松竹チャンネル/SHOCHIKUch

• 映画

Hissatsu Series (32series, 768eps×60min)
As one of the most popular TV shows ever to hit the airwaves in Japan, the "Hissatsu" series has kept audience glued to the screen for more than two decades, and continues to enjoy success in syndication and video markets.
The weekly series, which was first broadcast in September of 1972, turned a common "jidaigeki" (period movie/tv shows, mostly of Edo era) format on edge by showcasing many atypical elements, often with hilarious twists. Almost all the characters, especially the assassins, had at least one unconventional technique to show off, with or without amusing gadgets; at times, such gadgets and the special effects were deliberately made to look cheap and unrefined. Music (many times created by pop music composers and producers) was based on western/cowboy movie soundtracks. Anachronisms, parodies (especially the ones where other shows shown on different networks in the same time slot were made fun of) and jokes were thrown in with abandon.
At the same time, the series was praised for its technical virtuosity, for it exhibited some of the most artistic use of light and shadow in all of TV. The contrast of refined and crude elements, not to mention the all-star cast was just one of the curiosities which made the show appeal to a huge audience.
Approximately 800 episodes of the Hissatsu series were produced through March of 1991. During the most successful seasons, when the show could boast ratings of nearly 30%.Because of its popularity, many specials and several movies were made.