Category Archives: Film/TV
Toyota Chaser is perfect pursuit vehicle in ‘Lonesome Hitman’
We’ve featured many classic car chases from Japanese film and cinema, but there has never been one with a car so fitting. In 1989’s Lonesome Hitman, the pursuing car is, in fact, a Toyota Chaser. With a name like that, … Continue reading
The story of Mooneyes told in ‘Craft of Speed’ documentary
The origins of Mooneyes has been well covered. The iconic hot rod equipment maker is one of the most recognizable brands in the custom car aftermarket, denoted by its cartoonish eyeballs logo and signature yellow cars. Yet this classic American … Continue reading
Nissan Cedric taxis sure can take a beating, but the door hinges could use work
The Nissan Cedric taxi was once a staple of Japanese streets. It was also once a staple of Japanese car chases, where cheap 230s and 330s were sacrificed to to gods of Showa Era police dramas. To be fair, Toyota … Continue reading
‘Seibu Keisatsu’ put a bomb on a runaway bus 12 years before ‘Speed’
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the unforgettable 1994 action film Speed. The Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock flick told the story of a cop trying to stop a moving city bus full of passengers from succumbing to a … Continue reading
A Hakosuka Skyline gets obliterated in ‘Did the Red Bird Escape?’
The 1973 film Akai Tori ni Geta? (Did the Red Bird Escape?) was an avant garde work that differed vastly from Japan’s typical crime dramas. Rather than heroic cops taking down bad guys, it was a tragedy about aimless youth … Continue reading
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
Posted in Film/TV
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
Posted in Film/TV
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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
