As I said, we've been seeing international non-English language TV shows/dramas breaking into the US market thanks to streaming like Netflix, and if you think I'm making this up. I got 2 articles from Deadline Hollywood that seem to back up my statement:

Netflix Reveals List Of Its U.S. Subscribers’ 10 “Most Traveled To” Destinations


Netflix Unveils Its Most-Watched International Series & Films In America


So I don't understand why toku fans would be against tokusatsu shows not getting more mainstream if there is clear evidence of non-English international shows being watched on Netflix by US audiences of all race and ethnicities. Also I got this from Forbes for anyone skeptical of my K-dramas are gaining popularity in the US amongst non-Asian audiences:

Forbes article: Korean Drama Lovers In The U.S. Are Very Fond Of Romantic Comedies

And yes non-romance K-drama are getting attention too in the US as I'll quote from Forbes:

See, if these non-romance K-dramas are able to get US audiences (including non-Asians), then what's stopping tokusatsu from getting the same type of audiences that watch K-drama (non-romance genre too). Now that K-dramas are going to fantasy/sci-fi genre to the point where it borderline to tokusatsu territory, then why is this not being discussed in tokusatsu fandom when K-dramas are gaining prominence in the US (and in the west).

See, and this is a curious question here. I think the thing is, when it comes to Tokusatsu, the reason I entered it, is because it scratches a certain itch that I've had for the longest while. And also it has to do with how I grew up.

The thing is, I could really care less about drama's in general? Like no matter what country they're from, I don't really find myself engaging with them for two main reasons.

1. Tokusatsu shows like Ultraman, Garo, Sentai, Rider, Metal Hero, minor ones, they just scratch the itch of Superhero shows. See the thing is while mostly growing up, the live action hero shows I loved were Power Rangers. So that influenced me greatly and while I did enjoy the MCU as I got older, I still had a soft spot for what I thought were super cool live action heroes via Power Rangers. So the general Tokusatsu medium in general is built for exactly that purpose.

2. I've just grown out of the need of wanting to watch any kind of normal broadcast television show aside from the Food Network/Travel Channel. You see I wasn't a kid who could really go out often or hang out with friends outside school, allergies and stuff like asthma sort of made me a bit of a weak kid. Also didn't help on how like shackled I was to the house. So what's a kid or young teen to do on the weekends and summer, especially when dial-up internet is the best you've got back then, than to just watch television. I consumed a lot of shows, and I mean a lot, cartoons, sitcoms, drama's, tv movies, etc. I consumed so much that by the time 2008 came around, I was mostly just sticking to the Food Network/Travel Channel because normal television was just boring to me. So I'd like to say that's why I'm not too interested in drama shows of any kind and why I like Tokusatsu exclusively.

I'm... unclear what debate is going on here, at the moment?

The thread title is "Do you want Tokusatsu to become mainstream", but we're going back and forth between "why do Toku people not watch K-dramas" and "Is PR good international Toku representation"? I dunno, a bit confused here...

Funny thing is that I watched tokusatsu because of Asian TV dramas, I credit not only Power Rangers, but I also credit Hong Kong TV dramas (both wuxia, and modern from 1980's), and old Taiwanese dramas (dubbed in Vietnamese, before English subtitles became the norm) for helping me branching out to tokusatsu and K-dramas (and wuxia TV dramas from Mainland China, and other foreign TV dramas I'm watching). So yes, I'm probably one of the few people to TokuNation forum to be able to watch both K-dramas and tokusatsu (although I watch wuxia dramas from Hong Kong, and Mainland China).

What part are you confused about Kurona?

Let me explain, the problem is that people in the US are watching more foreign-language international TV dramas on streaming (thanks to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc...). Yet tokusatsu's fanbase in the US has not jumped during the same time that Korean TV dramas, and other non-English foreign language international TV dramas (that does include non-toku Japanese language TV dramas) are getting.

Netflix has been picking up K-dramas, and foreign language TV dramas for the last few years. After the last post in 2018, I've noticed and saw Netflix (and other streaming providers) picking up more and more foreign language dramas. You don't see Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, or HBO Max picking up tokusatsu (not counting Netflix's Ultraman CG anime series, nor the Kamen Rider Amazon re-imagining on Prime Video). I'm talking about Netflix not picking up any obscure or lesser well-known tokusatsu shows. I don't see Netflix or Amazon Prime Video picking up any simulcast toku shows, yet I'm seeing Netflix since 2017/2018 simulcast Korean TV dramas, but not tokusatsu or anime, doesn't it bother you or anyone in toku fandom?

I'm kinda surprised that GARO has not been made avaliable on streaming like Netflix where it could get big audiences on there.

Yes, it really bother me that tokusatsu fans aren't being alarmed about people watching non-toku foreign language shows (ie: K-dramas, wuxia C-drama, European TV dramas, etc....) on streaming like Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, etc....

Also, when Netflix (or any streaming provider) viewers in the US are watching fantasy/sci-fi K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas that borderline to tokusatsu territory and not branching out to tokusatsu shows like Ultraman or Kamen Rider, doesn't it bother you that K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas are taking away potential fans of tokusatsu.

That's why I revive this topic it's because this topic need attention due to new evidence of American audiences watching more foreign TV shows/dramas on streaming.

I forgot to include this article from Deadline Hollywood from Dec 2020, and let me quote this article:

See if people are watching foreign TV dramas on Netflix, then why is tokusatsu aren't getting the same type of love and no jump (or traffic) in toku fandom despite the popularity of non-English language TV shows on Netflix. Why are people that are watching K-dramas, wuxia C-dramas, and non-English European dramas aren't branching out to tokusatsu or give tokusatsu a try.

I expect someone that watched fantasy/sci-fi K-drama like Kingdom, Arthdal Chronicles, or School Nurse Files or even fantasy wuxia dramas like Legend of Fuyao, or Ice Fantasy to have branch out to Kamen Rider, or Ultraman or Super Sentai. I don't see any of that. I don't see any overlap between tokusatsu fans nor K-dramas, wuxia drama, and European drama fans. I don't even see toku fans helping fans of Ice Fantasy to migrate to Ultraman or Kamen Rider.

That's why I revive this topic yesterday because of the new evidence of US English-speaking audiences watching foreign TV dramas on Netflix, and other streaming sites. I expected people on this forum and this thread to have a debate and trying to figure out why are the same English-speaking audiences that are watching foreign TV dramas which include sci-fi/fantasy K-dramas, and wuxia C-dramas aren't branching out or discovering tokusatsu shows.

And nobody on this forum or any toku circle can't answer or debate why tokusatsu aren't getting the same love or gaining general audiences that non-toku and fantasy/sci-fi foreign-language TV dramas that borderline to tokusatsu are getting today. The topic is do you want tokusatsu to be mainstream and majority of you said yes. But now seeing new evidence that English-speaking audiences are watching more foreign-language TV dramas and films, this is a good time to revive this topic and try to figure out why the same people that watch fantasy/sci-fi K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas on Netflix, and Prime Video aren't branching out to tokusatsu shows.

Do you understand, or get it? Doesn't it bother you that fantasy/sci-fi K-dramas, wuxia C-dramas, and other sci-fi or fantasy non-English language TV dramas are getting more fans and general audience then Kamen Rider,

Personally I think the answer here is pretty simple: Tokusatsu is for children.

The dramas you're talking about are generally aimed at adult or young adult audiences and are a prime target for larger streaming platforms to latch onto as something to broaden said platforms for potential audiences to find interest in. And that's simply harder to do with shows that are made for children, most with the primary interest of selling toys. It just wouldn't even cross the mind of anyone in the business of this to look at shows marketed at the ~7 year old audience over actual material for their older audiences.

There's exceptions to this of course, there's Tokusatsu that is indeed made for an adult audience... and those actually have come to said streaming platforms! Garo's the exception, but I'd be willing to bet it doesn't have the same money behind it that giants like Kamen Rider and Ultraman do. I think this very clearly shows the obvious reason and divide here; an adult-aimed show like Amazons is not just instantly thrown on worldwide platforms but is even partly made with that in mind, while the likes of Ex-Aid and Zyuohger... just wouldn't be considered at all.

For executives to think there is any money at all at bringing these kids' shows worldwide, they're going to need a lot of convincing; and that's where recent efforts like Tokushoutsu and Mill Creek have come in. It really is just as simple as that, there's not much more to it.

I feel like also the answer is, the people bringing Tokusatsu shows to America already have platforms their using that isn't Netflix.

Also Garo is streaming somewhere, it's Streaming on HIDIVE. It's only the Kraken Releases but it is streaming somewhere.

Heck, Juspion got licensed by Discotek and is on Crunchyroll as we speak. So there's definitely people interested in picking certain things up.

That being said Ultraman's probably the biggest example, with the Blu-Ray Sets, Movie Spree, and Tokushoutsu deals it has going on. Rider while not heavy, is still slowly but surely putting out series on streaming. Really the only one not really moving forward is Sentai but for well, a lot of complex reasons given well, Power Rangers and Hasbro.

It's definitely a shame because the Sentai DVDs SHOUT were putting out seemed to be doing well? At least, I have to imagine they were to keep putting them out and even dipping into pre-Zyuranger seasons

Well, that one I don't dispute. But that doesn't mean it's no excuse for tokusatsu fans to debate about how to make tokusatsu more mainstream given the evidence that more American and native English-speaking audiences are watching more foreign-language TV dramas on streaming sites.

It still doesn't excuse the lack of debate in toku fans about how to make toku genre more mainstream or popular in the US.

Actually, Kurona. There are foreign language children TV show on Netflix, and other streaming sites. On Disney+, two Spanish-language children show, Soy Luna, and Bia are on Disney+ with English subtitles (no English dub track was made, I know because I watched preview both show myself), and was really surprised that Disney+ was able to put both show on without the lack of English dub for both of them. Also, I did some research 2 years ago and found out that subtitles can really help kids with their reading skills/levels, I wrote/created a topic on TokuNation about that in 2019.

Regarding the part I bold and underline, are you talking about Shout Factory TV? Because that site doesn't attract the same number of people that Netflix, nor Amazon Prime Video attract. That's why I would've liked Garo to appear on Netflix because Netflix can help Garo gain a big chunk of adult demographic that watched fantasy/sci-fi K-drama, and wuxia C-dramas. I've seen obscure K-dramas (and lesser well-known C-dramas) being picked up by Netflix.

As I said, I would've loved it if Netflix can pick up the simulcast streaming right for Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger for worldwide audiences, or Netflix was given the worldwide streaming right to stream Ultraman Z. I mean come on we have evidence that people in the US can handle sci-fi/fantasy TV dramas not in English.

The streaming platform you mentioned doesn't have the same mainstream reach like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, or HBO Max has. That's why K-dramas, wuxia C-dramas, and non-English European TV dramas are gaining more audiences then tokusatsu.

Hell, I've seen Netflix picking up obscure random K-dramas (and old Taiwanese dramas from early 2000's), and those dramas can get more audiences then any of the tokusatsu shows you mention.

The only way obscure tokusatsu can get more audiences like K-dramas, wuxia C-dramas are getting is to put them on streaming sites that a lot of people watched and Netflix is one of them.

I guarantee if Netflix has GARO on their streaming catalog, GARO would get a lot of English-speaking audiences from people that watch fantasy/sci-fi K-dramas and Wuxia C-dramas.

I'm referring to Amazons and ULTRAMAN, which you also mentioned previously

It is, actually. You have to understand and navigate through the culture here. I'm fairly sure there are a good number of people working in these kinds of industries who will look into stuff like Rider, Garo and Sentai and immediately look the other way. It really doesn't matter what the content is if the surface-level presentation looks the way it is. Especially when its competitors are much larger empires like Marvel, DC, and Star Wars.

"It's just Power Rangers, we have that already."

"Oh, we already have Marvel. That one's more 'mature' " or whatever.

And to steer discussion to the title of this thread, I only display two positions on this. On one hand, yes, it's always nice to see a franchise become successful and get a larger following. On the other hand, the larger following is also the problem for me. What are the chances of x franchise growing bigger and as a result lose its original vision in favor of appealing to a wider audience? (tho, I trust Great Leader Shirakura in this lmao)

Edit: I'd like to share a personal experience too that may also show why putting stuff like Rider in mainstream is a tad difficult. Does anyone remember when GMA, one of the bigger Filipino TV Channels, aired Kamen Rider OOO? SEA is probably Kamen Rider's 2nd largest market, what with us getting official distribution here and all.

Anyway, OOO aired on GMA roughly 3-4 years after OOO originally aired in Japan. We got a big push for OOO, DX toys and vinyl figure showed up in markets, "Meet Kamen Rider Tatoba at this location!" (which is where you can see the stage show suit actually show up). It was nice seeing Kamen Rider go back to the main market around here.

But here's what happened after a month. I walk into malls, I overhear people looking at OOO silly. "He's not Black! Why is he colorful?", "This is what happened to Kamen Rider? Where's the bug motif?", "He's ugly. Why do I need coins to transform? Octopus? When was Kamen Rider about seafood haha!" The toys went into deep discounts, clearance, what not. Reception with OOO was probably unfavorable which is why we never got anything else after.

There's also that bit of where Syuichiro Naito getting stirred over his early behavior. Some people advocating for his removal in the show entirely. It's the result of a growing fanbase with no knowledge on what line they're supposed to not cross. It's disappointing.

I see, but we need non-english language tokusatsu shows on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max.

Given that Netflix has leased Toho studio, I hope to see some original tokusatsu shows (one set should be aimed at kids, another for adult). I would love it if Toei or Tsuburaya companies can work on Netflix on creating Netflix original tokusatsu shows for worldwide audiences.

Disney+ and HBO Max will one way or another launch in Japan too in the near future. So I expect some original Japanese content (meaning original tokusatsu shows) made for Disney+ and HBO Max's Japanese launch. I mean if you're going to launch these 2 in Japan, you need original content made for Japanese market. Original Japanese content for Disney+ and HBO Max will include original tokusatsu shows for those platform.

I never seen any toku fans bringing up debates about why fantasy/sci-fi K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas were able to gain more English-speaking audiences in the US then tokusatsu shows like Kamen Rider and Ultraman.

I mean have you ever watch any K-dramas? Have you ever watched any wuxia/kung fu drama from China? Have you ever watched any sci-fi/fantasy shows that isn't in English and not from Japan?

That's why I revive this topic, it's because South Korea has been making fantasy/sci-fi TV dramas that borderline to tokusatsu territory. The same can be said about wuxia C-dramas.

Netflix has been picking those shows/dramas up for worldwide audiences, and yet tokusatsu fandom are falling behind while US and English-speaking audiences are enjoying Korean fantasy/sci-fi shows/dramas and Chinese-language wuxia shows on Netflix (and other streaming platform).

You're telling me this doesn't bother you at all?

Because K-Dramas are massively popular because of actor/talent power. Classically cheesy love stories, tragedy, and imperalial shows with eye candy people are going to be generally-liked. Not to mention K-pop is also massively popular. I don't exactly know how Korean media got so big, but my main thing to point out is again the actors/talent behind them and the massive fanbase swooning over them.

It really don't.

You know what, I want to talk to you privately via private message. I don't want to derail this topic here. I got some personal question I want to ask you on there.

Uh... I understand being frustrated at the lack of official English releases for toku, but taking that anger out on K-dramas and that fandom makes no sense. They're different genres, they're not even from the same country (the K literally stands for Korean), the only thing they have in common is not being in English. You might as well ask why fans of Spanish telenovelas or Swedish crime dramas don't branch out into toku.

The shows Rider, Sentai, Ultraman etc. would be competing with are western superhero shows. If you need to blame someone for Kamen Rider not being on Netflix (besides Netflix for just choosing not to pick it up), blame Marvel and DC for how much space they take up in the superhero market, and for their constant pushing of reboots, remakes and recycled ideas that hinder anything new or different.

You don't understand, and looks like you probably didn't read my recent post that revived this thread. I'm both a tokusatsu and a K-drama fan. Yes, I'm probably the only one in tokusatsu fandom and probably on this forum that is also a K-drama watcher. I'm not taking any hatred toward K-dramas, because I'm a K-drama watcher.

I'm upset and baffled that toku fandom aren't bother by the recent development in K-drama production when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy genre. You have sci-fi/fantasy K-drama that are borderlining to tokusatsu territory and those set of K-dramas are winning English-speaking American audiences of all race, while tokusatsu shows aren't getting the same love that sci-fi/fantasy K-dramas are getting in the US.

It's not only K-dramas, but wuxia C-dramas (which too have been compared to tokusatsu from time to time) are also winning US audiences too thanks to streaming like Netflix and Prime Video.

Many anime fans in early 2000's branch out to become K-dramas fans because of Korean adaptation of Boys over Flowers, Itazura Na Kiss, and City Hunter, and I assumed many tokusatsu fans would also become fans of K-dramas and wuxia C-drama because in the mind of tokusatsu fans, live-action stuff with martial art from Japan looks cool, so I assume people that watched tokusatsu would likely be the one watching wuxia drama because it had martial arts and tokusatsu-style special effect. But it looks like it wasn't the case and I was baffled.

The problem is that you got K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas borderlining to tokusatsu territory and nobody in tokusatsu fandom ever brought this up. That's what I'm complaining about and it baffled me. I mean we have people comparing Kamen Rider to Marvel and DC Superheroes. But nobody in toku fandom want to talk about the special effect in a Chinese wuxia show being compared to the special effect found in tokusatsu. That's what upset me the most.

It's clear your main point is trying to prod us by asking "If it bothers us" because that's the same thing you've repeated numerous times.

So I'll give my answer, it doesn't really bother me because I hadn't thought about it until now. And even still it doesn't bother me because well, I'm enjoying Tokusatsu just fine, if more people enter into it? Cool, that's neat. More people to talk with, or avoid, depends. But really I'm just sitting her and enjoying the shows that come up weekly because that's really all I care about.

Community interaction is fun though, which is why I've been a lot more active lately on this forum. But yeah, I'm not really bothered because, it doesn't affect me if I'm being frank.

It might not bother you, but it does bother me a lot (and probably some observent tokusatsu fans) because as I said, you got a lot of English-speaking US audiences watching fantasy and sci-fi K-dramas and wuxia C-drama on streaming and yet I don't see these fans branching out to tokusatsu, that's what bother me.

Why does it bother me? Because I know many anime fans that branch out to K-dramas and these same K-dramas fans branch out to wuxia C-dramas because of certain C-dramas being similar to Korean dramas. I never seen any K-dramas and wuxia/C-dramas migrating or branching out to tokusatsu fandom.

Because of anime fans branching out to K-dramas, I assume this was the same for tokusatsu fandom. I assume many tokusatsu fans would've eventually branch out to Korean and wuxia C-dramas because of the curiosities about live-action stuff from Asia.

I don't see any overlap between K-dramas, and Wuxia fans and tokusatsu fans.

One fandom is not helping one another branching out to each other fandom. In other word, I'm not seeing a Super Sentai fan helping a fan of Kingdom to branch out to toku shows. And I'm not seeing evidence of a toku fans finding their way into wuxia dramas show.

I never seen any toku fans discussing about how to bring fans of K-dramas and wuxia dramas into tokusatsu circle despite evidence of anime fans branching out to K-dramas.

I'll have to request to stop the private messaging now. I'm going to make my final one here and it'll be where it ends for me and I'll stop dwelling on it. I'm going to try simplify it a lil bit for my sake too, by attempting to separate your questions.

1. I never seen any toku fan help K-drama fans branch out to tokusatsu shows. I've seen K-drama fans branch out to Taiwanese dramas, Chinese dramas, but not tokusatsu shows. I've seen fans of K-dramas branching out and watching Ice Fantasy, but not Kamen Rider or Ultraman.
- You have to understand that it's easier for K-drama fans to swap between Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese dramas because of their genre. The general audience might not care what country is the show from, as long as they get their story of love, tragedy, comedy, etc. It helps these are all asian shows with appealing taent in nature. Kamen Rider, Sentai, Ultraman is different because it's an entirely new territory of super heroes in suits, the main focus isn't who's the actor, though it may help. The focus are the toys and the heroes. Again, navigate the culture. Maybe you might see people branching out from Toku to other dramas, Garo might be that bridge, but it's a very rare occurrence because the demographic is clearly different.

2. it's because some of these fantasy/sci-fi K-drama and wuxia C-drama would have caused tokusatsu fans discussing and talking about should these be considered as tokusatsu.
There may be discussion, albeit vary obscure. I don't most are going to think which ones are toku or not, since the main view is that Ultraman, Rider, Sentai, Garo, Gridman, etc are the ones considered Toku. People in very bright costumes with heavy use of special effects, tales of super heroes. That's the general view.

3.You're telling me that no K-drama or wuxia fans branch out to tokusatsu, and you're telling me that no toku fans have made no attempt to help K-drama and wuxia fans branch out to tokusatsu shows.

May be an obscure occurrence that only happens in smaller social circles. It'll be rare for such fans to communicate with one another in connecting to one another, as they'll barely relate or maybe one side will not reciprocate the assist of the other. The common K-Pop/Drama is largely different from a Kamen Rider fan. An overlap may be more common if that fan has relations to someone who is a fan of the other and the two communicate about their interests.

Example: A Drama fan may take interest in Atsuhiro Inukai, especially because of his involvement in dramas. A Toku friend recommends them Kamen Rider Build, one where he is prominent. The drama fan can answer in three ways. Either they become disinterested and just watch his other works, watch Build but ignore the toku elements and focus on the role of Inukai (this has a chance of them dropping the show), or actually watching Build and enjoying it. I find the 1st and 2nd option more likely.

I had an English teacher whom was a fan of Kamen Rider Black (obviously lmao) and K-Dramas as well. When I approached him about Kamen Rider, he said he's not watching Rider anymore, and just sticks to K-Drama since it's more 'serious', since these days Rider is "wacky". I tried to persuade him with Zero-One, with points like "Look! He's a grasshopper again! Look, this, that, this". I failed to convince him. Maybe Rider just looks childish to a lot of people now.

4.Also doesn't it bother you that Netflix are not picking up tokusatsu shows from Japan for worldwide streaming

That depends whether Netflix wants to approach Toei to put their show on the platform or vice versa. Toei's main target audience are japanese children. They're main focus is them, their shareholders, the profits and revenue, depend on them. As I said before, their secondary market is likely the rest of Asia, like SEA. Because there is official distribution. Marketing towards the west, is likely not a big thing for them and is more of a side thing.

"But we buy toys from them too!"

Ah, but let me ask this. Where do you buy them? Amiami? HLJ? Tokucollector? Amazon JP? It's the Japanese companies buying them for stocks and then shipping them to you, only it's your money that's giving them the money to give to Bandai. In effect, the revenues are still Japanese in nature. Official distribution is where one can consider the sales to be foreign, I believe.

5.
Many anime fans in early 2000's branch out to become K-dramas fans because of Korean adaptation of Boys over Flowers, Itazura Na Kiss, and City Hunter, and I assumed many tokusatsu fans would also become fans of K-dramas and wuxia C-drama because in the mind of tokusatsu fans, live-action stuff with martial art from Japan looks cool, so I assume people that watched tokusatsu would likely be the one watching wuxia drama because it had martial arts and tokusatsu-style special effect. But it looks like it wasn't the case and I was baffled.

Like I said, Anime/Manga is a different, larger beast. An anime fan can branch to Drama shows if anime he watched got a live action adaptation and they enjoyed it. A Drama fan can branch to anime if they watched this drama and he saw an anime of it. Anime is an easier pill to swallow as opposed to Toku, especially with the current climate's push to anime.

Here's another thing, yes, a lot of us love to see the action and martial arts in Toku. It's amazing to see the suit actors do their thing, but the general audience likely won't care about these details. They want to see the hero beat the bad guy in any shape or form. A bigger fan of stunts and theatrics like that may be able to get catered to by these K/C-Dramas particular to action. But the general fan who just wants to watch the superhero isn't going to watch this K/C-Drama just because this guy can also do it too. The charm of the man in the cool superhero suit is gone.

I hope I answered your questions. These are my experiences with such, and as such some elements may be untrue for some or largely different.


https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...5NTA@._V1_.jpg

Regarding the bold part, a lot of wuxia dramas are like that too. So as I said, it should've been easy for tokusatsu fans to branch out to wuxia dramas. Also, the same can be said for wuxia fans, they can transition to tokusatsu too because of the martial art and costume too. So it shouldn't be hard for tokusatsu fan and wuxia drama fans to overlap.

Why? Because I'm an example of a person who grew up watching wuxia dramas as a kids, and I transition to tokusatsu (because of the martial arts), and K-dramas (because I grew up watching drama in my wuxia drama as a kid). That made it easy for me to be a tokusatsu, K-drama, and wuxia drama fan.

Also because I'm Asian-American, that probably play a role into being able to watch any entertainment/media from East and Southeast Asia.

Uh actually, there are some superhero K-drama and C-drama out there, you just had to know where to find it. I know because they exist (well for K-drama).

I admit I am possibly not too knowledgeable about wuxia or sci-fi/fantasy Korean dramas (though I have seen the first 2 Armor Heroes,Giant Saver and Dino Force Brave and would watch Vectorman too if it was subbed!) so I can neither agree nor disagree but funnily enough I'm not sure if I do actually watch tokusatsu exclusively based on the hero suits even if that may be different from the norm, Marvel and DC has typically just tended to be a ''take it or leave it'' scenario for me whereas Power Rangers of course I will keep up with and for me I do probably find the most crossover with either anime or other live-action fictional TV!

There are multiple entry points for tokusatsu and things you could find similar with other TV genres you like and I suppose for me I think I just have an interest in TV from both different countries and all time!

Anything to free me of my boredom!

Having watched 2 or 3 different wuxia C-dramas for the last few days on Netflix. And paying attention on how people on Netflix can stumble upon them and also help give these obscure show a mainstream push from people that don't normally don't watch them. Now I know how tokusatsu can get a push in mainstream awareness in the US, they need to be put on mainstream streaming platform like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video rather then Shout Factory TV and other lesser well-known and ad-supported streaming site. Given Netflix and Prime Video have 100+ million subscribers, that can really help tokusatsu a lot if they were put on there. I mean Netflix doing simulcast for K-dramas and putting obscure K-dramas, Taiwanese dramas, and wuxia dramas on their platform for US and worldwide audiences to watch is really helping those shows get more mainstream audience even if they're obscure and those demographic aren't hardcore drama fans.

I believe if Toei and Tsurbaraya put these shows on Netflix (and if Netflix goes far as to label these as "Netflix originals" like they did for Neon Genesis Evangelion and Saint Seiya 1986):

• Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger
  
• Mashin Sentai Kiramager
  
• Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger
  
• Kamen Rider Zero-One
  
• Kamen Rider Saber
  
• Kamen Rider Revice
  
• Ultraman Taiga
  
• Ultraman Chronicle Zero & Geed
  
• Ultraman Z
  
• Ultraman Chronicle Z: Heroes' Odyssey
  
• Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga

If any of these shows were to be put on Netflix (or Prime Video), I guarantee that tokusatsu would get a lot more fans then ever. That's why K-dramas, C-dramas (including wuxia), and other non-English foreign language TV dramas/series are getting more mainstream demographic in the US then what tokusatsu are getting despite getting some shows from Japan.

I also got chance to look at Reddit, and I found some disturbing trends:

r/toku (7.8 thousands members)

r/KDRAMA (240 thousand active members. Yep, you read it right, 240,000+ active people)

r/CDRAMA (13.9 thousand active members, and that does include wuxia dramas watcher)

The toku subsection of Reddit is much lower then the K-drama and C-drama subreddit section. This is very disturbing because this show the effect of K-dramas mainstream popularity in the US thanks to mainstream platform like Netflix, and other factors like K-pop act (ie: BTS, Blackpink, etc....). Although C-drama reddit is 14,000+ active members, I suspect this number to be much higher because now we have more C-dramas on mainstream streaming sites, and I expect more C-dramas being picked up more and more.

Here's what I find disturbing, the fact that anime fans can branch out to K-dramas, but toku fandom has never branch out to K-dramas nor wuxia C-dramas, and K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas fans didn't branch out to toku fandom also left me scratching my head and as I said, I find that disturbing and that does bother me.

What exactly makes you think that k-drama and wuxia fans don't branch out to toku? And why should it bother you if they don't?

What makes you think anime fans branch out to k-dramas? I'm very sure some don't. And to those that do, why should it bother you?

I suppose what I'm trying to say is, why should we be so worked up about what people do for their choice of entertainment? It's not our duty to shove the 'gospel of toku' or whatever into people's throats. It's entertainment, let people enjoy what they enjoy (unless it's, y'know, harmful to their mental health).

Because I started out as a wuxia fan before I transitioned into a toku fan, K-drama fan, Taiwanese drama fan, etc..... If wuxia drama helped me branch out to tokusatsu, then there should've been more wuxia fans (beside me) that crossed over to tokusatsu like I did. The fact that I'm the only toku fan that has vast knowledge of K-dramas, C-dramas/wuxia, and have watched numerous non-English foreign language TV shows on this forum is very disturbing.

Yes, I credit wuxia for helping me become a toku fan. As I said, tokusatsu and wuxia shared similarities with each other. There should been a big major crossover/branching out of toku fans becoming wuxia fan, and I could say the same for wuxia fans should've branch out to tokusatsu too.

So it's easy for a toku fan to become a wuxia fan (and for wuxia fan to become a toku fan) because of the similarities between tokusatsu and wuxia.

As I stated, K-dramas have already dipped into sci-fi/fantasy genre to the point
where they start to resemble tokusatsu like the 2 K-drama on Netflix I mention on my previous posts. Also, it doesn't help that many K-drama fans have already started to branch out to C-dramas (and that include wuxia/martial art genre), and if you think I'm making this up, then go read these Reddit thread:

Evidence#1: C-drama Reddit thread-Its a little annoying when kdrama fans ask for kdramas in cdrama land

Evidence #2: C-drama Reddit thread-For those that are cdrama fans after being kdrama fans, why do you like cdrama?

So yes, there has been a lot of K-drama fans branching out to C-dramas. But I don't see any toku fans branching out/crossing over to K-drama and C-dramas when wuxia C-dramas and K-dramas start to look similar to tokusatsu and I don't see C-drama/K-drama fans branching out to tokusatsu if that K-drama/c-drama fans are watching Wuxia drama, and non-romance sci-fi/fantasy K-dramas.

So yes, it does matter to me that there is not a crossover/branching out between toku fans and K-drama/wuxia C-drama fandom when you see a K-drama fan branching out to wuxia drama. It's no wonder why toku fandom aren't "active" like their K-drama and C-drama counterpart despite K-drama and C-drama are diving into territory that makes them resemble to tokusatsu, and also the fact that wuxia resemble tokusatsu in several aspect

OK, how many anime did you watch? How many years of experience do you have with anime?

Because if you're an anime fan, you would've known about the live-action adaptation of anime/manga that South Korea and Taiwan have done. Don't tell me you've never watched the Boys over flowers Korean drama? Did you know City Hunter was adapted into a Korean TV drama? You never watched any of those, did you? Don't tell me you didn't know in early 2000's that Taiwan had several well-known TV drama adaptation of anime/manga like It started with a Kiss (a Taiwanese adaptation of Itazura Na Kiss):

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b7Tt-V9nzH...0/d01-1024.jpg

Devil Beside you (a Taiwanese adaptation of the manga, Akuma de Sōrō/The Devil does exist):

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1500_.jpg

Mars (the Taiwanese drama adaptation of the manga of the same name):

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...5NzQ@._V1_.jpg

Meteor Garden (the Taiwanese adaptation and yep this would later become the basis for the Korean drama adaptation I mention above, and the 2018 Mainland Chinese remake on Netflix. They're all live-action version of Boys Over Flowers):

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/26...1f3a0a6dc8.jpg

Even way before K-pop took over the US, and streaming like Netflix would dominate the way we watch our shows. I've heard about these Taiwanese adaptation from anime/manga fans (and Asian-American community) in early 2000's. That's how I know that anime/manga fans are branching out to live-action TV dramas from Taiwan and South Korea in late 2000's and early 2010. The fact that Crunchyroll used to had a big K-drama catalog in 2009 also played a role for anime fans to crossover to K-drama:

Crunchyroll partner with SBS to increase K-drama catalog

Crunchyroll partner with MBC for K-drama catalog

Crunchyroll Offers Top Korean TV Dramas from Leading North American Distributor YA Entertainment

Crunchyroll Adds Korean Live-Action Boys Over Flowers


So yes, there were a lot of anime fans crossing over to Korean and Taiwanese dramas because of these live-action adaptation. And let me try conclude by saying this.

Because and given the fact that anime fans have crossover to K-drama and Taiwanese dramas in early 2000's thanks to live-action adaptation done by South Korea and Taiwan. I would've expected toku fans that are also anime fans to have crossover/branch out to K-dramas and C-dramas, but it doesn't look like the case and that baffle me and why does this leave me baffling. Let me quote what I said to another toku fan via private message:

Exactly, if you have let say 500 toku fans that are K-drama fans, C-dramas/wuxia drama fans. Then why did these 500 toku fans never brought up K-drama and wuxia drama into toku fandom when discussing tokusatsu shows. I mean I've seen toku fans talking about Armored Hero from China, but not a single toku fan who watched Armored Hero wouldn't bring up a wuxia or fantasy C-dramas to compared to like let say Ice Fantasy. I never seen any Armored Hero bringing up any wuxia drama they watched to compare Armored Hero to.

Also online I would see anime fans and K-drama fans reaching out recommending K-drama and anime shows for their respective fandom to crossover/branching out, I would see Reddit thread like these:

Any good gateway dramas for anime fans?

K-drama recommendations for anime fan?

What Anime can I recommend for a K-Drama Watcher?

Need some dramatic anime similar to kdrama

Looking to get into kdrama from an anime background!


I never seen toku fans reaching out to K-drama and C-drama fans in the same manner K-dramas and anime fans did. In other I never seen a toku fan doing these, and I can't find any reddit or any forum that do these when I googled them:

Recommended Toku shows for wuxia fans

Toku shows if you love the K-drama, Goblin

If you love wuxia drama, then check out these toku shows from Japan!!!

I'm a wuxia fan, what toku shows would appeal to me?


No, I searched everywhere for any toku fans reaching out to K-drama and wuxia C-drama fans to get them into their fandom and I can never find any Reddit recommendation thread, or any article recommending toku shows to wuxia drama and K-drama fans. I can't seem to find any evidence or proof of toku fans making any attempt to reach out to K-drama, wuxia/c-drama fandom the same way anime fans reach out to K-drama fans, and K-drama and C-dramas reaching out to each other.

That's why it bother me that toku fandom aren't doing the stuff that anime fans, K-dramas fandom, and wuxia/C-drama fandom are doing to get one fandom to crossover/branching out to another.

This thread really is starting to sound like harrassment so I'll be very blunt and try to keep things brief: the world doesn't revolve around what you want.

You seem to base a lot of your arguments on personal anecdote (e.g. I saw/experienced this so I know this happens, etc.) which indicates this is a personal issue. Your first point is that you're a wuxia fan that branched out to toku and drama. There's nothing wrong with that. However, every human on this planet has a different journey; not everyone will branch out into toku. You cannot experience something and expect others to experience the same experience.

You also said that if I'm an anime fan I would've known that South Korea and Taiwan did live-adaptations of their work. I am aware. However, what you didn't take into consideration is whether or not I actually give a jackfruit about it. Which I don't.

If you really want toku to get more recognition, why don't YOU try and take the initiative and start spreading word around instead of complaining about how toku fans don't seem to spread the word (assuming that you haven't done so already). Be the change you want to see rather than wait for someone else to do it.

I'm not usually this blunt and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. However, this is slowly turning toxic. I get that you want toku fans to spread the word out for toku but for goodness sake don't try and prod other people into doing that for you.

I didn't say the world should revolve around me. But it doesn't make sense for a large group of toku fans that are also anime fans, or branch out to K-dramas, and other Asian TV dramas to have not brought up or raise alarm about K-dramas and foreign TV dramas gaining popularity amongst US mainstream while toku fandom hasn't seen a big jump in audience share from the same people that watch K-dramas, C-dramas, and other foreign TV dramas.

Actually, I based this from talking to fans of K-dramas, wuxia fans, and anime fans. I know not everybody will branch out to toku. But there has to be I don't know a large amount of people that are fans of wuxia C-dramas, and fans of sci-fi/fantasy K-dramas that would've branch out to toku and yet it doesn't look like there was no crossover or any overlap which I found very baffling.

As I said, wuxia and toku shared a lot of similarities, there should've been a crossover/branching out between the 2 of them. And yet, I'm still baffled.

Yeah, well do you know how many Toku fans I talked to online if they know about K-dramas, and wuxia dramas. 95% of them didn't even know those dramas existed and I asked them why didn't they know or bother to branch out. A lot of them didn't even answered my last question, and I was baffled why they never branch out or not have any knowledge about these dramas.

So you say you're a anime fan, and you knew about these dramas, but you didn't choose to watch them. Then let me ask you these questions:

If you're an anime fan, and you ended up watching tokusatsu shows, then why didn't K-drama, and C-dramas (including wuxia drama) didn't get your attention the first time? Why did you not branch out to K-drama and C-drama when a lot of anime fans (that include those that are also toku fans) did?

Would you branch out to K-dramas and C-dramas if they used toku-like special effect given the number of K-drama(s) now getting into sci-fi/fantasy genre today? Would wuxia drama appeal to you in the same manner you found toku appealing?


I've already did on this forum several times, and I did it on Onehallyu, and I already did it several times on Quora. And guess what the result is: None, no K-dramas or C-dramas fans never talked to me about which tokusatsu shows I would recommend to them. And that's why it bother me a lot. I never had any toku fans on Quora having a conversation with me about why K-dramas, C-dramas fans, and toku fans never overlap.

I don't know where else to go to, I tried everything. I'm not going to get a Reddit account just so I can asked toku fans. No matter where I asked a toku fan online regarding their stance on the popularity of K-drama, and C-drama and why it doesn't alarmed them. They can't seem to answer my question or can't find a toku fans that shared similar concern about toku fandom not being on par with K-drama and C-drama fandom.

Then as a toku fan, why were you not alarmed when the news come out that foreign TV dramas including K-dramas, and C-dramas were getting more audiences in the US then tokusatsu?

The topic of this thread is: Do you want Toku to become more mainstream?

I would've expected the news of more American people that are not of Asian decent watching foreign TV dramas including K-dramas, C-dramas/wuxia dramas would've motivated toku fans beside me to get more involved in getting more people that watched these foreign dramas to watch tokusatsu shows, and trying to reach out to fans of sci-fi/fantasy K-drama, and Wuxia drama fans to branch out to toku.

I started out as a wuxia watcher before I became a toku fan, K-drama fan, Taiwanese drama fans, etc.... I would've expected a lot of C-drama fans that watched wuxia to have branch out to tokusatsu shows given the similarities between toku and wuxia. That is not the case.

I'm very disappointed in the toku fandom for not being pro-active in getting fans of sci-fi/fantasy K-drama, and wuxia C-dramas to branch out/crossing over to tokusatsu shows. By doing that, you can make tokusatsu put on the same rank as K-dramas, and C-dramas.

As I said, many of the recent Super Sentai, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider series that came out in the last 2 years, if they were put on Netflix and heavily promoted and aimed at K-dramas and C-dramas fans on that platform. I guarantee this forum would have more then 20,000-50,000 active members then just a mere 4,000 members (off and on).

I think toku IS getting more popular in the US. Amazon licensed KR Amazons for Prime and is selling official KR merch, Shout Factory released like 15 seasons of Super Sentai, Zero-One got a blu-ray release, Marvel has been releasing Ultraman comics, Leopardon has shown up in Spider-man comics and will likely appear in Into the Spider-Verse 2, Godzilla vs Kong had massive hype surrounding it, etc. I think my friend also said that there was some Ultraman streaming event happening?

However, most people I know that are into anime and/or k-drama seem to view toku as either cringy and weird, or nothing more than Power Rangers.

The only person I know who is into Wuxia is somebody from Singapore that studied abroad at a nearby university.

Anyways, the only reason I personally would want it to become more mainstream is because I'm sick of people thinking I'm weird for being into it.

edit: Sorry if some of this was discussed already. This topic has far too many comments, many of which are entirely too long, for me to properly catch up.

I do want Japanese special effects to be more acceptable by most people. Even the adult toku movies and shows like Testuo: The Iron Man and Kamen Rider Amazons are still viewed as cheap crap by most people.

No, it's not. If it is, then Netflix would've picked up some of the recent Ultraman, Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman series from the last 2 years in the same manner it's picking up K-dramas and anime. I don't see that happening. And Shout Factory TV doesn't have the same mainstream reach that Netflix and Amazon Prime has. That's why K-dramas, C-dramas including wuxia dramas has also been gaining popularity in the US amongst non-hardcore fans.

I've already said this on one of my previous posts. Tokusatsu has not seen a jump in viewership in the US like K-drama and anime are getting.

I'mma just chime in here because Ultra was mentioned that yeah we did have a big Ultraman Day (July 10th) Stream on Twitch which was pretty cool. The fact that Tokushoutsu is even streaming on Twitch at all is actually really neat.

Also Ultraman Z and Ultraman Trigger are easily available on Youtube, and Ultraman Trigger Episode 1 ended up surpassing 1 Million views in like the first three days of it's release. Ultraman Z proved so popular overseas after it's initial run that it got a rebroadcast (with exclusive pre-episode skits after episode 9) to where it's now permanently uploaded. I'd say that's pretty big.

Like it's not a super big growth but there's no denying that at the very least, with the game plan that Tsuburaya has right now, Ultraman is growing more and more into the spotlight compared to other Toku shows.

I mean there's also just the fact that SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon exist and have been slowly but surely pushing more people to learn about Gridman. To the point where one of the selling points for giving the Blu-Ray to distributors was "Has a large fanbase that is hungerering for proper English Subs to view the series with".

Although this is a nice information and yes I'm aware of the Ultraman Trigger episode 1 getting 1 million views in 48 hours (from Reddit of course). But I've seen a K-pop music video being able to get 15 million views under 24 hours and I'm not making this up.

Also it doesn't help when this was talked about on Toku Reddit, and only 2 people left comments. I was expecting I don't know 50 or 100 Reddit users on toku Reddit to talk and hype about it. This is very disappointing and this is why I'm very disappointed in tokusatsu fandom. Reminder: the Toku reddit section's active member is still way below the active members on r/KDRAMA, and r/CDRAMA.

I mean you got a fandom like K-pop and K-drama fandom being more pro-active in their content sharing then tokusatsu fandom. And I say this as a toku fan.

As I said, if Ultraman Trigger was on Netflix and put under the "more like this" under every sci-fi/fantasy K-drama, and wuxia C-drama. I guarantee many K-dramas and C-drama/wuxia fans would watch Ultraman Trigger and a lot of these drama fans would branch out to tokusatsu.

Overall, I'm not even sure if it's possible for toku to get mainstream given that K-drama and wuxia dramas are overshadowing toku shows. The fact that Toei and Tsurbaraya didn't talk to Netflix about putting some of their recent Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and Ultraman series from the last 2 years on Netflix. It would really help tokusatsu a lot if Toei and Tsurburaya can negotiate with Netflix about putting up some of their recent toku content on that platform.

I'm wondering (and fearing) that people have a misguided notion with regards to streaming. Wouldn't Netflix USA have to make a direct deal with Tsuburaya or Toei for the rights to Kamen Rider, Sentai, and Ultraman? By the same token, wouldn't Netflix USA also have to make a deal with Hasbro, the current rights holder to Power Rangers, to stream Sentai since the one holds the rights to Power Rangers also holds the rights to Western Distribution of Sentai!? Since SHOUT! has long since had the rights to the Sentai they've already distributed, and they have their own streaming resources and an alignment at the hip with Tubi, it seems unrealistic to assume that Netflix or Hulu would ever get the rights nor fight in a bidding war for the rights to Sentai. Kamen Rider is also touchy, since Western Distribution for Rider has always been touchy. However, since SHOUT! has successfully distributed Rider '71, Kuuga, and Heisei Generations Forever, then it stands to reason that SHOUT! has Toei's attention. One also shouldn't forget the rights that TokuHD has acquired over the years (despite the hit-and-miss aspect of their subs). The way the deals currently work and how distribution has worked up to this point seems to dissuade against the big streamers from ever getting in on this at the current time. The closest approximation I see would be if that animated W series which is to be distributed by Funimation somehow finds its way onto Netflix or Hulu. Going even further into the meat of it all, Mill Creek and Tsuburaya are on very good terms these days, and Mill Creek set owners can stream on MovieSpree with the redeemable code or just stream on SHOUT!, Tubi, or TokuSHOUTsu! Going even further, Garo Vanishing Line is on Crunchyroll and/or Hulu, but the original Garo is still mostly available on HIDIVE.

Ranting and raving aside, the general point is (if there even is one) is that so many older and newer deals don't bode well for the big streamers to get in on this anytime soon. And honestly, I don't mind that at all! I'll admit, the "free-but-with-ads" model is a little tiresome at times, but it does provide the possibility for greater access, especially when some are tightening their finances these days. The release of the Gorenger Manga might have been a little too much of a "But Why?" circumstance with most not getting the reason much less the context, especially since one can't view Gorenger in an official capacity at the present time.

The appeal of Toku in the West is still stuck amongst the die-hards, but it's still very niche and hasn't found mass approval yet. I would even dare to say that it has to start small, largely through friends sharing it amongst friends via social media or word-of-mouth. Many of the old horror/slashers that the mainstream balked at in the old days became popular because they were niche and because fans in those days engaged in word-of-mouth and told someone else about the thing they just saw. They may be what's needed here, but in a more modern context. Toku isn't going to suddenly become popular overnight, but I'm also wary of the big streamers getting it cause I wonder if they can be trusted with it. Netflix Japan might be good with it (if the Asian variant to Netflix is streaming it at all), but it has the longtime appeal and success amongst Japanese fans to back that up.

Toku hasn't gotten big enough in the West yet appeal to the shareholders of the big streamers...yet! However, I do have a mild hope that the appeal will steadily good upward. Remember, Marvel and Tsuburaya are also on good terms given the current Ultraman comics. Maybe one day we'll get a Western Comic Interpretation to Kamen Rider or Garo!? That would help with the distribution dilemma and overall knowledge amongst people that something like that even exists. That might be the biggest hurdle of all: Most don't even know something like Kamen Rider exists at all!

For now, let it stand as it is and build-up momentum through the lesser-known services. It needs a little more time, and don't hesitate to put Tokusatsu down as a personal interest in a survey or resume!

Tokuknight89,

It's an interesting perspective, your first paragraph I mean. But I hate to burst your bubble, but I have evidence that might not be the case.

Now many of you know that Netflix has the streaming right for Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, including the 2 Evangelion films: End of Evangelion and Death & Rebirth since 2018. But this is where it get interesting, the final Evangelion film, Evangelion: 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon A Time is not picked up by Netflix, but is now given to Amazon Prime Video.

I mean have a look:

Evangelion (TV series, and the 2 films) streaming on Netflix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13nSISwxrY4

Evangelion: 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon A Time streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video:

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

So what does this have to do with my idea of putting recent Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Super Sentai (along with GARO) on Netflix?

It's true you can have Shout Factory streaming past toku shows, and some recent one. But that doesn't mean Toei and Tsuburaya can negotiate with Netflix to stream some of the most recent toku shows from the last 2 years. So it's possible that Toei and Tsuburaya can get these series I mentioned in my previous post to be stream on Netflix:

• Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger
  
• Mashin Sentai Kiramager
  
• Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger
  
• Kamen Rider Zero-One
  
• Kamen Rider Saber
  
• Kamen Rider Revice
  
• Ultraman Taiga
  
• Ultraman Chronicle Zero & Geed
  
• Ultraman Z
  
• Ultraman Chronicle Z: Heroes' Odyssey
  
• Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga

Shout Factory TV may have streaming right and Mill Creek have physical release right for some of the series, but that doesn't mean Netflix can still get streaming right for some of the recent one I've listed and it's possible. Neon Genesis Evangelion proves that not all Evangelion stuff will be exclusively on Netflix. So maybe it's still possible for GARO TV series (the live-action one) to make an appearance on Netflix.

I've also seen one Disney Channel original movie, Zapped appearing not only on Disney+, but also on Netflix, and TubiTV:

https://i.ibb.co/thvfPCw/Zapped-Disney.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/JpZzYgV/Zapped-Netflix.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/mbRPByF/Zapped-Tubi-TV.jpg

Don't ask me how a Disney Channel original movie like Zapped appeared on Netflix and TubiTV at the same time it's on Disney+. But it's for real.

So you see it's not crazy for Netflix to acquire streaming right for some of the recent toku shows from the last 2 years.

As I said, Shout Factory TV doesn't have the same mainstream reach that Netflix (nor Amazon Prime Video) has. But it's the only way for people that watch foreign TV shows including K-dramas, and C-dramas to branch out to tokusatsu shows. I guarantee if you put GARO, Ultraman Trigger, Kamen Rider Zero-One on Netflix for US and worldwide audiences, the toku fandom can grow exponentially.

I've always wanted Toku to go big. For the longest time I really want Power Rangers to be as popukar as Marvel or at the very least Transformers/TMNT level of popularity so that other Tokus will get a chance to be big as well. Which is why I am salty when Power Rangers is still viewed as a joke by audience at large.

But I dunno, I mean I'm also a superhero fan and was bullied at school because of it, but then The Avengers become big and suddenly everyone is a superhero fan, nothing really changes. But there's also a risk of bringing in more toxic people, though I don't want to talk about that.

Idk, I just want Toku to be loved and respected. But we are slowly getting it. Ultraman going global proves it. And Kamen Rider even is starting to do it too. Maybe it won't be mainstream uet, but maybe on a decade, there will be bigger results.

You might want to scratch Zero-One from that hypothetical list as SHOUT! has the rights to it and Ryuki and will even release it to disk when it's all ready!

Z is still for available for free and Trigger hasn't gotten far enough yet.

Recent Sentai might be the most practical shot, especially if Hasbro and Netflix are on good terms (with the Nickelodeon deal apparently not being renewed). The rumor is that Hasbro is nearing the stage when they will do more original content, but I don't see that as a clean break from Toei. The rights holder to P.R. is the rights holder to Sentai distribution in the West. They could just upload it all to same resource and call it a day.

I don't see Team Rider trying to get any Rider on Netflix USA for the foreseeable future. It's mostly just a feeling.

edit: nevermind, I don't care enough to get drawn into this ridiculous, cyclical debate.

That's what happen to K-pop and K-dramas 15-20 years ago (well a lot of East Asian TV dramas were like that). They were niche and there was no way it would get the mainstream audiences. Now thanks to streaming (Youtube), the popularity of anime/manga (several well-known manga had gotten live-action TV dramas adaptation from South Korea and Taiwan), and mainstream streaming provider like Netflix. That was the reason K-pop and K-drama explode in popularity in the US.

I believe if you put toku shows on Netflix (and specialized streaming with large subscribers like Viki, which specialized in streaming K-dramas, and other East Asian TV dramas), I believe the same audiences that watched sci-fi/fantasy K-dramas and wuxia C-dramas could branch out to tokusatsu. I've already stated time and time again. Shout Factory TV and Youtube aren't going to attract the same people that watch K-dramas, C-dramas on there. They need to put it on Netflix, Viki, or even AsianCrush (another specialized website for East Asian entertainment including TV dramas) if you want the same audiences watching K-dramas (meaning the people watching sci-fi/fantasy genre) and C-dramas (that include the audiences watching wuxia drama) to watch toku, you need to target those audiences.

Asiancrush's YT channel has 3 million subscribers and all it has to do is put up clips from K-dramas and other TV dramas and that usually get a lot of views like for example these video:

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikzEgE9fGI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JkSkKfaDk

Asiancrush was also clever of putting anime clip on their channel too to attract K-drama, and drama fans that never watch anime to branch out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szm1gC2_Ya8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx8a9ZrZs_A

See Asiancrush knows how to target both anime fans and TV dramas fans. So maybe if Toei and Tsuburaya license some of their toku titles to Digital Media Rights (the owner of AsianCrush, and Retrocrush), and Asiancrush put up some clips of toku shows on their YT channel. I guarantee that can help get drama fans branching out to tokusatsu shows.

Wait Shout! license Kamen Rider Zero-One? When? Because I didn't hear any report... Oh wait, I found it. I wasn't aware that they got the license until just now.

But still in my opinion, I still believe having some recent toku shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and specialize streaming sites for Asian dramas like Viki, and AsianCrush could help toku a lot. Shout Factory TV doesn't have that same mainstream reach that Netflix, Prime Video has.

So what? I've seen Netflix simulcast a K-drama hours or a day after it's Korean broadcasting. It shouldn't be that hard for Tsurbaraya to have Ultraman simulcast on Netflix.

I can't ruled out that possibility. Remember we're living in a time where foreign-language films and TV dramas are being more accepted in the US thanks to streaming and mainstream streaming providers like Netflix, etc... So if Toei is smart, I would take advantage of this and have some of their recent Kamen Rider & Super Sentai series on Netflix and make sure to target the audiences that watch wuxia dramas, and sci-fi/fantasy K-dramas with those Kamen Rider & Super Sentai series that Netflix could potentially get.

I wouldn't mind (or should I say I would love it) if Netflix ever get Kamen Rider Saber (or Kamen Rider Zi-O), and probably Ryusoulger (and Kiramager if there was a chance). Netflix should put a "Netflix original" label on there to increase viewership. It seems like if any show or movie has a "Netflix original" or "Netflix presents" label on there, more people on Netflix would likely watch it. So not only fans of K-dramas and C-dramas watch it, but a casual fan that doesn't know a thing about Kamen Rider & Super Sentai can watch it because it has a "Netflix originals/Netflix presents" label on there.

I get that when you're on the spectrum you can get obsessed with a certain topic and it can be hard to deal with when no-one else seems to understand where you're coming from.

For what it's worth though, at least in Britain, considering in the South West the population skews older too, I still think normal TV is ultimately more important and relevant than some modern internet-originated thing in the grand scheme of things. I do get my dream of seeing Sentai or Kamen Rider on British TV is not likely to come true any time soon(!) and even in the UK I think it would have to be dubbed to get enough people watching it whether you like it or not, I don't think subbing and dubbing are necessarily the same audience in my view, but that's what I would really want, I mean it's TV programmes we're talking about at the end of the day!

I think a lot of people still don't want just endless change for the sake of change, a few years ago in like 2013/14/15 I seemed unable to escape the people that acted superior for not having a TV, and yet somehow seemed alright with some of the things on the internet and Netflix still hasn't caused TV to ''end''!