KAMEN RIDER - "Henshin!"...my venture on the world of Japanese Tokusatsu hobby

Since way i can remember, i have been a fan of Sentai and Kamen Rider.

The 80s was the decade when I first watched a Tokusatsu series. Back then I have no idea that it was a genre. All I know was that it came "dubbed" to our shores from the land of the Rising Sun.

The first I can remember was Star Rangers or better known as Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (Link: Himitsu Sentai Gorenger). It was shown English dubbed as Star Rangers in the Philippines. I only manage to watch a very limited number episodes on the series since that time I don’t have yet control of the boob-tube in our living room, and only got to see it when my eldest sister is watching but it was enough to pique my curiosity.

The next series I watched in the tokusatsu line was Choudenshi Bioman. Also English dubbed in the Philippines. After that was Hikari Sentai Maskman which unlike the first two, was Tagalog dubbed and created a huge following on the time of its airing.

In between those periods was a show called Kamen Rider Black. Again unbeknownst to me that collectively, these type of shows are called “Tokusatsu”. Tokusatsu (特撮 Tokusatsu) is a Japanese word that literally means "special effects." It is primarily used to refer to live-action Japanese film and television dramas that make use of special effects. The term "tokusatsu" is a contraction of the Japanese phrase "tokushu satsuei" (特殊撮影 ),meaning "special photography". (excerpt from the Wikia).
In entirety, it basically defines the Japanese live action series of spandex armored, masked characters of heroes and protagonists that is well diverse and different from the muscled and bland contortions of Western kiddie entertainment. It was the era of Saturday Morning Cartoons that is mainlined by shows from the US so having this kind of TV shows back then is a bit glaring and for adults (in my part - my parents) kind of place them as odd and “un-westernized”

I was not that appreciative of Kamen Rider Black, though I like watching it nonetheless. I was more drawn to Bioman and Maskman that was re-aired a number of times on different timeslots and channels together with another toku series of a different nature titled Space Sheriff Shaider which is part of a trio of what is called “Space Sheriff Series” that also mounted a huge following thanks to Annie 😊. Also, in the mix was the “giant monster fighting hero” named UltraMan in which did not catch my fancy.

That was the late 80s and early 90s. The lull in sentai shows being broadcasted in local TV took a decade and it was only in the early Y2k that another Tokusatsu series was shown.

Enter…Masked Rider Ryuki.

This was the series that defined Tokusatsu for me. I so loved this series that after a decade hunting related merchandise of this and with the advent of Facebook and online Forum marketplace, I was able to acquire related toys and a complete series of the show.

Back then, it was hard to tie-up continuity stories since networks broadcast these episodes the way they usually do then like all western cartoons. It is because western cartoons tend to be stand alone stories per episodes, unlike these Toku series (and any Anime for that matter) that has to be watched chronologically to be understood. It is only in the later years I understood that the reason why Transformers was a haphazard series is because the original (Diaclone) material which it was derived from follows this same Japanese series concept of progressive episodes. Jumping from Episode 8 to Episode 2 then to 5 and back to whatever won’t make any sane story plot so us followers with the help of video rentals “ties-up” loose ends by re-watching episodes in order.

Kamen Rider Ryuki was aired with English translation. A US adaption was also made following a similar successful move by Saban Entertainment with the American adaptation of the 1992 Japanese Super Sentai Series, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger that became the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise we know now. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mighty_Morphin_Power_Rangers)

But it was the English dubbed KR Ryuki series that fueled my love for all thing Toku.

The amazing visuals, character suits and variety were a sight to behold. The story was engrossing but acting and plot do come a bit dull and boring to a point but as a teenager, it was the adrenaline fight scenes and effects (which is not that great even during that period) that made me  hooked. Unfortunately, during its entire broadcast run, like the rest of previous Toku and Anime shows aired in the Philippines, we did not get the last (at least last 3) episodes of the series. It is only years after that I manage to grab a copy of the final complete series to re-watch it and the ending to complete the story.

Toys were never abundant in the Philippine stores, and when they do, I could never have bought any of them for their expensive price tags. Only years after that I was working and have the money to spare that I was able to gather toys related to Ryuki.

Since 2008 I began building up my KR Ryuki collection. Stopped around 2012 when I ventured back to Gunpla, and resumed again from 2016 to now.

I may not have extensive (and expensive) Ryuki collection but what I have is worthwhile and I consider as a complete representation of the series.

As I expand my Toku/Sentai collection that is now focused on the big robots of Super Sentai series, sentai devices and weapons and Kamen Rider belts and peripherals of the Heisei Era from Ryuki onwards, I look back to those times I wished I have those belts and devices, while not knowing what the word means…I keep on doing the motions and shouting “Henshin!”….i have the belts now…but already too old for role-play…LOL

The symbolic Card Holders of the Hensin belts of the 13 Riders. As shown is the Dark Ryuki, Knight and Zolda cases

The excelent line of SH Figurearts dynamicaly captured the amazing features of Ryuki and his Contract Monster - Dragreder

The very sci-fi bike of the riders mostly seen used by Ryki and Knight when they enter the Mirror world

The Final Weapon of Ryuki in his Ryuki Survive Final form

. . . . . . . . "   H E N S H I N   ! ! ! " . . . . . . . . . . .

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Images and the names mentioned related to Tokusatsu, Super Sentai TM, Power Rangers TM, Kamen Rider TM and related facts are Copyrighted and owned by Bandai©, Saban® , Toei (C) TV Asahi, and all associated franchise and owners of the brand and the owners of the pictures used. In no way I own rights or privilege to claim the above mentioned stated and imagery for commercial use other than for this personal blog.