Category Archives: Film/TV
Flying Mitsubishi police cars chase a Mazda Grand Familia in one of Japan’s worst cop shows
The wild success of Seibu Keisatsu spawned a lot of similar cop shows. In Novemberr 1980 one short-lived series titled Hashire Nekketsukeiji (translated literally as “Run, Spirited Detective!”) followed the same format: police in the big city, hard luck stories, … Continue reading
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Tagged Eterna Lambda, Eterna Sigma, Galant Lambda, galant sigma, Grand Familia, mazda, mitsubishi, rx-3
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Kamen Rider’s Ridoron had mandibles and a top speed of 932 mph — Guess the Tokusatsu Car!
Y’all thought you were so smart figuring out that Inazuman’s Raijingo was an Isuzu Bellett based on the shape of the windshield frame? Good luck guessing what car lies beneath the Ridoron, the vehicle from 1988’s 47-episode Kamen Rider Black … Continue reading
Kaiketsu Zubat’s nuclear-engined Zubacar — Guess the Tokusatsu Car
The 1977 series Kaiketsu Zubat is unusual in the tokusatsu genre in that it didn’t involve superheros, aliens, or monsters. The star was just a regular dude named Ken Hayakawa whose best friend gets murdered in the very first episode. … Continue reading
Kujira Crown gets painfully shot up and crashed in ‘Alice in Borderland’ car chase with Nissan President
The fourth-generation Toyota Crown is a rare car, even in Japan, which makes its destruction particularly agonizing to watch. In a car chase from the Netflix Japan series Alice in Borderland, a gunman in a 250 Nissan President gives chase … Continue reading
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Classic Japanese cars shot up in ‘Hunt’ movie’s recreation of 1980s Tokyo
One of the central action setpieces in the 2022 movie Hunt is a bloody shootout on the streets of 1980s Tokyo. It features several vintage Japanese cars that become machine gun fodder, but the scene wasn’t filmed in Tokyo at … Continue reading
Inazuman’s Raijingo flew at Mach 3 and had a mouth — Guess the Tokusatsu Car
The 1973 series Inazuman featured one of the most memorable cars in tokusatsu history. Called the Raijingo, the convertible sports car had a reptilian mouth from which it could fire missiles. But perhaps more impressively, it could transform into a … Continue reading
Special Rescue Command Solbrain’s Sol Gallop — Guess the Tokusatsu Car!
From January 20, 1991 to January 26, 1992, kids could tune into the TV Asahi network Sunday mornings to watch the adventures of Special Rescue Command Solbrain. It’s about an elite police force that dons armored suits to fight crime … Continue reading
‘Return of Abunai Deka’ trailer promises car chases, gunfights, and the F31 Nissan Leopard
The dangerous detectives are back for a new movie to debut soon in Japan. Toei Studios has revealed a trailer for Return of Abunai Deka, the eight theatrical release in the series, which doesn’t include the original TV series that … Continue reading
Posted in Film/TV
Tagged abunai deka, f31, hiroshi tachi, leopard, mark x, nissan, toyota, Yuji Oshita
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Netflix’s ‘Senna’ trailer: Brace your eyes for glorious McLaren-Honda MP4 action
Netflix has released a trailer for its upcoming miniseries about celebrated Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna. Considered one of the greatest drivers of all time, Senna won three world championships while driving for McLaren-Honda, an era of dominance that is … Continue reading
Ultraman Dyna‘s Machine Zellet — Guess the Tokusatsu Car!
Welcome back to JNC‘s “Guess the Tokusatsu Car” series. This should be a relatively easy one. For those unfamiliar with the term, tokusatsu shows are Japanese programs for kids that usually revolve around superheroes, robots, and giant monsters. Power Rangers, … Continue reading
Toyota GR cars fight off boring autonomous vehicles in anime series GRip
Toyota has launched an anime miniseries to promote its Gazoo Racing lineup of sports cars. It’s called GRip: A Toyota Story, and its first two letters cleverly match the prefix in the series’ three star cars, the GR Corolla, GR … Continue reading
Datsun Fairlady, Skyline, Miata star in High Card anime
There’s a new anime series out that looks to feature some cool classic cars. We haven’t actually seen High Card, but the trailer and opening credits include a healthy dose of automotive mayhem. The plot sounds completely cuckoo-bananas ridiculous, but … Continue reading
Robot Detective‘s Joker — Guess the Car!
If you grew up watching Ultraman or Power Rangers you’ve seen a tokusatsu television series. Meaning “special photography” in Japanese, these action shows for kids usually had a sci-fi theme and used elaborate costumes and primitive live-action special effects to populate … Continue reading
A Honda Civic Wagon was the sound of Raiders of the Lost Ark‘s iconic boulder
The Indiana Jones movies aren’t typically very car-centric, as most of them are set in archaeological sites that date back hundreds of years before a car was even conceived. However, you might be surprised to learn that in reality, a … Continue reading
Toyota 86 coupes drift through new Japanese cop show
A new Japanese police series promises a throwback to classic shows chock full of shootouts and car chases. Farewell, Gun: Metropolitan Police SGU is an 8-episode streamer that harkens back to old school standards of the genre like Seibu Keisatsu … Continue reading
Lovers kissing in Toyota MR2s is one of Japan’s most memorable TV scenes
So you thought the scene in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift where Sung Kang drifts through the crowd at Shibuya Crossing was the most famous car-related clip to take place there? Well how about the time when two lovers just … Continue reading
