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12-31-2016, 05:22 AM | #1 |
Kawaii 5-0
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Cardiff, United Kingdom
Posts: 12,851
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Not to steal Switchblade's thunder because he usually puts this thread out every year, but it's become something of a tradition that I enjoy so it makes sense to cap the year off with it once again.
It's been a pretty good year for toku this year as Kamen Rider Ghost and Shuriken Sentai Ninninger gave way to Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, Power Rangers Dino Charge gave off its second roar with Dino Supercharge, Garo returned in the form of the anthology series Garo Retsuden and Ultraman stormed the simulcast market once again with Ultraman Orb. Here are the categories, let's hear your bests of 2016! Series count as anything that aired in 2016, while movies also count anything that was released in 2015 but weren't available on DVD or fansubbed until now. Best New Show of 2016: Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Best Rewatch of 2016: Best Movie of 2016: Best Male Lead Character: Best Female Lead Character: Best Male Supporting Character: Best Female Supporting Character: Best Actor: Best Actress: Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Best Villain: Best Returning Character: Best Suit Actor: Best Writer: Best Director: Best Producer: Best Visual Designer: Best Hero Suit Design: Best Monster Suit Design: Best Weapon: Best Vehicle/Mecha: Best Fight Scene: Best Dramatic Scene: Best Comedic Scene: Best Song: Best Piece of Merchandise: Biggest Surprise of 2016: And, as always - Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu:
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12-31-2016, 07:15 AM | #2 |
Dai Shogun
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 7,536
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Here we go:
Best New Show of 2016: Ultraman Orb. It was overall a good year for Toku, we got Amazons, Zyuohger, Orb and if you consider it Toku, Thunderbolt Fantasy. The first couple episodes of Ex-Aid are pretty good as well. But Orb beats all of them for me, the show was very well done from start to finish. Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Kamen Rider Black. I had it on my hard drive for quite a while but finally decided to give it a spin and I was not disappointed, it was really fun. I watched an episode every other day usually and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Best Rewatch of 2016: Do movies count? Because I finally got a hold of the original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and watched it again. And I felt like I was a child once more. Such a fun experience. Best Movie of 2016: I haven't watched a single (new) Toku movie this year since the subbing groups I favor didn't really release anything aside from the Ghost Crossover movie. I think the Rider 1 movie might be a good choice but again, haven't seen it. I would’ve loved to watch the Ultraman X movie too but I haven't found that one either Best Male Lead Character: Kurenai Gai from Orb. The actor is great, and he didn’t had it easy with me since I despise his role in Kamen Rider Den-O, but he does a fantastic job at portraying a well written character. More about that in the "Best Actor" category. Best Female Lead Character: Naomi Yumeno, also from Orb. It's always hard for me to pick female characters because Toku isn't really doing a great job of showcasing them IMO (at least the shows I watch) but I liked Naomi. The actress is great, the character could’ve used a little bit more focus that isn't related to her being in trouble, but I give the show props for not shoehorning a weird love story into her character. Best Male Supporting Character: Kiriya Kujo from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. I was a bit skeptical about Ex-Aid at first but this guy helped me like the show a lot more. His character is unique and interesting as he brings more to the table than the usual good / bad stereotypes. It’s a shame that he won’t be around anymore but I think the show can deliver more characters that are as interesting as he was. Best Female Supporting Character: Yeah as I said earlier, it's hard picking one here too since most supporting female characters fall into the same category of boring characters. I think I like Nozomi Takai from Amazons the most, even though there wasn’t much to her besides being a badass, but she had her scenes and she was a good badass Best Actor: This is rather hard for me since I can't judge acting very well. But I think I'll take Hideo Ishiguro who portrayed Gai in Ultraman Orb. Mostly because as I said he made me forget his role in Den-O (which he didn't play badly either, I just hated the character) and he played the drama and comedy scenes very well. Both was pretty hard since drama is a very difficult thing to portray right IMO, and comedy isn't easy either if you have to play a character that doesn’t really laugh a lot and has to display emotions with his face alone. Best Actress: This might surprise you, but I nominate Ruka Matsuda, the actress who plays Asuna Karino / Poppi Popipapotagomuswhateverus on Ex-Aid. Mostly because she can telegraph the ups and downs between her high energy self and the calmed persona very well. She switches so fast but makes it look really convincing. It might help that her comedy isn't based on her character being a complete idiot *cough* Onari *cough*, but she does a great job at portraying Poppi anyways. I was afraid I would hate her role but I ended up enjoying the crazy idol nurse more than I hoped, and I assume a great part of that is due to the actress doing a fantastic job. Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: I don’t have one. Not because there isn’t potential, I just don’t have crushes on actors or fictional characters. Best Villain: Jugglus Juggler from Ultraman Orb. A very well done villain / anti-hero, and I can't really elaborate why without writing a whole block of spoilers so I'll just say that his character is great and the actor plays it well. Best Returning Character: Probably Hongo Takeshi. Again, haven't seen the movie, but it’s great that he came back for it. If I would be more into Sentai I'd probably nominate the Gokaigers. Best Suit Actor: Mister Kamen Rider, Seiji Takaiwa. He's the only choice that makes sense for me, he is and continues to be the man. Best Writer: I have no idea who wrote it, but the person behind Ultraman Orb takes it. Best Director: Same, the Orb guy. Best Producer: Orb, Orb, Orb. Best Visual Designer: I think that one goes to whoever designed the Amazons suits. The hero suits are cool and they capture the essence of the classic Amazon well and the enemy Amazon suits are gorgeous as well. Best Hero Suit Design: I like Ex-Aid’s design and as I said a minute ago Amazons has great hero suits, but I think Orb takes it again. Best Monster Suit Design: Sick of me yelling "Orb" yet? Well too bad, it's the Orochi suits from Orb. Both forms. Huge praise to whoever experienced true hell while wearing these monstrosities. Best Weapon: The Gashacon Bugvisor. Cool weapon, cool sounds, also a transformation belt. Thumbs up. Best Vehicle/Mecha: I guess Lazer Level 2? Yeah. The only mecha I've seen were the Zyuohger ones and those are not that great. Best one out of those is probably Tousai Zyuoh. Best Fight Scene: There were a lot of great fights to see this year, so I feel bad for deciding on one, but it’s a close call between Orb's first fight in his Thunder Breaster form against Maga-Orochi and Ex-Aid's first fight against Boss Salty. Orb's fight had pure, raw energy and destruction with great effects, Ex-Aid was full of fun and some great shots. I think Orb takes it but again, close call. Amazons had awesome stuff (Omega against the ants), so did Zyuohger (Battle royal with the Gokaigers, first Zyuoh Whale finisher) and Thunderbolt Fantasy (Shāng BĂą HuĂ*n doesn't need a sword) and much, much more. But as a Kaiju fan, Orb impressed me the most. Best Dramatic Scene: Kiriya Kujo dies, Ex-Aid. No use explaining that one, you know why. Best Comedic Scene: You haven't stopped reading because of my endless praises for Orb? Good, because here's more: Orb had a lot of great comedy. But my favorite has to be Naomi trying to pass Gai as her fiancĂ© to her mom. Lots of fun was to be had here, especially since Juggler of all people decided to drop in as well Best Song: Lots of great music this year too. Armor Zone is awesome, Orb no Inori is so nostalgic and cool, Excite is pure fun, Thunderbolt Fantasy had some really good stuff too. I think I like Excite the most, it's a fun song I can listen to all the time. Can’t wait to buy the full version in a few weeks. Best Piece of Merchandise: I said Shinkocchou Seihou Double was the best in Den-O’s gallery, right? Well I lied. I personally love the SHF Lord Baron the most. I wanted this figure in my live ever since I first saw the suit, I was hyped when it was first shown off during Tamashii Nations 2014 and I had to restrain myself from going full hype when it was again shown at Tamashii Nations 2015, this time with a price tag attached to it. I expected a lot of this figure, and once I got in hand I experienced perfection. The figure is exactly what I wanted it to be in every single way. I still catch myself moving my head from side to side in front of my cabinet watching the light running over the glossy black lines all over this guy. It may not be the best figure overall, but I love it to death. Biggest Surprise of 2016: It's not Orb! Because I expected Orb to be good It's not Ex-Aid either, even though I was really skeptical about it before I watched it. It's Thunderbolt Fantasy for me because I never saw anything like it before, even though puppet action shows existed long before it. But I was blown away by what I saw, and that definitely qualifies as the biggest surprise for me. And, as always - Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Sorry Fish Sandwich, you know its coming, it's Kamen Rider Ghost. The whole package. The less I say about it, the better. Anyways, to close I want to give a personal award out for Zyuohger. It didn't really win anything for me this year, but it is a solid and fun show that made me enjoy watching some Sentai when I previously didn't. Thanks Zyuohger! Last edited by Kiwami; 12-31-2016 at 07:19 AM.. |
12-31-2016, 08:37 AM | #3 |
Kawaii 5-0
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Cardiff, United Kingdom
Posts: 12,851
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Best New Show of 2016: Personally for me it was Thunderbolt Fantasy, but if you want something a little more familiar its Ultraman Orb without a doubt.
Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Ultraman, Orb has been a blast but seeing the original has really helped turn me into a growing Ultra Series fan. Best Rewatch of 2016: I haven't really done much in the way of rewatches but I did catch a few of the remastered Garo episodes, so that I guess? Best Movie of 2016: Kamen Rider 1 Best Male Lead Character: Gai Kurenai/Ultraman Orb Best Female Lead Character: Naomi Yumeno from Ultraman Orb. She went from mildly annoying me in the first few episodes to becoming a really great character. Best Male Supporting Character: Kiriya Kujo/Kamen Rider Lazer. It goes to show what a good character you have when they can leave such a lasting impression. Best Female Supporting Character: Do puppets count? If so I'll have to go with XĂ*ng HĂ*i from Thunderbolt Fantasy. Best Actor: Since Masahiro Inoue didn't really do much this year, I'll have to give it to Hideo Ishiguro for his performance as Gai in Ultraman Orb. Best Actress: Haruka Tateishi, who plays Amu/Zyuoh Tiger. She's cute, jolly and does a good job of showing that there's more behind the character than just that overly cheerly exterior. Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Miki Nanri as always Best Villain: Jugglus Juggler undoubtedly. Just generally superb in every way. Best Returning Character: Takeshi Hongo seems like the obvious choice, but I'm actually going with Kouga Saejima just because it was so good to finally see him on screen again. Best Suit Actor: Yugo Fuji as Kamen Rider Amazon Omega. I really enjoyed the blend of human and animal ferocity he gave it. Best Writer: Takao Nakano, Ultraman Orb Best Director: Kiyotaka Taguchi, Yuichi Abe and Ryūichi Ichino, all for their work on Ultraman Orb Best Producer: Whoever did Ultraman Orb Best Visual Designer: Whoever was behind Kamen Rider Amazons. They did a really good job of updating the Amazon aesthetic while keeping a few little homages behind for people to catch. Best Hero Suit Design: Ultraman Orb Thunder Breaster Best Monster Suit Design: Zaigorg, Ultraman X the Movie Best Weapon: The Beta Spark Sword/Arrow, Ultraman X the Movie Best Vehicle/Mecha: Wild Tousai King, Zyuden Sentai Zyuohger Best Fight Scene: Proabably all the stuff from the Gokaiger crossover episode in Zyuohger. I especially enjoyed the Red Hawk/Zyuoh Eagle aerial fight sequence. Best Dramatic Scene: Kiriya's death scene, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Best Comedic Scene: That whole restaurant scene with Gai and Jugglus in Ultraman Orb Best Song: Orb No Inori Best Piece of Merchandise: S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Decade Biggest Surprise of 2016: Kouga returning in Garo Retsuden Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Kamen Rider Ghost probably. Ninninger was just as bad but at least that most happened in 2015.
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Last edited by ZeoRangerV; 12-31-2016 at 08:44 AM.. |
12-31-2016, 11:34 AM | #4 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Oh boy, this is a lot of stuff to get through. My criteria here is probably going to be a mix between personal feelings and what I consider to "objectively" deserve the title the most. Also, I just plain skipped out on some of the categories because nothing came to me.
Best New Show of 2016: Ultraman Orb. It rocks. Best New-to-You Show of 2016: I guess Carranger? I've still got like two dozen episodes to go but it's been a total blast. It's the most watchable show I've seen in forever. That is to say, I've enjoyed the other shows I've been watching this year (though there's not much Toku backlog stuff in there), but I haven't had the urge to just sit down and pound out like three episodes the way I have with Carranger. My pace on it has slowed down significantly since I watched half the show in a like a week, but it's only because I'm making it a point to finish up another show I started watching well before Carranger and still haven't finished. Best Rewatch of 2016: So, I'm torn here, because I actually rewatched Toku shows in whole for the first time this year, but I don't think I can choose between the two I did. Rewatching Kamen Rider Gaim helped me (sort of) make peace with it, but watching Ninninger again was a million times more fun for me, so... Best Movie of 2016: Kamen Rider 1. This is sort of by default, but I really did think it was a solid movie. There's still a lot of those Rider spring movie quirks, but I was generally pretty impressed by its desire to actually tell a story, and as a Ghost fan, it fit perfectly with that show in a way that really justifies his presence beyond just being the guy from that year's show. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it, but I think it was probably the best spring movie yet, and I get the feeling if I ever sit down and watch it again, my opinion would only improve. Best Male Lead Character: Gai from Orb, though he's sort of simultaneously a lead and a supporting character. I probably don't need to explain why he's great, but he hits the crucial notes of: - Being a fleshed out, well rounded character - Being just plain fun - Having a great actor behind him (foreshadowing?) Best Actor: Yes, it was foreshadowing. Hideo Ishiguro did a fantastic job throughout Orb, hitting all the various emotions and tones his role called for pretty much perfectly. Though he's also an experienced actor, giving him a leg up on a lot of other Toku leads, so I'll also give an honorable mention to Shun Nishime in Ghost. Like most things about Ghost, I'm sure people disagree, but I was consistently impressed by his ability to be subtle when the show let him be, though of course it took him a few episodes to get to that point. Best Villain: Juggler from Orb, and I don't even think anybody else comes close. Dude is so good I sometimes forget his name is completely ridiculous. Best Returning Character: Kamen Rider 1. I don't have any real attachment to the character but the movie made me feel like I really ought to, and I think that's a great sign for how well done it was. Best Suit Actor: Seiji Takaiwa, duh. Best Hero Suit Design: Oh man, this one is hard to narrow down if only because I like what we got this year so much. Orb's forms were all great. Amazons' suits were great. Ghost's suits continued to great. I like the Zyuohger suits. Ex-Aid finally gave me a full on pink lead Rider, and in general it's suits grew on me really quick. Even Bulky!Rider 1 was awesome. I guess I'll just go with Mugen Damashii. It's sparkly~ Best Monster Suit Design: Probably something from Orb? Nothing jumps out at me here, but it's really rare for monster suits to impress me that much. Best Weapon: The Orbcalibur, hands down. That kind of sword in the stone fantasy stuff is right up my alley, for one, but between being an awesome sword, incorporating the harmonica music that had been Gai's thing from episode 1, having nifty special attacks, and giving him a stylish new form, it's totally got this category on lockdown. Other weapons had awesome designs or functions too, but the Orbcalibur has a ton of plot significance to it that really pushes it over the edge for me. It doesn't feel like just another toy the show is shilling. Best Vehicle/Mecha: I'd say Lazer, but that seems dehumanizing and also he's becoming just another lifeless bike for at least a bit, thus ruining the whole gimmick. If they get a new person/inexplicably bring Kiriya back the award can retroactively go to him. Best Fight Scene: Again, probably something from Orb, though here my problem is less lack of enthusiasm and more being unable to choose. It's probably down to one of Thunder Breaster's early fights or the finale. Best Dramatic Scene: I think I'm going to go with the scene from the end of Orb episode 15 in the hospital. Mostly for how much emotion Gai conveys. That was probably the moment where it really sunk in for me how great Orb is. I mean, I guess Kiriya's death in Ex-Aid was well done and all (even if I don't know where that rain came from so suddenly), but it didn't really do much for me emotionally, whereas that one little scene in Orb really felt like a big moment, despite not involving the death of a main character. It probably helps that Orb is willing to not have music play for an entire scene, something Toei's shows have trouble with now. The silence adds a lot to the atmosphere. Best Comedic Scene: That conversation between Gai and Juggler in episode 11. Just perfect. Best Song: Orb no Inori is awesome, but Shine your ORB is sweet (in both senses of the word). I'd probably give the edge to the latter, but just barely. I'm all about Toku themes being relevant to the show and Orb's ending theme is basically Gai's entire arc in the form of a song, while the opening is mostly "Ultraman Orb is the s***", which is great in its own way. EXCITE is great as a hype inducing opening, but the full song is strangely less punchy than the TV version. Even if that weren't the case, it wouldn't be close to Orb's music, though. Biggest Surprise of 2016: Can you tell I like Orb a lot? Because up until halfway through I couldn't. I loved X and despite immediately pegging Orb as being better in a lot of ways it didn't do nearly as much for me. It wasn't a show I looked forward to watching every week. And then it started blowing my mind. It's not even just the kind of thing where it got better as it went along (although it did), I feel like I wasn't appreciating the early episodes enough in retrospect. Orb was a show that basically just killed it on every level the whole way through, and that's reflected in my choices for these awards. It continues to surprise me just how much I do like the show now. I didn't even think I'd give it all these categories until I started writing them and suddenly it couldn't be anything else. Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Um... Uh........ ... I got nothing. -- I'm really flattered that anytime you bring up Ghost, my name immediately follows. It's okay, Kiwami, I forgive you.
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12-31-2016, 11:56 AM | #5 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,434
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Quote:
I was almost going to post this yesterday, but decided to wait since I think I usually do it on the 31st. Eh, what the hell, it's my tradition so I'mma do it anyway (especially since I wanted to add a couple things this year). By most measures, 2016 has generally been a total garbage fire of a year: seemingly dozens of beloved celebrities dying, lots of societal unrest and upheaval, Kamen Rider Ghost. But there have been some bright spots, so let's go ahead and take a look back at the high points of tokusatsu from the worst year in recent memory. As always, for releases of this year I'm counting any series that aired any episodes during 2016, including: Ninninger Zyuohger Power Rangers Super Dino Charge Kamen Rider Amazons Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Garo: Makai Retsuden Ultraman Orb (Technically Kamen Rider Ghost also counts, but come on, it's a "best of" list) And again, for movies I'm counting anything that came out this year as well as anything that came out last year but wasn't available as a dvd/fansub until this year. If you want to include stuff that hasn't been available for viewing outside of Japan yet but you're pretty sure is going to be really, really awesome, go ahead. Best New Show of 2016 Best New-to-You Show of 2016 Best Rewatch of 2016 Best Movie of 2016 Best Male Lead Character Best Female Lead Character Best Male Supporting Character Best Female Supporting Character Best Actor Best Actress Biggest Toku Crush of 2016 Best Villain Best Returning Character Best Suit Actor Best Writer Best Director Best Producer Best Visual Designer Best Hero Suit Design Best Monster Suit Design Best Weapon Best Vehicle/Mecha Best Fight Scene Best Dramatic Scene Best Comedic Scene Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment Best Song Best Piece of Merchandise Biggest Surprise of 2016 And, because not everything in 2016 was as delightfully welcome as a Gai Kurenai harmonica entrance: Biggest Disappointment of 2016: Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Onari SECOND Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu Last edited by Switchblade; 12-31-2016 at 11:59 AM.. |
12-31-2016, 12:12 PM | #6 |
Kawaii 5-0
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Cardiff, United Kingdom
Posts: 12,851
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12-31-2016, 12:15 PM | #7 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,434
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I'm a little pissy because I think I'm coming down with something today. But don't worry, unless I completely disappear off the site I will keep doing this. I love traditions and I have OCD-levels of obsession with lists.
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12-31-2016, 12:24 PM | #8 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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You know, I've been getting so used to Ex-Aid I forgot I'm kind of in the wrong neighborhood around here.
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12-31-2016, 12:28 PM | #9 |
Kawaii 5-0
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Cardiff, United Kingdom
Posts: 12,851
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Same (especially on the list part), which is why I was eagerly awaiting your post until I ended up doing it myself this morning
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12-31-2016, 12:43 PM | #10 |
Dai Shogun
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 7,536
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Quote:
You're not in the wrong neighborhood, you belong here. But you are that one neighbor where we try to avoid talking about certain topics |
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