Tag: series

Mar282019 by Team HJUNo Comments

THE RETURNERS: Life is Short, Unless You’re Dead

Animation, Anime, Articles, Blog, Books, Comics, Culture, Fantasy, Featured, horror, monster, News, Sci-Fi, Toku, toku, tokusatsu, Uncategorized

If you're looking for something new to get into this year, and have a mind for supernatural mayhem with a twist, look no further than The Returners, the new book from up-and-coming author Lee T. Davis. Sporting heavy inspirations from the world of Japanese anime, live-action special effects, high-flying Hong Kong action, and Hollywood sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, this tale of otherworldly antiheroes is not to be missed. As the official blurb states, 2019's The Returners (not to be confused with an older, unrelated release of the same name) gives the spotlight to uncommon protagonists for the action/adventure genre. And that's especially true if we're only counting stories that aren't a prequel, a sequel, a midquel, any-other-kinda-quel, or anything based on an existing property to beg...

Nov142018 by Team HJUNo Comments

KOJI: An Electrifying New Hero

Animation, Blog, Fantasy, Movies & TV, News, Uncategorized, Video Update, Videos

From Studio Mir, the animation giants that brought forth Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra comes a new action/adventure title waiting to consume your soul. Young Koji and his magical companion are having a merry time in their fantastical land, until their fun in the sun is thwarted by a band of metallic malcontents bent on spoiling the mood. Well, we can't have that, can we? Check out our first look at Koji here. This new fantasy adventure series comes from Avatar and Korra writer Alexander Snow, sporting animation just as wicked as seen in those beloved titles. Wherever this potential gem arrives in full series form, we can only hope it's soon. You might also like: KAMEN RIDER HEISEI GENERATIONS FOREVER Trailer: The Gang’s All Here GODZILLA v

Nov122018 by Team HJUNo Comments

Is KAMEN RIDER Coming to American TV?

Blog, Kamen Rider, Movies & TV, News, Toku, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu, Uncategorized

"If Kamen Rider were available, which series would you want to see first?" This is the question posed to the Twitter audience last week, in a poll provided for fans of the live-action special effects genre by TV and streaming service TOKU. The Olympusat Inc. venture has been providing tokusatsu aficionados with an array of action-packed events, such as Tsuburaya Productions' popular giant hero franchise, Ultraman, as well as Gridman, and many other esoteric action, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror pieces from across Asia. This is the first time we've heard that TOKU could be putting out feelers for the Kamen Rider franchise. The long-running brand, about a transforming hero facing new monstrous enemies in weekly battles, has spawned dozens of annual series since its debut in 1971, reach...

Nov72018 by Team HJUNo Comments

GODZILLA vs GUNDAM – Battle of the Big’uns

Animation, Anime, Blog, Culture, Fantasy, godzilla, Kaiju, monster, Movies & TV, News, Sci-Fi, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu, Uncategorized, Video Update, Videos

Not content to pass up the opportunity for a little cross-promotion, Toei Animation is having some fun with two of the big names among its fleet of mega-franchises. Sadly, this crossover is only here as a marketing tool for two separate releases, which have basically nothing to do with each other except they both involve giant things blowing stuff up. We'll take it! Godzilla: Planet Eater is the third and final act in the 3D animated trilogy for the giant lizard in his first fully-animated film saga. Its release this month just happens to coincide with that of Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, the next installment for the ongoing super robot anime legend. So, Toei Animation is letting their promotional powers combine, and giving them their own commercials and artwork to hype fans of both ...

Nov12018 by Team HJUNo Comments

KAIJU WARD GALLAS: A Monstrous New Show From Toei Co

Blog, Culture, Kaiju, monster, Movies & TV, News, Toku, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu, Uncategorized, Video Update, Videos

HurricaneYellow isn't out of the monster-fighting biz just yet. Actor Yamamoto Kohei, known to many Super Sentai fanatics as super-ninja Bito Kota on Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger, is hard at work on a new project for Toei Company. The developing TV series will feature a new hero not affiliated with the likes of Toei's usual suspects from the long-running Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises. Kaiju Ward Gallas, as the name implies, is a kaiju show, with giant monsters as a centerpiece. Not a first for Toei, but after years of focusing heavily on their Big Two, this comes as somewhat of a surprise. Kaiju action is more Tsuburaya Productions' thing. With their ongoing Ultraman franchise, they've defined the look and feel of giant monster action on the small screen for decades now. Elsewhe...

Sep252018 by DocNo Comments

Watch: KAMEN RIDER AMAZONS Season 2 Now Streaming

Articles, Blog, Kamen Rider, monster, Movies & TV, News, Sci-Fi, Toku, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu

It's that time again. Those lethal mutations with a talent for dismemberment are back for another season, now available in this official streaming release. It's the second chapter of Kamen Rider Amazons. (Or Amazon Riders, if you're feeling international). The reimagined series, loosely based on the classic 1974 title Kamen Rider Amazon, garnered enough success to sweep their fans up with another thirteen episodes of monster-fighting action. Courtesy of the streaming entertainment platform appropriately named Amazon Prime, Season 2 is now available in its original Japanese language with English subtitles. This is the love story between Chihiro, a boy raised by an Amazon, and Iyu, a girl brought back to life with the help of Amazons. It's far more than a mere, heart-warming "boy ...

Sep242018 by DocNo Comments

GODZILLA vs Expectations: The Anime Trilogy Roars to a Close

Animation, Anime, Articles, Blog, Gallery, godzilla, Kaiju, monster, Movies & TV, News, Sci-Fi, Toku, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu, Uncategorized

Godzilla: Planet Eater, the third and final film in the animated experiment that is Toho's giant monster trilogy is nearly here. And its first imagery insists that we'll get some action with one of the atomic lizard's most fearsome foes, the great King Ghidorah. But it wouldn't be the G-trilogy without some unique spin on the classics, so we'll not be going in expecting the same three-headed space dragon we've known for decades. The anime three-parter's first installment stomped across Japanese cinema screens and international streaming monitors to a mixed array of reactions, ranging from "I loved it", hailing Godzilla: Planet of Monsters as a fresh visionary take, to "I hate it", dismissing it as a failure in concept and execution, and a whole gamut of emotions somewhere between the ...

Sep122018 by Team HJUNo Comments

Trailer: SSSS.GRIDMAN Goes to Battle Next Month

Animation, Anime, Articles, Blog, Kaiju, Movies & TV, News, Sci-Fi, Ultraman, Uncategorized, Video Update, Videos

Watashi wa Hyper Agent Gridman. After a long wait, Tsuburaya Productions is finally ready to unveil the new SSSS.Gridman. This animated effort inspired by the live-action original bears many similarities to its tokusatsu predecessor, but also a few differences. For one, the impending monster mayhem doesn't seem to be confined to a digitized world within computers, as seen in the 1993 series Gridman the Hyper-Agent. Those look like physical buildings getting smashed to pieces as enormous kaiju tangle with the hero of the hour, in a populated area. Among them is a cast of angsty youngsters whose paths may be inextricably linked to the red and white savior known as Gridman. https://youtu.be/kZdZmbvln4g SSSS.Gridman begins October 6, 2018. You might also like: Watch: Th...

Aug282018 by DocNo Comments

POWER RANGERS BEAST MORPHERS Trailer: Now With 0.03% More Original Footage!

Blog, Movies & TV, News, Power Rangers, Super Sentai, Toku, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu, Uncategorized, Video Update, Videos

It's that time again. A new Power Rangers incarnation is on the horizon, and fitting with recent tradition, we're treated to an early trailer of what lies ahead for us in the coming year for this long-running franchise. In keeping with that tradition, of course, this video features no footage of any members of our new super-team, as it debuted at this month's Power Morphicon event so early that no actual scenes had yet been shot with them. What we do have is lots and lots of footage from 2012's Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, the 36th installment in Japan's Super Sentai brand, from which Power Rangers gets much of its action visuals. Power Rangers is such a unique animal when it comes to modern entertainment, a hybrid between Japanese-produced fight scenes from Toei Company and American-fu...

Aug102018 by Bookish DelightNo Comments

SAKURA WARS: The Original Sentai Simulator

Anime, Articles, Blog, Culture, Fantasy, Gallery, Movies & TV, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Super Sentai, Tech, Toku, toku, tokublogs, tokusatsu, Uncategorized, Video Games, Video Update, Videos

Greetings and Salutations, HJU readers! It is I, Bookish Delight, here once again to spotlight video games that, as a toku fan, you should totally have on your radar! For undoubtedly at least a few of you reading this, today’s featured series needs no introduction. However, if this holds true for you, then consider yourself part of an elite club, because—especially in Western territories—this series is about as obscure as you can get. Which is both a shame and an oddity, as it took Japan by storm for a decade and a half, and is still going strong even today, with a recently announced comeback title in the works. This series is Sakura Taisen, and even now, years past its heyday, it's kind of a big deal. Where The Sun Rises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVI_vkVqy4c