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Takeda's science fiction work is remembered fondly by children of the 60s. His classical works are respected by puppeteers all over the world. He performed overseas across Europe, Asia and the USSR before his tragic death in an accident in 1979, at only 56 years old.
Science Fiction Puppetry for NHK
The Silica was a vessel that could travel in space, in the atmosphere or under the water. Its crew included captain Bob, Neri, a cute girl with blonde pigtails, her kid brother Piro, his dog, and a talking robot. Their adventures ran for 227 ten-minute episodes, screened in black and white from September 1960 to March 1962. The score was by Isao Tomita, who would become one of the legends of international electronic music. This is believed to be his earliest TV theme, according to Tomita expert Nicholas D. Kent, who maintains an informative website on his works.
Working with Osamu Tezuka
His work featured on a commemorative stamp in 1998, when the Japanese Post Office issued four stamps to celebrate the 15th World Puppetry Festival. The 60 yen stamp showed a string puppet used in his animated feature film "Spring and Fall in the Meiji Era".
Tomita once again provided the score, as he did in 1969 when Takeda returned to science fiction for "Aerial City 008", a far more ambitious full-colour series. A typical 21st-century Japanese family [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the Oharas, live in an aerial city surrounded by high-tech marvels. 230 15-minute episodes were screened in black and white between April 1969 and April 1970, every weekday evening, with a 30-minute special the following year. Based on a novel by Japanese SF giant Sakyo Komatsu, the series was a huge success, largely thanks to Takeda's beautiful puppets and the sci-fi settings.
In 1963, Takeda worked with Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy, on a TV puppet series called "Ginga Shonen Tai", or Galaxy Boy Troop. This series of fifteen-minute black and white science fiction tales combined puppetry and cel animation so successfully that 92 episodes were made over two years. The shows were sold to France where they were screened under the title "Le Commando de la Voie Lactee" - The Milky Way Commando. Young hero Roppei and his comrades, Mister 6 the intelligent flying vehicle, beautiful blonde Miria [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and cowboy Tex, are on a quest across the galaxy to save the dying sun. Tezuka's company Mushi Productions made the animation, and Takeda sculpted the puppets based on Tezuka's designs. The show was a co-production between the Takeda Puppet Troupe and Mushi Productions for NHK.
In 1960, Takeda transformed SF novelist Shinichiro Hoshi's work into a sci-fi puppet series called "Spaceship Silica" for the Japanese national channel NHK. The channel had already established a tradition of puppet shows for family viewing, but most of its shows since 1953 had been based on classic novels or traditional tales. The young audience loved Takeda's space adventures.
Japan's long tradition of puppetry has produced many great masters, but few have worked in science fiction. Kinosuke Takeda was born in 1923, in the beautiful town of Oku, now part of the city of Setouchi in Okayama, south-eastern Honshu. An annual puppetry festival is still held in his hometown to honour his memory, and the local museum exhibits many of his puppets [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], designs and the tools he used to make them.