Biography:It seems appropriate that as someone who has portrayed so many superheroes early on in his career, Daisuke Ban was born on Boys' Day, in the year of the Boar; the Boar being an Eastern zodiac sign that represents chivalry, gallantry, fortitude, and great honesty. In person, he is quiet and friendly, with an earnestness and lack of ego that is refreshing and appealing. Ban-san enjoys films and listening to music. A person of many talents, he sang "Haru Kureba" for a special CD collection of "Kikaida" series music released in 1989. He also sketches. His autobiography, "Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, Jiro Tabi no Tochu de" [trans: Android Kikaida: In the Midst of Jiro's Journey] (which included some of his art work) was published by Kadokawa Shoten in August 2001. Here is a partial list of the TV shows and films that he has appeared in: "Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" (1972, NET) as Jiro/Kikaida "Tobidasu Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" (1973) as Jiro/Kikaida "Kikaida-01" (1973) as Jiro/KikaidaIt seems appropriate that as someone who has portrayed so many superheroes early on in his career, Daisuke Ban was born on Boys' Day, in the year of the Boar; the Boar being an Eastern zodiac sign that represents chivalry, gallantry, fortitude, and great honesty. In person, he is quiet and friendly, with an earnestness and lack of ego that is refreshing and appealing. Ban-san enjoys films and listening to music. A person of many talents, he sang "Haru Kureba" for a special CD collection of "Kikaida" series music released in 1989. He also sketches. His autobiography, "Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, Jiro Tabi no Tochu de" [trans: Android Kikaida: In the Midst of Jiro's Journey] (which included some of his art work) was published by Kadokawa Shoten in August 2001. Here is a partial list of the TV shows and films that he has appeared in: "Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" (1972, NET) as Jiro/Kikaida "Tobidasu Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" (1973) as Jiro/Kikaida "Kikaida-01" (1973) as Jiro/Kikaida "Inazuman" (1973) as Watari Goro/Sanagiman/Inazuman "Inazuman Flash" (1974) as Watari Goro/Sanagiman/Inazuman "Tobidasu rittai eiga: Inazuman" (1974) as Watari Goro/Sanagiman/Inazuman "Ninja Captor" (1976) as Daisuke Izumo/Fire Ninja (Captor 7) "Tokusou saizensen" (1977) "Battle Fever J" (1979) as Makoto Jin/Battle Cossack II "Sukeban Deka I" (1985) as Prison Guard ("Story 16: Escape From Hell Castle")^~ "Choshichiro Edo Nikki" (NTV) "Zenigata Heiji" (Fuji) "Gift" (Fuji) "Abarenbo Shogun" (TV Asahi) "Sasurai Keiji" (TV Asahi) "Oedo Sosamo" (TV Tokyo) "Honto ni atta kowai hanashi: Dai 2 ya" (1991, Video) as Youko's Father ^* "Tokugawa Buraicho" (1992, TV Tokyo) "Denkou choujin Gridman" (1993, TBS) as Inoue (Trans?) + "Youjo densetsu Siren" (1993)^* "Norowareta bijo tachi: Akuryou kaidan" (1996, Video) as Tateyama ("Shinrei Bideo")^* "Yo nimo Kimyou na Monogatari" (1997, Fuji) "Aguri Soushuhen" (1997, NHK) [morning drama serial] "Suzuran" (1997, NHK) [morning drama serial] "Shin Hanshichi Torimonocho" (1997, NHK) as Sanai Iwashita "Ultraman Dyna" (1998, MBS) as Satellite Engineer (Trans?)+ "Ringu" (1998) as Dr. Heihachiro Ikuma "Rasen" (1998) as Dr. Heihachiro Ikuma "Gakkou no kaidan: Haru no tatari special" (1999) as Noriko's Neighbor ("Tatari")* "Ringu 2" (1999) as Dr. Heihachiro Ikuma "Ringu 0: Basudei" (2000) as Dr. Heihachiro Ikuma "Kikaida Brothers, Live!" (2003) as Jiro/Kikaida [live stage show] "Blood of the Samurai: The Series" (2004) as Sensei "Yogen" (2004) [More information as becomes available, 10/04] "Blood Of The Samurai II: Blade Of Destiny" (2004) as Sensei "Ninja EX" (2005) as Sensei ^ Billed as Naoya Ban + Unconfirmed, source: www14.big.or.jp/~hosoya/who/ha/ban-daisuke.htm * Unconfirmed, source: www.fjmovie.com ~ Source: www.idollica.com/sukebanintro/SukebanDekaIntro.html Ban-san has also appeared in commercials, including ads for Ajinomoto and the Marui Department store. "Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" has been released on DVD by Hawaii-based JN Productions and the Mountain Apple Company. The subtitled collection includes exclusive interviews with Ban-san as well as series trivia. The ninth (and final) DVD of the collection has been released October 2004 and includes the 3D featurette "Tobidasu Jinzo Ningen Kikaida" (complete with 3D glasses). In fall of 2003, Ban-san, along with Shunsuke Ikeda (Ichiro/Kikaida 01) starred in "Kikaida Brothers, Live!", a live stage production based on the Kikaida series, to the delight of Hawaii audiences. In fall of 2004, Ban-san celebrated the 30th anniversary of Kikaida in Hawaii, marked by an official proclaimation from Governor Linda Lingle and three days of appearances with Miyauchi Hiroshi, aka Kazami Shiro/Kamen Rider V3. He has also starred in the TV series "Blood of the Samurai", as the wise mentor Sensei. This was his first appearance in an American TV show. [Sources: Internet Movie Database, JN Productions, www.bandaisuke.com, www.fjmovie.com, Masaki Hosoya (www14.big.or.jp/~hosoya) [site offline as of 9/04], Verne Innhel (www.idollica.com), www.nhk.or.jp/digitalmuseum/nhk50years_en/index.html]…Expand
