LINK TO ORIGINAL VIDEO VERSION

How Tokusatsu Hooked Me Long Before I Knew What It Was

Henshin Reflection: Heart and Sold — Episode 2 (Blog Edition)

This is MJ. Welcome back to Henshin Reflection: Heart and Sold, my little miniseries where I’m exploring one big question:

Can tokusatsu survive the modern toy-sale cycle?

In Episode 1, I talked about why this question even popped into my head.
Super Sentai might actually be ending after 50 years. The Metal Heroes franchise looks like it’s stepping into its time slot with a new Space Sheriff Gavan reboot, if you can believe it. Power Rangers is currently paused, with no clear path forward.

Meanwhile, Kamen Rider and Ultraman continue to grow worldwide.

It’s strange. And it made me wonder whether too much focus on toy sales has drained the heart out of some of these shows.

But before I get into industry trends or speculation, I want to go back to where all of this started for me. Because I didn’t fall in love with tokusatsu because of toy lines, ratings charts, or behind-the-scenes business analysis.

I got hooked because of stories.

Stories that hit me long before I even knew the word tokusatsu.

---

My First Hit: Power Rangers

Before I knew what Super Sentai was…
Before I knew what tokusatsu was…
Before I ever heard the word henshin…

I knew Power Rangers.

That was my first exposure. I was maybe five years old, and the show absolutely blew me away. I’d watched Batman: The Animated Series, Superman, Ghostbusters, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Captain Planet—tons of superhero and adventure cartoons.

But nothing moved the way Power Rangers moved.

There was a manic, electric energy to it. Giant monsters. Teens in armor fighting skyscraper-sized threats. Megazords slamming kaiju around like toys in a sandbox. It didn’t matter that the logic didn’t always hold together. It didn’t matter that I didn’t understand how any of it worked.

It was pure spectacle—and I loved it.

I still remember the “fridge-thoughts” I had even as a kid:
Why don’t they just start with the Megazord? Why wait until the monster grows?

Years later I’d learn that Saban and the writers built rules around escalation specifically to justify the structure. But as a kid, I didn’t know any of that. I just enjoyed the ride.

And then came the Green with Evil saga—one of the most gripping children’s TV arcs ever. Tommy was mysterious, dangerous, tragic, and unbelievably cool. That storyline hooked me hard, and it kept me watching for years.

I became a Power Rangers kid.
Then a Power Rangers teen.
Then, eventually, a Power Rangers nostalgic adult.

And that opened the next door…

Discovering Super Sentai Through Gokaiger

Years later, I stumbled onto a podcast that mentioned there were new episodes of tokusatsu airing in Japan—and that you could actually watch them.

So I tried Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, and it was life-changing.

From the very first episode, Gokaiger was:

• Flashy
• Stylish
• Dramatic
• Memorable
• And incredibly fun

The curry shop scene. The Zangyack attack. Marvelous pretending he’s only fighting because dinner got ruined. Weapons flying between teammates. Aerial flips. Multi-sword combat. Joe with five swords at once. Don fighting like a chaotic Jar-Jar-Binks-meets-drunken-master anime character.

It was everything I loved about Power Rangers, but sharper, faster, and smarter.

Even though I didn’t know any past Sentai teams, Gokaiger didn’t require me to. It told its own story while honoring the legacy around it. The Legend War. The 34 past teams. The cameos. The tributes.

It was all handled with skill and heart.

From there, I went on to discover Kamen Rider OOO (I skipped OOO at the time and watched Fourze first), and eventually the original Kamen Rider and Black and Black RX—all because Gokaiger cracked the door open.

Gokaiger didn’t feel like a toy commercial.
It felt like a world.
A story.
A celebration.

And I was hooked.

Why Power Rangers Kept Pulling Me Back

Even before I discovered Sentai, I stayed with Power Rangers for years.
MMPR → Zeo → Turbo → In Space → Lost Galaxy.

I dipped out occasionally, but I always came back—especially for Tommy in Dino Thunder. The character work, the ongoing arcs, and the serialized storytelling made it feel different from Batman: TAS or other episodic shows.

Power Rangers wasn’t always high art, but it was continuous, and that mattered.

I eventually went back and watched the massive Season 3 crossover “A Friend in Need” and became obsessed with Masked Rider Dex. Even though the American Masked Rider show wasn’t great, the Black RX suit burned itself into my brain. That path led me to Kamen Rider Black → the original Kamen Rider → Gokaiger → and the entire world of henshin heroes.

It was a weird chain reaction.
But it all started with hooks set deep when I was five years old.

So How Did I Get Hooked?

Not through toys.
Not through commercials.
Not through subreddits or industry talk.

I got hooked because:

• The spectacle was insane.
• The characters were emotional.
• The stories mattered.
• The world was larger than life yet completely earnest.

It was the fusion of spectacle + heart that grabbed me long before I knew what tokusatsu even was.

And once I began listening to podcasts and hearing fans discuss toy sales, ratings, and business strategy, I slowly realized something:
The industry side of tokusatsu is complicated and sometimes ugly...

That’s where Part 3 will pick up.

---

Drop a comment below or tag me @MJ_Scribe on Twitter. Let’s have some fun talking about this.

If you enjoy thoughtful stories for kids and families, check out my book Mockwing Mayhem. It is a heartfelt adventure about magical bugs battling monsters and protecting children.

You can find more of my reviews, reflections, and stories with spine at mjmunoz.com, and join the mailing list there for behind the scenes updates and new releases.