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Section 20 · Screen

Kaiju & tokusatsu

Tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects, and it remains one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment even though only a small proportion of its films and programs are widely known outside of Japan. Its subgenres include kaiju such as the Godzilla and Gamera series, superhero shows like Kamen Rider and Metal Hero, Kyodai Hero titles such as Ultraman, and mecha like Giant Robo and Super Robot Red Baron, with some programs combining several of these. Certain properties have attained popularity abroad, with Godzilla having featured in popular American-made movies. Source

Picture: Wpcpey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The essentials

Checked against Tokusatsu. Source

Tokusatsu

Japanese live-action films or TV using practical special effects

Eiji Tsuburaya

special effects director credited with tokusatsu

Tokushu gijutsu

earlier name, shortened to tokugi

Kabuki and bunraku

early theater origins of tokusatsu

Shōzō Makino

cinema pioneer credited as founding father of tokusatsu techniques

Godzilla (1954)

driving force behind it was Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda

Suitmation

human actor in a costume playing a giant monster

Miniatures

scaled-down city sets placed from the camera's perspective

Kyodai Hero

subgenre where a regular-sized protagonist grows large

Kaijin

productions featuring supervillains as central characters

Super Hero Time

TV Asahi one-hour block from 2003

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

premiered 1993 on Fox Kids