Ultraman is coming to Hawaii next month to celebrate the 35th Pan-Pacific Festival and will participate in weekend-long festivities likely to bring more visitors from Japan than last year.
Some 56,560 people attended the 2013 Pan-Pacific Festival and had a positive economic impact on Hawaii to the tune of $8.4 million, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Nearly 1.5 million Web page hits were generated by the event, and that was without festival participation by three generations’ worth of superheroes.
"The number they’re targeting this year, for the 35th anniversary, is almost twice as many (visitors) as last year," festival spokesman Alan Kinuhata said.
Those of a certain age grew up with Ultraman, the costumed, live-action superhero, on television or via Betamax or VHS tapes.
The first Ultraman was created by Eiji Tsuburaya, also the creative force behind Godzilla. The original TV series aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System from July 1966 through April 1967 and consisted of 40 episodes.
Tsuburaya Productions marked its 50th anniversary last year and joined with Pan-Pacific organizer Kintetsu International Hawaii Co. for this year’s event.
There have been numerous iterations of Ultraman; of them, Ultraman Leo, Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Ginga will come to Hawaii as special guests and performers.
| 35TH PAN-PACIFIC FESTIVAL
FRIDAY, JUNE 13
» Hula festival, 5:15 to 10 p.m., Kuhio Beach, hula mound. Performances by Japanese hula enthusiasts and Halau ‘o Napuala ‘ikauika ‘iu.
» Pan-Pacific Ho’olaule’a, 7 to 10 p.m., Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, Liliuokalani Avenue. Featuring bon dance, local crafts and food.
SATURDAY JUNE 14
» Hula festival, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 10 p.m., Kuhio Beach, hula mound. Performances by Japanese hula enthusiasts. (The regularly scheduled Kuhio Beach torch lighting and hula show takes place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.)
SUNDAY JUNE 15
» Hula festival, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Kuhio Beach, hula mound. Performances by Japanese hula enthusiasts and Halau ‘o Napuala ‘ikauika ‘iu.
» Pan-Pacific Parade, 5 to 7 p.m., Fort DeRussy to Kapiolani Park. For more information, call 799-0002 or go to pan-pacific-festival.com.
|
Four statues of the Ultraman characters are on display at Hilo Hattie in Iwilei, DFS Galleria in Waikiki, the Kualoa Ranch gift shop and the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Ultraman has a generations-long following in Japan, from "grandfather-level, dad-level and now kid-level," Kinuhata said.
The multigenerational popularity increases the likelihood that entire families will travel to Hawaii for the June 13-15 event, which kicks off with a Friday night hoolaulea and culminates with a parade through Waikiki. Events stretch from morning through evening all three days.
The local community is strongly encouraged to join in the fun, Kinuhata said.
HTA President and Chief Executive Officer Mike McCartney also encouraged local participation in the event, which he said "create(s) opportunities for cultural exchange and good will between participants, residents and visitors."
"Through entertainment, cuisine and exhibits, the annual Pan-Pacific Festival showcases the people, place and culture of the Pan-Pacific region which reflect Hawaii’s multicultural heritage," McCartney said.
It is likely that many will join in, given hanabata-days memories of the superhero on television and at least one in-person appearance in Honolulu.
"Ultra Seven was the second of the Ultraman series made in Japan," said Steve Okubo of Kaimuki, a longtime enthusiast of the "tokusatsu," or costumed superhero genre of TV show in Japan.
The "Ultra Seven" show that aired in Hawaii in the mid-1970s was "translated by people at the University of Hawaii and dubbed into English, and aired on KHON," he said.
Former TV news reporter Randy Obata, now director of community affairs for the National Children’s Study-Hawaii, was the voice of Furuhashi, one of the ultra-squad members, Okubo said.
Those responsible for bringing the show to Hawaii also had the theme song translated into English and performed by Masato Shimon, well known for his work on other such shows, he said.
Ultra Seven once appeared live, though not larger than life, at the old Honolulu Stadium. Ultraman on TV was a giant, a height impossible to replicate in person.
In the 2000s Fox aired an English-dubbed version of Ultra Tiga, but the translation "massacred the dialogue," Okubo said, whereas the 1970s "Ultra Seven" dubbing was faithful to the original Japanese.
Ultraman was not as popular in Hawaii as the Kikaida and Kamen Rider series of tokusatsu shows, but the characters’ appearance at the Pan-Pacific Festival is a positive way to involve younger members of the community "to get in touch with their roots," Okubo said.
Bend your left arm at the elbow, hold your forearm horizontally, then bring the wrist of your right arm up to the inside wrist bone of your left arm, keeping fingers extended straight out.
If nothing happens, you are not Ultraman.
