Overview: Finally released outside Japan for the very first time, these unique riffs on H.G. Wells classic character (though undoubtedly also indebted to Universal's iconic film series) are two of the earliest examples of tokusatsu (special effects) cinema from Daiei Studios, later the home of Gamera.

In 'The Invisible Man Appears,' written and directed by Nobuo Adachi in 1949, a scientist successfully creates an invisibility serum, only to be kidnapped by a gang of thugs who wish to use the formula to rob a priceless jewel.

In addition to being the earliest surviving Japanese science fiction film ever made, the film's entertaining special effects were an early credit for the legendary Eiji Tsuburaya, five years before he first brought Godzilla to life.

Eight years later, Mitsuo Murayama s exciting 'The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly' tells the story of a series of mysterious murders where the only clue is strange buzzing noise at the scene of the crime could this be linked to secret wartime experiments in shrinking humans to the size of insects? And can a scientist who's just invented an invisibility ray be the one to stop it?

Blu-ray Verdict: Loosely based on the H.G. Wells 1897 classic novel The Invisible Man, the Japanese take on the story ('The Invisible Man Appears,' 1949), still has a scientist using a special chemical to become invisible, but that's about it.

The story begins when jewel thieves becomes interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato. The thieves kidnap the professor and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the Tears of Amour.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this film, as to who is the Invisible Man and why. The Japanese Invisible Man looks just like Universal’s 1933 version played by Claude Rains, with bandages and an overcoat.

Oh, and of course, the formula has the same adverse symptoms which effect the nervous and drive the user insane.

Nothing new under the sun here, but very charming, an enthusiastic entry in a rather lovely tradition. Not quite as quirky / pulpy as Oda's 1954 version, a bit more basic, focusing strictly on the premise itself, meaning the invisible man gets a lot of invisible screen time, and also several pov shots.

Some of those lingering, voyeuristic long takes, when it's no longer completely clear whether we are still seeing through invisible eyes or whether we are just a bit too curious, are quite interesting, though we're, of course, not yet in Verhoeven territory here.

Eight years later we got 'The Invisible Man Vs. The Human Fly' (1957), again filmed in black and white, a series of ghastly murders is being committed with the one similarity in each of the murders being that a weird buzzing sound is always heard right before the murder occurs.

Is the killer invisible or possibly some other incredible creature?

In truth, this was the first Daiei movie I'd seen since the Yokai and Daimajin trilogies a couple of years ago, and it was nice to see more of their output.

It uses the powers of The Invisible Man (or The Transparent Man, depending on who translated it) and The Human Fly, of course, but in different ways from the originals, with heavier emphasis on detective work and a noir-type, serial killer slant.

That alone makes this more serious in tone overall, but on top of that, there's the nightclub dancer. My oh my! As with other classic sci-fi horror movies, I find there's an element of "non-hamminess" to Japanese ones, or at least a different kind of earnestness to that of American ones that can elevate them a little higher with the same basic material.

That mostly holds true here, though maybe not as much as with other examples, especially during scenes featuring The Fly. Still, the cast performed well and it has enough twists to keep things lively.

A nice combination of goofy, serious and even a little sexy thrown in, 'The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly' is interesting and definitely fun, that's for sure.

FYI: During the American Occupation, Eiji Tsuburaya was blacklisted from the studios for what was regarded as his work on propaganda films during the war.

He got around this by starting an independent company to supply "special techniques" (special effects) to the studios. His company was contracted by Daiei to do the special techniques for this film.

He would later close his company when he was allowed to be hired by Toho. This film is regarded as a prime example of his pre-"Gojira" (1954) (Godzilla) accomplishments in the science fiction/horror genre. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

High Definition (1080p) transfers of both films on one Blu-ray disc
Original lossless Japanese mono audio on both films
Optional English subtitles for both films
Transparent Terrors, a newly filmed interview with critic and genre scholar Kim Newman on the history of 'Invisible Man' in cinema
Theatrical trailer for The Invisible Man Appears
Image galleries for both films
Reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork by Graham Humphreys
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Keith Allison, Hayley Scanlon and Tom Vincent