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Kazuya Aoyama

Kazuya Aoyama

Acting

Biography

Kazuya Aoyama (青山 一也 Aoyama Kazuya), real name Mototsugu Takeda (武田 基嗣 Takeda Mototsugu), is a Japanese businessman and former actor and singer. He began his singing career as a member of the rock band Green Grass, with whom he released at least one single. He made his acting debut in the 1971 series Century of the Emperor, but continued to pursue music, signing to Victor Records in 1971 and earning silver prize at the Shinjuku Music Festival for his second single, "Are You Happy?" He was eventually recognized by Toho, who selected him to star in the 1973 superhero series Zone Fighter. Following the show's conclusion, Aoyama was reunited with director Jun Fukuda for Godzilla's 20th anniversary film, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. His final film role came in the 1975 disaster movie Conflagration, officially retiring from acting in 1976. Aoyama is presently active as the CEO and president of Japanese seaweed wholesaler Kawamoriya, Inc., succeeding his father in 1989.

Known For

Zone Fighter
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Zone Fighter, known in Japan as Ryūsei Ningen Zone, is a tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. Produced by Toho Company Ltd., the show aired on Nippon Television from April 2 to September 24, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes, it was cancelled due to the oil crisis of 1973. This was Toho's answer to not only the popular Ultra Series, but the Henshin Hero phenomenon started by shows like Kamen Rider and Android Kikaider. The previous year, Toho had just made their successful first superhero show, Rainbowman. The series was also notable for its guest appearance by Toho's own Godzilla, as well as two other Toho monsters, King Ghidorah and Gigan. Supplementary materials published by Toho have confirmed Zone Fighter to be part of the Showa-era Godzilla series, taking place in between Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

Zone Fighter

1973Series