Jiban comes to Guayaquil in November: ‘When I’m at a Latin American event, the child in them comes out: they shout, they’re happy and I love to see them’

When we were kids, we imagined ourselves talking to our TV heroes, ignoring details like the language barrier (thanks to dubbing). This happened in the first minutes of the interview with Hiroshi Tokoro, or as his fans know him: Jiban.

The first thing he asks, before the translator comes, is: “Do you know Jiban?” “Of course! — I tell him — since I was 11.” Actor, who appears online under the stage name he used in the 1980s, Shouhei Kusakahe laughs and says “Thank you,” one of the Spanish words he learned while interacting with Latino audiences at conventions.

He adds that he is in a hurry to Guayaquil, where he will arrive on November 7, since is a special guest of Wow ExpoFestan event of entertainment, technology, gastronomy, music and fantasy that will take place at the Arena Park in Samborndón on November 10, 11 and 12.

Hiroshi, who played police officer Naoto Tamura, the “big heart” inside Jiban’s metal body, is now 58 and lives on the outskirts of Tokyo, near the sea.. From there, he believes that the difference between his character and others in that television style is that he took a policeman and turned him into a superhero. “And the other thing is that when he transforms from human to robot, he doesn’t have a pose,” that series of steps that the children memorized and imitated, waiting for their own powers to suddenly activate.

“And another important point is that the main theme is a family relationship, in this case with his younger sister, who in transformational superheroes (the genre is called tokusatsu) I don’t think that’s very common.” By the way, the relationship is not broken. Hiroshi is close friends with actress Konomi Mashita, who played the role of his younger sister (Mayumi) on screen., and they still appear together in public.

Videos shared by fans on social media show Hiroshi full of energy, very happy, singing songs in Japanese and trying out his phrases in Spanish. “The love they have for me gives me energy, it infects me. That’s their credit.”

He started acting in high school. He lived in a rural area, and a friend invited him to Tokyo to join a theater group, with which he stayed for a year, and then auditioned for a commercial for a mechanical pencil. He got it, and other jobs came, like that villain who repents Space guardian Sharivan (from the saga Metal hero1983) and the one a ninja in love with the series Jiraiya: The Incredible Ninja (1988, is on Prime Video, same as Jeez). “I’m telling you it was on paper Jiban motorized detective (1989), no interview, automatic; They asked me if I wanted to play Jiban“.

When the series ended, In 1990, Hiroshi decided to retire from acting.. He was 27 years old and decided to be a manager and train actors and stuck to it. He occasionally appeared on stages in Japan, invited to fan conventions. “But outside the country, I didn’t know (that I had followers), and I found out through social networks, through Facebook, more than ten years ago. Currently, he says, he is sure that he is better known outside his homeland.

“I don’t know if it’s because of the culture: when I go to an event in Japan, they’re quieter, more conservative. But When I go to an event in Latin America, it’s like the child in them comes out: they’re shouting, they’re happy, they’re excited, and I love to see that.“, says the actor who was highly anticipated at the convention in Ecuador in 2021, but could not attend due to the declaration of a state of emergency.

This generated jokes and memes on the networks. That you were afraid Jiban, character inspired Robocop (1987), whose approach is also a murdered cop turned cyborg? Hiroshi laughed at the comparison. “In my opinion, Robocop is the best, because in Jiban’s case he is Naoto, a cop who can’t do anything, they always hurt me! — exclaims—. Therefore, he must transform into Jiban. But Robocop was perfect from the start.” He laughs again as he imagines a duel between the two of them. “Naoto will escape on a motorbike or in a plane.”

In reality, the matter has already been resolved. Hiroshi was in Quito 2022, for the Heroes and Villains event, and soon he will fulfill his promise with Guayaquil. “I always wanted to get to know Guayaquil,” he says and admits that he prepared by looking at photos of the city on the Internet, and he has already put one on his Instagram profile.

How was it on the set? Jeez? He remembers it as a very good year, with a friendly cast. Naoto, as a human, had very few scenes with Mayumi; They spent more time together when he transformed into Jiban.

Interestingly, apart from Mayumi, He maintains friendships with those who were once his opponents on the set (Bioroni) and with superheroes from other series. “We meet at events,” he admits. “We are pretty close to date, but We can’t take too many photos, otherwise the fans would see me fraternizing with the enemy!“.

He believes that the series that came after Jeez They were very lucky to have digital technology that had much more spectacular effects. “In my day I had to put on explosive effects and push a button. switch for simulating explosions. I don’t think actors today need to do that. How lucky that there was no mobile phone! —he adds— “You would have seen how dangerous that filming was!” (AND)