You may recall this post from way back when, dedicated to Naya Gorô, the voice of evil where Kamen Rider's concerned. He celebrated his 79th birthday yesterday, and because there has been a teeny bit of GL development since I wrote that in 2006, here's the inevitable addendum.
(As I've mentioned before, it's also my dad's birthday. No connection, I swear!)
If you've wondered why Naya hasn't been back to do a regular voiceover role in Kamen Rider (or a lot of things) in recent years, it would be due to a little more than just the wear and tear of old age. I read recently that in the past decade, his throat has become understandably weaker, and combined with generally reduced strength from undergoing surgery for cancer, he hasn't been doing as much work as he used to. However, he still made the effort for his very special cameos in Paradise Lost and more recently, Kamen Rider THE NEXT. It's the latter that I'll discuss here, since it wasn't out back in 2006 and all.
Ah yes, THE NEXT. It's ripe for a reappraisal some time, when I finally can manage to sit through the whole thing again. I have "rewatched" it a few times since getting the DVD, and by "rewatch" I mean "skip to all the parts I actually like." I think you can figure out what parts those are. Sure enough, Naya's big return as the Great Leader is one of them. In case you need a reminder, the boss tells everybody (Scissors-Jaguar, Chainsaw-Lizard, the Shocker Riders, and anybody else in the immediate area) about the big evil plan to take over the world. Meanwhile, Chiharu splashes around downstairs, and guess what? Nobody really cares about her. Sort of like the audience by the time we get to the third reel.
Yes, it's a bit awkward with them all standing around naked (Scissors, the Leader and random henchmen excepted.) I'm still not sure why that is, because like a lot of things in the movie, nobody can be bothered to even start trying to explain it. I can only conclude that once they found out they were getting the PG-12 rating, they went to town. Well that, or my fan theory that they're all just fresh off the operating table. But then that begs the question as to why we didn't just get the whole cybernetic surgery scene in all its gory detail.
That said, given some of the other stuff in the movie, it actually looks pretty tasteful by comparison. And what's more, it's all sort of saved by the fact that 1) Chainsaw-Lizard is involved, and I loved her, and 2) the Great Leader makes his presence known at last. In, what else— voiceover form.
THE FIRST had used the rather novel concept of having the orders come down from a triumvirate of villains: Amamoto's digitally-enhanced Doctor Shinigami, some lady in a cheongsam, and ISSA trying to get his gangsta on. It was nifty idea, but of course everyone and their dog wondered where the big bird was. THE NEXT answered that question the way it usually is: nobody knows! But he's live and broadcasting all the same.
It's great just to hear Naya one more time, and while he sounds more like his PSX Kamen Rider & Kamen Rider V3 self than the way he used to be (an octave or two lower) you still know it's him. Plus, how cool is that speech? Good old fashioned evilness, that is.
Sadly, that's pretty much it, but hey, at least he's there. And given Naya's current health, I guess it's the best we could ask for. I do hope, if there is a third movie (as has long been rumored), he'll be back for that one, even if it's just for the final confrontation at the end. Assuming of course the final confrontation isn't with Chiharu again. (>_<)
Naurally, given that the two revamp movies (which I really want to start calling the "THE" series) take place in their own strange little world, I'm not even gonna attempt to tie this in with the other Great Leader appearances. It's the same guy in a different version of the story, let's leave it at that.
And that's really it for the GL as of 2008. Who knows if or when he'll turn up next. The surprise head villain in next year's show (hey, Naya can at least do one episode, can't he?) Another movie appearance? It could be anything, at this rate.
Oh, well I do know two places. He's in Kamen Rider Spirits, although things are a bit... er, complicated with him there. I'll talk about that some other time, but there's some interesting developments. The other place he's returning is in
Happy (late) Birthday, Naya-san!
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^^ Good as always, igadevil-san.
ReplyDeleteLet's see if your blog will let me comment THIS time! :p
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten that this month was Naya's birthday, so I'm really appreciative to see the update on him. This reminds me that you had mentioned doing a post on another famous Rider voice - Shinji Nakae. I hope you do eventually, because I inevitably think of his voice as the narrator when I imagine Kamen Rider.