What happens when tokusatsu meets marvel?
Tokusatsu. From the classic, recently revived Godzilla to Power Rangers, which somehow became a craze in America decades after it ended in Japan, the lovable guy in rubber suits running around fighting fantastic space monsters in the streets are now well known around the world. In the west , we still have Doctor Who continuing the rubber loving craze. In Japan however, tokusatsu has evolved to a completely different level.
Classic tokusatsu. How many can you remember?
Mention tokusatsu, and people will become nostalgic. But say you are a tokusatsu fan, and their reaction changes. Tokusatsu has traditionally been geared towards young kids. So its all good clean fun. Usually shown in the morning, there is no blood, gore or complex adult themes to get in the way of children enjoying the show. But an adult continuing to be heavy involved in tokusatsu, now that is just creepy. But in the recent years there have been several tokusatsu geared towards adults.
It is quite obvious that GARO was not for kids from the start
Helmed by that famous tokusatsu veteran Amemiya Keita, of Kamen Rider and Zeiram fame, since 2005, GARO, meaning fanged wolf in Japanese, was renowned for its stylish fight scenes and fantastic CGI sequences, became a cult hit and shook the tokusatsu scene in a good way. Fighting different demons every year, it even features human devouring scenes and nudity. The late night slot alone symbolises a huge shift in target audience. Even normal tokusatsu started to change their approach as opposed to the classic good versus evil model.
The classic Ultraman that everyone remembers
Ultraman was created in 1966 by Tsuburaya Productions for Tokyo Broadcasting System. The show was so successful it has spawned dozens of sequels, spin-offs and remakes. But throughout the decades, it has largely stuck to the same formula with some modernisation now and then. Till Shimizu Eiichi and Shimoguchi Tomohiro.
The duo originally met while making the mecha manga Linebarrels of Iron, in 2005. It later became a hit anime and both became famous. Fans loved the mecha design in the series, a breath of fresh air at the time.
Even the monsters look cool in the Ultraman Manga
The new Ultraman manga takes place years after the original. The original Ultraman, Hayata Shin, called the Giant of Light, is an old man and he has returned back to Earth after finally defeating all his enemies. Earth has become a complex place with aliens living amongst humans in peace.
However, Shin gets injured by an old enemy, and his son, Shinjiro, takes over. Things become more complicated when other Ultraman appears. One wants to kill all aliens, while the other is actually on their side.
Heavily inspired by the new Ironman, the suits are simply gorgeous. Take a look at the limited edition of the latest volume 7. The figure is fantastic. Even the enemies are beautiful to look at. What a way to revive the franchise. I am no Ultraman fan, and even I started to read the manga.
I bought this and I can tell you, its worth every cent
The manga Ultraman has seven volumes out now. Lets hope that it becomes a hit and redefines the entire Ultraman franchise. The glorious figures alone will certainly please lots of figurine otakus for years to come.
Written by Don
Written by Don
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