WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:03.209 This is MJ, and welcome back to Henshin Reflection, 00:00:03.350 --> 00:00:06.250 Heart and Soul, my ongoing look at whether Tokusatsu 00:00:06.250 --> 00:00:08.630 can survive the modern toy sale cycle without 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:11.890 losing its heart. In Episode 2, I talked about 00:00:11.890 --> 00:00:13.589 how Power Rangers and Super Sentai hooked me 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:15.730 long before I understood anything about gimmicks, 00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:18.010 ratings, or the business behind these shows. 00:00:18.289 --> 00:00:20.890 But eventually, I started digging deeper, listening 00:00:20.890 --> 00:00:23.329 to podcasts, hearing fans talk about toy sales, 00:00:23.370 --> 00:00:25.789 and realizing just how much the industry side 00:00:25.789 --> 00:00:31.699 shapes the stories we get. begins. It picks up 00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:34.179 right at the moment when I first started noticing 00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:36.880 the tension between the stories I loved and the 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.420 toy driven structure behind them. And that led 00:00:39.420 --> 00:00:42.539 me somewhere I didn't expect. Here's where the 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:44.740 reflection picks up, right in the middle of a 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:49.539 thought, exactly as I spoke it. Anyway, I, uh, 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:54.140 I, you know, continued to find podcasts and things 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:56.299 like that with people talking about tokusatsu 00:00:56.299 --> 00:01:00.100 in general. And, uh, I don't remember If I heard 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:03.039 that Power Rangers is just a toy commercial before 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:06.379 I started listening into some of these podcasts 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:09.239 or if I heard it afterwards. But I'll tell you 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:13.340 what, after I watched some more modern Kamen 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:15.260 Rider, a couple seasons of it, I began to feel 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:17.819 like it was just a toy commercial in some ways. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:20.739 And even for Super Sentai, I could feel when 00:01:20.739 --> 00:01:23.739 things were focused, when the episodes were focused 00:01:23.739 --> 00:01:27.579 on less telling a story and more on making the 00:01:27.579 --> 00:01:30.310 toys look cool. And it was always very frustrating. 00:01:30.450 --> 00:01:33.709 The Rangers getting their specific focus episodes 00:01:33.709 --> 00:01:35.370 doesn't bother me. It's not something that I 00:01:35.370 --> 00:01:37.849 think is bad. It, in fact, plays really well. 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:39.810 And I like that they get to shift their dynamics 00:01:39.810 --> 00:01:47.730 to give us a closer look at each character. And 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:50.090 I find that to be really rewarding, really fun. 00:01:50.769 --> 00:01:54.730 And while I do prefer Kamen Rider, and I don't 00:01:54.730 --> 00:01:56.129 know if I prefer Ultraman to Super Sentai or 00:01:56.129 --> 00:02:01.859 not, Kamen Rider to Super Sentai, I still appreciate 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:03.700 getting to spend time with those characters, 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:06.019 with the whole team, and getting to see them 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:07.959 flesh out a little bit and knowing them. It's 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:10.039 a lot of fun, I think, and I think those are 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:11.580 really rewarding, really enjoyable episodes, 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:15.219 and I don't see them as filler as much. There 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:17.759 have been some Super Sentai series where I wasn't 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:21.840 satisfied with how light the plot was, but week 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:24.000 to week, it's great, and the action just seemed 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:25.639 to get better and better as the years went on, 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:31.409 which was really cool. I can appreciate the action 00:02:31.409 --> 00:02:35.229 and still dislike the toy selling that's going 00:02:35.229 --> 00:02:41.370 on. I know, there's a weird mix of things. I 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:45.550 get that the modern shows have toy sales associated 00:02:45.550 --> 00:02:51.169 with them and have quarterly schedules that they 00:02:51.169 --> 00:02:55.650 adhere to or utilize to kind of pace the shows. 00:02:57.370 --> 00:02:58.650 you know, sales that they need to be concerned 00:02:58.650 --> 00:03:00.169 about. So they have toys that come out at certain 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:03.009 times of the year and they want the show airing 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:05.370 to put those toys out in enough time for kids 00:03:05.370 --> 00:03:09.889 to see them. And to some extent that kind of 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:13.349 drives things in Super Sentai and Kamen Rider 00:03:13.349 --> 00:03:17.629 and Ultraman. And it's really irritating to see 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:20.110 it done when it's not done smoothly or in a way 00:03:20.110 --> 00:03:22.729 that makes sense. Like I was thinking about it. 00:03:23.069 --> 00:03:28.800 I don't know why the toy sales I understand why 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:30.439 the toy sales matter like Star Wars George Lucas 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:32.319 held on to the rights to make the toys and make 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:34.699 all the money off of them and that's where he 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:36.060 made a ton of his money that he was able to put 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.120 back into Empire Strikes Back and you know going 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:41.020 forward different things and then like he independently 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.360 funded Star Wars the Clone Wars which is the 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.039 3D animated series that ran for five seasons 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:49.159 under his guidance or his stewardship and then 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:53.240 two more eventually came out eked out under Disney 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:59.729 Lucasfilm and I understand the need to make money 00:03:59.729 --> 00:04:02.289 off of the toys in order to make money off the 00:04:02.289 --> 00:04:04.870 shows, especially because that's, you know, how 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:06.909 do you fund it by making money off of it? But 00:04:06.909 --> 00:04:10.949 it struck me as odd that the older shows didn't 00:04:10.949 --> 00:04:13.150 have the same kind of toy infrastructure, and 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:15.430 they must have made money off of merchandising, 00:04:15.449 --> 00:04:22.970 if not also from having it aired. But or and, 00:04:23.029 --> 00:04:25.189 I'm not sure how to actually form the sentence. 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:28.439 while, you know, a Kamen Rider Black or a Jetman 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.879 featured... Well, let's say Jetman and Kamen 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:33.759 Rider Black, I believe, aired very close to each 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.040 other within a couple years. You know, Jetman 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:38.699 has different robots in it, and it's got, you 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:41.300 know, the Big Zord and the machines and the cool, 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:46.100 like, diamond -shaped changer, if I'm remembering 00:04:46.100 --> 00:04:48.920 correctly. Maybe that's Gatchaman, I don't know. 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:52.579 Anyway, like, it has toys that you can sell, 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.579 and it has a... It has a whole team. There's 00:04:56.579 --> 00:04:59.000 five different characters. You can buy masks, 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:01.339 coloring books, action figures of the five characters, 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:05.399 and then you can buy toys of the enemy characters 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:07.720 to have somebody to fight against. But I don't 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:10.680 know if Super Sentai ever really sold any of 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:13.639 the monsters. I think most of the money, today 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:18.120 anyway, is off of the roleplay toys and the figure 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.379 arts, which almost exclusively feature things 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:23.889 from the heroes, not the villains. And if you 00:05:23.889 --> 00:05:25.670 go to something like Kamen Rider Black or Kamen 00:05:25.670 --> 00:05:28.430 Rider Black RX and you compare it to, let's just 00:05:28.430 --> 00:05:34.990 say, Jetman, there are five Rangers in Jetman. 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:39.430 And each of them has a Zord or a Mecha, and their 00:05:39.430 --> 00:05:43.050 Mechas combine into a single giant robot. So 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:47.689 that's five, ten, sixteen things total if it's 00:05:47.689 --> 00:05:50.730 just the five characters and their robots and 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:53.220 then the combined robot. I'm sorry, that's 11 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:55.779 items right there that you can sell. But you 00:05:55.779 --> 00:05:58.160 can also sell, I don't know, the blaster or the 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.040 sword. So that's, you know, let's say there's 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:01.959 one or two weapons per jet man. If they're all 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:03.560 uniform, then that's just two more items you 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:07.279 can sell. That's 12, 13. You can sell a mask. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:08.560 You can sell a coloring book. You can sell whatever. 00:06:10.220 --> 00:06:12.800 Versus, like, in Combinator Black, you have Combinator 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.540 Black. In Black Rx, you have him and his three 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:17.639 forms. There's a total, or in Black Rx, I mean, 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:21.259 there's a total of four forms. You can't really 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:23.300 make that much money off of them because there's 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:24.959 only so many. You can also have the motorcycle 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:29.839 to buy. So there's a lot less in Kamen Rider, 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:32.139 for instance, than there is in Super Sentai, 00:06:32.139 --> 00:06:34.240 you would think. But then Kamen Rider later on, 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.500 with Kuga and going on, had the different forms 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:38.139 that they could change into, which kind of makes 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:42.680 it so that one character can carry three to ten 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.899 suits and suit designs. And that's different 00:06:45.899 --> 00:06:50.519 toys that you can sell. And the belt. integrates 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:52.939 into it everything stems from the belt and the 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:54.519 one belt has different modes or whatever that 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:56.579 it can do and that's kind of interesting because 00:06:56.579 --> 00:07:01.560 that again that helps to fund the show and and 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:05.160 the like solution to hey we only have one main 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:06.459 character what do we do with them to get more 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:09.459 suits um seems to be well let's give him different 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:11.720 forms so he can be kind of like his own sentai 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.300 uh which i find an interesting approach and kind 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:18.610 of makes a lot of sense But it's not something 00:07:18.610 --> 00:07:24.170 that's necessarily satisfying to me. And I think 00:07:24.170 --> 00:07:25.709 it's something that gets to be frustrating, especially 00:07:25.709 --> 00:07:29.290 when I think is the season, depending on which 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:31.589 season you're in, the different forms of the 00:07:31.589 --> 00:07:35.910 writers are more or less enjoyable to see. And 00:07:35.910 --> 00:07:37.990 when they break the silhouette of the writer, 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:39.810 then it feels like, am I even watching the same 00:07:39.810 --> 00:07:42.519 common writer? lobby that i would love that criticism 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:44.980 at black rx i think while robowriter is very 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:47.360 cool he doesn't really feel like he belongs with 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:48.939 the others biowriter i think is pretty close 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:53.100 um to core black rx and then is it only those 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:55.540 three forms oh yeah i'm sorry it is it is only 00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:58.279 those reforms biowriter the prince of uh was 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.779 the prince of sorrow and the other one's the 00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:03.920 prince of pain him and robowriter i think that's 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.259 what the the like lore names are for the for 00:08:06.259 --> 00:08:10.620 those forms for black rx um but anyway like I 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:12.860 don't know. Those are kind of weird. But the 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:16.040 fact that he has the rebel cane as Black Rx, 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:18.879 it kind of makes sense that Bio -Rider has the 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:23.920 sword. Sort of. And I don't know. It's kind of 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:25.500 interesting because there's a little bit of a 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:29.139 breakdown. And especially in the last few years 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:34.179 with all of the gimmicks and the anniversary 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:36.019 shenanigans that have been going on with Super 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:41.590 Sentai. It feels weird. I don't know. In the 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:44.370 toy line, you have anniversary stuff that ties 00:08:44.370 --> 00:08:48.490 in, like how the memories, the guy memories from 00:08:48.490 --> 00:08:50.429 Combinator Double are so popular that they make 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:56.110 them for Ex -Aid and Build and other shows. That's 00:08:56.110 --> 00:09:00.049 kind of fine with me. And if you want to go ahead 00:09:00.049 --> 00:09:03.539 and make... It's like just make toys for the 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:04.940 sake of making toys that go with the new toy 00:09:04.940 --> 00:09:07.059 line that are legacy writer stuff. It makes a 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:08.919 lot of sense to me, but like squeezing them into 00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:12.500 movies and things like that seems to be frivolous 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:14.639 and dumb. And like, I don't know, it's not very 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.779 exciting. It's just, it detracts. It's, it's 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:20.100 gratuitous, I would say. And therefore for somebody 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:22.120 who's really interested in capturing with stories 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:24.320 in these henshin hero shows, it doesn't really 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:26.340 do it for me. It kind of ruins it for me in some 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:39.519 ways. So, I've said a lot, and I think my point 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:43.779 is that the heart and the spirit of Kamen Rider, 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:46.919 Super Sentai, even Power Rangers, when it's good, 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:50.480 represents something meaningful and inspirational 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:56.220 and aspirational. But I find it more inspiring, 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:59.279 the fact that Kamen Rider Black learned to do 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:02.940 his Rider Punch by saving a puppy. All that affected, 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:05.539 all that was, the way that was done in the show 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:08.299 was that he jumped and they rotoscoped over his 00:10:08.299 --> 00:10:10.039 fist to make it glow with energy for him to do 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:12.320 his rider punch. And doing that helped him defeat 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:14.600 whatever the kaijin or the mutant was that he 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.820 was fighting at that time from Golgum. And similarly 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:21.779 with Kamen Rider, the original, I believe in 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:25.519 episode like 11 or 12, there's the, I can't remember 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:27.919 his name, Lizardon maybe? Big lizard guy. He 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:29.259 used to be a soccer player, I think. And he's 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:31.590 kicking these. this ball or a bomb or something 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:34.470 at the Kamen Rider and he defeats Hongo, I believe. 00:10:35.110 --> 00:10:40.990 And then Hongo has Tachibana Tobe get into a... 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:44.299 machine with a wrecking ball, right? I guess 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:45.759 that would just be a wrecking ball crane. I don't 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.200 know. A wrecking ball machine. And swing the 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:50.279 wrecking ball at him again and again and again 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.879 and again. And Hongo trains. I think it's Hongo. 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:54.000 It could be Ichimoji, but I think it's Hongo. 00:10:54.059 --> 00:10:56.019 He trains and he trains and he trains until he 00:10:56.019 --> 00:10:58.840 can finally defeat Lizardon and catch that ball 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:01.679 coming at him. And the older Kamen Riders had 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:05.159 those kind of moments of growth and training. 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:08.379 And there's even... I believe it's the Kamen 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:11.419 Rider ZO manga. There's a lady who's a martial 00:11:11.419 --> 00:11:14.059 artist in there, and this is actually echoed 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:17.960 between Shroud and Kamen Rider XL and Kamen Rider 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:20.720 Double. And it's basically the same scene being 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:22.779 described in both. So there's this hard lady, 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:26.639 and she's telling the rider that she's helping 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.720 to train that if you fail to destroy your enemy 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:34.779 or whatever... that is in your way with the first 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:36.799 strike, then you should hit it a second time. 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:39.080 And if you fail to destroy it by hitting it a 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:41.100 second time, then you should hit it again and 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:42.759 again and again until you've hit it so many times 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:47.220 that it is destroyed. And doing that in the manga, 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:51.179 Zetto learns how to be powerful enough. I don't 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:53.480 remember if he speeds up or if he gets stronger. 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:56.179 It's one of the two, but in Kamen Rider Double, 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.360 Excel learns to be faster. And he does get a 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:01.789 new form. I can't remember what it's called, 00:12:01.929 --> 00:12:04.169 but it's the yellow one. It's like his hyper 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:07.929 form. Because he starts off red, then he gets 00:12:07.929 --> 00:12:09.070 a blue form and a yellow form. I don't remember 00:12:09.070 --> 00:12:11.129 which one it is in the show versus in the special 00:12:11.129 --> 00:12:13.830 movie that takes place after the main show. Is 00:12:13.830 --> 00:12:15.889 that right? Anyway, whatever. That doesn't matter. 00:12:15.950 --> 00:12:18.690 That detail doesn't matter. But he unlocks this 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:21.850 power because he trains really hard and he strives 00:12:21.850 --> 00:12:25.389 and really struggles for it. And those things... 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:27.740 stick in my memory i don't even like common raider 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:29.799 double that much but i love that moment for excel 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:33.700 um like i actively dislike a chunk of common 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:37.139 raider double and it's it shocks me that so many 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:38.759 people love it more than so many people love 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:40.700 it when i find it to be lacking in certain ways 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:43.460 but like that part of the story with excel being 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:44.879 trained by shroud and learning how to unlock 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.500 this power is meaningful to me and it's deep 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:51.340 and it still resonates with me to this day uh 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:56.029 i believe it was hongo not its emoji having Tachibana 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:59.750 swing that ball at him and him learn how to overcome 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:01.970 through grit and determination not changing forms 00:13:01.970 --> 00:13:04.490 but unlocking like a new move and it was a new 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:07.370 you know exciting move that was recorded and 00:13:07.370 --> 00:13:10.870 shot in a fun way to show him being able to overcome 00:13:10.870 --> 00:13:12.990 this guy totally great totally worth it totally 00:13:12.990 --> 00:13:16.429 memorable but and then with combinator black 00:13:16.429 --> 00:13:18.029 also saving the puppy the same thing is very 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:22.269 memorable And it didn't bring us a new toy. It 00:13:22.269 --> 00:13:25.909 didn't bring us a new form. I mean, with the 00:13:25.909 --> 00:13:27.870 exception of Double, sorry, from Double with 00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:29.710 Excel, it did bring us a new toy and it did bring 00:13:29.710 --> 00:13:33.210 us a new form. But I think it was just like an 00:13:33.210 --> 00:13:34.669 attachment onto his belt and then he was able 00:13:34.669 --> 00:13:37.830 to do whatever. But still, it worked. And it 00:13:37.830 --> 00:13:40.750 was an example of it being done really well in 00:13:40.750 --> 00:13:42.990 a really compelling way that made even a person 00:13:42.990 --> 00:13:44.610 who doesn't like that show overall still really 00:13:44.610 --> 00:13:46.730 like that moment and like what was going on and 00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:49.039 like what was being said because of the... The 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:55.519 tone and the message and the inspirational message, 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:59.279 to reuse my word, that was being conveyed and 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:00.940 delivered, and it was done very successfully. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.919 Again, I haven't seen Double in probably over 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:05.539 a decade, and I still remember that, and I still 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:07.659 love that scene, and I still think about that 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:08.919 every now and then and think, man, that was awesome. 00:14:11.740 --> 00:14:16.139 And yet, the power -ups in some of the newer 00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:19.779 Super Sentai, And all the different forms that 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:22.440 are obligatory forms in Kamen Rider, they bug 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:25.480 me. They bother me. They don't work for me. I'm 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:28.360 not sold on them because they don't have the 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.840 heart that these older things do. They don't 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:35.019 have the heart that sometimes they do have. I 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:36.539 think Kamen Rider Ghost, a lot of people don't 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:39.360 like that show. I really like the show. I really 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:43.299 liked how situational the forms were. I like 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:45.019 how it made sense. These different icons that 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:47.019 he had, I like that there were only... Well, 00:14:47.100 --> 00:14:48.220 I can't believe I'm saying this. There were only 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:51.279 15, even though there were more than 15. But 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:54.139 I don't know. It worked for me because I think 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:56.200 the storytelling was done in a much better way. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.179 And there was real heart with it. And I really 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:05.200 loved it. I own very few toys, very few items 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.059 from the Tokusatsu I've enjoyed. Ghost is something 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:10.399 I really, really love. And I own one icon from 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:14.399 it. I own the Deep Specter icon because I love 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:18.289 Makoto's story. you know, there aren't, it's 00:15:18.289 --> 00:15:20.250 not a perfect story, but I still love it. And 00:15:20.250 --> 00:15:23.789 just something meaningful about that to me. I 00:15:23.789 --> 00:15:27.549 also like moths, so that helps. But like, that's 00:15:27.549 --> 00:15:29.909 something I wanted to buy because I love this 00:15:29.909 --> 00:15:31.809 character and I love his story and his struggle. 00:15:32.029 --> 00:15:35.669 And I love having that little silly toy that 00:15:35.669 --> 00:15:37.289 I can grab and push the button on and hear it 00:15:37.289 --> 00:15:39.549 say, dive too deep and think about what that 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:42.870 means and how he overcame his struggles and what. 00:15:44.599 --> 00:15:46.259 taking on that challenge meant to him. Like, 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.580 Makoto used Deep Specter because while it was 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:52.220 supposed to be meant for Takeru, he was worried 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:54.259 that it would hurt Takeru, and instead he decided 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:56.480 to hurt himself to save his friend from hurting 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:59.240 himself. That's beautiful. It's meaningful. And 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:01.200 then in the Deep Specter movie, or the Specter 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:05.000 movie, that gets further, and that gets even 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.039 deeper, and I find it to be gorgeous. I've seen 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:10.779 the movie one time, but I have fond memories 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:12.559 of it, and I'd like to watch it again sometime, 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.779 but, you know. Time does not allow me to do everything 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:17.759 I want to do whenever I want to do it, so I just 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:19.539 have to live with the memory of enjoying that 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:21.840 and having that toy and seeing my kids play with 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:23.820 it a little bit every now and then. I was worried 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:25.039 they'd break it at first, but now I don't care 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.259 because it's just a piece of plastic. But, you 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:29.279 know, it's fun. It's fun to hear them play with 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:32.320 it, and it's fun to have it around and see it 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:34.659 every now and just think about Makoto and Takaru 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:36.100 and Ghost and everything that happened there. 00:16:36.990 --> 00:16:39.090 Which now I'm thinking his friend's name wasn't 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:40.769 Makoto. That was actually his sister. No, it 00:16:40.769 --> 00:16:43.210 was Makoto and Canon. Canon and his sister. Anyway, 00:16:43.289 --> 00:16:47.429 so I got that right. But like, that's a meaningful 00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:50.190 toy to me. And, you know, whether that's because 00:16:50.190 --> 00:16:52.029 I'm cheap or I don't have enough disposable income 00:16:52.029 --> 00:16:56.690 or whatever. Like, I don't know. Like, I think 00:16:56.690 --> 00:16:58.850 those things are actually irrelevant to the point 00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:01.990 I'm trying to make, which is that I know I've 00:17:01.990 --> 00:17:04.049 been talking about Comrader. I wonder if Super 00:17:04.049 --> 00:17:05.890 Sentai is going away. I wonder if Power Rangers 00:17:05.890 --> 00:17:08.849 is going away because the stories and the storytelling 00:17:08.849 --> 00:17:11.950 hasn't been as meaningful and heartfelt as it 00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:15.430 could be. And I don't know, Power Rangers is 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:17.930 hampered by following the Super Sentai too closely 00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:21.650 and not telling just like the best story they 00:17:21.650 --> 00:17:23.710 possibly can tell with the material that they're 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:26.210 getting, which they totally could do. And if 00:17:26.210 --> 00:17:27.849 it's a great Super Sentai and you follow it very 00:17:27.849 --> 00:17:29.309 closely, then you should have a great series 00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:30.910 of Power Rangers, even though it's, you know, 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:33.839 about... two -thirds of the length if not a little 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:38.640 bit less um but uh yeah i don't quite know i 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:40.240 don't quite know how to define everything i'm 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.059 saying um and i'm just working this out and i'm 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:46.920 trying to figure out like you know does selling 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:51.460 toys to support your tokusatsu show like sell 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:54.720 the soul of the show and therefore even though 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:56.619 it might be profitable for a time ultimately 00:17:56.619 --> 00:18:02.250 it is empty and hollow and Like, you can only 00:18:02.250 --> 00:18:05.849 chase the dragon of selling these toys instead 00:18:05.849 --> 00:18:09.970 of selling the stories. And if people aren't 00:18:09.970 --> 00:18:11.910 buying the stories, I don't think they're going 00:18:11.910 --> 00:18:13.450 to buy the toys, no matter how cool they are. 00:18:13.990 --> 00:18:17.230 And I wonder if that's what happened with Power 00:18:17.230 --> 00:18:18.450 Rangers, and I wonder if that's what happened 00:18:18.450 --> 00:18:20.910 with Super Sentai, and why it could be going 00:18:20.910 --> 00:18:24.009 away. Or maybe it's not going away, but maybe... 00:18:24.009 --> 00:18:26.890 I mean, I think it's a fact that they are losing 00:18:26.890 --> 00:18:28.630 money. They're not making as much money as they 00:18:28.630 --> 00:18:33.529 used to. I think that the running for a whole 00:18:33.529 --> 00:18:36.190 year strategy and the telling, selling all these 00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:38.190 toys strategy, like it just doesn't work out. 00:18:40.410 --> 00:18:42.950 Ultraman seems to be in contrast doing very well. 00:18:42.970 --> 00:18:45.130 It's expanding. I find it very strange that they 00:18:45.130 --> 00:18:48.230 haven't released the dub yet for Omega or at 00:18:48.230 --> 00:18:49.750 least, yeah, they have not released the dub for 00:18:49.750 --> 00:18:51.930 Omega yet, but it's supposedly being worked on. 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:54.960 And that seems odd, but like Ultraman. Rising 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.640 was a huge hit. It's a beautiful movie. It's 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:59.500 great. I loved it. My kids loved it. Even I have 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:01.700 a kid who doesn't really like this kind of stuff. 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:06.640 And there were tears on both of our faces by 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:13.319 the end of the movie. And I don't know. Ken sells. 00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:22.960 His dad sells. Emmy sells. Because I'm sold on 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.549 the characters. and therefore it makes me kind 00:19:25.549 --> 00:19:27.069 of interested in, oh, maybe, you know, we will 00:19:27.069 --> 00:19:29.329 get an Emmy Plus, or maybe we will buy, you know, 00:19:29.329 --> 00:19:32.849 a Ken, you know, Ultraman figure, or whatever. 00:19:34.190 --> 00:19:36.650 But, like, I don't really want to, and it's something 00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:39.750 I don't really care about. And I think Ultraman 00:19:39.750 --> 00:19:42.369 has a lot more heart in it. I think the lower... 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:46.539 uh production run of doing like 26 episodes instead 00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:50.960 of 50 or 54 or 50 to 54 helps a lot there's more 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:52.579 energy there's more devotion there's more time 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:56.380 there's more love i think put into it um i think 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.480 and i don't know how it's doing toy sales wise 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:01.359 but i think it's expanding and i don't know that 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.740 you can say the same for super sentai and ultra 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:09.720 and common writer and No, it's just it's an open 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:11.220 question. I want to keep exploring this and I 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.700 want to understand like what happened and like 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:16.400 I don't really know how the shows made money 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:18.220 before other than I guess you know there were 00:20:18.220 --> 00:20:20.319 they sold old commoner masks and they saw you 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.019 know originally back in the day they sold masks 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:24.980 and they sold little you know costumes and I 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:27.220 believe they had belts back in the day as well 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.839 like vintage belts from the 70s, you know 71 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:34.140 72 whatever But like I don't know what the money 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:35.599 making was like at the time. I think there were 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.519 less options on TV. So I think you probably made 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.299 more money from airing something on TV as well. 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:41.900 But I don't know that for a fact. It's something 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:43.759 I want to research and find out. If you're somebody 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:45.420 who knows about these things, I would love to 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:47.339 have information from you. And in the meantime, 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:49.779 I'm going to keep thinking about this and plugging 00:20:49.779 --> 00:20:52.960 away and trying to figure out what the answers 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:55.099 are to some of these questions. But yeah, I just, 00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:58.839 I don't know. Is trying to sell the toys as opposed 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:00.579 to trying to sell the, without trying to sell 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:02.910 the characters. or the stories in the shows, 00:21:03.029 --> 00:21:06.609 what's killing tokusatsu or henshin hero shows. 00:21:06.829 --> 00:21:09.650 I don't know. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. Maybe 00:21:09.650 --> 00:21:11.930 it's just economic decline. Maybe it's Japan's 00:21:11.930 --> 00:21:13.829 low birth rate. There's not as many young people 00:21:13.829 --> 00:21:15.289 watching as there used to be because they have, 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:17.490 I think, less and less kids every single year. 00:21:17.630 --> 00:21:19.390 And if you roll that back decades, then of course, 00:21:19.430 --> 00:21:22.730 children's media will be less profitable because 00:21:22.730 --> 00:21:26.730 there aren't enough children to sell it to. So 00:21:26.730 --> 00:21:29.329 what do you do? You can't force... Toei's not 00:21:29.329 --> 00:21:31.029 going to force... people to increase their birth 00:21:31.029 --> 00:21:37.829 rates. So what do you do? Do you change your 00:21:37.829 --> 00:21:41.789 audience? I'm not sure. Anyway, I would love 00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:43.289 to hear people's thoughts on this. I'd love to 00:21:43.289 --> 00:21:45.549 hear people's input. I'd love to have a conversation 00:21:45.549 --> 00:21:47.369 and I'd love to find out more and I'm going to 00:21:47.369 --> 00:21:51.829 work towards that. So please join me. You can 00:21:51.829 --> 00:21:55.960 find how to contact me through Twitter. through 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:57.940 my links here in the show notes. You can contact 00:21:57.940 --> 00:22:00.259 me directly through my website, mjmunis .com, 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:02.859 or you can leave a comment wherever you're hearing 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:05.759 this, maybe on YouTube, and we can talk about 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:10.299 this and have a fruitful, interesting conversation. 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:14.200 Until next time, folks, this is MJ with Henshin 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:16.680 Inspection Reflection. Take care and be well. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.079 So that's where I'm left. Wondering whether these 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:22.740 shows are struggling because the heart has slipped 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:25.880 out or because the economics have shifted. Or 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.000 because the audience itself is shrinking? Maybe 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.900 it's all of the above. Maybe it's something else 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:32.619 entirely. If I want answers, I think I need to 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:34.799 start at the beginning. I need to look at how 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.259 tokusatsu made money in its earliest days, before 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:39.339 gimmicks, before quarterly toy cycles, before 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:42.339 the modern merchandising machine took over. How 00:22:42.339 --> 00:22:44.180 did Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and Ultraman first 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:46.900 support themselves? What did Bandai's role look 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:49.359 like then? And how did those early foundations 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.359 twist, turn, and transform into the system we 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:54.539 have today? Because if I'm asking whether... 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.920 tokusatsu, or henshin heroes more specifically, 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:02.079 can survive the toy sale cycle, I should probably 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:04.859 understand how the cycle even came to be. That's 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:07.220 where the investigation begins. Next time, I'm 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:09.359 starting with the origins. I invite you to join 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:10.980 me. If you know anything about it, please let 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:13.140 me know. You can drop a comment here on YouTube, 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:17.220 or on mjmuneos .com, or on Twitter, where I'm 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:21.619 at mj underscore scribe. And also, you and I 00:23:21.619 --> 00:23:23.279 are both here because we enjoy children's media. 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.180 I wrote a kids book about magical bugs battling 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:28.420 monsters and you can find out more about it here. 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.099 Magical bugs battle monsters in this exciting 00:23:37.099 --> 00:23:39.859 fantasy adventure. Grimlings prey upon children. 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:42.940 Grow bugs protect them. When a grimling finds 00:23:42.940 --> 00:23:45.400 a hidden grow bug fort, the whole flock makes 00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:47.920 a surprise attack. How will the grow bugs survive? 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:53.009 Find out in Mockwing Mayhem. Learn more at growbugs 00:23:53.009 --> 00:23:55.009 .com where you can find out more about our mailing 00:23:55.009 --> 00:23:56.950 list, receive behind the scenes information, 00:23:56.950 --> 00:23:59.829 and get all the latest news on the grow bugs.