Joyous Memories of Tokusatsu TV

[eric_hinkle]

To be slotted into the "A-hah! So THAT'S what that show was!"...

I've mentioned my love for kaiju (giant Japanese monsters) before this, and for the kaiju-esque TV shows of my youth. Here are a few links for anyone else who wants to see if they can remmeber these shows of the 60's and 70's:

Space Giants, the show about the giant robot and his

Comments

[orig_rune]

I'll have to dig through the vault here. I know I have some of that stuff and I have a friend who has a MAJOR collection of it. A lot gets shown at the monthly Philadelphia Animation Society meetings.

Interestingly enough, a lot of the old Ultraman costumes and monster suits turned up on a Japanese game show, Takeshi's Castle. A dubbed version (in the vein of "What's Up Tiger Lily") aired here last year. I was lucky enough to snag it when it aired. Very amusing to watch hapless contestants trying to perform athletic challenges in clumsy rubber suits. And fursuiters think they have problems.

I was kind of disappointed when those shows were hounded off the air here by anti-violence protesters. They were something a kid could get into. I'm certain that they warped - er, inspired - many minds that later became the driving forces that formed comic, anime, horror and monster cons in the years that followed, some of which led to the growth of furry fandom.

Heck, some of us kids could have almost made those shows. All you needed was a 8MM camera, the costumes, Granny's old Corvair sedan, and some HO buildings and you were Ultrakid!

SPOON!

[eric_hinkle]

I have to get down to one of those Animation Society meetings someday.

And yes, kiddy TV was pretty brutal when I was growing up. Do you remember the whole "Don't watch the Three Stooges, you'll poke someone's eye out" silliness?

Of course now we've replaced violence with sex so of course all adolescent lawbreaking has vanished. :P

And I so envy the people on that game show. Just imagine, getting to wear a kaiju costume made by Eiji Tsuburaya...