Reviews

Rain’s Top Tokunet Picks of 2021

Published on January 13, 2022

Tokusatsu Network writer Rain looks back on their first year writing at The Tokusatsu Network.

Hi, everyone! I’m Rain, one of the newer staff writers for The Tokusatsu Network. I only started this year and it’s already been an amazing experience. I’ve felt so honoured to give back to a community that has given me so much happiness.

A little background on me – I haven’t been a tokusatsu fan very long. While I’ve always liked Godzilla, I didn’t know it was part of a larger genre of rubber-suited monsters. Then, at the end of last year, I was recommended Kamen Rider Build by a friend and tumbled headfirst into the world of Kamen Rider. From there I’ve had a wonderful time sampling bits and pieces from all over the tokusatsu world! (Though Rider remains my one true love…) My fondest experiences are with shows that kind of technically suck, but bring their own charm and deep personal meaning.

This little list is a short review of my favourite articles I wrote this year. Hopefully they’re just the beginning of a lot more pieces I’ll be writing here!

#1: Review: Chouko Senshi Changerion

Chouko Senshi Changerion was the first tokusatsu I watched that wasn’t part of a mainstream franchise. Having only seen Kamen Rider and Godzilla at that point, it was a massive shift, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a show that – while not really good – exuded charm. With the recent reveal of a new Changerion figure, I hope more people find this unpolished gem and get to enjoy it for themselves.

This article is also the first (and only) review I have written for The Tokusatsu Network so far. Hopefully that will change soon; I’d like to write more pieces for the oddities that slip through the cracks of history like Changerion.

#2: Is Being A Kamen Rider A Good Thing?

It’s only been a year or so since I watched Kamen Rider Build and kickstarted my love of tokusatsu. Since then, I’ve accidentally seen almost every Heisei Kamen Rider show. The evolving set of values the show presents is fascinating to me. In particular, how the role of a Kamen Rider has changed. From Kuuga‘s cycles of violence to Fourze‘s message of friendship, one of the best aspects of every show to me is the different perspectives on heroism and the burden of power.

This article was my way of mulling over these themes, as well as exploring why Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! left such a strong impression on me.

#3: Tsuburaya Addresses Unauthorised Ultraman NFT Project

This article is a little different. Fans of Ultraman will likely be familiar with the tumultuous saga of Kaiju Kombat. I, however, am decidedly not an Ultraman fan. So writing this article meant diving deep into a rabbithole I had never even heard of, and I came out the other side fascinated by this controversy that could only happen in the age of the internet. While it was a thoroughly disappointing situation, I felt glad to be able to bring attention to it.

#4: Power Rangers Dino Fury Reveals First LGBTQ+ Ranger

Sometimes, articles are simply a joy to write. This was one of those times! I’m always incredibly happy to see the increasing diversity of tokusatsu, and as a gay and nonbinary person myself, it was great to write about the younger generation getting representation on screen that I didn’t have. Writing this article also exposed me to the avalanche of positive feedback to the reveal online which was deeply heartwarming. It made me proud to be a part of the tokusatsu community.

Thank you again for supporting The Tokusatsu Network! We all do this out of love, and it has warmed my heart seeing the positive responses on social media to articles about current events.