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For those who watched or heard of either Denkou Choujin Gridman or Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, here's a little treat. This is the animation short of Gridman, titled "boys invent great hero", that was shown at the Japan Animators Exhibition on January 16th.

Some parts of it are shot-for-shot recreations of scenes from the old show, and the very end has something really special: A glimpse at the aborted sequel's titular Gridman Sigma.

Out of curiosity, does Blassreiter count as tokusatsu? It's got all the trapping of a tokusatsu show, just that it's in anime format instead of live-action.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Out of curiosity, does Blassreiter count as tokusatsu? It's got all the trapping of a tokusatsu show, just that it's in anime format instead of live-action.

If it's an anime, then no. "Tokusatsu" refers to live action shows shot with special effects. Though that's a much broader range in Japan when one includes non-Japanese works (like how every cartoon ever would be an "anime" in Japan), in the West it's more specifically live action shows along the lines of Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and the like.

Sabrblade wrote:

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Out of curiosity, does Blassreiter count as tokusatsu? It's got all the trapping of a tokusatsu show, just that it's in anime format instead of live-action.

If it's an anime, then no. "Tokusatsu" refers to live action shows shot with special effects. Though that's a much broader range in Japan when one includes non-Japanese works (like how every cartoon ever would be an "anime" in Japan), in the West it's more specifically live action shows along the lines of Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and the like.

Thanks for explaining! Just the other day, my friend was insisting that tokusatsu had to be live action, and anything in anime format doesn't count. I guess he's right after all.

Who is kind of hopeful that with the upcoming Power Rangers movie we'll see some other Tokusatsu adaptations come to the US?

I mean, Kamen Rider and Ultraman have some potential for a badass reboot, especially Ultraman (I'm looking at you The Next).

Also:



Always brightens my day.

Kamen Rider tried making a comeback in the U.S. with KRDK, even with going out of its way to try and be "more serious than Power Rangers" (though, it really didn't help that it was going up against RPM, of all series, at the time), but a bunch of factors inhibited it being as successful as it could have been, most notable of those being the way 4Kids handled its broadcasting with so many hiatuses and not even airing the last two episodes. It's like 4Kids didn't even want anything to do with the show and felt embarrassed by having it air on 4Kids' programming block or something. Adness really got the short end of the stick in their dealing with 4Kids.

Granted, the show had some flaws (having at least 3 clip shows be among them), but it wasn't terrible (not like Saban's own attempt at a Kamen Rider adaptation). I enjoyed it at the time and still find it watchable.

Sabrblade wrote:Kamen Rider tried making a comeback in the U.S. with KRDK, even with going out of its way to try and be "more serious than Power Rangers" (though, it really didn't help that it was going up against RPM, of all series, at the time), but a bunch of factors inhibited it being as successful as it could have been, most notable of those being the way 4Kids handled its broadcasting with so many hiatuses and not even airing the last two episodes. It's like 4Kids didn't even want anything to do with the show and felt embarrassed by having it air on 4Kids' programming block or something. Adness really got the short end of the stick in their dealing with 4Kids.

Yeah, what was up with RPM? It was one of the most haphazard series I've seen.

Another factor, and I've not seen KRDK, but did they keep to the whole "Solo hero with maybe one ally hero" theme? Because that was probably another factor, kids like to watch teamwork, network execs love to watch it even more.

Anybody got a favorite theme?

Madeus Prime wrote:Yeah, what was up with RPM? It was one of the most haphazard series I've seen.

What do you mean? I mean, I understand the behind-the-scenes haphazardness of the production side, but the show itself was fine. Quite good, even. Certainly better than Go-Onger, from what I'm told.

Madeus Prime wrote:Another factor, and I've not seen KRDK, but did they keep to the whole "Solo hero with maybe one ally hero" theme? Because that was probably another factor, kids like to watch teamwork, network execs love to watch it even more.

It did keep Dragon Knight as the main hero with Wing Knight as the secondary hero, but also had other Riders being other allies at other points as well. The premise was that all 12 Riders (Onyx/Ryuga didn't originally exist, coming into existence during the series) were originally all part of the same team of heroes, but all of them except Wing Knight (and later Siren) were defeated by the series' main villain, General Xaviax, prior to the series. Xaviax then took their decks and gave them all to other humans that he forced to work for him by various means. These corrupt Riders are fought as enemies throughout the series, as a means to use the Rider War footage of Ryuki. Dragon Knight was the only one who Xaviax was unable to corrupt, and so he fights against Xaviax alongside Wing Knight.

Madeus Prime wrote:Yeah, what was up with RPM? It was one of the most haphazard series I've seen.

RPM was the best season of Power Rangers period (IMHO ).

Sabrblade wrote:What do you mean? I mean, I understand the behind-the-scenes haphazardness of the production side, but the show itself was fine. Quite good, even. Certainly better than Go-Onger, from what I'm told.

LOST Cybertronian wrote:RPM was the best season of Power Rangers period (IMHO).

I don't know, it just felt really weird to me. The zords/mechas were WAY too cartoonish for the realistic-ish tone of the series. Also, gold and silver were so damn annoying, by far the most annoying sixth ranger(s) I've seen.

Madeus Prime wrote:I don't know, it just felt really weird to me. The zords/mechas were WAY too cartoonish for the realistic-ish tone of the series. Also, gold and silver were so damn annoying, by far the most annoying sixth ranger(s) I've seen.

Okay, that I can understand.

The goofiness of the zords came from the fact that the source material, Go-Onger, was an incredibly campy series with all kinds of lighthearted silliness. But the series' first director, Eddie Guzelian, wanted to make a dark and serious season that both young and old fans could enjoy, since PRM was supposed to be the final season of the show and he wanted it to end on a high note. So, it became a challenge adapting the silly Go-Onger footage to fit the darker nature of RPM, resulting in almost no Go-Onger footage even getting used save for Megazord fights (which were very brief and trimmed down significantly from the Go-Onger mecha fights) and a handful of ground-based monster fights.

However, the show was not without self-awareness of itself and did acknowledge some of the goofier stuff that Power Rangers is known for, such as the cartoonish-looking zords, the giant explosions that appear behind the rangers upon morphing, the need to scream their Morphin Calls, etc.

As far as the cartoony-looking zords are concerned, there is a possible explanation that, while the show doesn't make it explicit, is somewhat implied. Since Doctor K spent her entire childhood as a secluded genius forced to work for Alphabet Soup, she never got to experience a fun childhood like normal kids. Thus, one could think of the sillier stuff from Go-Onger in RPM being a result of Doctor K implanting her lost childhood into the Ranger technology. Like, the one sincere birthday gift she can remember getting was the pencil from Gem and Gemma, and it happened to contain the five colors that would later be used for the main five Ranger Operators.


As for Gem and Gemma themselves being annoying, I can agree with that to an extent. When I first watched the show, I couldn't stand them at first. But as the series progressed and we got to see more sides of them, they got better and they grew on me. Especially in the episodes that had them working separately from each other and instead with one of the other rangers, like in the episode where Gem works with Scott and the episode where Gemma works with Flynn.

'Course, it also helps that in the next series, Samurai, had a Sixth Ranger, Antonio the Gold Samurai Ranger, who was even worse.

Sabrblade wrote:The goofiness of the zords came from the fact that the source material, Go-Onger, was an incredibly campy series with all kinds of lighthearted silliness. But the series' first director, Eddie Guzelian, wanted to make a dark and serious season that both young and old fans could enjoy, since PRM was supposed to be the final season of the show and he wanted it to end on a high note. So, it became a challenge adapting the silly Go-Onger footage to fit the darker nature of RPM, resulting in almost no Go-Onger footage even getting used save for Megazord fights (which were very brief and trimmed down significantly from the Go-Onger mecha fights) and a handful of ground-based monster fights.

Oh yeah, I know about Go-Onger's cutesy engine soul partners, totally stupid, even for tokusatsu. I did like that red, black and gold samurai remold though, and the prehistoric trains.

Sabrblade wrote:However, the show was not without self-awareness of itself and did acknowledge some of the goofier stuff that Power Rangers is known for, such as the cartoonish-looking zords, the giant explosions that appear behind the rangers upon morphing, the need to scream their Morphin Calls, etc.

That I actually did think was funny.

Sabrblade wrote:As for Gem and Gemma themselves being annoying, I can agree with that to an extent. When I first watched the show, I couldn't stand them at first. But as the series progressed and we got to see more sides of them, they got better and they grew on me. Especially in the episodes that had them working separately from each other and instead with one of the other rangers, like in the episode where Gem works with Scott and the episode where Gemma works with Flynn.

Agreed, I just meant the whole finishing each others sentences seemed really out of place in this series in terms of tone.

So, off the subject of Go-Onger and RPM (oh BTW, worst theme EVER), Kamen Rider OOO, opinions?

i did like OOO, it was a nice continuation of the mix and match powers introduced with W, and there were some unexpected twists to the story.
what i did not like however, was how underpowered Birth was, often being tossed around even by the yummies. he didn't even get a mid-season upgrade. i did like the vending machine theme they had going on both with the bikes/candroids and Birth himself though.

Kamen Rider Chaser has been revealed!

looks a bit like a cross between W and fourze

wilcosu35 wrote:looks a bit like a cross between W and fourze

Agreed, also, anybody else notice his belt is Mach's belt?

My money is on Machine Chaser breaking into the garage to steal his bike back and he takes the newly fixed Mach belt (or a version thereof) but ends up using it once he finds he can't henshin into his roidmude form.

Looking forward to Chase as a Rider.

Anyone else here watch Linkara's "History of Power Rangers" series?

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else here watch Linkara's "History of Power Rangers" series?

i do. i don't watch power rangers itself, but it's interesting to see his take on it

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else here watch Linkara's "History of Power Rangers" series?

Just started them last night. Like Cinema Sins but less crude.

TBH, out of most of the PR series I've watched in their entirety, Jungle Fury is probably my favorite.

Madeus Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else here watch Linkara's "History of Power Rangers" series?

Just started them last night.

Word of advice to those just starting his series. If you're watching the videos on YouTube, you might want to switch over to watching them on his main website, atopthefourthwall.com, since the YouTube versions he uploads might become audio-only videos with stilled images taking the place of episode footage and all video/audio clips of the show being excised altogether, due to copyright strikes from Toei. Saban is A-okay with his HOPR videos, but Toei's got something against his using footage of the show on YouTube, so he has to comply with their wishes in order to get the series onto YouTube.

That being said, the unedited versions of the HOPR videos will still be uploaded onto his main website, which can be found and watched (in reverse chronologial order) here - http://atopthefourthwall.com/other-videos/?ovc=hopr

Madeus Prime wrote:TBH, out of most of the PR series I've watched in their entirety, Jungle Fury is probably my favorite.

That was a good series. Twas no In Space or Time Force, but still above average.

Sabrblade wrote:That being said, the unedited versions of the HOPR videos will still be uploaded onto his main website, which can be found and watched (in reverse chronologial order) here - http://atopthefourthwall.com/other-videos/?ovc=hopr

Already figured it out.

Sabrblade wrote:That was a good series. Twas no In Space or Time Force, but still above average.

Going to rent Time Force when it comes out on Shout release. I actually enjoyed what little I saw.

Also, IMO, Jungle Fury has the best theme in terms of appeal, the original still has it's nostalgic love with me, but ever since I heard JF's theme, it's just always been one of those I love to listen to over and over again (ironically Time Force is another that I really enjoyed the theme from).

Also:

Starninger's mecha has been revealed in toy form, behold, Bison King! Made from Rodeomaru & the Bison Buggy.

Don't forget the Stage 2 combo King Shurikenjin! Remember Grand Gosei Great? Same principle

Anybody check out the toys from the Chinese Sentai series Giant Saver Space Deleter? These are on my list of this to get. The toys look great and everybody say they are excellent quality. Released so far...

















There is another Deluxe Mecha to be released soon which is like a big battle ship

Just for fun, Space Deleter with a Power Rangers theme song