Tokusatsu

History

Tokusatsu has origins in early Japanese theater, specifically in kabuki (with its action and fight scenes) and in bunraku, which used some of the earliest forms of special effects, specifically puppetry. Modern tokusatsu, however, did not begin to take shape until the early 1950s, with the conceptual and creative birth of Godzilla, one of the most famous monsters (kaiju) of all time.

The special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya and the director Ishirō Honda became the driving forces behind 1954's Godzilla. Tsuburaya, inspired by the American film King Kong, formulated many of the techniques that would become staples of the genre, such as so-called suitmation—the use of a human actor in a costume to play a giant monster—combined with the use of miniatures and scaled-down city sets. Godzilla forever changed the landscape of Japanese science fiction, fantasy, and cinema by creating a uniquely Japanese vision in a genre typically dominated by American cinema.

In 1954, Godzilla kickstarted the kaiju genre in Japan, which remained extremely popular for several decades, with characters such as the aforementioned Godzilla, Gamera and King Ghidorah leading the market. However, in 1957 Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the superhero character Super Giant, signaling a shift in popularity that favored masked heroes over giant monsters. Along with the anime Astro Boy, the Super Giant serials had a profound effect on the world of tokusatsu. The following year, Moonlight Mask premiered, the first of numerous televised superhero dramas that would make up one of the most popular tokusatsu subgenres.

These original productions preceded the first color television tokusatsu series, Ambassador Magma and Ultraman, which heralded the Kyodai Hero genre, wherein a regular-size protagonist grows to larger proportions to fight equally large monsters.

Techniques

Suitmation (スーツメーション Sūtsumēshon) in Japanese identifies the process in tokusatsu movies and television programs used to portray a monster using suit acting. The exact origin of the term remains unknown. At the least, it was used to promote the Godzilla suit from The Return of Godzilla.

Franchises and productions

The many productions of tokusatsu series have general themes common.

Kaiju

Kaiju (怪獣, kaijū, literally "strange beast") productions primarily feature monsters, or giant monsters (大怪獣, daikaijū). Such series include Ultra Q, the Godzilla films, the Gamera series, the Daimajin series, and films such as Frankenstein Conquers the World, War of the Gargantuas, and The X from Outer Space (宇宙大怪獣ギララ, Uchu Daikaijū Girara).

Kaijin

Kaijin (怪人, literally "mysterious person") productions primarily feature a supervillain as their central character. This category includes films such as The Secret of the Telegian, The Human Vapor, The H-Man, Half Human, and Tomei Ningen.

Popular franchises

Since about 1960, several long-running television series have combined other themes. Tsuburaya Productions has had the Ultra Series starting with Ultra Q and Ultraman in 1966. P Productions began their foray into tokusatsu in 1966 with the series Ambassador Magma. They also had involvement in the Lion-Maru series that concluded in November 2006.

Toei Company has several series that fall under their Toei Superheroes category of programming, starting in 1961 with the single series, Moonlight Mask. Then, they produced several other long-running series, starting with Shotaro Ishinomori's Kamen Rider Series in 1971, the Super Sentai series in 1975, the Metal Hero Series in 1982, and the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series in 1981. Toei also produced several other television series based on Ishinomori's works, including Android Kikaider and Kikaider 01, Robot Detective, Inazuman and Inazuman Flash, and Kaiketsu Zubat. Toei was involved in the Spider-Man television series, which influenced their subsequent Super Sentai series. In 2003, TV Asahi began broadcasting the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider series in a one-hour block known as Super Hero Time. Toho, the creators of Godzilla, had their hands in creating the Chouseishin Series of programs from 2003 to 2006.

Toei's tokusatsu productions were not limited to action-oriented superheroes and robots. Children's shows, such as Ganbare!! Robocon (1974–77), featuring friendly robot-suited actors, were successful.

In 2006, Keita Amemiya's Garo, a mature late-night tokusatsu drama was released, starting a franchise composed of television series and films. Other mature late-night series followed, including a revival of Lion-Maru in Lion-Maru G, the Daimajin Kanon television series (based on the Daimajin film series), and Shougeki Gouraigan (created by Amemiya).

Tokusatsu movies

Some movies classified as tokusatsu work like generalized science fiction films. These include Warning from Space (宇宙人東京に現わる, Uchūjin Tokyo ni arawaru, Spacemen Appear in Tokyo), Invasion of the Neptune Men (宇宙快速船, Uchū Kaisokusen, High Speed Spaceship), The Green Slime (ガンマー第3号 宇宙大作戦, Ganmā daisan gō: uchū daisakusen, Ganma 3 Space Mission), The Birth of Japan (日本誕生, Nippon Tanjō), The Last War (世界大戦争, Sekai daisensō, Great World War), Japan Sinks (日本沈没, Nihon Chinbotsu, Japan Sinks), Virus (復活の日, Fukkatsu no Hi, Day of Resurrection), Sayonara Jupiter (さよならジュピター, Sayonara Jupitā), The War in Space (惑星大戦争, Wakusei Daisensō, War of the Planets), and Sengoku Jieitai 1549 (戦国自衛隊1549).

Non-traditional tokusatsu productions

Non-traditional tokusatsu films and television programs may not use conventional special effects or may not star human actors. Though suitmation typifies tokusatsu, some productions may use stop-motion to animate their monsters instead, for example Majin Hunter Mitsurugi in 1973. TV shows may use traditional tokusatsu techniques, but are cast with puppets or marionettes: Uchuusen Silica (1960); Ginga Shonen Tai (1963); Kuchuu Toshi 008 (1969); and Go Nagai's X Bomber (1980). Some tokusatsu may employ animation in addition to its live-action components: Tsuburaya Productions' Dinosaur Expedition Team Bornfree (1976), Dinosaur War Aizenborg (1977) and Pro-Wrestling Star Aztekaiser (1976).

Japanese fan films

Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Takami Akai, and Shinji Higuchi set up a fan-based group called Daicon Film, which they renamed Gainax in 1985 and turned into an animation studio. Besides anime sequences, they produced a series of tokusatsu shorts parodying monster movies and superhero shows. These productions include Patriotic Squadron Dai-Nippon (1983), Swift Hero Noutenki (1982), Return of Ultraman (1983) and The Eight-Headed Giant Serpent Strikes Back (1985).

Outside Japan

Tokusatsu techniques have spread outside Japan due to the popularity of the Godzilla films, as well as the Power Rangers boom in the 1990s.

Adaptations

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! first appeared in English in 1956. Rather than a simple dub of the Japanese-language original, this work represented an entirely re-edited version that restructured the plot to incorporate a new character played by American actor Raymond Burr.

Ultraman gained popularity when United Artists dubbed it for American audiences in the 1960s.

A major influx of tokusatsu adaptations came to American television in the 1990s, starting in 1993 with Saban Entertainment's purchase of footage from Toei's sixteenth installment of their long-running Super Sentai series, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger to become Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and start the popular Power Rangers franchise. Subsequent seasons of Super Sentai were adapted in similar fashion for later seasons of the show. Saban also purchased footage from several of the Metal Hero Series television programs, turning Choujinki Metalder, Jikuu Senshi Spielban, and Uchuu Keiji Shaider into VR Troopers in 1994 and Juukou B-Fighter and its sequel B-Fighter Kabuto into Big Bad Beetleborgs and its sequel Beetleborgs Metallix in 1996 and 1997. They also purchased the Kamen Rider Series' Kamen Rider Black RX to produce Saban's Masked Rider in 1995. Around this time, DIC Entertainment attempted to compete with Power Rangers by taking Tsuburaya Productions' Denkou Choujin Gridman to create Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad in 1994, before later attempting an original concept.

In 2002, 4Kids Entertainment bought the rights to Ultraman Tiga but simply produced a dub of the Japanese footage, broadcast on the Fox Box. And in 2009, Adness Entertainment took 2002's Kamen Rider Ryuki and turned it into Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, which began broadcast on The CW4Kids in 2009. It won the first Daytime Emmy for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination" for its original scenes.

In February 2017, a dub of Ultraman Max began broadcast on TOKU.

Original productions

In 1961 England-based filmmakers produced the Godzilla-style film, Gorgo, which used the same suitmation technique as the Godzilla films. That same year, Saga Studios in Denmark made another Godzilla-style giant monster film, Reptilicus, bringing its monster to life using a marionette on a miniature set. In 1967, South Korea produced its own monster movie titled Yonggary.

In 1975, Shaw Brothers produced a superhero film called The Super Inframan, based on the huge success of Ultraman and Kamen Rider there. The film starred Danny Lee in the title role. Although there were several other similar superhero productions in Hong Kong, The Super Inframan came first. With help from Japanese special effects artists under Sadamasa Arikawa, they also produced a Japanese-styled monster movie, The Mighty Peking Man, in 1977.

Concurrent with their work on Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, DIC attempted an original concept based on the popularity of Power Rangers in 1994's Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills. In 1998, video from an attempted Power Rangers-styled adaptation of Sailor Moon surfaced, combining original footage of American actresses with original animated sequences; despite no participation on behalf of Saban Entertainment (instrumental behind Power Rangers, VR Troopers, and Beetleborgs), the footage is derisively called "Saban Moon".

In the 2000s, production companies in East Asia began producing their own original tokusatsu-inspired television series: Thailand's Sport Ranger and South Korea's have Vectorman in 1999 and Erexion in 2006, China's Armor Hero (Chinese: 铠甲勇士; pinyin: Kǎi Jiǎ Yǒng Shì) in 2008-2009, Armor Hero XT (Chinese: （铠甲勇士刑天; pinyin: Kǎi Jiǎ Yǒng Shì Xíng Tiān)in 2011-2012 and Armor Hero Lava (Chinese: 铠甲勇士拿瓦; pinyin: Kǎi Jiǎ Yǒng Shì Ná Wǎ) in 2013-2014, Armor Hero Atlas (Chinese: 铠甲勇士之雅塔莱斯; pinyin: Kǎi Jiǎ Yǒng Shì Zhī Yǎ Tǎ Lái Sī) in 2014, Armor Hero captor (Chinese: 铠甲勇士捕将; pinyin: Kǎi Jiǎ Yǒng Shì Bǔ Jiāng) in 2015 and Armor Hero Captor King (Chinese: 铠甲勇士捕王; pinyin: Kǎi Jiǎ Yǒng Shì Bǔ Wáng) in 2016; Giant Saver (Chinese: 巨神战击队; pinyin: Jù Shén Zhàn Jí Duì) in December 2012 , Giant Saver - Space Deleter (Chinese: 巨神战击队之空间战击队; pinyin: Jùshén Zhàn Jí Duì - Zhī Kōng Jiān Zhàn Jí Duì) December 22th, 2014 and Giant Saver - Rescue Engine (Chinese: 巨神战击队之超救分队; pinyin: Jù Shén Zhàn Jí Duì - Zhī Chāo Jiù Fēnduì) in 2016  ; Metal Kaiser (Chinese: 五龙奇剑士; pinyin: Wǔ Lóng Qí Jiàn Shì) and Indonesia's Bima Satria Garuda which began in 2013. In Philippines's Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan aired September 24, 2007–February 8, 2008.

Homage and parody

In Japan, Voicelugger (ボイスラッガー, Boisuraggā) is a Japanese tokusatsu that aired from January 12 to March 30, 1999. It was the last production by Shotaro Ishinomori, released posthumously. He intended for the series to be serious, while it was originally written to be a parody of older tokusatsu programs. The acting cast consisted of Japanese voice actors and popular singers of music in Japanese animation.

In 2001, Buki X-1 Productions, a French fan-based production company, produced its own series, Jushi Sentai France Five (now called Shin Kenjushi France Five), a tribute to Toei's long running Super Sentai series. The low-budget television series Kaiju Big Battel directly parodies monster and Kyodai Hero films and series by immersing their own costumed characters in professional wrestling matches among cardboard buildings. In 2006, Mighty Moshin' Emo Rangers premiered on the internet as a Power Rangers spoof and was quickly picked up by MTV UK for broadcast. In 2006, Insector Sun, a low-budget tribute to Kamen Rider was produced by Brazilian fans.