Line #66 Creator/EijiTsuburaya


1	[[quoteright:242:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsuburaya_and_ultraman_9.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:242:The Master of Monsters with [[Series/{{Ultraman}} one of his greatest creations]].]]
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4	->''"My heart and mind are as they were when I was a child. Then I loved to play with toys and to read stories of magic. I still do. My wish is only to make life happier and more beautiful for those who will go and see my films of fantasy. "''
5	-->-- '''Eiji Tsuburaya''' in a 1965 interview with ''Caper Magazine''
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7	Eiji Tsuburaya (円谷英二) was an influential special effects director considered by many to be the "God of {{Toku}}satsu". Born July 7, 1901 (as Eiichi Tsumuraya) and died January 11, 1970, Tsuburaya is famed in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} for having effectively created the nation's special effects industry, as well as his involvement in the creation of two of its most iconic pop culture characters -- Franchise/{{Godzilla}} and Series/{{Ultraman}}.
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9	During his childhood, Tsuburaya was fascinated with aviation, which was a hobby he'd have all his life. In 1919, he took up his first job as a cameraman for Nikkatsu. In 1938 he became special effects director at Creator/{{Toho}} Studios. During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, he worked on several propaganda films, one of which, ''The War At Sea From Hawaii To Malay'', featured a recreation of the Pearl Harbor bombings so well done the American censors during the post-war occupation became frightened and thought it was real footage of Pearl Harbor. This actually got him accused of involvement in espionage, resulting in a brief exile from Toho.
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11	After the war, he formed his own independent effects company until returning to Toho in 1951. In 1954 he was one of the team who made ''Film/Godzilla1954'', and he was head of the special effects team for all the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies up through ''Film/AllMonstersAttack'', as well as many other fantasy, science-fiction, and war films of the period. However, due to work on at his own studio mentioned below, he only supervised visual effects for ''Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep'', ''Film/SonOfGodzilla'', and ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'', and received credit in ''Film/AllMonstersAttack'' out of respect for him despite no involvement due to serious illness.
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13	In 1963, Eiji Tsuburaya established his own studio called Creator/TsuburayaProductions to do special effects work for other companies, but in 1966, he and his crew became better known as the creator of another classic tokusatsu series, ''Series/{{Ultraman}}''. Alongside the equally acclaimed ''Series/UltraQ'' and ''Series/UltraSeven'', ''Ultraman'' would spawn the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' whose heroes would become as popular in Japan as Godzilla himself and the most beloved of his studio's works.
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15	Raised a Buddhist, he became a [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseChristian Catholic]] after marriage as his wife was one, which influenced some of the imagery he used in his works (as seen in ''Film/{{Mothra}}'' and ''Series/UltraSeven'').
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17	During his 50-year career, he worked on approximately 250 films in total. Let's just cut down on films he's worked on that you'll recognize.
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20	!!Films and series he's worked on:
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22	* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''
23	** ''Film/Godzilla1954''
24	** ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain''
25	** ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla''
26	** ''Film/MothraVsGodzilla''
27	** ''Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster''
28	** ''Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster''
29	** ''Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep''
30	** ''Film/SonOfGodzilla''
31	** ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters''
32	** ''Film/AllMonstersAttack''
33	* ''Film/HalfHuman''
34	* ''Film/{{Rodan}}''
35	* ''Film/TheMysterians''
36	* ''The H-Man''
37	* ''Film/VaranTheUnbelievable''
38	* ''Film/TheThreeTreasures''
39	* ''Film/BattleInOuterSpace''
40	* ''The Secret of the Telegian''
41	* ''The Human Vapor''
42	* ''Film/{{Mothra}}''
43	* ''Film/{{Gorath}}''
44	* ''Film/{{Matango}}''
45	* ''Film/{{Atragon}}''
46	* ''Film/{{Dogora}}''
47	* ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld''
48	** ''Film/WarOfTheGargantuas''
49	* ''Franchise/UltraSeries''
50	** ''Series/UltraQ''
51	** ''Series/{{Ultraman}}''
52	** ''Series/{{Ultraseven}}''
53	* ''Series/KaijuBooska''
54	* ''Film/KingKongEscapes''
55	* ''Series/MightyJack''
56	* ''Film/LatitudeZero''
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58
59	!!Tropes applying to Eiji Tsuburaya and his work
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61	* AuthorAppeal:
62	** Christian FauxSymbolism is common in a number of his works, which is not surprising given his religious background.
63	** He had a fondness for comedic monster scenes to give his kaiju character and make audiences laugh. The infamous VictoryDance that Godzilla performs in ''Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster'' is an excellent example. Apparently, Creator/IshiroHonda and Creator/HaruoNakajima sternly objected to its inclusion, but Tsuburaya's insistence won out.
64	* CoolOldGuy: He was 54 when he started working on ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies and 66 by the time ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' began, but was deeply respected by his comrades for his tirelessness. His crew often called him "Oyaji", or "The Old Man".
65	* FriendToAllChildren: Eiji Tsuburaya was very fond of kids and strongly believed in keeping his work child-friendly. He abhorred FamilyUnfriendlyViolence (he once became angry at a crewman for suggesting to make Godzilla bleed) and disliked depressing and cynical stories ("Don't destroy the dreams of children", he instructed to the ''Series/UltraQ'' writers).
66	* PeopleInRubberSuits: He popularized this trope for Japanese special effects, although he originally wanted to do stop-motion when developing ''Film/Godzilla1954'', but had to find another method due to the lack of time and resources available for such an undertaking.
67	* ThePerfectionist: Eiji was a stickler for perfection in his work. He would think nothing twice about having his crew completely rebuild a painstakingly constructed miniature that had taken months to make if a single shot went wrong.
68	* RuleOfFun: His philosophy towards special effects. He wanted audiences to exercise their imaginations and be filled with childlike wonder when watching his work.
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Context Creator / EijiTsuburaya