TAROMAN

Osaka was the the site of Expo ’70, and among the most memorable elements of the event, standing to this day, is the "Tower of the Sun", a 70-metre-tall sculpture/building envisioned and designed by renowned artist Taro Okamoto, who some call “the Japanese Picasso”. This film is a theatrical adaptation of "TAROMAN", a tokusatsu series re-envisioning Okamoto's most famous pieces as surrealist superheroes and villains, with Ultraman-like TAROMAN, based on the Tower itself, at the forefront of it all.

Demetrios was a young man in Ancient Greece who was a potter's apprentice, but also a rather timid otaku. Despite pursuing the arts, he was blessed with natural athletic talent. One day, he gets dragged into a village conflict. Demetrios contemplates how helpless he is, but then is struck by lightning! When he comes to, he is no longer in Greece, but a strange land where he can't understand the language and people look rather different. Yes, he somehow ended up 1964 Tokyo! Of course, Demetrios has no idea what Japan even is. What will become of him?!!

Actor and Taro Okamoto fan Arata Iura narrates this mockumentary surrounding the 1972 tokusatsu series "TAROMAN", its impact on contemporary 1970s Japan, the ties to popular art with its motifs influenced by artist Taro Okamoto, and the lasting impact the series had on creators decades down the line. Also, performed for the first time is the theme song for "TAROMAN", "Explosion! TAROMAN".