I don't get the Tokusatsu Fanbase

[Bigdog]

There's a long-standing divide in tokusatsu fandom between people who love the stuff as an extension of how they love Power Rangers and people who love the stuff but aren't into Power Rangers. This divide goes back... gosh, as far as I've been watching the stuff, which I think dates it to at least 1995? I seem to recall that HJU was one of the first forums online that allowed people to mention Power Rangers in tokusatsu discussions.

I think people who come to tokusatsu as Power Rangers fans just end up with a very different perspective than fans who aren't much interested in it. Whenever a fandom has major factions, you'll get self-proclaimed holy warriors trying to "fight" the other side through forums like YouTube. It doesn't matter the the faction lines are usually drawn over very silly things and that the "fights" don't accomplish anything.

For my part, I did find the stuff through Power Rangers but I also started watching the original Japanese versions much sooner than most people. I believe I'd seen a couple tapes of Carranger before Turbo began airing in the US. So I've always felt like I can see things both ways. I'm sympathetic to both PR fans who want to be treated like fandom equals and to tokusatsu fans who get tired of hearing about Tommy.

Rationally, Power Rangers fans and tokusatsu fans have every reason to get along with each other. Ryuki fans got to enjoy the Dragon Knight Figma line and Time Force has never made it harder for me to turn people on to Timeranger. So just excuse Internet elitism as a poor poster trolling or a younger fan going through a militant phase. Most people who really love either Power Rangers or original tokusatsu eventually mellow out of that sort of behavior.

For a while I hated Time Force through Ninja Storm but now I like them alot . I hope Time Force is released uncut with all the building explosions.

First off, I think in any fanbase, there will always be people who love certain aspects and loathe other aspects of what they like.

Second, IMO you've got the wrong impression, because YouTube is definitely not half of the fanbase. I can say at the least, that most of the fans here in Indonesia, growing up watching Showa Rider, Heisei Rider, Sentai, Power Rangers, Ultraman, Metal Heroes and whatnot at the same time are pretty open minded, and I'm sure that a lot of the folks out there are as well.

The Power Rangers thing I don't quite get myself, but I think it's just that some people always have certain expectations of adaptations, especially those that have watched the source material.

I've always thought Showa v.s. Heisei as kinda like a generation gap thing. Different generations do tend to have different views, and maybe of what constitutes a hero. Like KickHopper said, most guys who started with Heisei don't have a problem with Showa, it's mostly guys who watched Showa that has "higher" standards for the hero.

That said, most of the guys I know who are into toku are pretty decent people, and I'm sure if you stick along you'll find that a lot of the guys that watch the stories about heroes and nice people are pretty nice guys themselves.

I started with Faiz and Ryuki and I feel like that exactly. I would really love a remake of the first Kamen Rider cast into a 1600's Japan setting with Ninjas and Samurai, kinda like a Samurai Champloo of sorts or just any rider in that period. I think different ideas are nifty for the franchise though there are ones that seem strange even for me and I like the Fouze design. It harks to the old toku .

While I believe that the original concept of the Rider might've been lost or covered over, the basic concept of a hero whose differences, ala being a cyborg or vampire or nerd or other outcast ,prevent him from fully integrating into the society which means he has to learn how to be human and be himself and fight better since he has nothing to lose. That is what I think a Kamen Rider is .

I'm still waiting for an Ultraman series that uses the Greek myths as the basis for an Ultra-Crusader War on the planet Earth like in the revolt of the Olympians against their father and the Titans. Also, a persian themed Sentai series would be badass, especially if they used free flowing Ancient Persian wear for the suits instead of the usual Spandex and had only two robots at least.

I'd like to make clear before I say anything else that I am not a troll or flaming or anything of the sort but someone with a genuine question I'd like some help answering.

I'm a young Tokusatsu fan (properly got into the genre around 2008) and a very open minded one at that. I grew up with Power Rangers since I was a child (born when Zyuranger came on the air so since like 93 I was watching PR I remember) and I enjoy both the Disney and Saban era's (which most fans seem quite determined to hate Disney). I also love Kamen Rider and too me there is no such thing as Showa or Heisei-only Kamen Rider (I love most incarnations). So basically I like/love most tokusatsu and do not really show any personal bias or hardcore interest towards any personal show (most fans I know are quite hardcore).

it seems that not a whole lot of fans are open minded e.t.c. and quite purist in certain respects. I'm specifically wondering why SO MANY Tokusatsu fans are so damn say hating towards Power Rangers? I get the impression that A LOT of fans hate this franchise and seem very very quick to hate. Ok I don't feel that it's as good as Sentai but I still enjoy it.

I'm wondering why several Toku fans seems purist to me? Several times on Power Rangers videos I read a whole lotta purists and hate fuelled reviews. Not only that but with the whole Kamen Rider thing, it seems even worse to me. There are people who are like OMG SHOW IS SO MANLY WITH TRAGIC HERO CHARACTERS AND HESEI IS GAY AND PRETTY BOY RYUKI SUCKS! I don't get what the deal with the Showa v.s. Heisei thing is. The 'divisions' as I see it within the Tokusatsu fandom such as these quite confuse me and looking at some of the YT comments make me wonder why half of the fanbase is acting so childish.

Apologies if I haven't quite gotten my query across but in short: I don't get why the Tokusatsu fanbase is so purist and hate filled towards shows like Power Rangers and why (particularly youtube) fan seem to act childish. I under a probably false impression that the fanbase is a wee narrow minded. I'm a fan and I would love to discuss Toku with other fans but I suppose there's a little fear and apprehension here as I get the impression that the fandom seems quite hardcore. I like watching these shows and enjoy the heck out of them but I'm always open to new things and seem to be a lil different than most anime/manga/tokusatsu fans

I know how you feel. I was hounded by Godzilla fans at another board for promoting the possibility of taking Godzilla to a new direction that is a balance of Showa's corniness and Heisei/Shodai Godziall'a seriousness. Though here , I got a much better reception for my Western Kamen Rider concept and my other ideas. You'll like it here.

For example, when I said that the first Michael Bay film was far better than the 1986 film, those Transfans had their daggers ready. I mean ,seriously, I just don't like it because none of the changes brought about in the film never stood bringing any gravity or credibility to the G1 franchise downwards. That's why I like the Japanese continuity over the American one since they stood with his death and kept him dead. They should've built up Rodimus Prime to a leader not unlike Optimus . Then , with Animated ,people hated it although it was more faithful to how G1 was compared to the Anime trilogy (Though Armada is my fave) and was kibble essentially; another series that should've gotten another season.

Point is every fandom does this , and I've done it a few times too, especially with Gekiranger's suits.

 

[Sentaifan'07 Xman]

I just don't care about fandoms. Just enjoy what you enjoy. Don't let a bunch of people you hardly know dictate your actions. So what if people hate PR, if you like it that's all that matters.

I have no problem with that.

 

[Mr. Rhythmic]

Alot of times the Showa stuff is what they saw first. what they fell in love with. So everything that's not at least reminiscent of that is at best sub-par.

I find Showa to be the golden age not because of nostalgia, but because of the great characters, incredibly fun adventures, awesome villains, and Silver Age comic feeling of entertainment. Shows like "Kamen Rider," "V3," "Kikaida," "Ultraman," and "Red Mach Baron" are just awesome, inventive and set their own mythos's that invite you along for the ride. Many shows now just throw in monsters because they feel they have to. Those shows made you want to see what enemy would show up next.

 

[Hidden Masta]

it seems that not a whole lot of fans are open minded e.t.c. and quite purist in certain respects.

This is any fan base ever. They have a opinion and a vision of how they want there franchise to be like and will force down other peoples throats.

 

[Black Ranger RX]

I'd like to make clear before I say anything else that I am not a troll or flaming or anything of the sort but someone with a genuine question I'd like some help answering.

I'm a young Tokusatsu fan (properly got into the genre around 2008) and a very open minded one at that. I grew up with Power Rangers since I was a child (born when Zyuranger came on the air so since like 93 I was watching PR I remember) and I enjoy both the Disney and Saban era's (which most fans seem quite determined to hate Disney). I also love Kamen Rider and too me there is no such thing as Showa or Heisei-only Kamen Rider (I love most incarnations). So basically I like/love most tokusatsu and do not really show any personal bias or hardcore interest towards any personal show (most fans I know are quite hardcore).

it seems that not a whole lot of fans are open minded e.t.c. and quite purist in certain respects. I'm specifically wondering why SO MANY Tokusatsu fans are so damn say hating towards Power Rangers? I get the impression that A LOT of fans hate this franchise and seem very very quick to hate. Ok I don't feel that it's as good as Sentai but I still enjoy it.

I'm wondering why several Toku fans seems purist to me? Several times on Power Rangers videos I read a whole lotta purists and hate fuelled reviews. Not only that but with the whole Kamen Rider thing, it seems even worse to me. There are people who are like OMG SHOW IS SO MANLY WITH TRAGIC HERO CHARACTERS AND HESEI IS GAY AND PRETTY BOY RYUKI SUCKS! I don't get what the deal with the Showa v.s. Heisei thing is. The 'divisions' as I see it within the Tokusatsu fandom such as these quite confuse me and looking at some of the YT comments make me wonder why half of the fanbase is acting so childish.

Apologies if I haven't quite gotten my query across but in short: I don't get why the Tokusatsu fanbase is so purist and hate filled towards shows like Power Rangers and why (particularly youtube) fan seem to act childish. I under a probably false impression that the fanbase is a wee narrow minded. I'm a fan and I would love to discuss Toku with other fans but I suppose there's a little fear and apprehension here as I get the impression that the fandom seems quite hardcore. I like watching these shows and enjoy the heck out of them but I'm always open to new things and seem to be a lil different than most anime/manga/tokusatsu fans

IMO Power Ranger haters are like Justin Bieber haters because they can't seem to understand the concept of if you don't like something don't watch/listen to it. Maybe it's okay to critisize Power Rangers and/or Justin Bieber and/or any other TV Show/Singer/Entertainment, but there's a difference between critisizing, and going all over the internet going apeshit and posting stuff like "**** POWER RANGERS!!" "**** JUSTIN BIEBER!!!" and trying to piss off the fans.

OK, maybe it might seem a little unfair that Power Rangers gets all this worldwide fame where the Japanese original that it was based on remains only famed in Japan or Asia... buuuut I guess that's just the way the world is.

That's the magic of the internet. If you don't like your localised version of a Japanese TV show, you can go on the internet and download/buy the Japanese original. Besides, broadcast TV is crap, especially in England where I live.

I have to admit, I used to be equally as bad when I was contantly bashing Saban's Masked Rider, but I eventually grew out of it because I realised that there are more important things than ranting about TV shows, such as how to eat a chocolate cornet.

I don't mind Americanizations of some Japanese shows, just as long as their good. I still enjoy watching Season 1 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the nostalgia, and I also think that having watched Kyoryuu Sentai ZyuRanger can help me enjoy the show more. I don't think Americanization are nessesary but I just take them as a bonus.