Koichi Sakamoto, a former stunt coordinator and executive producer for the "Power Rangers" series, will make a rare convention appearance in New Jersey this December.
Sakamoto will be a guest at AnimeNJ++, which will be held Dec. 15 to 17 at the Hilton Woodcliff Lake in Woodcliff Lake, NJ. The convention is organized by Media Blasters, which recently licensed the Sakamoto-directed film Ninja vs. Shark.
Sakamoto was born in Japan and grew up a fan of both Hong Kong action films and Super Sentai. He performed in Sentai stunt shows before he came to the U.S. as an exchange student in 1989. In 1992, he founded Alpha Stunts. He soon got a job directing second-unit "Battle Grid" sequences in the syndicated Saban series "VR Troopers." In the middle of the second season of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," he became the show's stunt coordinator, a job he held through "Power Rangers Wild Force." He continued to work on the show as a director and producer through "Power Rangers RPM." He returned briefly to contribute to "Legendary Battle," the finale of "Power Rangers Super Megaforce."
Members of Alpha Stunts continued to work on "Power Rangers" through "Power Rangers Cosmic Fury."
After "RPM," he moved back to Japan, where his credits include episodes of "Kamen Rider W," "Kamen Rider Fourze," "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger," "Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger," "Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger," "Ultraman Geed" and "Ultraman Decker," as well as a number of movies tied to the tokusatsu franchises.
Given his schedule, Sakamoto rarely attends anime conventions in the U.S. He briefly attended the first Power Morphicon in 2007 and sat on two panels where he discussed the show's production and stunts.
Sakamoto will be attending all three days of the convention and will be signing autographs for fans. However, since the hotel is a small venue, attendance may be capped.
(Photo: Koichi Sakamoto speaks during a panel at Power Morphicon 2007, flanked by then-story editor Jackie Marchand and "Power Rangers SPD" executive producer Greg Aronowitz.)
