What is Tokusatsuploitation?
Tokusatsusploitation is a word I am coining to describe the rushing wave of tokusatsu -based media content. It comes from two ideas:
Exploitation Films
Wikipedia defines exploitation films as “a film that attempts to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content.”
Some common examples: - Blaxploitation - Spaghetti Westerns - Mockbusters
Tokusatsu
Meaning “special FX,” tokusatsu is a broad Japanese term initially referring to live-action film or television drama that makes heavy use of special effects. Two specific types of effects-based shows have become particularly associated with the word. Tokusatsu, or toku for short, refers specifically to both sentai and kaiju properties as a group.
Sentai
The word sentai means “squadron.” From the specific property Super Sentai, sentai has become a catch-all term for shows with masked transforming heroes, usually wearing full bodysuits. The masks and full-body suits allow different actors to play the same character in the problematic fighting scenes versus the acting scenes. The American show Power Rangers entirely took advantage of this by licensing the expensive fighting scenes shot for Japanese shows (mostly Super Sentai) and shooting new footage with American actors for the drama parts. Sentai transformation is called henshin, another term used to generally refer to the type of show.
Kaiju
Kaiju means monster, but it mainly refers specifically to “rubber-suit” style monsters like Godzilla, who are often portrayed as gigantic. Kaiju has become a more well-known term lately due to its adoption in English language films like Pacific Rim. Sentai is significantly associated with kaiju, as they often battle, usually with the assistance of giant robots.
Tokusatsu has been immersing audiences since the 1960s, with many successful intellectual properties (IP) generating billions in revenue. Some of the top-earning franchises are:
- Ultraman: $17 billion in merch sales between (1966-1987)
- Godzilla: > $5 billion from the first 13 movies alone
- Power Rangers: $522 Million, IP purchase by Hasbro in 2018
We are beginning to see a massive wave similar to the many reboots and spin-offs of superhero comic properties from Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Because of the great success of multiple toku IPs, and the many generations with shared exposure and experience to tokusatsu, it is now highly viable to reboot and re-release the copious tokusatsu properties already in existence. Tons of new projects based on kaiju and sentai properties have and are being greenlit, and some are even close to release. A few notable examples include:
However, because toku has staked out such a firm place in the public consciousness, it’s now possible to create new material that builds from the familiarity people already have with well-known tokusatsu properties without actually licensing an existing property and benefit from the oncoming reboot wave. Thus:
Tokusatsusploitation
In 2019, seeing a connection between augmented reality face filters and sentai henshin transformations, I assembled a team to participate in a Beyond Reality contest put on by Niantic, the creators of Pokémon Go. Over the six months of the competition, we created a new IP called Bio-Squad K that drew inspiration from many tokusatsu properties while possessing a distinct style and unique concepts. We developed a working prototype for a massively multiplayer mobile game. People could don helms (AR face filters) and form squads with their friends to battle otherworldly kaiju via AR while unraveling a mysterious plot that turns traditional tokusatsu framing upside down. The limited information we were allowed to show drew a robust and immediate organic engagement on social media.
Unfortunately, despite a universally positive response, an exciting original IP was not what Niantic wanted. They decided not to fund further production at the end of the contest. They later requested a complete design bible, which we delivered, as part of the second round of consideration for potential funding, but again declined. We weren’t given any feedback about why but I have to assume that their partnership with Hasbro (on a Transformers game) made them loath to work with a smaller tokustasu IP that might muddy the waters for a future Power Rangers game. The Unormal Games team and I continue to search for an AR platform partner who wants to help us manifest the gigantic potential of Bio-Squad K.