Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain (特救指令ソルブレイン), or simply Solbrain, is exactly the kind of Metal Hero show I was expecting and I enjoyed the heck out of it. It’s the kind of show I expected Winspector to be but didn’t get but it still defied some of my expectations. We kick off with a seeming alien invasion […]
Tag Archives: review
20
Apr
Apr
Robot 8-Chan (ロボットはっちゃん) is the very first of the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series and was aired between 1981 and 1982. It shows. I really need to stop randomly picking these shows because I feel I’ve been hoodwinked into reviewing too many of these bizarre anarchic Toei shows and the only person I can blame is […]
18
Apr
Apr
The Kagestar (ザ・カゲスター), or simply Kagestar, is a 1976 circus of bizarre ideas and the tropeiest of toku tropes and I actually kind of dig it for that. There’s some interesting stuff here but let me start with the costumes. Kagestar and Bellestar’s costumes are whack. Those big googley anime eyes? Whack. The Evel Knievel […]
14
Apr
Apr
Omoikkiri Tanteidan Hadogumi (おもいっきり探偵団 覇悪怒組), or simply Hard Gumi, is the 7th in the Toei Fushigi Comedy series, so a little earlier than my last review (PaiPai) and aired in the year of my birth. Somehow, this has the most coherent story of the shows I’ve reviewed so far and apart from one glaring factor, […]
13
Apr
Apr
Mahou Shoujo Chuuka na PaiPai! (魔法少女ちゅうかなぱいぱい！), or simply Magical Girl Chukana PaiPai, is the 9th instalment of a toku comedy series called Toei Fushigi Comedy. It was released in 1989 and it’s very much rooted in Japanese sensibilities and archetypes of comedy. Translation: I didn’t find it funny. I chuckled at the absurdity of certain […]
11
Apr
Apr
Another oddity from toku past, Tokkei Winspector (特警ウインスペクター), or simply Winspector, is one of those toku shows that everyone and their dog has said to me to watch at some point and I’ll admit I was interested because the Winspector designs were pretty solid. After one episode, I don’t think I’m going be continuing. Winspector […]
11
Apr
Apr
Exceedraft is action-packed right from the start, and is much darker than I initially expected for a series with hero suits that look as relatively goofy as these ones do. As the third part of Toei’s Rescue Police trilogy, it’s clear this series had a bigger budget than even some of its contemporaries of the […]
06
Apr
Apr
Unlike the Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and Metal Heroes franchises, the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series are mostly unknown to your average Western tokusatsu fan. Like it’s more well-known brothers, these Shotaro Ishinomori-created series also included costumed superheroes – but with a bigger focus on laughs rather than action. La Belle Fille Masquée Poitrine (美少女仮面ポワトリン) also […]
06
Apr
Apr
Gavan is a hard show to watch in 2020. This piece of Showa-era Tokusatsu, the first of the original Metal Heroes, did not age well when compared to even the more modern incarnations of its lead hero. The Gavan of 1982, at least in its first episode, employs a lot of jarring edits, cuts, and […]
06
Apr
Apr
There’s a reason I tend not to stray far from the safe bastions of Heisei-era Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, and Kyodai Ken Byclosser (兄弟拳バイクロッサー), or simply Bicrosser, is a prime example of why. This first episode is pure nonsense and not in the fun way. In the way where you have to wonder if […]
21
Jan
Jan
The Rider Kicks Figure series continues into a bold new era with it’s budget gimmick figures. Revving up with a new subline, RKF figures now come with their own signature motorcycles starting with Kamen Rider W and they’re Hardboilder! Living library Philip (フィリップ) and half-boiled detective Shotaro Hidari (左 翔太郎) are an unlikely pair but […]
04
Jan
Jan
The Rider Kicks Figure series continues into a bold new era with it’s budget gimmick figures. To celebrate the coming of the Reiwa Era, here’s a look at the first Kamen Rider of this new age; Kamen Rider Zero-One! The Hiden RisePhone (飛電ライズフォン) is Aruto Hiden’s personal executive phone and data device as the President […]
29
Dec
Dec
The Rider Kicks Figure series continues into a bold new era with it’s budget gimmick figures. To celebrate the coming of the Reiwa Era, here’s a look at the first Kamen Rider of this new age; Kamen Rider Zero-One! Yua Yaiba (刃 唯阿) leads a conflicted life as a ZAIA Enterprises double-agent and AIMS technical […]
15
Dec
Dec
The Rider Kicks Figure series continues into a bold new era with it’s budget gimmick figures. To celebrate the coming of the Reiwa Era, here’s a look at the first Kamen Rider of this new age; Kamen Rider Zero-One! Captain of the AI-hunting SWAT team A.I.M.S., Isamu Fuwa (不破 諫) is a hot-headed robo-racist who […]
30
Nov
Nov
The Rider Kicks Figure series continues into a bold new era with it’s budget gimmick figures. To celebrate the coming of the Reiwa Era, here’s a look at the first Kamen Rider of this new age; Kamen Rider Zero-One! Aruto Hiden (飛電或人) would-be comedian and heir to Hiden Intelligence, inherits his grandfather’s company and must […]
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