Song of the Moment LXVII: Tetsuo Kurata’s “Kamen Rider Black”

It’s Saturday night and I’m still happy from last night because, for the second time, I met one of my childhood heroes, Mr. Tetsuo Kurata, the actor who played Kotaro Minami/Robert Akizuki in the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Black. This time, I met him at an exclusive dinner in his restaurant Steak House Kurata at Parqal.

The dinner slash meet-and-greet last night was more memorable for me than the first time I met Mr. Kurata because of one key moment: I almost got speechless when Mr. Kurata, his son Kotaro, and Ms. Anne of TokuSpirits approached me while I ate my salad. I had a short message prepared on my phone, but I was so shocked when the man himself was in front of me that I forgot my message. But I got it together seconds later and thanked him for making my childhood awesome. Also, my photos with him this time looked better than my first photo with him. (Too bad I forgot my mask for this though so I can post a photo on my Instagram.) I will always remember this night.

Because of this epic milestone, my Song of the Moment is Kamen Rider Black’s opening song—and Mr. Kurata himself sang it. And I’m listening to the theme song while I’m enjoying my Jack and Coke Zero.

The opening of Kamen Rider Black.

Again, I say to Mr. Tetsuo Kurata, thank you for making my childhood awesome. And thank you, Steak House Kurata and TokuSpirits, for making the exclusive dinner possible. Thank you so much!

(I will try to make a proper post about the event next time because I’m so tipsy as hell right now.)

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10-Minute Warning CII

So, what can I share here under 10 minutes?

Right now, I just walked away from my usual jogging path because there is a car that has been circling around said path. I may be paranoid, but I have to stay away to be safe. As the saying goes, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Anyway, I like the weather right now. The cool breeze makes the walking and jogging around comfortable. I like it! I will miss this kind of weather when March comes. (In the Philippines, March is the start of summer.)

What else? Oh! I just reached 6km. Good job, self! And thank you, my Mi Watch, for tracking my steps and kilometers reached.

I just remembered: Tetsuo Kurata of Kamen Rider BLACK will have a meet-and-greet tomorrow at The Linden Suites. This is a rare opportunity, so I might go there to have a photo taken with one of my childhood heroes. But that means I should wake up early on a Saturday. Wish me luck!

And time’s up.

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IV: Happiest Birthday, Undertaker!

Today, March 24, 2023, is the 58th birthday of my favorite professional wrestler of all time, Mark Calaway AKA The Undertaker. In light of such an occasion, I was planning on writing a lengthy post covering his career and persona evolution. But then I decided to do the extensive post later (perhaps on November 22, Taker’s WWE anniversary), keep it simple, and say: Thank you, Undertaker.

Thank you, Undertaker, for making my childhood awesome. Before I became hooked on Batman, Power Rangers, and Kamen Rider Black, I was hooked when I saw you for the first time, donning the black hat, coat, purple gloves, and all, slowly walking to the purple-lit wrestling ring. You are a haunting yet cool comic book character that came to life, and at first glance, you became my favorite wrestler right away. You are the reason I started loving professional wrestling.

Thank you, Undertaker, for all the matches and memories you were a part of. Most of my favorite matches feature you and my other favorite wrestlers – notably Edge, CM Punk, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Mankind, among others. And those favorite matches of mine show how powerful yet athletic you are even if you are a superheavyweight. And all of your entrances (especially that WrestleMania XX entrance) are my favorite wrestling moments. Even your simple entrances on either Raw or SmackDown with fog and purple lights are already epic.

And thank you, Undertaker, for showing me the light through your darkness. You are the definition of turning something negative into something positive. You, alongside Batman, are the very reason I don’t fear the dark. Thank you.

Happiest of birthdays, Undertaker! You deserve a nice retirement after 30 years of wrestling for the fans. You deserve all of your accomplishments. And you deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Enjoy your day, sir!


Header image: WWE. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2022.