Creator / Kenji Ushio

Kenji Ushio was a Japanese actor known for his roles in Toku, often as villains of the particularly hammy variety. One of his most iconic roles is the boisterous and fearsome Ambassador Hell in Kamen Rider.

He also happens to be cousins with Mitsuo Ando.

He tragically passed away on September 19, 1993 due to illness.

Roles he has appeared as:

• Ambassador Hell in Kamen Rider, as well as his identical twin Ambassador Darkness in Kamen Rider ZX.
• Baron Iron Mask in J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai Vs. Gorenger.
• Commander Hedder in the first 8 episodes of Battle Fever J (an arrest on suspicion of drug possession led him to be recast with Masashi Ishibashi).
• Doctor Q in Kyodai Ken Byclosser.
• Doruge Piero in Choujin Barom 1.
• Double Bat in Seigi No Symbol Condorman.
• Kozo Itachi in Henshin Ninja Arashi.
• Saburobee Fukuro / Thunder-Stealth Captor 1 in Ninja Captor.
• A Crime Boss of the Week in J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai.
• Several Monster of the Week^note Sai Monster, Sound Beast, Yogen Beast and Lovelove in the Space Sheriff Trilogy.

Tropes related to him:

• Large Ham: The villains he acts are rarely of the subtle type.
• Playing Against Type: While known for his roles as unapologetic and ruthless villains, he plays the heroic Saburobee Fukuro in Ninja Captor. Which is ironically probably his second-most iconic role, after Ambassador Hell in Kamen Rider.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Him being arrested on suspicion of drug possession during Battle Fever J's production led to the role of Commander Hedder being recast to avoid controversy. It didn't end his career however, and he would go on to return to the Toku genre in the roles of Ambassador Darkness and Doctor Q.
• Secretly Dying: He was invited to the 32nd Japan SF Convention, but suffered an incident related to his illness on the night before he was supposed to appear. Though an aid recommended he stop, Ushio opted to appear anyway while hiding his illness. He would later pass on roughly a month after the convention.