JCO: Live-Action Anime, Know It, Love It.... WATCH IT!

[JohnCrichton]

Coming February 9th will bring about the premier of Power Rangers Wild Force (http://www.rangercentral.com/data-prwf.htm) and everyone should tune in.

By now, any cartoon watcher worth his speedline is a anime fan; well just down the hall and to the right is another genre from the land that's become the fanboy's best friend, Japan, called.... Tokusatsu or Sentai (http://timecapsule1.tripod.com/).

Basically, live-action anime.

Our dubbed version of these shows have come to the USA in the form of Power Rangers (http://www.rangercentral.com/). PR's basically dubbed Sentai, which roughly means, "Task Force." Initially the show was blown off as a Voltron clone(of which I'm also a fan of), but truth be told the Sentai tradition and mythos has been around since 1975 in the form of Goranger (http://timecapsule1.tripod.com/before.htm)

Lesser known shows for the US are VR Troopers that I think used footage from a show called Metal Heroes, and Masked Rider which used footage from the still going strong Japanese series,Kamen Rider (http://lavender.fortunecity.com/exorcist/502/newkamen.htm).

Live-action anime is not without it's bad hack jobs and utter crap series. I mean, for every butchered American anime dub job and slash and burn edit series... their was even the faaaarrrrr worse insults of series that might've been better had they kept their original storyline. Included in this heap of steaming dung is Masked Rider(which at least had its good points, but by and large ruined) Big Bad Beatle Borgs(which there was just no fwickin' excuse for!), Super Human Samurai Cyber Squad(who's money could've gone to better use putting me through college or feeding the homeless, but oooooh nooooo....), Tatooed Teenaged Monster Fighters From Beverly Hills(???????), and lastly American original series that tried to hop on the Power Ranger/Sentai bandwagon o' goodness.... Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog(horrible and boring) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TMNT rock... but not when it's done this poorly!).

But through the pain and destruction... and several piss poor seasons, Power Rangers has against all odds emerged an actually awesome show!

I admit, I'm a die-hard Power Ranger fan. I hated it when it started, but with its mix of high octane martial arts and Voltron meets Godzilla robot action I found it pretty impossible not to adore!

Why Power Ranger is cool now, I'll write in another post, cuz this one's become a bit lengthy.

Anyway, if you're a martial art, anime, Godzilla, and just plain imiginateive fun time action fan.... give Power Rangers Wild Force a much deserved chance.

Power Rangers has come a looooong way in terms of story, production and even budget.

It's a new fanboy genre that simpley should not be passed up.

And for those of you in the fansub market, here are some excellent places to start your new hobby that I myself have just gotten into.

Fansubs 2000 (http://fansubs2000.tripod.com/toku.html) has reasonably price Senta and Tokusatsu fansubs.

Or

Henshin Video Heroes (http://www.angelfire.com/ny/henshin/) has everything you'll ever need tho.

Most importantly is the latest Sentai Crossover movie, that is done annually with both Japanese versions and American versions where Rangers or Sentai of two different series join forces. It's called: Gaoranger vs Super Sentai (http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/halojones/75//gao/gaovssent.html) where heroes spanning the years of Sentai make a guest appearence.

That's been my drop kicking JohnCrichton Opinion and I hope you cats and kittens enjoy Power Rangers Wild Force!

[Chad Bonin]

Yeah, Power Rangers is very schway.

Can't think of much else, but it IS live action animé. Mecha, superheroes, Matrix-like moves...

[SonGoku V3]

http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/halojones/75/sentai/index.html

Visit this site, it'll tell you EVERYTHING you'd want to know about sentai. I recommend checking out the Time Ranger section, not only because it's one of the best series IMO, but it is almost a MIRROR of the series we had in America- Power Rangers TimeForce. The show had intresting characters, a great story, and the girls in both American AND Japanese versions were HOT!!!

On of my favorite quotes from TimeRanger is something Tatsuya Asami(Time Red) said to Naoto Takizawa(TimeFire) just little before Naoto died: "That means you and I are the same. Two that were relying on power." I related so much to this line because I know a person who thinks we are two different people, from different worlds, wanting different things, but deep down, we were the same. Emotional stuff, I know :p Seriously though, Power Rangers is one of those hidden gems that are overlooked these days because of it's bad history. The stories have changed, the acting has changed(a little;)), and the action has been getting better and BETTER. I suggest anyone with an open mind willing to try something different check out Power Rangers Wild Force on Feb. 9th on their FoxKids block. Also, get a sneak peek of the Japanese version at this site: http://anzwers.org/free/animeintro/gaoranger.html

[JustJack]

Thank God CNX merged w/ TZ....now there are others on these boards who enjoy this fine show in all its spandex glory! :D ;)

[Supernovametalstar]

Originally posted by JustJack
Thank God CNX merged w/ TZ....now there are others on these boards who enjoy this fine show in all its spandex glory! :D ;)

Don't forget the metal robot outfits and the rubber monster suits :cool:

My favorite section of tokusatsu are the Metal Heroes. If you don't know what those are, they are the shows that feature men in teched out armor fighting monsters and evil organizations. They usually have specialized vehicles that they use (motorcycles, space planes, space ships, etc). Stateside they are known as VR Troopers and Big Bad Beetleborgs. But don't judge all Metal hero shows on Saban's version (especially Beetleborgs which was adapted from B-Fighter).

From the shows I've seen, metal hero shows are a lot darker than some of their sentai counterparts (which was reflected in VR Troopers). The first Toei Metal Hero was Gavan, circa 1982 I think. The are also known as Space Sheriffs, as they police the world/space/dimensions from whoever is trying to take over. Usually the series ends with the metal hero taking on the mastermind, (who is usually stationary throughout most of the series, only gaining mobility at the near end). I don't know if any have died like sentai rangers (there is an incident in the first B-Fighter where the blue one died at the end fighting the black B-fighter, known here as Shadowborg ).

I really wish VR Troopers had caught on here, as it might have lead to other shows being brought over here, like Jansperson, Juspion, Gavan, Sharivan, Blue Swat, and a host of others.

[JohnCrichton]

Supernovametalstar, where'd you get all your Metal Hero stuff from?

[JLU Dude]

I miss VR Troopers and Masked Rider. :(

[Vin]

Originally posted by Justice League Dude
I miss VR Troopers and Masked Rider. :(

I used to watch "VR Troopers" when I was younger. I was into "Power Rangers" and then into "VR Troopers." Those were the good ol' days...

[Supernovametalstar]

Originally posted by JohnCrichton
Supernovametalstar, where'd you get all your Metal Hero stuff from?

Well, aside from that place I told you about, I haven't gotten any yet. I have to see how much my semester books cost first to see if I'll have any extra spending cash on hand.

[StrangerAtaru]

I actually was into the Sentai stuff somewhat from the moment MMPR touched down in the US. (I even bought a Japanese box set of all 5 original Zyu Ranger Toys!) I remember watching stuff like that, VR Troopers, and even a little Masked Rider. But then came what we like to call "the dark ages". The plots became rather repetitive, not to mention rather inane in themselves. (JC should know this) Until PRTF, the last show I watched was PR Zeo, which was alright, but still seemed rather repetitive. But what I did not know when I left was that changes were coming, and fast! By the time I was coaxed to watch PRTF by JC on the CNX board, I saw how much it was changed. Sure it was a tad cartoony and overexaggerated still, but it was a lot better than what it used to be. Maybe someday I will give the original Sentai a chance, considering how much better I heard they are.

[JLU Dude]

Originally posted by Vincent Benenati


I used to watch "VR Troopers" when I was younger. I was into "Power Rangers" and then into "VR Troopers." Those were the good ol' days...

Yeah, they were, weren't they.

[JohnCrichton]

Early stuff was "good old days" and I'm sorry I didn't get further into VR Troopers.... it looked pretty good, but without a doubt, the "now days" are infinately better in quality story, action, and production-wise.