Too bad we can't do a history of the Tokusatsu fandom, at least the Western fandom.
We can... The early years saw the publication of Greg Shoemakers' fanzine, Japanese Fantasy Film Journal, which started in 1968 and ran until 1984... During the 1970s, there was an explosion of Godzilla-related fanzines, some of which also focused on Japanese superheroes (i.e. Japanese Movie Sci-Fi and Oriental Cinema, both edited and published by Damon Foster)... In the late 1960s/early 1970s, ULTRAMAN, JOHNNY SOKKO and THE SPACE GIANTS were syndicated to US television, all of them running on various channels across the country until the early 1980s... But, there wasn't a network where people could communicate with one another, except in the letters pages of the Japanese Fantasy Film Journal... or the other fanzines that followed in its wake. Even Sci-Fi Conventions shunned any toku, including Godzilla.
In the early 1970s, tons of Japanese Superheroes were broadcast on Honolulu's KIKU-13, starting with EMERGENCY COMMAND: 10-4/10-10 (more toku and less hero), and then RAINBOWMAN, both of which were not subbed. In 1974, KIKAIDA premiered on KIKU with English subtitles, and created a Superhero Boom on the Islands (this was covered in an early 1975 issue of
Time magazine). RAINBOWMAN returned with English subtitles and was followed by numerous shows until the early 1980s, including KIKAIDA 01, KAMEN RIDER V3, DIAMOND EYE, DENJIN ZABOGA, CONDORMAN, GORANGER, AKUMAIZER 3, and BATTLE FEVER J — all subtitled because of the popular demand. Even ULTRA SEVEN was dubbed into English! Of course, tons of merchandize and live shows were produced to meet the demand of Hawaii's kids, who were crazy for these shows.
To be continued...
