[GibsonKAGE]

I've noticed some people here assume that Tokusatsu is a genre devoted to Japanese Super Heroes and Giant Monster movies, NOT TRUE.


Source - Wikipedia

Tokusatsu (特撮?) is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects (tokusatsu literally translates as "special filming" in Japanese).

Tokusatsu entertainment often deals with science fiction, fantasy or horror, but movies and television shows in other genres can sometimes count as tokusatsu as well. The most popular types of tokusatsu include kaiju monster movies like the Godzilla and Gamera film series; superhero TV serials such as the Kamen Rider and Metal Hero series; and mecha dramas like Giant Robo. Some tokusatsu television programs combine several of these subgenres, for example the Ultraman and Super Sentai series. Tokusatsu is one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment, but most tokusatsu movies and television programs are not widely known outside Asia.


Foreign productions as Tokusatsu
The Japanese market regards several British and American live-action series dubbed into Japanese as tokusatsu programs. These include Doctor Who, Lost in Space, Smallville, Wonder Woman, MacGyver, Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf, The Greatest American Hero, Knight Rider, and even puppet shows such as Thunderbirds and Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

[Destroyman]

Well, really it's a similar thing to the words 'Anime' & 'Manga', which basically mean the equivalent of 'Cartoon' & 'Comic' in Japan, but we still say 'Anime' & 'Manga' here (for the most part anyway) because it separates it from our normal perception of what a 'Cartoon' or 'Comic' should be.

Of course you could call shows like Kamen Rider & Super Sentai 'Special effects shows' or something, but like you said, then you're lumping them together with Doctor Who & Thomas the Tank Engine, & i don't know about everyone else on the boards, but that doesn't seem right to me.

[PkmnMstr]

This seems like a sort of nitpicky thing. It's good that you're putting the info out there, but people will just call it what they like. I know that fact myself, but I only use it when explaining stuff to people unfamiliar with tokusatsu.

[GibsonKAGE]

I don't care about the other stuff like Doctor Who or whatever, it "became" Tokustasu so that's WAY different from being created as one. Much like when America orders the Japanese to make a cartoon series for them. Is it still Anime? Even if the art comes from Korea or something lol!

The point I'm trying to make is Tokusatsu does not equal Henshin Heros. Lump what shows with it as you will. I just find it kinda insulting that you can be a fan of something and not take the time out to acquire the basic knowledge. That's like being a Transformers fan and not being able to remember who are the good guys, Autobots or Decpticons. Or being a Martial Artist and saying all forms of fighting with kicks in it is Karate. :/

[Shinken Red]

Thomas tha tank engine? and Knight rider are considered tokusatsu!? WOW thats a shocker.

[ZeoRangerV]

Thomas the Tank Engine is considered live-action?

[RiderSkyward]

There are the more recent Thomas the Tank engine movies that feature people too, so they'd definitely count.

As for the old TV show its more the special effects then live action aspect you have to consider, its not a cartoon and uses real life effects, like explosions on thunderbirds and the occasional rockslide (if i'm remembering correctly) on Thomas the Tank Engine. That and stop motion is usually considered a special effect.

A brief snippet from wikipedia:
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, videogame, or simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual world are traditionally called special effects.

Special effects are traditionally divided into the categories of optical effects and mechanical effects. With the emergence of digital film-making tools a greater distinction between special effects and visual effects has been recognized, with "visual effects" referring to digital post-production and "special effects" referring to on-set mechanical effects and in-camera optical effects.

Mechanical effects (also called practical or physical effects), are usually accomplished during the live-action shooting. This includes the use of mechanized props, scenery, scale models, pyrotechnics and Atmospheric Effects: creating physical wind, rain, fog, snow, clouds etc. Making a car appear to drive by itself, or blowing up a building are examples of mechanical effects. Mechanical effects are often incorporated into set design and makeup. For example, a set may be built with break-away doors or walls to enhance a fight scene, or prosthetic makeup can be used to make an actor look like a monster.

Visual special effects techniques:
Bullet time
Computer-generated imagery
Digital compositing
Dolly zoom
Miniature effects
Morphing
Motion control photography
Optical effects
Practical effects
Prosthetic makeup effects
Stop motion

=)

[ZeoRangerV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiderSkyward

There are the more recent Thomas the Tank engine movies that feature people too, so they'd definitely count.

Ah I see, bare in mind I haven't watched Thomas since I was about 5 so I don't know what's changed

[RiderSkyward]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeoRangerV

Ah I see, bare in mind I haven't watched Thomas since I was about 5 so I don't know what's changed

I've never seen the movie myself, i just remember seeing trailers for it on TV... a quick google search shows the one i'm thinking of came out in 2000 so i would have been 8, yet I remember thinking 'I shouldn't want to watch this I'm too old' =p

Thomas movie info