10.17.2017: Yuji & Michi Nishimura from M1 Toys

Woah – I didn’t realize that October had gotten away from me so much. I’ve been so focused on watching horror movies and the inktober challenge this month that I kind of spaced putting together an episode for the first half of the month. Well hopefully the content makes up for the tardiness! This episode is a laid back chat with my Japanese friends Yuji and Michi Nishimura. If you’re unfamiliar with M Ichigo toys (aka M1), Yuji is the man behind the company. The toys produced by M1 are beautiful and I am very happy to have a small assortment of them in my collection. Yuji makes all of the calls for his company – and if that wasn’t enough of a reason to interview him, he’s also like a rock star of a collector too. The entirety of his collection is mind-boggling, but we won’t be focusing on the toys so much in this episode — although another in the future is almost certainly in order. No, what we focus on in this interview is more about what he’s doing with his collection, how he’s assisting a company called Kodansha and his involvement with the current traveling exhibit in Japan called the Tokusatsu DNA Exhibition. No kidding, if you are going to be anywhere in Japan while this exhibit is on display, make sure you make your way to whatever museum is serving up this awesomeness! Now, a quick word about the audio of this episode… first, please pardon the length. I used to apologize for long episodes, but this one is definitely on the shorter side of an hour. Also, a word on audio quality – since this was recorded in the dealers’ room at G-Fest XXIV, there’s a LOT of noise and it was difficult to clean up, and someone made a lengthy announcement that I had to cut out (Nunes!!!), so there will be times where it will be difficult to hear us, but I hope you enjoy it! TUNES FOR THE SHORTER TIMES: 1. Mahara Mosura by Yuji Koseki from Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) 2. Southern Island Tale segment by Hachiro Matsui from King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) 3. Go, Go Godzilla by the Blue Oyster Cult from Spectre (1977) SUGGESTED VIEWING: M1 Ichigo’s official website Kodansha Box Sets Tokusatsu DNA Exhibit — on display in Kyushuu’s Saga prefecture until November 5th!