Best Toku Talk: DAN'S (TOKU) RANTS!

So....one day I was just browsing the web randomly and I came across a podcast.....It was a tokusatsu podcast on this website called Podomatic. I was interested in hearing this. An american who was taking about Japanese tokusatsu. I wanted to hear his opinion. I listened and fell in love with the podcast almost instantly. That was really early on this year when he was just barely starting out. As the show matured and more and more guests started appearing; Shamus Kelley, Anthony Vega, Nick Cochran, Gemma Lascio, and others...I just started liking it more and more. My love for this podcast has skyrocketed over the months and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

There is so much to look forward to: Dan's hatred of AkaRed, love of Dairanger, Kamen Rider Decade, and Season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, everyone trying to argue their points with Dan on why he is wrong about everything, Going off on random tangents that have nothing at all to do with the topic of that podcast, The (really) intense talks (and arguments) they pretty much get into on every episode. There is just so much to love about it!

They go over a multitude of tokusatsu (and occasionally non-tokusatsu topics) like Power Rangers, Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman and so much more! Very "informative" and very enjoyable.

They have encountered some troubles along the way (coughpodomaticcough), but that did not stop the show from going on. When podomatic was being a pain, Dan started posting episodes on 4shared.com and I followed along for the ride (even with the occasional fan letter), nothing was going to stop me from missing my "Daily Dose of Dan" as I call it. ^_^
Then recently the podcast was picked to be on Rajio Nihon and I have to congratulate them for that. They were moving on up! And now after only having a Facebook page, Dan's (Toku) Rants was given their own site via Rangercentral and now they have a permanent home! Which I again am so happy for Dan and everyone on DTR.

They also recently celebrated their 100th and 101st Podcast! SO HERE'S TO A HAPPY 100 DTR!!!!!!!

I laugh so much and I enjoy listening to this show so much I just had to share my love for it here on my blog. I want anyone reading this post to check out Dan's (Toku) Rants online. The podcast always makes my day and I hope it makes yours. You do not know what you are missing out on! GO TO THEIR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW AND LISTEN!!!!! (links below). hehehe.
remember the name!
D....A....N....apostrophe....S....space....parenthesis....T...O....K...U...close parenthesis....space...R...A...N...T...S



So I will end this post in the words of Dan Pearce [Host of Dan's (Toku) Rants on Seriously Orange Radio. hehehe]. "There is so much more to come folks so stay tuned and keep...on...listenin'."
 

Dan's (Toku) Rants Official Site
Dan's (Toku) Rants on Facebook

Dan's (Toku) Rants 4shared Archives

Its currently the "Fall of Forever" on Dan's (Toku) Rants.

Luki Rider Joker Presents: W-B-X~ W Boiled Extreme (ft. Tatsumaki Saito, Kiyomi Morimoto and Meiru Shiba)

ルキライダーダブル^_^ <3

W-B-X~Double Boiled Extreme (Facebook Link)

ENJOY OUR VERSION OF W-B-X ~ W Boiled Extreme (theme to Kamen Rider W)

Power Rangers in Japan

The title for this blog does reference what the average Power Rangers fan thinks of when they see Super Sentai for the first time and do not know that Super Sentai started WAY before Power Rangers. But what I am referring to is the Power Rangers seasons that get dubbed into Japanese. Kinda weird isn't it....Japanese toku gets 'Americanized' then dubbed into Japanese for distribution. Well I have some instances where this is true. For example here is a scene from a dubbed episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:

Even Mighty Morphin Power Rangers the Movie ended up being dubbed, which you can see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmZ-EJfA00k


But it didn't end with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It happened all the way up until the acquiring  of the Power Rangers brand by Disney in 2001. Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue was the last Power Rangers Series to be shown in Japan. That was until this summer when Saban Brands had reacquired the brand and worked with Toei to start bring Power Rangers back to Japan with Power Rangers S.P.D (adapted from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger back in 2005 when the brand was still under Disney).


Here is the morph of Jack (S.P.D Red) in Japanese:

This is the Opening of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in Japan:





The Power Rangers S.P.D Opening In Japan:





Power Rangers following in Japan is small in comparison to the Super Sentai following however this cult following is big enough for Toei to distribute (Originally through Toei Hero Club and now through Toei Channel and DVD).


What is my opinion on Power Rangers? Well, I grew up on Super Sentai from Timeranger to currently Gokaiger and I have seen only some episodes of the Power Rangers franchise but from what i saw, it really isn't all that bad. It is what it is for its audience. And no one should question it. I get tired of hearing the Super Sentai fanboys and fangirls or the Power Rangers fanboys and fangirls arguing about which series is better. Shut the hell up and just enjoy the product!!! Power Rangers has given Super Sentai real exposure in the Western World, especially in North America...I respect the franchise. That is my opinion. Deal with it. 

Toku Review: Saban's Masked Rider- "I AM AMAZON!!!!" (No you're not, you're Skyrider)

What can I say about Saban's Masked Rider??? Though I grew up as a child of the late 90's and early 2000's in Japan and didn't see this abomination when it first aired, I was cursed with sitting through a marathon of the entire season when I was living in America for a short time at the beginning of this year.

The three episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that he first premiered in weren't that bad, but I wish I could say the same thing for the show as a whole. The show is an embarrassment the Kamen Rider Franchise as a whole, not only its original counterpart Kamen Rider Black RX. It was so bad that Ishinomori-san (Kamen Rider's creator) had nothing but bad things to say about the show and quite frankly I don't blame him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is a plot synopsis of the show from the Kamen Rider Wiki:

The series began with the main character, Dex, escaping the Plague Patrol with a small group of Edenoites rebels, before leaving for Earth, the next target of his sinister uncle Count Dregon, who ruled Edenoi with an iron fist after displacing Dex's grandfather, King Lexian, who also gave Dex the Masked Rider powers (where the powers came from is a mystery, although apparently they have been in use for some time by Edenoi's champions). Arriving on Earth in a massive crater, Dex finds himself in the care of the Stewarts, a multiracial family consisting of a white father and daughter (named Hal and Molly respectively), an Asian wife (Barbara), and an African-American son (Albee). The addition of an extra Stewart was not noticed by anyone (as, according to Albee, he and Molly are adopted) in Leawood, the town in which the series took place. Dex defends the town as Masked Rider from Count Dregon and his vicious Insectovores.

Saban's Masked Rider, Dex

Here is a clip from Masked Rider....the most famous scene of the series....for the wrong reasons.

Saban's Masked Rider is probably the worst tokusatsu adaptation and was never distributed outside the Americas and Europe,  it does have a cult following, but the show does not have a big fanbase as other Saban adaptations in the 1990's like Power Rangers, VR Troopers, and Beetleborgs. By watching it I saw why. The show's editing was crappy at best and the story, well, it was so-so at best. I think that the best part of the show is probably its theme. Very simple and it draws you in....sadly you have to hear that narrator first (see above video). Oh and please don't get me started on Ferbus. -__-'



Would I recommend Saban's Masked Rider to anyone? Simply put, no.
If you want to see this series you are better off watching Kamen Rider Black RX, the story flows better and makes more sense. If you want to experience a good rider series watch Black RX...and this coming from a person who's only experience with Black RX was in Kamen Rider Decade.....

That's saying something.

So ends my look into Saban's Masked Rider. What are your thoughts on the show? Comment below.

When naming the Masked Rider Warriors, they screwed up the naming for every rider except ZX. The most famous being Skyrider being renamed Masked Rider Warrior Amazon and the famous line "I AM AMAZON!!!" which apparently is a very popular internet meme.

海賊戦隊ゴーカイジャー (Ruki Ai Hata)

My version of Gokaiger's main theme. Enjoy

獣拳戦隊ゲキレンジャ (Ruki Ai Hata ft. Kiyomi Morimoto)

A super sentai theme done by myself and Kiyomi Morimoto of Utsukushii Hakuchō. Enjoy.

トップ5：仮面ライダー

同意しますか？
(Do you agree?)

Who is Ruki Hata?

Hello everyone!
Ruki here just to quickly give you an introduction to myself if you don't know who I am already (my question is how did you find this blog if you didn't know about me....but I digress). Born Luki Ai Hata in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo on 10 March 1995, I am the daughter of model Miyoko Hikari and husband Toshiro Hata. If anything I am closer to Papa who calls me his "little hime-chan". Papa left when I was five years old because Mama would not listen to him about settling down and calling it quits, but I went and found him about a year or year and a half ago and we all have been living together as a happy family again ever since.

I am a toyboy at heart. I love roughing it up and fighting with the boys to show I am the best there is....and of course I am.
^_^

I am very good a card games like Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh! and because of my feats there and the fear and attitude I impose on people I had earned the nickname, "Guchi no joo" or "The Queen of the Bitches", which I simply shorten down to "The Queen", a nickname that I constantly use, especially when I sing.

I recently got into a singing career, most doing covers of existing songs for anime and tokusatsu, but here and there I have sprinkled out a few of my own songs that were lost. I work under my label HRA-Regal Nippon.

I have one current album available called "The Queen Has Arrived" and this Holiday season I plan on releasing a digimon tribute album I call "The Queen's Digi-Adventure: Journey through the Digi-cade" which I will have available most likely for free download.


I am also recently wed to my lovely husband, Taisuke Ryou, and I really couldn't be happier. He and I were once rivals who hated each others guts, then one day (I was 11, he was 13) we just looked into each others eyes, fell in love with each other and shared our first kiss and hug. I feel safest around him and let me tell you I know we are both happy with each other.

Thank you for visiting my blog
                                           - Ruki <3

My Thoughts: 海賊戦隊ゴーカイジャーVS宇宙刑事ギャバン

So this upcoming January a new Gokaiger movie is planned for release. It is a Super Sentai Vs. Movie, but for the first time in history it is not between two Super Sentai teams but rather a Super Sentai team teaming up with another Toei Company, Lmtd tokusatsu. In this movies case, the Metal Heroes Series. This teamup features our current Super Sentai team...the Gokaiger....and the first ever Metal Hero, Gavan.

If you can't guess it already, the title for this film is "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Vs. Uchuu Keiji Gavan" (for those who would like the title in English...."Pirate Task Force Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan).

The movie is meant to act as a special commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Metal Hero Series, which started in 1982 and lasted until 1999.

According to rumors, the plot revolves around the Gokaiger saving Gavan from the worst prison in the universe (unknown if this is a Zanyack Empire prison or not) and teaming up with him in order to stop the main enemy of the film, Gavan Bootleg.
Another rumor revolves around the Metal Heroes and the Great Legend War....rumor is that they were helping out the Super Sentai fight off the Zanyack in their first invasion of earth (which of course resulted in them losing their powers...the formation of the ranger keys, etc....etc...etc.)

Ohba Kenji is reprising his role as Gavan for this film, but not only that....he will play the parts of Akebono Shiro/Battle Kenya (Battle Fever J) and Ome Daigorou/DenziBlue (Denshi Sentai Denziman).

Also it looks like next year's Super Sentai team, Tokumei Sentai Gobuster (特命戦隊ゴーバスター) will be making a cameo appearance in this movie as well.

My Thoughts:
I personally have only seen one of the Metal Heroes when I was three years old. It was Robotack, and I did not like it one bit. If it is the one thing I remember from when I was that young it was that. It was because of Robotack that I did not give Gavan, Sherivan or any of the other Metal Heroes a chance and never watched them. However, I am willing to give Metal Heroes a shot this time, especially Gavan because I know of his popularity. Well when that movie comes I will definitely see it. Plus it will be interesting seeing Kenji-san do three roles at once in this special.

What are your thoughts on this Vs. Special?

Space Sheriff Gavan (left) and GokaiRed (right)

The Main Villain of the movie....Gavan Bootleg

Welcome To My Blog

This blog is going to be here for random things, however usually tokusatsu related or related to my life. Enjoy this blog, we should have some fun! WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                                           - Ruki <3