The Start of a Trip

Before I begin this blog which I plan to use to unashamedly advertise my own thoughts and insight (which makes me sound like an expert on the field, something which I can safely say I'm not), I should preface this site with a brief introduction on who I am, where I came from, and why I would not be where I am today with tokusatsu.

My name is Chris. I am 22 years old, currently live in Virginia, and have had a passion for Japanese science fiction, superheroes and giant monsters that has spanned almost two whole decades. When I was only 4 years old, I popped down in front of the television after my mom had recently bought a brand new VHS of Godzilla 1985. For the next 90 minutes, my world and future shaped themselves right then and there. Stunned by the grandeur of Godzilla utterly destroying an oversized metropolis with ease and the effects that made it all seem so real (I found out not too long after that it was a man in a suit all along, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of the films), I only had one idea in mind after the credits rolled.

I have to make a movie like this.

And so, here I stand 18 years later working on a theatre degree in college. My goal out of this education is to get some experience with actors and basic set, lighting, and sound designs, and ultimately to work my way into the film program (offered as a minor at my university). While I no longer have a Godzilla film as the ultimate goal (don't get me wrong, I'd lunge at the chance if offered), I still have retained the passion after all these years to unleash my own stories onto the big screens for audiences to see.

Of course, this blog isn't about me per se. It's about my views on tokusatsu where it is right now, tokusatsu coming our way, and tokusatsu that has come before. So when did I become so enamored with the genre as a whole?

Naturally, Godzilla 1985 instantly made me a fan of the long-running franchise. I would watch Godzilla films whenever they came on TV or whenever my parents bought or rented videos for the next several years. In that time, I became introduced to the numerous characters out of Toho's roster and their own films: Mothra, Rodan, Baragon, King Ghidorah, the list goes on. Eventually, I stemmed out from Toho and started watching Gamera films (luckily, Gammera the Invincible and Gamera, Guardian of the Universe were my first exposure and not one of the lesser films like *shudders* Gamera Vs. Zigra, so my impression of him has never been negative). I ate it all up.

Then I found out there wasn't just Japanese tokusatsu on the big screen (I considered Saban products like Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and Masked Rider separate entities due to their Americanization). There were TV shows, too. Namely one that was airing on TNT waaaaaaaaay early in the morning in the late '90s. That's right, I would beg my mom and dad to tape episodes of Ultra Seven when they aired at 4:30. If that wasn't gonna happen, I made every effort to wake up as early as possible so I can at least watch the climactic fight every episode where our red and silver hero took on this week's evil alien. When Ultra Seven vanished from the airwaves as suddenly as it came, I felt bummed but I moved on. After all, I hadn't seen every daikaiju film and collected every Godzilla toy yet.

Time passed and I continued to learn more about Ultraman and his legacy. Hey, an entire TV franchise featuring daikaiju battles? Sounds like my cup of tea. Then Ultraman Tiga was announced to air on 4Kids' FoxBox Saturday morning block in 2000.

Yes.

Finally, a chance to really dig into this franchise. Everything I saw from images and commercials only got me extremely amped for this show. The monster fights looked exciting, Tiga himself was an awesome design, and the heroes of GUTS looked like kick-ass heroes. And then that dub...

Fast forward 6 years later and I am fully aware of Japanese superhero shows. I was never big into the genre only because I never got the chance to be. I had always wanted to watch an Ultraman show but they were hard to find on YouTube and such without being taken down. Then, bored one day, I visit the Tokyo Monsters forums and find a peculiar find. A user had uploaded a direct download link for episode 1 of some new show called Kamen Rider Kabuto. Oh, this sounds cool. I'll give it a shot, never hurts to branch out.

Damn. My goal then immediately became not to just look for Ultraman. Kamen Rider and Super Sentai immediately re-entered my radar and, luckily for me, fansubs of these shows were far easier to find on YouTube. One discovery of torrenting later and I've found a new face of a genre that I have always held dear to that I can enjoy when I wait for new daikaiju films to be released.

And here I am. My goal of this blog is to share my own personal view of the hundreds upon hundreds of movies, TV shows, specials, V-cinemas, and Net Movies that have stemmed from this giant chunk of Japanese culture.

The reason I chose this blog's name is because it's probably one of the most important quotes from the first toku series I ever finished: Kamen Rider 555 (and yes, the title of this post is also that show's first episode title). While my goal isn't quite the same as Keitaro's family from that show, I think it being a quote that ties in so tightly with dreams is rather befitting of what this genre has done for me.

So let's explore this vast genre (although just calling toku a genre seems rather belittling. Sub-culture perhaps?) together, and I hope you'll understand and appreciate my thoughts and opinions as much as I will be sure to appreciate yours. We may disagree at times (and the odds of that are extremely good), but no ill will is meant from this blog.

Let's get stomping.