Isao Tsuge Details the Three Meanings Behind Gas Man's Coat
Tsuge's detailed breakdown of the Gas Man's costume design reveals how the reboot consciously bridges the original 1960 film's visual language with a modern aesthetic, while his personal connection to UTA adds a layer of intergenerational collaboration to the production.
Key Facts
- Isao Tsuge designed the Gas Man's blue-gray coat to represent gas-like nature, otherness, and respect for the 1960 original film.
- The Netflix series "Gas Man" is a reboot of Toho's 1960 special effects film "The Gas Man First Number."
- UTA plays the Gas Man, with Tsuge praising his ability to deliver emotionless lines with precise timing.
- Tsuge has known UTA since childhood through UTA's father, actor Masahiro Motoki, with whom Tsuge worked on "Departures" and "Gemini."
- All eight episodes of "Gas Man" are now streaming on Netflix.
Reporting from 1 source: Cinema Today.
Isao Tsuge, the character design supervisor for the Netflix series "Gas Man," has explained the three concepts embedded in the blue-gray coat worn by the titular character. In an interview with Cinema Today, Tsuge said the coat's color first represents the gas-like nature of the character, second conveys a sense of otherness, and third shows respect for the 1960 original film, which also featured blue and gray tones. Tsuge, who has worked on films including "Departures" and "Shin Godzilla," designed the Gas Man after receiving the role two months before filming began. He praised actor UTA, who plays the Gas Man, for delivering emotionless lines with precise timing while also showing natural warmth in scenes with a young girl. Tsuge noted he has known UTA since childhood through his father, actor Masahiro Motoki, with whom Tsuge worked on "Departures" and "Gemini." The series, a reboot of Toho's 1960 special effects film "The Gas Man First Number," is directed by Shinzo Katayama and stars Shun Oguri and Yu Aoi alongside UTA. All eight episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
- Tsuge joined the production two months before filming began, sketching character designs while reading the script.
- The blue-gray coat color was chosen first, and that palette then informed the everyday clothes of Ren Tsutsumida (UTA) before his transformation: denim jackets, overalls, and work clothes for the mine.
- Tsuge said the original 1960 film features blue and gray "surprisingly frequently," including the light blue of a female bank clerk's uniform, the gray of a safe and building walls, the blue-gray of the Gas Man's suit, and the pale blue when the Gas Man glows.
- Director Shinzo Katayama studied under Bong Joon-ho, director of "Parasite" (2019).
- This is Tsuge's second collaboration with Katayama, following "The Lust in the Rain" (2024).
- Tsuge praised UTA for delivering emotionless lines with "appropriate timing, neither too much nor too little," while also showing natural warmth in scenes with a young girl who escaped a facility.
- Tsuge said he has known UTA since childhood through UTA's father, actor Masahiro Motoki, with whom Tsuge worked on "Departures" (2008) and Shinya Tsukamoto's "Gemini" (1999).
- The cast also includes Suzu Hirose and Yutaka Takenouchi.
- The series took eight months to film.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.