Thank you

Rewatched the first episode of Henshin Ninja Arashi this time on Toei Jidaigeki. Also decided to dive into the world of Garo and already watched half of the original show. The story itself is very simple, but the atmosphere and characters are chic. By the way, what would you advise to watch: in chronological order or first look at all the projects of the original universe and only then take on the Ryuga-verse?

I think I’d probably recommend sticking with one universe before starting the other. It will make things feel a lot more cohesive. Also, maybe just skip Versus Road.

When it comes to GARO I'd say Production Order for everything isn't a bad way to go.

That's the way I did it, and it was nice jumping between series/universes and stuff. Helps give you a nice breather between certain universes the further you get in too, and it allows you to take a break on a certain cast that way you can appreciate it when they come back for something.

I'll also add in this chart I have just in case you're interested in a different order. So far the only things that aren't on there are Moonbow Traveler and Versus Road so it's pretty up to date.

http://www.tokunation.com/forums/att...1&d=1660326114

Thanks.
I'll still be in the main universe for now, but I plan to shuffle Rei and Raiga in the future. But, if I get bored, I will switch to the Ryuga series.

By the way, (and I'm sure this has already been asked, maybe even in this thread) is it possible to watch Toei Fugitive Comedy with English subtitles somewhere, or do these shows not really attract translators?

This honestly reminds me that I need to get back to watching more Garo, at least from the main universe, myself.

However, you need to watch Juukou B-Fighter first, so you can get out of B-Fighter Kabuto more, especially the latter half.

I think there's some of that on Toei's YouTube channel. Not sure how much, though. The amount also may vary based on where you live.

Only the first two episodes, the rest without translation. On the plus side, for some reason, Poitrine even has subtitles in my native language (like Kamen Rider Shin).

I finished up Kikaida 01. The original Kikaida is my favorite 70s toku. 01 might be one of the worst. A poor attempt to follow up on what made the original so memorable for its era, Ichiro as a protagonist doesn't capture the tragic android angle at all (somehow Bijinda comes the closest to recapturing that original appeal in spite of her late debut). I think the thing that struck me most about the show is just HOW low the budget was though. This is a show that starts off recycling old suits and eventually slides downhill to the point that their monsters are just guys wearing wetsuits and motorcycle helmets. I feel bad bashing on KR Stronger for feeling cheap now! Honestly, I didn't hate the show though, it was an awful sequel but kind of a fascinating mess.

I watched Space Sheriff Shaider episode 4, the one that this gem is taken from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8RZvfsTLUg

And actually...that was probably one of the more "normal" parts of the episode. Is all metal heroes this weird? I don't think it's an 80s thing because I don't remember what I've seen of Kamen Rider Black or Liveman being nearly as wild. All I know is, I need more :lol

I haven't watched much of the Space Sheriff shows because they are just completely not my bag, but they definitely have a reputation for being really weird. Shaider, in particular, is basically one long acid trip.

It did give us the best Christmas episode in tokusatsu history, though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1xUdQtpWY4

Funny, that doesn’t look like Exceedraft’s Christmas episodes.

But yeah, there are definitely some strange episodes to be had in Metal Heroes, especially among the more grounded seeming ones. The aforementioned Exceedraft started out dealing with a Shocker-esque terrorist group, before moving onto an alien played by an indie director, before finishing the show with the heroes caught in a battle between God and Satan. All without losing a beat.

And yes, this is my recommendation for watching Exceedraft. If you’re going to say the idea of God vs Satan doesn’t sit right with you, I’ll point out that Zyuranger had the same hook for its endgame, and isn’t even that much more abstract.

Watching Live-action Sailor Moon 2003. The show is very cheap even by the standards of the current and its time (apparently, Toei's entire budget went to Faiz and Abarengers), you can't look at fights without a facepalm, and I already saw several of the monsters in Sentai. But at the same time, a very good staging, character development, a perfectly matched cast, a plot that simultaneously follows the manga / anime, but at the same time does not hesitate to do its own things, some of which are even better. In a word, it was not in vain that they attracted the author of the original to the development of the show. Also, from the bonuses, the future Ibuki in the role of Taksedo Mask.
Summing up the results: I do not regret that I started watching, I will definitely watch it and even review it. I recommend it to all fans of the franchise who haven't seen it yet, as well as toku fans who aren't afraid of downright ridiculous fight scenes.

I haven't even watched Solbrain yet, but after I do, I'd love to finish the Rescue Heroes Trilogy with Exceedraft, if only I could find it subbed (same goes for Janperson, Kabutack, etc). How did you watch it?

Tokuzilla has the entire Rescue Heroes Trilogy with English subtitles. And Kabutack is hard to find. I have been dreaming for a long time that some enthusiasts would take up the translation of the old humorous toku, but so far I have not been able to find anything. Maybe someday fans of magical girls will take up Poitrine, and then their hands will reach the rest of the shows.

It?s been completely subbed by the same guy and released on the cat site. He also has a Mega with episodes 1-25 and 43-44 (which were done as a Christmas Special by Metallic Fansubs, imitating his style)

Awesome, thanks! I'll add it to the list.

The Toei Tokusatsu YT Channel has recently added the Kikaider Film in celebration of the series 50th Anniversary! Enjoy.... until December 28th at least!

http://ukiyaseed.weebly.com/ukiyasee...h-english-subs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8et8OOlYCwI

Funny movie, but 70s 3D has clearly not stood the test of time.

Admittedly, I never finished with either series, though your assessment and the recent re-release of the Kikaider Movie on YT is renewing my interest.

That said, I do remember reading about both entries years ago on an older toku site and one of the monster entries was about a robot that was created in 01 which could run on water, and the person who wrote the article made a semi-sarcastic quip about how the oil crisis of the '70s must have also affected the 01 Villain Faction as well. That makes me think that maybe the reason for the cheap budget behind the scenes is because the oil crisis might have impacted production, forcing them to effectively reduce and reuse out of sheer necessity. Just a thought.

Speaking of Kikaider, given that it aired during the second half of the original Kamen Rider, I have a feeling it was planned as a replacement for Ichito and Nigo's adventures. And when it turned out to be not so popular, it was decided to launch a direct sequel to the rider, V3.

I just finished Juspion. I had never tried a Metal Hero show before and my experience with 80s tokusatsu is pretty limited, and I gotta say that was pretty awful! I kinda had fun with it though? 80s bad toku hits really different from 70s bad toku, and it was hard not to get weirdly enthralled by how incoherent the plot was. The Miya suit also because a subject of much fascination for me due to how that thing frequently became so filthy and tattered looking. Wack show.

The incoherence of the plot and the repetition of stories is, in my opinion, the main problem of the Metal Hero franchise. Jaspion and the next ones aren't really that bad because of the funny characters, but in Space Sheriffs, this scenario confusion is side by side with cardboard defenders of justice not far removed from their counterparts from the 70s.I also liked how at the beginning Jaspion pretended to be a space opera, but then apparently the budget for various planets ended and he had to settle on Earth.

Watched Chousoku Parahero Gundeen. A good mini-series with a lot of familiar faces, good action and a good message. Breaking the fourth wall is very well done, working for the plot, and not just for humor. Well, where else can you see a superhero riding a wheelchair on the walls of skyscrapers? At the end, they hinted at a sequel, but given the specifics of the show, if it comes out, it will only be in 2026.
https://tokusatsunetwork.com/wp-cont.../06/gand-d.jpg

Wa

The only Metal Hero show I could get into was Metalder, which had a really solid story and didn?t feel like each episode was bits of several different episodes edited together.

It's funny that given the short life of this show, most likely the audience in the 80s did not like this approach.

Well, to be fair, Metalder was originally planned to be 52 episodes rather than the 39 that we ultimately got.

Metal Heroes was never really popular. That's why they kept retooling what the shows were about so often.

That would suggest that Winspector and B-Fighter were exceptions to the rule given that they're two of the most well known which received follow-ups.

By the way, I have a funny little story about Juspion. Some of you probably already know this, but it is super popular in Brazil. This made me curious and I poked around on the Portuguese Wikipedia page for it with Google Translate and it was one of the most overly defensive things I have ever seen.


https://i.imgur.com/MrAiSJk.png



I know translation software isn't perfect, but I just love how it is so fixated on TV ratings (disregarding things like the fact Juspion had a higher than typical budget for the time and its toys did fairly poorly) and then just going on to compare it to Kyoryuger's TV ratings in spite of the fact that was a wildly different era with streaming and easy TV recording. Not to mention the total lack of citations. Just choice stuff all around.

I went and tried the Toei Spider-Man again and it's definitely situated as a Toku series, and that's why I'm discussing it here and not the Marvel Thread. So far, I did Ep. 1 and the Movie.

Ep. 1 is your standard world-building first episode that would be repeated across the board in the '70s. A lot is happening and you feel as though this would be a two-parter if done today. You also get the sense that it's just a typical episode with origin elements, but again, standard in the '70s.

I give credit for an interesting first monster, Bouken-Ryu. It's definitely made on a budget and sourced from someone's dream of a dinosaur soldier.

Marveller and Leopardon don't have a lot of glamor shots and jump right into battle. The suit for Leopardon also has that sense of stiffness that you'd expect. Like it's hard to move around in. The Sword Vigor is also similar to Mega Voyager's Voyager Spartan from Megaranger (Mega V3 Missile Mode for In Space fans) in that it's used and seemingly destroyed only to reappear later on next episode.

I do wonder if it's dated in that Tatsuya's main motivator is vengeance for his father and Garia's desire for vengeance. Then again...'70s! V3 was similarly predicated on similar motivations, at least in the beginning.

It's not bad, just feels trope heavy and so similar to Kamen Rider with the added benefit of a giant robot.

P.S.: Motorcycle fumes in a closed room!?

Speaking of the film Toei Spiderman, I wonder what genius of thought decided to show the first meeting of Tatsuya and the agent in it? I only watched the main show at first and was a little freaked out when Tatsuya suddenly started getting assignments from Interpol.

The Spider-Man Movie (perhaps one of the first if NOT the first) is everything you expect about the '70s.

Interpol has an Intelligence Department which is so secret that nobody knows about it despite the less-than-secret naming convention? Well at least that makes more sense than the FBI going after Shocker in Kamen Rider!

Leaking information to the enemy and putting civilians in genuine danger!? WTF!? This guy is terrible and he's portrayed as a friend in need!

Blowing up ships with Middle Eastern oil? '70s Oil Crisis finding its way into Toku!

A shark kaijin with mouth torpedoes that look suspiciously like oxygen tanks? Yeah, that's not inspired by Jaws at all!

At least Tatsuya mentions the fact that he doesn't actually like fighting, but he'll roll around in the muck if necessary.

Seriously, why is this Interpol bastard not being fired for telling the enemy critical information and endangering people!? If the Iron Cross got critical information about their enemy, why can't they put it together and deduce who Spider-Man is!?

Started watching Kikaider on the occasion of his 50th birthday. A very episodic show, but oddly the repetitive elements are not annoying. And the general plot is still there, albeit a slow one. In general, I like it, stylish and fun retro toku.

Big news. Toei Tokusatsu World Oficial is starting to add English subtitles to Gavan`s episodes in honor of its 40th anniversary. I understand that the majority on this site, like me, have probably already seen this show, but I think it's still worth supporting this initiative with views. If only because it may push Toei to do the same with other series, including Kabutack and Robotack, the translation of which is not found online.https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkx5ru...2hC7f_BJg4u2a0

Speaking of Gavan, I have finally started watching the series after months of procrastinating and I’m already up to its third episode.

Hideo Kojima gave this series a shout many times on his accounts and I'm watching it now.
https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/be/b1/2pAjRea1_t.jpg