GUEST BIOS SF GODZILLAFEST 2026!
2026!
DIRECTOR SHUSUKE KANEKO
Godzillafest welcomes heralded director Shusuke Kaneko.
Shusuke Kaneko grew up (as all of us have) with a love for science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films. He started his career at Nikkatsu Studios in the early 1980s.
His first genre film was actually “The Cold”, a segment of the film NECRONOMICON in 1993. After that he went on a direct the Heisei Gamera films for Daiei/Kodakawa. These included GAMERA GUARDIAN
OF THE UNIVERSE (1995), GAMERA 2 ATTACK OF LEGION (1996) and GAMERA 3 REVENGET OF IRIS (1999), which he also co-wrote.
During this time, he also directed HAUNTED SCHOOL 3 (1997) and PYROKENESIS (2000).
In 2001, he wrote and directed GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK for Toho, which is considered one of the best films of the Godzilla series.
Other genre films that he has directed include AZUMI 2: DEATH OR LOVE (2005), DEATH NOTE and DEATH NOTE 2: THE LAST NAME (both in 2006) and episodes of the TV series ULTRAMAN MAX (2005).
2026!
2026!
ACTOR KATSUHIKO SASAKI
Godzillafest welcomes actor Katsuhiko Sasaki.
Sasaki was born into Godzilla films with an established pedigree, being the son of Minoru Chiaki who played Koji Kobayashi in 1955’s GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN.
Sasaki would play Goro Ibuki, the inventor of Jet Jaguar in GODZILLA VS MEGALON (1973). He went on to appear with another cyborg (Katsura, played by last year’s Godzillafest guest Tomoko Ai) in 1975’s
TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA. He would also play a soldier in GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE (1989) and Professor Mazaki in 1991’s GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH.
Other genre films included LAST DAYS OF PLANET EARTH (PROPHESIES OF NOSTRADAMUS) (1974), EVIL OF DRACULA (also 1974), and the TV series DAITETSUJIN 17 (1977).
Later in his career he did a lot of voice work on THE BIG O (2003), BLACK LAGOON (2006), GOLGO 13 (2009), YU-GI-OH! Zexal (2013), THE BOY AND THE BEAST (2015) and others.
He also provided voices in quite a few dubbed films for both Robert DeNiro and Alec Baldwin.
GUEST BIOS SF GODZILLAFEST 2025
TOMOKO AI:
Tomoko Ai is a Japanese actress. After graduating high school, Ai became a commercial model before making her acting debut in episode 17 of Ultraman Leo, going on to play the regular role of Haruko Matsuki from episodes 26 through 40 of the series.
She is most famous for playing the role of Katsura Mafune in Terror of Mechagodzilla.
She continued to act in film and television until 1990, then came out of retirement in 2007.
2025
2025
HURRICANE RYU (破李拳 竜)
Manga illustrator and kaiju suit actor Hariken "Hurricane" Ryu has portrayed many fan-favorite monsters in Toho special effects films such as King Ghidorah in GODZILLA vs. KING GHIDORAH, Battra Larva in GODZILLA vs. MOTHRA, Baby Godzilla in GODZILLA vs. MECHAGODZILLA, Godzilla Junior in GODZILLA vs. DESTROYAH and the Kumasogami in YAMATO TAKERU. Other notable suit-acting roles include Guilala in MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: Attack the G8 Summit and Jinra-go (“Mikadroid”) in MIKADROID.
An accomplished illustrator, Ryu also served as the storyboard artist on the Heisei Godzilla series, beginning with GODZILLA vs. BIOLLANTE through its conclusion, GODZILLA vs. DESTROYAH. His original artwork is always a big hit with fans at all of his stateside convention appearances.
2025
TJ STORM:
TJ Storm is an American actor, stuntman, dancer, and martial artist. He is best known for his role as
Bayu in Conan the Adventurer and for his motion capture performances in Tron: Legacy, Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool, and as Godzilla in the Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019). His latest role was that of The Red Hulk in Captain America Brave New World.