[ShiShiLeo]

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.