Media

We divide a Japanese hero program into two media. They are an animation and Tokusatsu.

Will you remember the hero whom I introduced last report?

Kamen rider black is Tokusatsu, and a tiger mask is Anime.

The hero of Tokusatsu and the hero of Anime appeared at the same time.

Do you know “Anime”?

It means the animation.

But “the animation” is called “Anime” for short in Japan.

The hero of the first Japanese Anime is "Tetsuwan Atomu".

Tetsuwan Atomu is called "Astro Boy" in a U.S. and is famous abroad.

The original was comics of Osamu Tezuka, and it became the Anime.

The current Anime are colorful, but the Anime was monochrome then.

This is a state of then "Tetsuwan Atomu".

It was very popular in those days, and the program audience ratings might exceed 40%.

Tetsuwan Atomu is popular now, and is broadcasted again and is remade many times.

I have watched rebroadcast at the age of an elementary school, too. About 40 years passed since Tetsuwan Atomu was broadcasted first, it seen by many children.

Do you know Tokusatsu? Because it is difficult, some explanation of Tokusatsu quote from Wikipedia.

Tokusatsu is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects (tokusatsu literally translates as "special filming" in Japanese).

（Extract from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokusatsu）

In Japan, the hero program of live filming is said to be Tokusatsu.

"Live filming = Tokusatsu"

For example, “Star Wars” is considered to be Tokusatsu in Japan.

Because it uses the latest computer graphic, and a picture is very real. However, the Japanese hero is an undeveloped technique, and there are many programs what made with few budgets. Therefore we look slightly cheap. However, I think that the looking cheap may have nostalgia.

The hero program of the first Tokusatsu of Japan is "Gekko Kamen".

“Gekko” means “moonlight”. “Kamen” means “mask”.

It was a monochrome picture like Tetsuwan Atomu, too.It was very popularity for children, and the mean audience rating was 40%. Moreover, the most high television ratings recorded 68%. Because I was too popular, the figure of the child disappeared from the public bath in a broadcast time at that time.

After Gekko Kamen was broadcasted, various Tokusatsu hero programs were broadcasted.

Of all others, “Ultra Man” and “Kamen Rider” and “Squadron Hero” are especially popular and they were serialized and still were broadcasts.

These series were changed every year. A hero of each age has personality and is popular with children every year.There were 14 kinds of series of Ultra Man, and there were 23 kinds of series of Kamen Rider. Surprisingly, the series of the Squadron Hero has 37 kinds, too.

Because there are many programs what were serialized, there are more heroes of Tokusatsu in modern Japan than the hero of Anime. Tetsuwan Atomu was animated at the first, too, but it was become a Tokusatsu program on a spot later.

I will introduce three series of hero program of Tokusatsu in detail on future article.