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Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - International Rider Kick
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mdo7
 Posts: 8229 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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Ah, I see we're talking about Kamen Rider and tokusatsu topic for this week's TWIA. Here's one thing I never understood, and please bear with me here:
For the last few years, Korean TV dramas or K-drama have already reached mainstream popularity (not only thanks to Squid Game), and that genre has done more success in the US then tokusatsu. That left me and some toku fans wonder why. I mean I don't understand, I can make an argument that several fantasy K-dramas or K-drama that looks like Xianxia genre (a sub-genre of wuxia) can also qualified as tokusatsu. And yes, I have said in the past that wuxia and xianxia genre should be put under the same tokusatsu label. From what I've seen, I've never seen any international toku fans even on toku sub-Reddit even bringing up wuxia and xianxia genre when it comes to debating or classifying them as toku. I mean I can argued this film should be put on the same level as Kamen Rider and Power Rangers if one was to watch this film. If you think I'm crazy making this assertion, go watch these compilation trailers of Shaw Bros wuxia films and you tell me how do they not remind you of tokusatsu film and TV shows. I'm also a bit baffled why Toei, Tsuburaya, and Toho doesn't license their toku shows to Netflix so that can help K-drama viewers (and also wuxia TV drama fans along with people in the US that watched subtitled foreign TV dramas) helped branch out to toku shows. I mean if somebody watched and loved Alchemy of Souls or The Devil Punisher on Netflix, I'm sure that same fan would easily branch out to Kamen Rider or Ultraman if they put those toku shows on there and put it on the recommendation list to people that watched the 2 titles I just mentioned above. |
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kgw
 Posts: 1541 Location: Spain, EU |
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I am always happy to have more Japanese live-action series and movies outside Japan....
Even if in this case it means "the usual suspects" (USA, Canada, NZ, AUS). |
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GoGoGoFalco
Posts: 57 |
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I wasn't even aware Zeztz was being officially streamed in English. Personally I'll stick to the method I've been watching Kamen Rider for decades now myself. I doubt they'll be translating all the net shorts, specials, and movies anyway. Especially if they involve crossovers. Those will be a legal nightmare.
The AI stuff seems much ado about nothing to me. I'm old enough in this fandom to recall the complains when CG began appearing in toku and people claiming it defeated the whole purpose of practical special effects if they just used CG for the monsters, attacks, or vehicles. Maybe it does. But regardless of personal opinion it was here to stay now and I imagine most people who complained either got over it and now endure it or quit. And I doubt a couple posts with a few hundred likes is indicative of Japan caring about what a handful of westerners think beyond general musings. Given the past "controversies" that Tokutwt has insisted were Really Big Deals yet Toei and Japan simply ignored I'm doubting any sizable group of people really care about this - especially if the official stream numbers are doing well as mentioned in the article. If they couldn't get Vice cancelled then I doubt complaints about AI will amount to anything. |
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EmeraldSaucer
 Posts: 942 |
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Note that the AI assets aren't even from the show itself, just a promo. Nothing so far has indicated that any AI has been used in the show, and any pushback of it right now comes across the same way as people accusing Gozyuger of using AI because an artist said the monsters were created with the motif of being slightly off as though they were made using AI (because the big bad is literally an evil AI). There are enough real issues of AI use that people don't need to be getting paranoid around every corner. And not gonna go into the "plagiarism", since pretty much everybody in the linked thread agreed the author has no real basis for that claim
But I'm glad for the international release of Zeztz, if not the method they've chosen to release it. Toei, if you really want this to succeed long term, you need to sort things out with TV Asahi; doing marathons every once in a while isn't going to cut it. Regardless, it seems like going international is making them try stuff again. Like we just had extensive bike choreography that's not just a CG mess for the first time in forever |
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Silver Kirin
Posts: 1766 |
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Luckily, Kamen Rider Zetz has official Latin American Spanish and Portuguese subtitles and they even announced that Zetz will receive a LA Spanish dub by the same company that dubbed Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki and Faiz back in 2021. The same company, Sato Company, is also holding a contest for people to choose a tokusatsu series to be dubbed into LA Spanish and I find it curious that there's some classic shows like Juspion, Gavan, National Kid and Jiraiya, but shows were already dubbed into Brazilian Portuguese over 30 years ago. |
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MFrontier
Posts: 20003 |
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The release method is a little clunky but at least Toei is finally making an effort and I can watch English subbed premiers of Kamen Rider legally. Even if some regions aren't as lucky.
I hope we get to see Baku ride his bike for more than just the 2nd episode. That seems about the limit for most Reiwa Rider shows. I hope one of you gets to cover the "Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider" anime for a site review! |
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K.o.R
 Posts: 242 |
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Is it weird that I think the... "off"-ness of AI images is actually kind of appropriate for a world inside a dream?
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That Little Rapscallion
Posts: 150 |
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I've been a fan of Kamen Rider since W. My favorite Kamen Rider series are Fourze, Ex-Aid, and Gaim. The Reiwa era has been fairly hit or miss so far. Saber and Zero-One being my least favorite.
Blame Japan's revision on driving and traffic laws. Those were what pretty much killed a lot of the "Rider" aspect of the franchise. |
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