Planet Prince
| Planet Prince | |
|---|---|
| Japanese | 遊星王子 |
| Hepburn | Yūsei Ōji |
| Directed by | Eijirō Wakabayashi |
| Produced by | Walter Manley, Toei Company |
| Screenplay by | Shin Morita |
| Story by | Masaru Igami |
| Starring | Tatsuo Umemiya |
| Music by | Katsuhisa Hattori |
| Cinematography | Masahiko Iimura |
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
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Release date
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Running time
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57 minutes (Part I) 64 minutes (Part II) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Planet Prince (遊星王子 Yūsei Ōji?) is a 1958 tokusatsu superhero television series. Created by Masaru Igami and produced by Nippon Gendai and Senkosha, the series aired on NTV from November 4, 1958 to October 6, 1959, with a total of 49 episodes (divided into several segments). It was created to capitalize on the success of the Super Giant serials. In fact, the title hero (whose alter-ego was Waku-san, played by Toshio Mimura) bore a strong resemblance to Super Giant.
Toei produced two movies that featured the character, but in a completely different, more streamlined costume (and goggled helmet). The hero was this time played by Tatsuo Umemiya. The films were titled:
For release in America, these two movies were compiled into a TV movie titled Prince of Space.
As mentioned before, the TV version looks very similar to Super Giant, in that both wear cowled costumes and capes. Each character also has super powers and flies. The two-part movie version (produced by Toei) is different, as Prince of Space wears a streamlined costume, cape and helmet. In the edited US version he has no superpowers other than the invulnerability of his costume, but in a subplot unique to the Japanese version he is able to revert a man brainwashed by the Ginsei aliens to a peaceful state. He uses weapons (a wand-like laser gun) and flies a small spaceship.
In the TV version, just like Moonlight Mask, the Planet Prince persona was credited as being played by "?" (even though he never wore a mask).
In the film, Prince's enemy is Ambassador Phantom of Ginsei (銀星のまぼろし大使) (who also appeared in one of the series' story arcs), or in the US version, Dictator Phantom of the Planet Krankor. He (along with his henchmen) wears a prosthetic nose and cowl that gives him a decidedly chicken-like appearance, something that is constantly mocked in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version. Phantom and his henchmen also appear to eschew undergarments, as is made painfully obvious in several shots.
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Wikipedia