#2000's tokusatsu

[super-heroinecomparisons]

Fourth Spear, Wendinu from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger (2002).

[tokuherosuits]

Justice Ride riders from Ride Kamens.

Haruma is supposed to be Phoenix, he looks more like Kuuga.

[cookiqueen13]

Emi is ready for game day!

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 1: The Mighty Atomic Prelude (The 50's and 60's)

Welcome to An Abbreviated History of Mecha anime. Today, we're starting at, as Fraulein Maria would say, at the very beginning. We're taking a quick peak at the beginning of the canon, which means that we're starting back in 1950 (specifically 1952). I should also confess right now: there are two series on here that are demonstrably NOT mecha shows. However, due to their sheer influence on Japanese media as a whole, I feel it is important to bring them up as being honorary mecha shows due to their sheer influence pop culture.

Tetsuwan Atom/Mighty Atom/Astro Boy (1952)

Starting us off is Osamu Tezuka's seminal manga series, Mighty Atom. Known over here in the west as Astro Boy, this series would be what kickstarts a lot of the modern anime and manga industry due to its sheer popularity. Astro Boy would also be one of two series that would be emblematic of how Japanese pop culture would portray the recent use of atomic energy. It should also be worth noting that realizing that Astro technically is a mecha is what got me to start using a broader definition of mecha instead of the classic giant robot definition.

Due to its fame, Mighty Atom has receive multiple adaptations throughout the years. Of note are:

The original 1963 anime.

New Mighty Atom (1980) which updates the series to 1980's animation standards.

The 2003 anime, which does the same, but to the standards of early 2000's anime.

The 2009 CGI movie.

Gojira/Godzilla (1954, honorary mecha series 1)

1954 would also give us Ishiro Honda's Godzilla, the movie that would make tokusatsu-styled live action stories in Japan. Godzilla, alongside RKO's King Kong, would play a large part in popularizing the concept of kaiju. And boy will kaiju play a big part in the history of the mecha canon. As we'll see soon enough, the history of tokusatsu heroes, kaiju, and robots are all intertwined with one another.

Godzilla has starred in numerous movies since the original, but for stories based off of the original there are:

Godzilla Raids Again (1955), a direct sequel.

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: All Out Monsters Attack (2001), a Heisei-era production that uses the original '54 Godzilla as a manifestation of the horrors of World War II.

Shin Godzilla (2016), a re-imagining of the original movie set in contemporary times directed by Hideakki Anno.

Godzilla Minus One (2023), the most recent outing inspired in part by GMK.

Tetsujin 28-go/Gigantor (1956)

(Oh hey, this gif again!)

Tetsujin 28-go is the creation of one Mitsuteru Yokoyama and is generally regarded as the grandfather of the giant robot style of mecha. Tetsujin is unique amongst mecha in that it is controlled not by a pilot riding inside of it, but by a little kid with a controller. Tetsujin 28, alongside Mazinger Z, would help to codify a lot of the tropes common to the classic superhero mecha anime that would be prevalent in the 70's. Like Mighty Atom, Tetsujin would receive multiple adaptations throughout the decades.

Shin Tetsujin 28-Go/The New Adventures of Gigantor (1980), which updates Tetsujin's design to look more in line with something like Mazniger Z.

Tetsujin 28-go FX (1992), sporting a radically different look that's more akin to something out of the Brave Franchise.

Tetsujin 28 (2004), a faithful adaptation of the original manga (at least I think it is) directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa.

Cyborg 009 (1964)

Created by Shotaro Ishinomori in 1964, Cyborg 009 is another classic human-sized mecha series. Cyborg 009 would be the first of many hits for Ishinomori, and he will be mentioned again later in this series.

Oh boy... I am not a Cyborg 009 nut, but in terms of adaptations, Cyborg 009 has:

The 1966 Film

The 1980 Film

009 Re:Cyborg (2012)

The Call For Justice Trilogy (2016)

The 1968 Anime

The 1979-1980 Anime

The 2001-2002 Anime (I actually remember when Toonami aired this series!)

Cyborg 009 vs Devilman (2015 OVA)

If you want to follow someone who follows a lot of Shotaro Ishinomori's works, I'd recommend checking out YouTuber Mercury Falcon for more info about Ishinomori.

Ultra Q and Ultraman (1966, honorary mecha series 2)

(The urge to use a gif of Ingraman is strong)

Ultra Q and Ultraman are the first two entries of Tsuburaya's legendary Ultra franchise, with the latter in particular being one of the most famous pop culture icons of all time. Ultraman's influence on Japanese media is so large, that I'll be mentioning it at least once in relation to other series later on.

Ultraman, like Godzilla before him, would get the Hideaki Anno treatment with Shin Ultraman in 2022.

Giant Robo/Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (1967)

Another one of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic manga series, Giant Robo deserves a mention due to its influence on tokusatsu. Giant Robo would usher in an era of tokusatsu that would rely on using giant robots as the main protagonist.

In terms of adaptations, there are two animated adaptations, but only one will be listed here:

GR: Giant Robo (2007)

If you want to learn a little bit more about the history behind Giant Robo, I'd recommend checking out blunova's video on Giant Robo for more info on this important series.

Conclusion

As the 60's would lead way into the 70's, we would see a lot more live action tokusatsu series involving giant robots. Of course, this would be untenable due to how expensive it was to do tokusatsu effects for television. However, one robot would appear in animation that would change everything.

(Read in the voice of Tessho Genda) AND ITS NAME IS...!!!!

[karinta-agogobell-unified]

Five underappreciated anime that I would recommend!

1. Canaan (2009)

This is, from what I understand, an adaptation of a side-story chapter for the visual novel series 428: Shibuya Scramble, guest-written by Nasu Kinoko and guest-illustrated by Takeuchi Takashi. That is to say, the Type-Moon guys — the creators of Tsukihime, Kara no Kyoukai, and the now-legendary Fate/Stay Night. However, Canaan doesn’t take place in the Type-Moon shared universe(s), since it’s for another company’s property.

That being said, the anime adaptation is quite comprehensible on its own terms, likely due to the adaptation being written by the prolific and highly skilled screenwriter Okada Mari (Hanasaku Iroha, O Maidens In Your Savage Season, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Maquia). Her writing imbues the narrative with enough emotional intensity to make up for the occasionally-convoluted nature of the plot, and the backstories of the characters are hinted at just enough so that the viewer can understand their relevance, without taking up too much precious screen time. It can be a little hard to follow at points, but I ended up understanding it decently well anyway.

The production values are very high indeed, due to the anime being produced by P.A. Works, and directed by Andoh Masahiro (Sword of the Stranger, Hanasaku Iroha, O Maidens In Your Savage Season). The action animation is consistently stunning, the characters are beautifully expressive, and the overall look of the show is fantastic.

And the voice acting is an absolute treat, with the lead role of Canaan herself taken by Sawashiro Miyuki, the antagonist role of Alphard taken by Sakamoto Maaya, and Nanjou Yoshino in the role of Oosawa Maria, the POV character for a lot of the story. The supporting voice cast is packed with talent too — Hamada Kenji, Tanaka Rie, Nakata Jouji, Tomatsu Haruka, Hirata Hiroaki, Noto Mamiko, and even Ootsuka Akio in a minor role!

The premise is sort of a science fiction type of thing, but set in the (quasi-)contemporary location of 2000s China, where outside of the sci-fi conceit, the setting is largely realistic. The tone and mood is mostly that of an action thriller, with some nail-biting suspense here and there, but there are some beautifully soft and tender moments as well — often involving Canaan and Maria. Yes, folks, this has yuri in it, although it’s (strongly) subtextual.

Anyway, I would recommend this to people who love Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/Zero, and probably also Cowboy Bebop.

2. Tetsuwan Birdy OVAs (1996)

This is distinct from the later adaptation of the original Tetsuwan Birdy (Birdy the Mighty) manga, called Tetsuwan Birdy Decode, which came out in the late 2000s — this one came out in 1996 and was produced by Studio Madhouse in their prime.

The main characters are Senkawa Tsutomu (voiced by Iwanaga Tetsuya), a hapless teenager who gets accidentally killed(!) by an alien spaceship on his way to school one day, and Birdy Cephon Altirra (voiced by Mitsuishi Kotono), a human-looking alien and an intergalactic government agent who saves Tsutomu by merging her body with his. Effectively, they become two people in one body, which can shift between the forms of Birdy and Tsutomu…. except Birdy still needs to deal with all the rogue aliens who threaten the safety of the galaxy, while Tsutomu needs to study for his high school entrance exams. From what I’ve been told, the premise is fairly reminiscent of Ultraman and other classic tokusatsu series.

It’s four tight episodes of classic ‘90s OVA goodness, with a fun and slightly silly sci-fi concept that is nonetheless wrung for some surprisingly effective drama at times. The main thrust of it, though, is action comedy — and it definitely delivers on that front. The fight scenes are superbly animated, including some early-career work from now-legendary animator Suzuki Norimitsu, and the character designs by Takahashi Kumiko (Witch Hunter Robin, Snow White with the Red Hair, Cardcaptor Sakura) are amazingly expressive. Birdy’s striking asymmetrical design is a particular favourite of mine. The direction by Kawajiri Yoshiaki (Cyber City Oedo 808, Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D) is solid, and the writing is quite serviceable despite the brevity and premise.

Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s much of an intellectual watch, but if you just want a fun action-comedy ride with an extremely charismatic female protagonist and stunning animation quality, Tetsuwan Birdy is likely to be your jam. I’d recommend it to people who enjoy classic tokusatsu series, the original ‘90s Sailor Moon anime, and the less-depressing parts of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

3. Noir (2001)

This anime series is perhaps not as underappreciated as the others on this list, but I do still feel that not enough people have seen it. It was made by the studio Bee Train, and it’s the first entry in their so-called “Girls with Guns” trilogy (which isn’t actually a coherent trilogy, since they’re three different stories). The series was made right at the end of the cel-anime era, before the transition to digital colouring and compositing, so the masters were shot on film, but it was also made at the beginning of the slow transition to widescreen TV broadcasts, so it’s one of the very rare cel anime that’s in 16:9. This allows for a beautifully detailed look that, IMO, serves to offset the occasionally-limited animation and the frequent re-use of footage.

The premise is basically “secret assassins in France are caught up in weird intrigue and conspiracies”; as such, there’s a lot of very fun gunplay and kickass fight scenes, but also a lot of suspense and mystery. The writing is a little bit slipshod at times, but it ends up holding together, and the characters and (especially) the fantastically moody vibe make the show worth watching.

The characters are imbued with a lot of life and colour, both by their extremely attractive designs and by their voice actors’ wonderful performances. Mireille Bouquet, a young Corsican assassin and one of the two protagonists, is voiced by Mitsuishi Kotono; Yuumura Kirika, the other main protagonist who is a Japanese schoolgirl who has seemingly lost all her memories (but not her exceptional assassin skills), is voiced by Kuwashima Houko; and the mysterious Chloe, who shows up partway through the show, is voiced by Hisakawa Aya. There are definite yuri vibes between Mireille and Kirika, but as with Canaan, it’s all subtextual.

The main draw of the show, though, is its phenomenal soundtrack, courtesy of Kajiura Yuki (.hack//Sign, Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online, Demon Slayer) in her very first anime scoring gig. It’s at times propulsive, at times dark and moody, at times beautifully serene, at times melancholy and nostalgic — and it’s utterly memorable.

I would recommend Noir to anyone who likes Canaan, Witch Hunter Robin, Ghost in the Shell, or anyone who just wishes that James Bond were a woman.

4. Flip Flappers (2016)

This anime was produced at Studio 3Hz and directed by Oshiyama Kiyotaka, in a dazzling yet underappreciated directorial debut that was presaged by his impressive animation work on Dennou Coil, Space Dandy, A Letter to Momo, The Secret World of Arietty, and The Wind Rises. Owing to this extremely solid animation background, Oshiyama was able to recruit a lot of prime animation talent for Flip Flappers, and it definitely shows in the stunning sakuga of the wild action sequences that pepper the show’s narrative.

While the fantastic animation is a key draw of this show, the sheer creativity in the worldbuilding, conceptual, and visual design spheres also contribute to its inimitably psychedelic look and feel. The landscapes of the worlds contained in Pure Illusion — the dream-realm that the protagonists enter each episode at the behest of a mysterious scientific organisation — and of the “real” world are whimsical, storybook-like, and slightly “off” in a slightly unsettling but compelling way.

The dreamlike atmosphere pervades the narrative as well — very little about the mechanics of the world is specified out loud, relying heavily on symbolism and visual storytelling to do the heavy lifting for the audience’s understanding. This might be a turn-off for audiences who prefer to have things spelled out for them clearly, but the point of this story is not always to make perfect logical sense, but rather to work on an emotional and metaphorical level. And work, it certainly does.

The episodic structure involving the various worlds of Pure Illusion explores the concept of the Umwelt (the individual sensory “world” of a person or organism), as well as some Jungian concepts and archetypes, in order to express the strange and sometimes-scary developmental stage of adolescence. The characters of Cocona (voiced by Takahashi Minami) and Papika (voiced by Ichimichi Mao) undergo a metaphorical and literal puberty, a coming-of-age similar in some ways to that experienced by the protagonist of FLCL, but with significantly more yuri. In fact, this show has the most outright yuri of any of the anime on this list. But that isn’t very strange for what is essentially a psychedelic magical-girl show: lots of magical-girl anime seem to include homoerotic vibes in some form or another, from Sailor Moon to Nanoha to Madoka.

There are some minor flaws in the storytelling towards the end, IMO, but overall it’s a wonderfully impactful emotional journey to watch Flip Flappers. Plus, the OP and ED are both extraordinarily catchy tunes that I’ve found myself humming on many an occasion.

I’d recommend this anime to anyone who loves weird magical-girl stuff, weird yuri, and/or amazing action animation.

5. Claymore (2007)

An adaptation of the manga by Yagi Norihiro, this anime is considered by many to simply be “basic”, or at least simply “inferior to the manga”. Now. I haven’t read the original Claymore manga (yet! I plan to eventually), but I found this anime to be compelling nonetheless. And if it really is the case that the manga is better, then I definitely look forward to diving in.

Having been produced by Studio Madhouse in the mid-2000s, it’s unsurprising that the vast majority of this anime was outsourced to Korean animation studio DR Movie, a longtime powerhouse subcontractor for both Japanese and American animation alike. That said, the direction of Tanaka Hiroyuki (director of a portion of Hellsing Ultimate and frequent close collaborator of Attack on Titan director Araki Tetsurou) remains sharp, compensating for the sometimes-limited animation with good storyboarding and a strong sense of mood and atmosphere.

Another aspect of Claymore which helps make up for the occasional visual shortcomings is the soundtrack by Takumi Masanori. The compositions are a mix of harder rock and electronic elements with a strong orchestral backbone, as befits a dark-fantasy setting and mood — the faster pieces are edgy and propulsive, very appropriate for the bloody action scenes, and the calmer pieces have a melancholic beauty to them that sticks in one’s memory. I wish the soundtrack were on Spotify, but alas, it is not.

The other sonic element that helps this anime out immensely is its absolutely STACKED voice cast. The main character, Clare, is voiced by Kuwashima Houko, in a fantastic yet understated performance. The other main character, Raki, is voiced by the less-well-known Takagi Motoki, but nearly all the other roles — including many bit parts — are filled with industry legends. Teresa is voiced by Park Romi, Miria is voiced by Inoue Kikuko, Irene is voiced by Takayama Minami, Rubel is voiced by Hirata Hiroaki, Priscilla is voiced by Hisakawa Aya, Ophelia is voiced by Shinohara Emi, and Jean (whom I cannot help but ship with Clare: there’s so much homoerotic tension there!) is voiced by none other than Mitsuishi Kotono. Yes, they got three of the original Sailor Senshi VAs — and I don’t know why that’s funny to me, but it is. And all of the voice actors deliver killer performances.

The premise of the show, before I completely forget to explain it, is that of a dark fantasy world where demons called youma ravage human settlements, with only the titular Claymores to protect humanity. They are a guild of platinum-haired and silver-eyed warrior women who possess superhuman fighting abilities, due to the fact that they’ve been fused with youma essence, and wield the massive broadswords that give them their name. Basically, (s)he who fights monsters must become (partly) a monster to do so.

I’ve heard the vibe of Claymore compared to manga like Berserk, and I don’t know how true that is (not having read the latter for myself), but there’s certainly a lot of bleakness and monstrosity in this fantasy tale. However, the Claymore manga was published in none other than Weekly Shounen Jump, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the story remains resolutely forward-looking, the protagonists’ arcs focussing on the power of grit, determination, true friendship and loyalty, and protection of the weak and downtrodden. It’s never cynical or sarcastic — always straightforward and sincere despite the frequent darkness of the story.

The writing is consistently solid, even through the controversial anime-original ending (the manga continues long past the point where the anime cut things off), so I’m not sure who to point to for that: Yagi Norihiro for writing the original material, or Kobayashi Yuuko (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan s1-3, Kakegurui, Casshern Sins) for adapting it cleanly for the screen? Either way, it made me want to read the manga to experience more of these compelling characters and their travails.

I would recommend this anime to those who enjoy Kill La Kill or RWBY, or just to those who enjoy powerful women hacking at monsters with massive weapons and making lots of blood spray out.

[gotinterest]

90's-2000's tokusatsu just has this unique flavor to it. I don't know what it was about that era of tokusatsu but there was just something special in the water in the best way.

[justjacob19]

Stuff I Watched This Past Week Or So

Completed- 

FLCL: This show rules, love the characters, plot was interesting and didn't explain much but also, you never needed to explain every last detail when its arguably more fun to speculate on that stuff. 9/10

Karas: The Prophecy- Watch for the action, npt the plot. Characters are meh and the plot goes no where, hints of one but I couldn't really find any overall themes or really interesting things it did. Expected more gore tbh. I heard this was released as two movies in the states and the other one has a better plot, but just watch the fights online, there is barely any story to be told here lol. 5.5/10

Anyone But You: "The Straights Are At It Again: The Movie" . Had some funny bits I guess but really stunk overall, kinda hated it by the end despite thinking the set up had a fun concept behind it. 4/10

Kamen Rider W: One of the best tokusatsu's I have seen, one of the best shows I have seen period. Its themes of memory, vengeance, death and loss are covered perfectly. It has amazing music, fight scenes, characters, it has everything. If you like tokusatsu, detective shows, crime shows, whatever it is, GIVE IT A WATCH! 10/10

The Iron Claw:  A powerful tragedy that was depressing as fuck to watch at points but so interesting to see. A bit goofy acting at points and WOW those wigs, plus it isn't that historically accurate, but I dont think it entirely brings the film down, especially with wrestling being more or less a backdrop to, you know, the tragedy at hand and how shitty Fritz Von Erich is. 7.5/10

Godzilla Minus One- GOSEEITGOSEEITGOSEEIT AAAAAA. Seriously, its amazing and best if you go in blind, take my word for it please. 10/10

Continued-

Futurama (Current Season/Episode S4EP4): Love this show! Where was it when I was in high school! Why did I watch south Park over this??

Ultraman Tiga (Current Episode 39):watching this as I type it, every episode is pretty fun, either being really visually and aesthetically cool or giving us what, to me at least, is interesting to see for a Ultra show (mainly talking about episodes 37 and 38 here, 37 is really trippy and beautiful, while 38's plot is "hey lets create mass panic for research purposes and also just lie to the people we have to protect, because we are the good guys!" and thankfully its not presented as a good thing lol)

Started

Gundam Seed- Watched the first two episodes and, eh, its ok so far. but im interested to see where it goes. its my first time watching a gundum show so hopefully its good

Kamen Rider Faiz- Creepy fantasy sci fi with fun tech modeled after the peak of society, the early 2000s.

[alolanroy]

2023 Media Thread Pt3

Sharkula: Finding out that this director cranks out like 8 of these a year makes so much sense. The editing and effects are bafflingly amateur, and by that I mean I don't know how you can make something this inept in good faith. The casting is...concerning. I'm not referring to the 'college students' that look like weekend warriors, I mean that a certain character clearly had some sort of disorder, and it felt pretty exploitative. Funny bad in a pathetic sort of way. -6/10

Sharkenstein: We wanted to see more, but it turns out that instead of a fountain of infine fun-bad, it was just bad. At east the Franken-shark was a Nazi also somehow -3/10

Ronin Mecha 3: Space Warrior: This is the kind of incoherent bootleg movie that makes you feel drunk and delirious from laughing too much. Literally nothing from this poster appears, but I did have an episode when I saw a Scope Dogg. -7/10

Mighty Lady Sparkle: I admire the passion for tokusatsu but I don't admire the ecchi. It's the kind of movie where you start the movie proposing drinking games over its quirks but 20 minutes in you feel uncomfortable. -2/10

Boneworks: It took a bit for it to click for me, but Stress Level Zero made a really impressive standard for VR gunplay and exploration. That being said, some of the physics takes a bit to get used to and if you don't have good VR legs, this game would be borderline unplayable. The physics puzzles and level design aren't quite up to the valve standard they are trying to live up to, the former being groan worthy at times, but the gun handling is fun enough that I was interested in playing some of the alternate game modes. The confused and underwhelming ending left it on an odd note, but I had a blast/ 7.5/10

Netflix One Piece: Sometimes the performances just don't work and the dialogue doesn't quite hit the mark. However it made me understand the appeal of One Piece and I gotta give props to the costuming, makeup and the few actors that understood the assignment. 7.5/10

The Amazing Digital Circuis Pilot: There is a distinction between marketable and appealing. Content can be made with the intent of being white noise. Nice rendering I guess. These are ideas that can coexist. 2/10

Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger 20th: The Unforgivable Abare: I was initially afraid that this would be 'abaranger vs the woke mob' I was pleasantly surprised by humor and some out of left field GL. Can't complain 6/10

X-Files Revival: I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. While a few of the comedic episodes were absolute gold, This was pretty sad. Its attempts to stay topical somehow make it more dated than the 90s seasons did. Unfortunately trying to be hip left me with a toothless 16 episodes made mostly of mythology episodes that are clearly supposed to go a whole lotta nowhere. 4/10

Gundam Build Metaverse: Never before has a 10th anniversary season made me feel so old and hopeless. The first episode left me hopeful when it delivered a premise I could see blossoming into a good 15-ish episode show with the occasional cameo and a laid-back Hawaiian attitude to my favorite hobby. The OP and ED promised a good balance of modeling, character cameos, and original drama. Then the last two episodes dropped at once after a two-week gap. That was it. It introduced its antagonist as quickly as she was resolved. Most cameos were still images if they appeared. No one is the right age. The new toys are dispatched so quickly it fails as a toy commercial. This had to have gone through development troubles because of the botched 'metaverse' spawned by the Japanese grants they were handing out...right? I huffed the copium and just got a confusing meh. 5/10

DOA Dead or Alive: Finally, a fighting game movie adaptation that understands the assignment! It's dumb! It's campy! It's exploitative and oggling but in a way that respects its subjects more than most 2000's movies in this genre. It almost loops around to being oddly empowering, an opinion seconded by my girlfriends hooting and hollering at the movie. While one performance was funny bad, any martial arts movie with a ladder fight is great in my book. 8/10

The Last Witch Hunter: Rarely does a vanity projects with someones D&D characters end up this fun. It ranks highly for me in the subgenre of modern-day supernatural hunter movies in an urban setting. Rock solid movie. 7.5/10

Analog Horror Grab Bag: What if a VHS was spoooooooky. Look buddy, mashing MarbleHornets and Exploding Varmits together gets less novel the longer you watch 4/10

Haunting in Venice: I'm not familiar with the original story, but this was a fun and spooky watch. 7/10

Godzilla vs Megalon (2023): I enjoyed the moments of Shin Godzilla cinematography, but mixed with showa-era goofy moves and shonen combat, this short didn't work for me. The chunky soup didn't benefit from an art style that created my least favorite Godzilla design. 5/10

Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar: RETURN OF DA KING BABYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHOWA IS BACK IN A BIG WAY 7/10

Pistol Whip: Maybe it was the triggers on my controllers but the timing just felt weirdly off. Trying to deliberately juke the timing killed the rhythm game magic and made me feel more like I was waiting for permission to get the bad guys. The John Wick fantasy this is clearly built for wasn't lost on me though, but without that immersion, I just felt bad. Totally subjectively a 3.5/10

Ultraman Netflix Final Season: I don't really get the appeal of public opinion narratives the way anime seems to make them. Similarly, I don't like when noir stories depend on all of the protagonist's friends requiring zero evidence to turn on them at the drop of a hat. Especially when neither party really attempts to talk it out. Its bad writing and a dub with all of the industries bad habits held up by A really hot alien and a funny magical girl transformation that one time. 4/10

Gundam Trilogy Rewatch: Watched this with two friends who were seeing them for the first time. God these things hold up, especially the 3rd one. Incredible stuff. I and II are a 7/10 for me for good content with weird pacing and III is a 9/10 for great writing and drama. Reanimated sections weren't anything to scoff at either

Skyrim 2nd playthrough: I'll say a playthrough where I know what I'm doing and isn't as sidetracked was better at letting me enjoy the setpieces, I think that without the interstitial wanderlust from the feeling of adventuring a new land, something didn't hit the same. However bringing Sarana(SDA), Lydia(IFD) and a few other talking followers added a certain spice to it. An observation I missed the first time was how hard it pushes you interact with some of the factions in a way I think kinda cheapens their organic introductions.

Armored Trooper Votoms: I reductively pitched this show to someone as the midpoint between Gundam and 40K. There's a lot to love with this series: Gorgeous visuals, concise episodes, and the confidence to change its setting periodically to fun locales like Arakis or Vietnam. Chiricho is a unique protagonist who pulls off the Sigma Male archetype with depth and soul. I was pretty enamored with this from an aesthetic standpoint, but I'm not blind to its flaws. The society is a weak antagonist once they are revealed and the pacing drags as it repeats itself to buy time. While ATs are iconic, they aren't always used with the variety they deserve. While maybe only half the series lives up to this score: 8/10

Knights of the Zodiac 2023: I think this might actually be worst live action anime adaptation to date. Never before have I seen any less interest in adapting the source material than this. I can usually find something to like in a bad movie, but for this I have nothing. Maybe I felt something when we all laughed at the Jump Force cutscenes they used as fight scenes. There's just nothing here. 0/10

Oblivion Override Demo: Ever play Dead Cells? it sure is that with vector graphics. My weakness for this type of robot design puts in most of the work here. movement feels a bit off. 4/10

Half Life 2: VR Mod

-As a way to replay half Life 2: Yep, this is still one of the most important games ever. However, I think that the vehicle sections go on a bit too long and subsequent entries did a lot to improve the visual sameness of a lot of the game 9/10

-As a VR game: Gun handling is excellent. Accessibility options like laser sights for all weapons were fantastic, and they let me help smooth out my own learning curve with the weapons. I will say that weapon selection and two handed aiming was a little cumbersome at times, but weapon reloading was the perfect amount of cumbersome to be satisfying. Even though the game itself didn't get rebalanced to accommodate for VR, it all meshed for a really fun and challenging experience. However vehicle controls were kinda weird and not that great standing. 8/10

Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder: I've come to the conclusion that the real enemy of Votoms wasn't Wiseman, it was the 24 minute episode format. more breathing room meant better pacing and time to really drink in the kino.7.5/10

Cade: The Tortured Crossing: In an incredible stroke of luck I was able to see a Niel Breen film in theaters and I will not lie: it was amazing. The audience was a riot and I nearly passed out from laughter a few times. The editing was surreal and I could see how this was probably stretched from an hour and a half to two hours in the edit. I will not regret giving it an -10/10

Kengan Ashura S2 (???): The real villain is Netflix's release structure. This is one season of anime I saw at a convention like 4 years ago. Its pretty alright. It's competent 6/10

The Mummy 2017: This movie has been a punching bag, both because of the presumptuous launch of the 'dark universe' and also that one trailer that was posted with unfinished sound. Unfortunately, the movie itself is pretty alright and I would like to see more. Plus one point for American Werewolf in London but I take that point away again for another mischaracterization of Dr.Jekyl. 6/10

Votoms Big Battle: Neat stuff. real standout is the fun character design and animation. I also liked the touch of the filter over the villains voice. It kinda hints at how much of a machine he is at that point. 7.5/10

Attack on Titan Final Season part 3: I don't think the ending was bad for the reasons a lot of people say, but I can tell it beefs it in the final chapter. Everything up to that is incredible, Especially the bit with the baseball. Sadly I think the sour note with Mikasa and the tree was an interesting choice that really didn't work out and spoiled it for me a bit. 7.5/10

Attack on titan as a whole... It took a decade. The times weren't always great, but they sure were had. It is politically dense enough that everyone has a half-baked opinion. When it hits, it hits HARD. I think an 8/10. I don't think I was ever bored for a minute.

Godzilla Minus One: I often find myself drawn to the mood of the original Godzilla. Sometimes I wonder if the constraints of its time allows the mind to fill in the gaps. This movie provides us no quarter to do so. It replicates this horror without leaving any to chance. I think this because more than any other in this series, the stakes feel truely desperate and personal. This felt like watching one of those truelly classic films for the first time (oddly enough I was reminded of Jaws...) I'm not sure if it surpasses Shin or the 1954 original yet, but I give this movie a 10/10 with no hesitation.

Knights of Sidonia (Manga): I'll be honest, the first few chapters did a lot to turn me away the first time I tried this, but this series is certainly not the collection of anime tropes I expected. The art is amazing once Tsutomu Nihei hits his stride. The intricate detailing and compositions have to be seen to be believed. I will applaud it for leaving a lot of room to breathe. Most wouldn't resist overexplaining the aliens. The interpersonal story is pretty gutsy, especially considering the resolution to the romantic angle and some surprisingly not weird treatment of characters with fluid genders. However, I think a lot of characters fell through the cracks in favor of the harem angle that was starting to develop (typified by the robot tsundere who felt really unnecessary). 7.5/10

Furi Demake: I get that this is just a little fun proof of concept, ut the Game Bakers kinda under-prooved a few important parts. Namely, the music is generic and the hit hit detection for parrying was wonky. EX: a ground slam you are supposed to parry from right below confused the directional inputs since it can't figure out which way you are facing. 6/10 but I would play a full version of this concept.

Jetborne Racing and Star Trek Bridge Crew: Early VR games with a predominant online component, slow gameplay and wonky controls? in 2023? Yeah Jetborne is unplayable since there's no one online and Bridge Crew is just unintuitive to play. Instead of space mysteries the gameplay consists of figuring out how to undo your space-parking brake 2/10

[ryo-maybe]

if i wanted to get into kamen rider but haven't really seen any tokusatsu before are there any shows in particular you'd recommend?

I've been waiting for this.

Now, because there is a colorful truckton of Rider series (and that's if we stick to Kamen Rider alone), each one with its own particular set of gimmicks, themes and overall atmospheres, it would be easier to answer this knowing what your tastes tend to veer to, but I'll try to pick some that I think are good to start off with among my personal favorites and provide a brief description of their pros and cons, so that if nothing else you can see if one or the other sounds like it might be up your alley.

Kuuga

+Probably the one that best weaves its elements - script, plot, camera work, characters, aesthetics and themes - into an incredibly tight and cohesive work. Every single second of Kuuga drips with a crystal clear depiction of the vision and thought behind it, to what I would dare deem a downright artistic degree. The story is presented in equal parts as a police procedural and a hero's journey: each Monster of the Week follows a specific pattern to their murders that must be figured out, all while the protagonist, Godai Yusuke, is intent on figuring out his newfound powers. I particularly love how organic the latter is done in this series: more often than not, Riders either figure out how to use their abilities within the span of a single battle or come with said knowledge in a pre-packaged form, so to speak. Not Kuuga! He has to learn and understand like you and I would if suddenly we became possessed of superhuman strength or senses, with all the caveats that involves, and this is all woven perfectly together and is in service of the story depicted in each episode. I cannot overstate enough how every single second of Kuuga never feels wasted. If you want a serious, heartfelt story about what it means to fight monsters at the risk of becoming one yourself, you will Love Kuuga.

Be warned though: it's a tokusatsu show made in the 2000's. This means the CG effects look like they were made in the 80's. You should be prepared to stomach some incredibly outdated special effects when approaching tokusatsu by default anyway, but if you can get past the hurdle, you may even come to appreciate the inherent cheesiness of it all.

Ryuuki

It might seem weird to recommend what was, for its time, one of the boldest takes on the franchise. It was Ryuuki, after all, that introduced the Rider Battle Royale concept as the main focus of its story. But the good news is that not only did it work, it made for an incredibly engaging story filled with drama, mystery, betrayals, friendship and morally bankrupt lawyers. The main cast of Riders are a fun bunch, which is a must for this kind of story, and whether fighting for supremacy of engaging in begrudging alliances, it's always interesting to see the sparks that fly from their interaction. This was the first series to introduce the Powers Via Cards gimmick and talking belts, the former of which was used time and again for several of the series that followed it, whereas the latter has become one of the franchise's staples. Overall, you will like Ryuuki if you appreciate gritty shonen with a focus on battles between a stable of main characters where nobody is quite the hero or villain of the story (except, of course, for the main protagonist).

Fun fact: when Madoka Magica first came out, people saw so many parallels between it and Ryuuki that people thought Gen Urobuchi, PMMM's writer, had ripped it off when penning the script. You will find quite the number of fan arts where the two works crossover with each other. Funnily enough, it wouldn't be until years later that Urobuchi would be hired to write a Rider show, Gaim.

Fourze

Take the stereotypical American school setup from every teen comedy/drama ever. You know, the ones with the clearly defined cliques of jocks, preps, goths etc. Now transpose it wholesale in Japan and toss in monsters in elaborate rubber suits and a spandex suit that looks like a space rocket gijinka to fight them all. Wrap it up in some of the most damn fun and endearing writing you'll ever find in a tokusatsu show, or really any shows in general, and you'll end up with the winning formula that earned Fourze a beloved spot in the hearts of both long-time toku fans and newcomers to the genre.

Fourze is probably the easiest show to recommend in this list. It brims with youthful enthusiasm and vitality, wears its heart on its shiny sleeve, and is so earnest in everything it does you can't help but love it. I cannot overstate it enough when I say that Fourze is the quintessential fun show. Perfect to watch alone when you're in dire need of a smile, and even better to watch along with friends to make some very, very fun memories together.

[akkivee]

It really is crazy how much of an influence that translator(s) can have on a fandom. Im not blaming Slug at all (last I heard they hadn't done anything wrong) but it really makes me appreciate subbers for my shows and stuff a lot more. As a magical girl and tokusatsu fan I've been getting subs for the same few shows every single year for nearly a decade, subbed by the same group, the day after episodes air. I was as into Hypmic as I was with that stuff but since my fav part was the manga and accessibility became difficult, man, I've fallen off entirely

RIGHT???? like i feel the same way about fan groups translating those manga that have been going on since like the 2000s, or even older series i’ve enjoyed still having active fanbases providing ease of access to get into their fandom with websites, manifestos, updates and like that’s dedication ;w;

it’s just…… i wish if they were giving dmca warnings out that meant official eng tls were in the works for the hypmic manga but nothing has came from it except a hard to access eng fandom. and that can’t be what they want since we still see kr investing in eng tls lol. it’s just a shame 😕

[fantasyinvader]

There is just something about Kamen Rider Gotchard that makes me unable to be mad at it. It's like if you took various pieces of my childhood and put them into a blender. First you have the tokusatsu element, since I ate up almost everything Saban offered back in the day (except, ironically enough, Masked Rider). Then you have it having a magical school element like in Harry Potter or The Worst Witch, complete with keeping it a secret from the muggles. This involves memory wipes like in Men in Black. Then there's the mon aspect, the idea of capturing all 101 of them a la Pokemon (and said mons can only say their name) but sealed into cards like Cardcaptor Sakura. The use of alchemy makes me think of Fullmetal Alchemist as well, while Gotchard's scarf blowing heroically just makes me think more of Western superheroes and their capes rather than the original Riders. There was a lucha episode to appeal to my childhood love of WWE and Mucha Lucha. And then there's the opening that sounds like it's from an early 2000's movie.

If this had been on when I was a kid, it'd either be the coolest thing ever or trying way too hard to immitate popular things…while still being cool.

[super-heroinecomparisons]

Sakura Nishihori from GoGo Sentai Boukenger (2006).

[tokuherosuits]

Live action Cutie Honey.

[rosemirmir]

Welcome!

I'm Linky! I'm in my mid 20s, and I like a lot of stuff. They/Them.

I draw, and reblog/blog a lot about Kamen Rider and Tokusatsu all around here. Old anime too! (Especially 70s stuff.) If there is one thing you must know about me: Those two things are my lifesblood. I have also been dubbed "Gotchard's Strongest Solider" by more than one person.

External links, blog pages, a small bit of more info + more below the cut.

Quick Info:

🦚 Linky, Mid 20′s, They/Them, Queer, Genderless

🦚 I reblog lots of Tokusatsu, Pre 2000’s Anime, Games, and more. Whatever catches my eye, even things from series I know nothing about. I also use the queue a lot & often shuffle it. I’ve been on tumblr for 10+ years, even though this is a newer blog.

🦚 SALS (Ship And Let Ship) and YKINMK(ATO) (Your Kink Is Not My Kink, And That’s Okay) I respect whatever your fictional tastes & preferences may be, even if they aren’t my own. I don't care what you ship or what sort of fiction you like, but I do care about how you treat other people.

I’m not here to discourse. I'm here to have fun, and a good time first and foremost. Please focus on helping real people in the real world instead of characters. Be kind, and be excellent to each other.

🦚 Main tags for my stuff: linky posts, linky’s fics, linky’s art & answers. You can also find art at my artblog @linkysart or my old one: @linkyart.

🦚 I also run @toku100challenge both on here and Dreamwidth.

External Links:

AO3, Dreamwidth, Website, Mastodon, All My Links

[sevrai]

I've been obsessed with Tokusatsu stuff for a few months now and haven't really wrapped my head around how I want to gush or ramble about it. I've probably posted random stuff on Twitter and just forgot but I need an excuse to post some pics here between comic updates and I don't see any Tumblr posts I've forgotten so HERE WE GO.

I've always loved Godzilla and the old Power Rangers seasons, and have spent years trying to get more into actual Super Sentai and Kamen Rider stuff, but never quite committed fully to any of it. Yet something just clicked in my brain and rewired my DNA earlier this year and now I'm cripplingly addicted. (Shin Kamen Rider didn't quite spark this, but the hype leading up to seeing it in theaters definitely helped fan the flames.)

I dunno why it took me so long to get hooked. It's all so up my alley. For a while I also thought I'd only be interested in the stuff closer to the 90's and 2000's eras and thought that the modern Riders looked too goofy and "toyetic," but then another click went off in my head and I got hooked on Geats. It was like a blastwave went off in my mind, suddenly I understood the appeal of Reiwa and late Heisei Rider.

I was enjoying it so much that I even impulse-bought a couple of DX Belt toys;

(They're basically absurdly expensive fidget toys for me to giggle at and I don't regret it for a second.)

I've been sorta bouncing back and forth through different eras as I decide what to watch. I watched Kamen Rider Black with Hayley, watched a ton of Geats on my own, then burnt through Kuuga.

And between Rider series I've been dabbling in Super Sentai, starting with Dairanger which had some fun doses of nostalgia, being the source of a bunch of footage from later episodes of MMPR. I also watched Shuriken Sentai Ninninger, which has a rep for being a weaker season but I still enjoyed it a lot.

(Especially Kyuemon. Apparently my weakness for femboys and weird monster guys is not immune to a goofy rubber suit in a toku show, especially when the two are combined.)

I don't want this to be as long-winded as the Armored Core post, but I definitely want to share more Toku stuff as I move through the series. I hope I don't burn myself out but I can't stop watching them. I started Ultraman Tiga recently, too. While not as up my alley as the other two of the big three, I do love me some kaiju and exploding miniatures.

It's so rare I get into something that I can't articulate the appeal of without just bluntly saying "it's fun." It fires off the same neurons in my brain as pro wrestling. It's stupid and super fun. Pretty easy to find these shows around the internet, too. Shin Kamen Rider is on Amazon Prime, and a lot of the older stuff can be dug up on the Internet Archive or streamed on Tubi.

(Those just being the most accessible options for peeps who don't want to dawn their pirate hats and go sailing the seas of nyaa, of course.)

[kaizokupolycule]

Questions 1, 9, and 16? 👀 Love your blog! 💙❤️

1.How did you get into toku?

I got into Toku how most kids in the early 2000s got into Toku. Through Power Rangers. I remember watching Power Rangers a lot growing up and because I am normal™ I learned literally everything about Power Rangers, thus discovering Super Sentai and I have been normal about Toku ever since.

9. Favorite theme song?

GO FOR IT! GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO (ToQger's theme song will forever be my favorite and nothing will change that ever)

16. Do you collect any merch?

I do! At this current point in time I have the Gokai Cellular (plus the core 5's ranger keys), The ToQ changer + Right's Ressha, the VS Changer + Kairi and Keiichiro's VS Vehicles, Zox's Geardalinger and a Gokaiger Flag. I am working on getting more ranger keys and Ressha's, and probably the DonBlaster, but that's my collection for now

Tokusatsu 20 Questions