I don't get the Tokusatsu Fanbase

[Mr. Yellow]

The only thing that really annoys me are the people who INSIST that Power Rangers HAS to be different then Sentai and it can't be similar to at all. I mean, just the fact that there are new actors is enough for me, but not for some I guess.

 

[NateRiver]

A lot of PR fans are easy to anger on Youtube.Just say something like "IS DIS CHINESE PWR RANGERS?!?!?" and they usually rage.But in all seriousness, I really dislike purists.Like those that insist that the Sentai is better even though it's quite obvious the Sentai was total crap...

 

[Khaiden]

I guess the Toku fandom isn't as small as I think it is anymore. There's more and more people finding out about this.

Don't pay attention to youtubers, most people comment the first thing that crosses their mind. And discussions tend to get silly, real quick.

As for me, I really hate when people divide things, when they divide eras. Showa Rider or Heisei Rider are expressions that aren't used correctly most of the time. I roll my eyes everytime I see Shin, ZO or J listed as Showa Riders.
I grew up with only the first four Riders via the V3 videogame and Power Rangers, and didn't properly got into the fandom until late 2007, where I fell in love with mostly everything Toku-related. While I admit I was a purist during my first impressions (''This stupid Black goof dropped the scarf!!11!''), I'm more open minded about this, and respect people's opinions on it. If someone wants to be only a fan of a series instead of a whole franchise, that's fine by me.

It isn't as bad as you might think it is, at least not in this forum, most people are respectful enough of everyone's tastes and purists/elitists are rare.

The only things that bother me in this fandom are it's discussion of what's canonical or not, it's impatience, and it's sometimes high expectations (which is why many people disliked Decade).

 

[Fantasy Leader]

Fans like and dislike different things. Which is fine, but it's bad when fans start discriminating. And sadly, that's something that many fans do.

 

[KamenRiderDamian]

The Old vs New thing happens in every fandom.

For Transformers we have Gewunners vs Every continuity afterwards
For Batman we have Batman The Animated Series purists vs Everything afterwards
For Toku we have Showa vs Hesei.

It also dips into disliking anything new in general because of some thickheaded belief that that certain fan's childhood and things they grew up with are automatically better than what's new or what someone else is into.

That sort of issue might be part of the problem with Power Rangers vs Sentai fans as well. Generally I stay away from people thickheaded about either side, because I enjoy both and I don't like seeing people fight over which is "better" when each side has it's own merits.

But anyway, fandom doesn't really matter as long as you're enjoying what you watch. At least I think that.

 

[kokowaks]

my suggestion to you is to just enjoy what you're watching and just ignore those closed minded people...

there might be some shows that you don't/wouldn't like and its ok to put it out as your opinion but the thing is with other people is that they're thinking that if they hated to show/genre/franchise everybody should also be hating it with them and if they liked a show everybody must like them too...

there will always be people like that... but just don't let them get in the way on you're enjoyment on watching those shows...

 

[ryuuseipro]

slyther2rao,

There's always going to be conflicts in a fandom. Anime fandom has had it. And tokusatsu is no different. And in tokusatsu, it doesn't apply only to superhero shows; even Godzilla fans have been up to each other's necks, especially politically, when it comes to certain fan clubs and the like! I've seen it happen. (And I'm not naming names.)

I've been a tokusatsu fan as far back as I watched Godzilla movies and other Japanese sci-fi, and was truly able to appreciate it. From my tween years onward, I was able to understand the fandom. I learned from August Ragone about how the conflicts in "organized anime fandom" were stirred up in about 1984, and the Cartoon Fantasy Organization (CFO, the premiere club of animation, anime, and Japanese sci-fi) collapsed by 1990. His 1996 essay, "The Idiot, The Glutton, and The Pompous," describes how many tokusatsu and anime-related fandoms have fans who, for lack of a better term, have no life; some toy dealers who sell items for outrageous prices (twice the amount sold in Japan); and fan clubs who fight each other for who is the great poobah in fandom (like in the aforementioned Godzilla fandom conflicts).

And the old-vs-new conflicts and this-vs-that arguments are a moot point. We have it everywhere. In sci-fi, you have Doctor Who, Star Trek and Star Wars fans up to each others' throats about which series is better. Some Star Wars fans also prefer the Original Trilogy they grew up with over the new "Special Editions" that messed everything up, and make up all sorts of conspiracy theories about George Lucas. In comics, you have Marvel fans who prefer the classic comics by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, etc., and you have fans who buy the newer dark stuff by "hot" writers and artists, and they argue which is better, while unaware of the fact that these characters were ostensibly meant for kids. You have modern Batman fans who annoy the hell out of fans of other superheroes, both DC and Marvel, by saying that he's better than every single superhero in the universe, when, theoretically, even the Hulk, let alone Galactus, can pound him to bits! He's just a man in a bat suit!

See, I'm not ashamed to say that I'm guilty of this sort of thing, too!

You asked a very good and very common question. This sort of thing has been around for as long as something has had fans, but finding a solution to such conflicts is not a very easy one. Because many of us are individual human beings with different preferences.

The greatest solution is just to enjoy what you love. Don't let anyone else's opinions (even mine) get to you.

 

[Tokuboy]

@OP: Remember to not read YouTube comments; they're a source of stress :laugh:

I'd agree in the sense that each and every fan has his or her tastes; sure there are the purists and elitists but they're a mere vocal minority to the guy who likes Kamen Rider Black as much as Power Rangers.

 

[TokuJoe]

I ignore most purists and elitists unless they can give a good reason, if you hate something at least have a thought out reason

 

[MattComix]

I ignore most purists and elitists unless they can give a good reason, if you hate something at least have a thought out reason

I think that goes without saying no matter what your opinion of it is. Even if you like it I think one can put forth something a bit more substantial than "OMGsobadassepic!".

Also I think a label like "purist" gets thrown around far too loosely. I think even the most old-school fan in the world knows these long running franchises go through changes. But I think it's valid to have a disagreement with how they change or to talk about if or not said change was actually a good idea that really gave something actually worth a damn to that long running franchise besides just being the shinny new thing or just having some cheap "oh no they didn't!" factor.