was made possible by the two actors’ love for ‘Winspector’ and ‘Solbrain’, and it is a huge debt of gratitude to the fans who have never forgotten those two years over thirty years ago and from the shows have continued to take place.
