new episodes instead. Film A theatrical version of Spider-Man was shown on the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival on July 22, 1978. It was directed by series director Kōichi Takemoto and written by Susumu Takaku. The movie was the first appearance of the character of Juzo Mamiya, who subsequently appeared in three episodes of the series (episodes 11, 12 and 14). Because of this, the movie takes place between episodes 10 and 11. Staff Producer: (Toei), Hiroshi Ishikawa (Tokyo Channel 12), Gene Pelc Creator: Saburo Yatsude (based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko) Music composer: Michiaki Watanabe Music producer: Andante Music performers: Colombia Percussion Ensemble (catalog number: Columbia Record CQ-7010) Character designer: Kikakusha 104, Muneo Kubo Costume production: Ekisu Production Screenplays: , , , , Mikio Matsushita Directors: , , , Kimio Hirayama, Hideo Tanaka, Stunt Coordinators: Osamu Kaneda, () Special Effects Director: (uncredited in the show) Assistant Directors: and others Producing Companies: Toei, , Tokyo Channel 12 Theme songs Opening theme Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude Composition & Arrangement: Michiaki Watanabe (listed as Chumei Watanabe) Artist: Yuki Hide Ending theme Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude Composition & Arrangement: Michiaki Watanabe (listed as Chumei Watanabe) Artist: Yuki Hide Home media Because Spider-Man is a Marvel property, Toei was not allowed to rerun the series or use publicity stills of Spider-Man from the show without paying licensing fees to Marvel. Original characters and other elements exclusive to Toei's television series (such as the villains and the giant robot Leopardon), were exempt from these licensing issues, as these were creations of Toei. As a result, only a single VHS collection of episodes (which featured episodes 1, 31, and the movie) was released in Japan during the 1980s, and reprints of the official soundtrack had the original cover on the jacket replaced with an image of Leopardon. The rest of the series was unavailable on home video for many years. The 1995 superhero guidebook (published by Takeshobo) was the last time Toei was allowed to publish a photograph of Spider-Man. Every retrospective coverage of Toei's Spider-Man published since then was done without using photographs of the Spider-Man character himself. In 2004, Toei began renegotiating with Marvel for the rights to release the series on DVD in Japan. The Region 2 DVD box set was released on December 9, 2005, and includes all 41 episodes and the movie on seven discs,