An oddity among the tokusatsu status quo is the 1973 12-episode series Majin Hunter Mitsurugi, mainly for its use of stop-motion animation instead of stuntmen in rubber suits. It has its other quirks too, though, such as the heroes: Sure, … Continued
Picked there up in an anime/manga shop in NYC back int he early 90s, had no idea what they were from or who they were, but I guess I recognized coolness when I saw it. 15+ years later I finally … Continued
Gotta wonder about the mentality of the ‘monster-of-the-week’ in these tokusatasu properties… I can see the first boss baddie being all gung-ho, the second and third obsessed with revenge and whatnot, but after a year or two of the mystically-invulnerable … Continued
Interesting, villain-centric book covers featuring tokusatsu hero Masked Ninja Akagage. I guess if the character or book series is established enough, the different villain-du-jour becomes the selling point.
A trip over to the Tokyo Scum Brigade tumblr is highly in order!
I’ve featured all sorts of collectibles based on the early 70s property Henshin Ninja Arashi. These might be the cheapest of souvenirs, but they’re among the coolest in my opinion. When punched-out and assembled, these 8″ cards produce nifty 6.5″ … Continued
I love the somewhat goofy Henshin Ninja Arashi and I love this cheap 7″ semi-articulated vinyl figure too. Bandai produced this in 2005, and it sold for $10-14. I dig this size and price range of collectible – one only … Continued
I’m not especially familiar with the 1976/77 Toei tokustatsu property Ninja Captor, but I do like the character design. The elemental-themed costumes combined garishly decorated crash helmets, superhero utility belts and go-go boots with primary-colored mesh that evoked ancient armor. I … Continued
When you’re a niche geek within an already geeky niche you tend to do your own gift shopping. My session of retail therapy last holiday season was these: While I’m not the biggest tokusatsu fan out there, I do like … Continued
World-Wide Ninja War Jiraiya may have been centered on a single hero, but it was the wide range of supporting characters, global guest stars and villains-of-the-week that were the show’s strength. OK, so after three days of Jiraiya, what do … Continued