The Film Adaptation of the Showa-era Boy's Manga 'Akado Suzunosuke'

I believe my first memory of watching a Daiei film at a movie theater was around 1957, when 'Akado Suzunosuke,' which had gained popularity in boys' manga magazines, was adapted into a film.

'Akado Suzunosuke' was serialized in a monthly magazine for children called 'Shonen Gaho' and boasted overwhelming popularity among boys.
There were many monthly manga magazines on sale at the same time, and monthly magazines like 'Boken-o,' 'Shonen,' and 'Bokura' were children's favorite manga.

Science fiction manga like 'Astro Boy' and 'Tetsujin 28-go' were also popular with children, but I could never get used to manga filled with difficult text, and I was drawn to detective stories like 'Maboroshi Tantei' and 'Billy Pack'.

Anyway, when I heard that 'Akado Suzunosuke,' an idol of the boys' manga world, was going to be made into a movie, I waited impatiently for it to be screened. When I checked the release date later, I found that the first film was released in urban first-run theaters on May 21, 1957. In that case, since it was natural for there to be a one- or two-month delay in the rural area where I lived, it must have been around the rainy season when I finally went to the theater.

Even now, I have a faint memory of countless small standing signboards that looked like portraits of the longed-for Akado Suzunosuke lined up around the movie theater, which stirred the hearts of the children, and I remember lining up in front of the theater first thing on Sunday morning.

Since I was a child, the quality or content of the work was secondary; my sole purpose was the 'sword fighting' that Suzunosuke exuded. I didn't notice it at all at the time, but when I watched it on a paid channel a few years ago, I realized the first film was a black-and-white standard version. Back then, I didn't care about such things; I just felt satisfied seeing Suzunosuke punish the villains.

Japanese cinema in 1957 was in a period of transition from the standard-sized black-and-white format to CinemaScope and full-color versions.

Yujiro Ishihara's hit films like 'Season of the Sun,' 'Crazed Fruit,' and 'I Am Waiting' were also works in the same black-and-white standard category.

I still remember nostalgically that movie theaters had a mechanism where the size of the pure white screen would expand or contract to the left and right depending on the film being shown. In other words, at that time, 'standard versions' and 'CinemaScope' were still mixed, and theater staff would adjust the screen size accordingly.

Roughly speaking, if a film was considered a major work by the film company, it would be a 'CinemaScope & full-color' film, followed by a 'black-and-white CinemaScope version,' while programs for children were finished as 'black-and-white & standard versions' to keep production costs low and increase distribution revenue. This was the iron rule of film company management and their wisdom in terms of business operations.

The first 'Akado Suzunosuke' film was a huge hit with children, and sequels were made one after another. It likely increased profits for the Daiei sales side significantly. Upon checking, from the fifth installment, 'Akado Suzunosuke: The Phantom Demon of the New Moon Tower' (released September 21, 1957), the series was upgraded to full color.

Also, a problem at the time was that Shoji Umewaka, the tall and handsome actor who initially played Akado Suzunosuke—which was one of the factors that boasted the film's popularity—was suddenly replaced, which was an extraordinary event.

I remember being disappointed, as children had no way of knowing the reason for his departure.

According to Wikipedia on the internet, the reason for his departure was:
Shoji Umewaka: 'He was popular during his time at Daiei for his tall stature, large eyes, and snappy way of speaking, but he began to disappear from the front lines. The reason for his retirement is said to be that although he gained national popularity with the hit 'Akado Suzunosuke,' he began to act arrogantly, which caused the staff to dislike him.'
In other words, his arrogant attitude, intoxicated by his own popularity, may have incurred the wrath of the company and led to him being blacklisted.

The company known as Daiei was led by a one-man manager named Masaichi Nagata, who often interfered with the production floor. While management teams at other companies who were amateurs to film, such as Toei President Hiroshi Okawa and Nikkatsu President Kyusaku Hori, maintained a corporate culture of leaving things to the staff as long as profits were secured, President Nagata had worked his way up from the ground floor and seemed to treat actors quite strictly.

There are other actors who were blacklisted for challenging President Nagata. These include Fujiko Yamamoto, who was touted as the most beautiful actress in the Japanese film industry, and Jiro Tamiya, a handsome star who, like Shoji Umewaka, was said to have 'acted arrogantly, intoxicated by his popularity.'

The existence of the righteous swordsman of the Showa children's manga world, 'Akado Suzunosuke,' and the actor Shoji Umewaka, who unfortunately failed to become a Daiei star, remains an unforgettable silver screen hero image to this day.