North American appearances by Takashi Miike aren’t quite as rare as photos of J.D. Salinger. Miike has been in attendance at more than a few Toronto Fests over the years, for example. But they’re rare enough that the guy’s appearance on our shores is worth noting, especially when he brings his latest film before it premieres in Japan.

Twitch reports that Miike and Sho Sakai will be the Guest of Honor and Special Guest, respectively, of the 2009 New York Comic Con. Sakai stars in Yatterman, Miike’s latest film, and first giant robot movie.

At 4pm Friday, February 6, the two will speak and show a 7-minute clip in the IGN Theater. Four hours later, at 8pm, they’ll attend the film’s world premiere at the New
York Directors Guild Theater. Free tickets to the premiere will be available (in fairly limited quantity) at the Nikkatsu Booth (#1315) earlier on Friday. A second screening, sans Miike and friend, will take place on Saturday; that one is free to all NYCC attendees. Finally, Miike will be signing at the Nikkatsu Booth at some point. 

Yatterman adapts the Japanese animated show that ran from 1977 to 1979. The
show featured a giant dog robot in addition to many other animal-shaped
mecha and accident-prone villains. Multiple moving images are available on the film’s Japanese website.