Ultra Seven diners get their own retro Tokusatsu hashed beef dish

Written by: William on March 26, 2013 at 7:16 pm | In CULTURE, PRODUCT INNOVATION | No Comments

Hungry Ultra Seven fans, get ready.

If your very own Ultra Seven guitar wasn’t enough for you, there is even now a special hashed beef dish especially for your retro diet.

It may need no introduction to some but Ultra Seven was the 1967 sequel to the first Tokusatsu Ultraman TV series made by Tsuburaya Productions, continuing the adventures of the Ultramen superheroes.

The Ultra Diner Ultra Seven Hashed Beef with Rice has been made especially for Bandai by a restaurant run by Kohji Moritsugu, the Joli Chapeau in Kanagawa. Moritsugu was one of the most popular stars of the original Ultra Seven series, playing Dan Moroboshi.

The hashed beef can be ordered in a four-pack for ¥6,300 (around $67) and they come with a complimentary red Ultra Seven Task-Mask (“Ultra Eye”), if you want to transform yourself into an Ultra hero.

But if you’re hungry now, you’ll have to wait. The dish isn’t released until June.

Tags: Food, Retro, Tokusatsu
Category: CULTURE, PRODUCT INNOVATION
Other categories: LIFESTYLE

Ultraman and Ultra Seven musicians can now play on luxury retro themed guitar

Written by: William on January 23, 2013 at 5:52 pm | In PRODUCT INNOVATION | No Comments

Are you a fan of Ultraman and Ultra Seven?

Do you have $30,000 to spare?

Can you play the guitar?

If you answered “Yes” to all of the above, you may want to get your strumming hands on the Flying Seven Ultra Seven Guitar, a luxury musical instrument designed especially for fans of the retro Tokusatsu TV series made by Tsuburaya Productions.

Ultra Seven was the 1967 sequel to the first Ultraman series and continued the adventures of the Ultramen superheroes.

Ultraman and other retro characters like Kamen Rider may not have the overseas iconic status of, say, Godzilla, and likely many local people in Japan under forty may not have even ever seen the original series — but that doesn’t stop them from appearing seemingly everywhere!

From Kamen Rider notebook PC cases to Ultraman instant noodle kitchen timers, there are still product collaborations frequently released.

Either Japanese consumers have a good sense of humor or are genuinely nostalgic for these old manga and TV superhero characters.

Well, they are still making Ultraman movies (the most recent was released in 2012, impressive given that the Ultraman franchise first began broadcasting way back in 1966), so I guess there must be plenty of demand.

The Flying Seven Ultra Seven guitar is made to order, hence why it’s so expensive, and just judging from the look of it, it would be all your Christmases in one for a hardcore fan.

Tags: Retro, Tokusatsu
Category: PRODUCT INNOVATION
Other categories: CULTURE, LIFESTYLE

Tokyo’s Thunderbirds Cafe brings retro puppets to delicious life again

Written by: William on September 26, 2012 at 12:14 pm | In LIFESTYLE | 2 Comments

Sometimes it seems there is a cafe for every theme in the pulsating, organic mass that is the city of Tokyo. From cat cafes to robot ones in Kabukicho, Gundam eateries, maid cafes and more… every subculture or hobby seems to get its own bistro of some kind.

We recently stumbled upon the Thunderbirds Cafe in Jimbocho of all places, a strange location for a strange place. We would have thought that somewhere in Akihabara would have been more appropriate for something paying homage to a Sixties puppet science fiction show but then, perhaps with the demographic, salaryman town is a better choice.

It has been created by Pasela (with licensing from Gerry Anderson), known for their themed karaoke venues. You get to it by going into the basement of one their karaoke complexes, pushing through layers of fake foliage (you are entering Tracy Island of course!) before prizing open the air-lock-style doors.

Inside you are confronted by a model of one of the show’s heroes in a “rocket”, and then several tables, including ones in “pods” based on each of the famous Thunderbird machines, which are also on display in replica form. This is a fan boy’s dream come true.

On the opposite side is a TV always playing episodes on loop (random excepts from the soundtrack also continues out of the restaurant’s speakers, slightly jarring if you want a quiet bite to eat).

The upholstery and design of the place is quite nice and new (it only opened earlier this year). It might be kitsch but it’s been done with a budget of reasonable levels, it seems.

The menu is standard Tokyo cafe fare, though they have attempted to create or match a dish with as many countries around the world as possible (after all, this is “international rescue”). The food also comes with Tracy Island-style palm tree decorations.

The staff also give you a chipper Thunderbirds salute when they take the order and pepper the customary keigo with “stand by” and other snatches of quasi-dialogue from the series.

We asked the manager about the clientele (there were only three other customers when we were there) and he said that it is mostly older fans of the original franchise and often people who work in the area.

Tags: Otaku, Retro
Category: LIFESTYLE
Other categories: CULTURE, PRODUCT INNOVATION