so, as most of the toys everyone here collects are either direct representations of characters from japanese monster movies/tv shows, or inspired by the toys and characters from these shows, who here grooves on the videos?

do most people get the toys just for the toys, or do most people get them because they loved some movie? a combination of both?

being a super commander 10th level nerd myself, i geek out on the toys, the shows, the art, comic books, the skeletor roller-skates, transformers soda, the whole nerdy enchilada. how about you folks?

i get majorly bummed when there are great shows with no toys to go along. there are so many weird freaking monsters that are begging to be made into figures!

also, if anyone has episodes of tiger7, i need them. all ive seen so far are the intros and stuff on youtube.

I voted just toys, but the shows are okay also, but don't compare to the toys to me

Shit...this stuff wouldn't be as special (to me) without the shows. Nuthin' like chilling with your buds and bevvies, trippin' out over some Booska, Robocon, or Kure Kure Takora. How about the cheddar dubbing (and corresponding cheesy guitar riffs) of the US Spectreman release. Then there's Spiderman ("Go Leopardon!"), Kikaida, Ultraman (the older the incarnation the better), Kamen Rider (ditto), Denjin Zaborga, Inazuman....too much good stuff.

I voted for toys and shows. No Shows = No Inspiration = No Toy (and vice versa)

There's shows for this stuff?

dollies first...i need something tangible. most of the shows i watch nowadays are my daughters...lots of disney princess movies.

I wouldn't say "inseparable," but that's what I voted for. I always dug Robocon toys, but once I actually saw the show I had a better appreciation for them.

Some characters worked the other way around. After seeing Grendizer, I really wanted one with the Spacer.

And then there are shows that I like that I have no toys for, and toys from shows I have no interest in seeing.

This poll reminds me of the old paradoxical question "which came first, the chicken or the egg?".

In this case, we know that the films and TV shows occurred first which then led to the inspiration and marketing of the toys. But it is not a hard choice for me ... I grew up in Japan and LOVE all of it!

My choice wasn't really there... I love the toys, but the shows are great too (although I too would not say "inseparable") - but I voted "toys and shows inseparable" because it was the closest.

i love it all....the shows and movies inspire and amaze, as well as entertain....some more than others....and the toys make my day.....

In many cases, if the shows did not exist, neither would the toys...

it's cool how you can go back and watch the shows gaining apprecetion for some of the monsters.
sometimes i will watch something and go from that guys ok to seeing where he's from and thinking he's kinda cool, though it works both ways there have been some monsters that i saw in toy form thought were cool then in saw the source material and i ended up not living up to my expectation of how cool i thought they would be.

When did the 'Little Abortion Pirate' show air?

Somebody pee'd on 'Mook's Wheaties this morning...

None of the monsters I collect come directly from shows so I haven't watched much yet other than clips on youtube. I have been eyeing those ultraman series 1 dvds though, is that a good set to start with or can someone recommend something else that's available in the US?

This is a good one.....
And precisely why the new stuff does nothing for me.
There are no shows for it. I know I'm probably in the minority but I think the toys have some "validity" to them because they are/were representations of something real (TV real)
The new stuff is, to me a riff on the real deal. And sorry, but it has no validity to offer (me)

the ultraman original series is classic, and a lot of fun. as far as whats available on dvd, though, id recommend kikaida. its a similar format to ultraman, but a bit weirder and goofier, which is right up my alley. if youre into the classy, go ultraman. if youre into goofball, go kikaida.

this show sounds terrible!

Watched the Ultraman w/ Gremon this morning. Very educational. I learned that plants have chlorophyl, animals have mucin and Gremon had both. Ultraman hates enigmas and killed him.

I found clips of Barom-1 on youtube which led me to collecting the Rainbow figures which led me to tracking down episodes of the show on DVD.

I came to appreciate Inazuman much more after seeing the television show.

I like and collect the contemporary toys but I don't feel that they have as much depth as the tokusatsu toys.

1st and foremost TOYS. I just like them, not just Kaiju and vinyl. Than, because I dig a toy so much I start getting into what it's from (some cases I'm already familiar like Western stuff, Star Wars duh.) Than I like the toy MORE.

As far as toys with no origin, I like them A LOT. I feel connected to them and have an appreciation for them because they bring me to a state of mind that I had as a kid with toys: It doesn't matter if there's a story behind it, cause' I'll make my own up anyway. Imagination. They get me going. What burns my brain more? When I get small bits of info, like the RxH stories. Super little info, but just enough for my brain to play with them myself.

I don't always need someone telling me a story, cause I like making my own up more.

I agree with this. I think it's because growing up in the late 80s-early 90s I was so bombarded with licensed toys that it was refreshing to find toys that were just toys. It seems more pure to me for some reason. I do like seeing the history but only because it helps me better appreciate the toys.




thanks! goofy sounds perfect.

let's just put it this way, if I had to give up one or the other, as much as I love the toys, I would not hesitate for a second to give them up so I could watch the shows

Josh, I'll hit you up with a PM. I don't have Tiger 7, but I might have some stuff you're interested in

I know it's been mentioned before, but "Iron King" was just released, "Red Baron" and "Silver Kamen" will be here early next year, and JN Entertainment has now done Kikaida 01 and Kamen Rider V3, to go along with the previously released Kikaida. Good time to be a toku fan.

Wow, can't wait for Silver Kamen! The original toys are cool, and I also like the re-releases that Kaijuken is doing.