I thought people in the UK can watch subtitled stuff, I mean I remember reading something from a few years back about subtitled programes being shown on UK TV with programs like the Danish crime drama, The Killing. Also I think I should cite these articles:

The growing popularity of subtitled television in the UK

The Killing puts torchlight on UK subtitled drama

The Returned: how British TV viewers came to lose their fear of subtitles

Oh, and did you forget Walter Presents in the UK? Would love to see a child/kid spin-off of the program (called it Walter Junior presents) where foreign language children program can be shown to kids with English subtitles. I can see Ultraman, Super Sentai, and some Kamen Rider shows would be perfect for a Walter presents kid-oriented block spin-off.

See, if people in the UK are watching subtitled programmes over there. Then I don't see how it would be difficult to put tokusatsu program with English subtitles on there. I'm also aware the same UK audiences have also access subscription to Netflix. So they can access toku show if Toei and Tsuburaya are willing to do that.

In light of Squid Game's mainstream success on Netflix, this topic is relevant again
 

I like to ask how many of you got chance to watch Squid Game on Netflix? Squid Game is a Netflix original Korean/K-drama, and it's getting a lot of mainstream attention, and the series is going viral. For those of you that don't keep up with what's going on, here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqxAJKy0ii4

And this is how much of a big deal it's getting in the US:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3wnNCHNvSA

And according to Netflix's co-CEO, Squid Game may become their biggest show ever and it may surpassed Bridgerton. And I have evidence to confirmed this:

CNET article: Squid Game may become Netflix's most watched show yet, co-CEO says

2nd sources: CNN Business, TVLine

So this proves my point: Netflix can make a foreign TV dramas mainstream in the US, and Squid Game proves it.

If you want tokusatsu to go mainstream in the US, you have to put them on Netflix (or any mainstream streaming service like Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max or streaming that specialize in East Asian entertainment like Viki, KOCOWA).

I guarantee if you put Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, or any of Heisei/Reiwa-era Ultraman series on Netflix and labeled them as "Netflix originals", then there is a chance a tokusatsu show could get the same reception like Squid Game has already gotten.

Here's another problem: How do you get people that watch Squid Game and now K-drama to branch out to tokusatsu? Since Squid Game are getting people that never watch K-drama to discover K-drama, how do you get those people to branch out to tokusatsu. I've discussed in past post that toku fans and K-drama fans don't help each other out.

Tokusatsu is aimed at kids and younger audiences. It could do well, but it would never hit "mainstream" the same way Bridgerton or Squid Game does.

Ultraman Z is probably the closest thing I can see as having any mainstream presence in the west as a Tokusatsu, but even that show, as much as I love it, is tied too much to past series and lore to attract widespread audiences.

It's also worth noting that shows like Squid Game, Bridgertron, and Queens Gambit are designed with virality in mind. Netflix aggregates data on the millions of its viewers to determine what will stick, everything from specific actors, meme-able scenes and dialog, and song choices. And for each of these successful shows, there are yet more that go largely unnoticed despite how good they are, Chair is a good recent example.

Now, I think if Netflix makes their own Tokusatsu (and not just localize them over) using their data and budget, that has a lot of potential. But I wouldn't be surprised if they already considered that and decided it wasn't worthwhile.

Honestly, the Mandalorian was basically a western Tokusatsu in all but name. Disney/Marvel has done a lot to get audiences to accept dudes in tights running around with special effects-based super powers to lowkey sell a bunch of merch.

So to answer your question on how to get people to branch out to tokusatsu, Netflix needs to make an actual original Tokusatsu series that people will want to binge and discuss on social media. If it's good, people will seek out more of that stuff.

Well, there was a time when K-drama are stereotyped as romance like western soap opera way before K-drama started to branch out to other genre. If you think I'm making this up. Go watch this old MAD TV season 12 sketch that parody K-drama (this one was from I believe this sketch was broadcasted in 2006):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou_DYLKzekk

It was true at that time before K-drama evolved beyond romance and rom-com and there's Squid Game. If Squid Game, and other non-romance K-drama can break their past stereotypical tropes, then I think tokusatsu need to be more creative and think like their Korean counterpart.

Well then if I was Toei and Tsuburaya, I would think about creating new toku IP rather then using the same IP like Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman. I mean South Korea is getting more creative with their K-drama and doing genre where past K-drama hasn't touched.

Not every shows or films on Netflix will become a big hit or go viral, I will agree with you on that. I mean beside Squid Game, the closest thing for a K-drama to gain popularity in the US was Crash Landing on You. That K-drama did make it on the top 10 most watched Netflix show in the US last year. Even Mad Men's actress, January Jones shared her love of that K-drama on her IG feed.

They need to go beyond that. As I said, if Netflix licenses several Ultraman, Super Sentai, and Kamen Rider titles for US and international release and probably asked Toei and Tsuburaya for permission to labeled them as "Netflix originals", I guarantee that can help tokusatsu fanbase in the US. If GARO was on Netflix, I guarantee that show would go viral in the US had it been on Netflix rather then on a obscure/non-mainstream streaming provider.

Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max are all mainstream streaming service, they can make a foreign-language TV drama go viral in the US, and and can help US audiences discover the world of foreign TV dramas like that. That's why I argued tokusatsu should be on Netflix, not on Shout Factory TV. Netflix has a wider reach then Shout Factory TV. Foreign language TV dramas including K-dramas that are on Netflix can get a wider audiences because Netflix knows how to market it to a wider audiences beyond the usual niche audiences that watch them.

Netflix original tokusatsu series I agree can help. But how do you get people that watch K-dramas whether it's romance or non-romance to watch tokusatsu.

I mean a fan of wuxia C-drama can probably branch out to tokusatsu. Hell, any people that watch The Devil Punisher, a Taiwanese fantasy drama on Netflix that look toku-ish can probably appeal to not only toku fans, but maybe act as a gateway/intro to toku. I mean look at this trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIiJhMsXvJk

and look at these video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyc713Y-ZTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWxHZ6-vc6s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GShaEuEEdsE

What about people that watch Ice Fantasy, a Chinese fantasy drama (think Avatar: the last Airbender meet Game of Throne) on Netflix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h86VphklkSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDDi9eIxXYY

Do you think people that watch these fantasy (toku-like) shows on Netflix are probably the one that could branch out to tokusatsu shows easily? If you can get people that watched these fantasy/wuxia K-drama & C-drama to find a way for them to watch tokusatsu shows, then tokusatsu fandom could grow. But as of now, the fandom can't even hold candle to their K-drama counterpart.

I mean from my experience with K-dramas, wuxia C-dramas, and tokusatsu shows. It seem like people that watch Wuxia C-dramas, and fantasy K-dramas/C-dramas are the one that can branch out to tokusatsu shows with guidance. So this makes me repeat this question: Why the heck did no toku fans not reach out to K-drama/C-drama fans to get them to branch out to tokusatsu?

So, my other questions is: How come in the past, toku fans don't make any attempt to reach out to K-dramas and C-dramas fans to get them to branch out to tokusatsu shows, when I see anime fans reaching out to K-dramas fandom? If you have anime fans that are also toku fans, why aren't they the one reaching out to K-drama and C-drama fandoms to get them to branch out to tokusatsu shows?

Tokusatsu for older auddience exist. It's not just stuff for kids.

Well, how are you going to make them as popular as K-drama, or make them get the same mainstream viral hit like Squid Game got?

As I said, I don't see toku fans branching out to K-dramas (with the exception of a few toku fans including me), and I don't see K-drama fans branching out to tokusatsu.

On Tokunation, I seem to be the only one toku fan that is also a K-drama, C-drama, Taiwanese drama, foreign TV drama/show fans. While a lot of you don't seem to branch out to other foreign-language entertainment.

Very very very few of them, and they're always the exception.

Well that is true too. But as I pointed out, how are you going to get K-drama fans to branch out to tokusatsu genre?

I mean we're starting to see K-drama incorporating fantasy/sci-fi element to the point where it looks too "toku"-ish. So do people that watch these fantasy/sci-fi K-drama and wuxia C-drama can be sway into tokusatsu. That's the purpose of this topic thread. How are you going to make tokusatsu mainstream at the time that foreign TV dramas are getting wider acceptance in the US thanks to mainstream streaming provider like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max. Also factor in streaming sites that specialize East Asian entertainment like Viki, Asiancrush, KOCOWA. None of them have tokusatsu (except Juspion, which can be watched on Asiancrush's sister site, Retrocrush), so how are you going to lure K-dramas fan to watch tokusatsu.

And nobody can answer my question: why aren't tokusatsu fans never bother to reach out to K-drama/C-drama fanbase when anime fans are able to reach out to K-drama fans. If there are anime fans that are also toku fans, why didn't they used their knowledge of anime & toku to reach out to K-drama/C-drama fanbase?

Why am I the only one on TokuNation that seem to have knowledge on K-drama/C-drama & tokusatsu, is nobody on this site also a K-drama fan beside me?

To be very frank I'm really not bothered and I don't think this matters. At all. If I've got friends who are interested, I'll recommend it to them. If I see it catching someone's eyes on Twitter or whatever, I might talk to them about it and recommend some shows I think they'd like. The same as literally any other media. The same way people communicate about anything else ever.

I don't get this whole thing you keep coming back to every couple months about how it's so important that this particular fandom 'reach out' to another particular fandom. If you're just interested in how it hasn't happened, then alright, sure; interesting enough topic -- there is enough crossover between the likes of Sentai and Rider with K-drama tropes that it does stick out that there's little crossover between the two. But you keep banging on about how we need to, and how it's important, and I just-- I just don't get it. Isn't it enough for shows and movies and games to just be something we recommend and talk about on a normal casual basis than making a concerted effort to make it a Big Netflix Success and Reach Out to K-drama people or whatever?

I'm not going to go off topic on this thread, but I've send you a PM with your quoted post. I rather talked to you about it privately then on this thread.