exploring the arcade in the トラック野郎 / Torakku yarô aka Truck Guy movies (1975-1979)

Truck Guys was a series of 10 films released in 5 years!  The wikipedia description will suffice here:

All ten films in the series were directed by Norifumi Suzuki and starred Bunta Sugawara as Momojiro Hoshi ("Ichibanboshi" or "first star") and Kinya Aikawa as Kinzo Matsushita, also known as "Jonathan". The title Torakku Yaro means "truck guys" or "truck rascals", and the films involve two truckers and their various escapades as they travel around Japan in highly decorated trucks.

The plot formula is similar to the Otoko wa Tsurai yo films. Each time Momojiro falls in love with a woman (the "Madonna") and then ends up having to help her romance with another man. The stories end with Momojiro having to race his truck to meet a deadline to rejoin the couple.

Many of these movies have arcade machines so of course we need to go exploring.

From wikipedia, a wonderful image of Momojiro Hoshi's truck on display in 2016:

This movie series also spawned 2 medal games:

1976 トラック野郎 (Truck Yaro) by 太陽自動機 (Taiyo Jidoki)

1977 特急・一番星 (Limited Express) by 太陽自動機 (Taiyo Jidoki)

On to the movies!

In most of the movies, there is a truck stop restaurant where many fights occur.  In the background the games on display change slightly.  Kudos to the set decorators for not getting lazy!

This is the place where Bunta is constantly shoveling food into his mouth, until he inevitably ends up in a hilarious fist fight.  Sometimes he is laying on the ground sleeping off a hangover and you best believe the person bugging him is gonna get punched.

1975 - トラック野郎 / Torakku yarô: Goiken muyô (Truck Guys)

1969 Joust by Bally

1969 Airport by Gottlieb

1975 - トラック野郎 爆走一番星 / Torakku yarô: Bakusô Ichibanboshi (Trucker Yaro II: The Wild Trucker)

~1972 ウルトラアタック (Ultra Attack) by 日本娯楽機 (Nihon Gorakuki) & 日本展望娯楽社 (Nihon Tenbo) [presumed]

1970 ジャンボ キック (Jumbo Kick) by 東急商事株式會社 (Tokyo Corporation) & 日本展望娯楽社 (Nihon Tenbo)

Next machine is Joust, which we noted in the first movie.

1970 Galahad by Bally

1976 - トラック野郎 望郷一番星 / Torakku yarô: Bôkyô Ichibanboshi (Trucker Yaro III: Nostalgia for the First Star)

blink and you'll miss it, but there are two classic machines in this shot

can you see them now?

1969 On Beam by Bally

~1969 Homerun! - ホームランゲーム by 日本展望娯楽社 (Nihon Tenbo Entertainment Company)

bonus frame of a vending machine lineup

1976 - トラック野郎 天下御免 / Torakku yarô: tenka gomen (Trucker Yaro IV: Fully Licensed)

In the first two stills we can see some pachinko machines now setup in the background.

hard to spot, but to the right of the pachinko machines we can see Jumbo Kick, which appears in the 2nd film.  But interesting to note that the actual machine is a different one, with the red and blue panels on swapped sides.

this was the first time I saw a colour version of Stranger

note the basketball game in the center

    

~1969 Stranger - ストレンジャー by 日本展望娯楽社 (Nihon Tenbo Entertainment Company — Nitten)

1972 Champion Basket Game - チャンピオン バスケット ゲーム by 昭和遊園 (Showa Yuen)

1977 - トラック野郎 度胸一番星 / Torakku yarô: Dokyô ichiban hoshi (Trucker Yaro V: The courageous star)

same pachinko lineup, with Champion Basket Game still in front of it.

this is part of a wonderful fight sequence where he exclaims about how much he's winning and the guy he is fighting helps him gather balls.  At least temporarily.

The green game is Beat & Spark.  To the right is Jumbo Kick, which we've seen above.

1970 ビート & スパーク (Beat & Spark) [Socker] by 東急商事株式會社 (Tokyo Corporation) & 日本展望娯楽社 (Nihon Tenbo)

There are numerous models that this is similar to, but only one that is an identical match

1976 Piccadilly Circus Mark II - ピカデリー サーカス・マークII by レジャック (Leijac)

I just love the guy in his bathrobe and shades drinking beer
same Champion Basket Game and pachinko wall

~1969 ビックレース (Big Race) by 三共 (Sankyo)

1977 - トラック野郎 男一匹桃次郎 / Torakku yarô: Otoko ippiki momojirô (Trucker Yaro VI:  I am a Man of Honour)

I dunno man, I just figured you'd want to see Bunga served up like a turkey

once again Champion Basket Game

1968 Lady Luck by Williams

1978 - トラック野郎 突撃一番星 / Torakku yarô: Totsugeki ichiban hoshi (Trucker Yaro VII: Another Odyssey of Momojiro)

No games here, so instead have a few still of vending machines.

1978 - トラック野郎 一番星北へ帰る / Torakku yarô: Ichiban hoshi kita e kaeru (Trucker Yaro VIII: The Truck Rascals go to the North)

1969 Grand Prix - グランブリ by セガ (Sega)

The bezel is a different colour, but it is this game:

1968 怪獣ルーレット (monster roulette) by 児童遊園設備 (Children's Amusement Park Facilities)

1979 - トラック野郎 熱風5000キロ / Torakku yarô: Neppû 5000 kiro (Trucker Yaro IX: A 5000 Km Run)

we're officially into the table games era here with this Space Invaders clone Super Invaders (スーパーインベーダー)

the instruction card appears on many cocktails, with different company logos attached.  In the movie it says ACE COPORETION.

They have a wonderful animated wall display influenced by space invaders

luckily they still have 2 pinball machines here

1972 Super Star by Williams

1972 El Toro by Bally

1979 - トラック野郎 故郷特急便 / Torakku yarô: Furusato tokkyûbin (Trucker Yaro X: Run, Truck Rascal, Run!)

There are no arcade machines seen in this movie.  It also features dog fighting.  Might want to skip this one.

pass