Redman: The Tokusatsu Show Taking the Internet By Storm

Tsuburaya Productions have recently been posting episodes of their 1972 tokusatsu series, Redman, on their Youtube channel.

The series follows a hero named Redman, which was the original title for Ultraman and Ultra Seven, battling monsters. The series was made on an extremely low budget, often mocked as a “no budget show” featuring little more than two suit actors in costume fighting each other with little choreography involved.

Redman originally aired as a 138 episode series in segments on the Ohayo! Kodomo Show mornings kids program in Japan in 1972.

English speaking fans have noticed a bizarre trend in the series – that Redman almost always seems to be the instigator of the fights. The titular character is often seen attacking innocent monsters going about their day, going so far as to stop monsters from escaping his attacks. English speaking fans are not alone, as Japanese viewers have also picked up on the hero’s unique tactics.

The show has become notorious among Japanese viewers for its “cruelty” toward monsters, even earning Redman himself the nicknames: “The Red One” and “Serial Killer”. The show has been noted by many viewers as being “too fun” for its short yet addictive nature. Some fans have even gone as far as saying Redman isn’t a hero show, it’s a “suspense horror” show.

Despite Redman’s less than heroic tactics, the show has become a hit, going so far as to inspire a surge of recent fanart:

レッドマン 絵本風
初めてレッドマンを見たときに変なテンションになって描いた絵です。#レッドマン pic.twitter.com/kYVRRAMjCW

— ヒロイン工学研究所＠管理人:TARE活 (@heroinekougaku) May 5, 2016

レッドマンかいた pic.twitter.com/rjZST5KNAU

— τ⊃Ｕ〃 (@crote_tsu) April 15, 2016

The “landmark” 25th episode of the series, posted on May 5th, features Redman being attacked after Alien Mephilas initiated the episode’s battle. New episodes are added every weekday and are only available during the week of their premiere.

Source: Yahoo Japan, nlab