What's the Appeal?
 

The question rages in my head constantly: Why are some things poppular and some things aren't? And more to the point: Why are some things poppular over seas, but not poppular in the U.S.? The Japanese Tokusatsu, "ULTRAMAN" is enjoyed in Thailand, Milasia, Taiwan, Australia... pretty much everywhere but the United States. And all three attempts to introduce ULTRAMAN here failed: Ultraman Powered, Ultraman: the Adventure Begins, Ultraman Tiga, and even Saban's "Masked Rider" all met commercial failure. Why? And will Kamen Rider Dragon Knight make or break the future of tokusatsu outside of Asia? Opinions and ideas welcome.

I'm not sure the name of the Ultraman I saw, but it was the latest attempt.

It was absolute rubbish. There wasn't one redeeming quality to it. They were constantly cracking jokes and the jokes were immature, juvenille, and most of the time made no sense. They made no serious attempt at being a commercial success.

I'm not a huge fan of the current series either. The best Ultramen are (in my humble opinion) Ultraman Tiga (don't watch the English dub), Ultraman Next (the 2004 movie remake of the first series), and Ultraman Gaia.

Dragon Knight appeal to me because it's far superior to Saban's joke of a Kamen Rider series, Masked Rider. I believe that the Wang Brothers are fans of the Kamen Rider series.

Toku is a very niche fanbase in North America. Its hard to carter to the mainstream audience. Sometimes certian things are in and others aren't. Not neccessarly based on how good they are.

Toku isn't part of our culture like it is in Japan. Power Rangers really helped to establish Toku in this country. But no other Toku has been as long term successful as the show. Beetleborgs did get very good ratings though and was a success. So Toku can appeal to our audiences on some level.

Its hard to say how big Dragon Knight will be in the end. Its hard, its on a weak network and on at a bad time. Plus you don't get to choice who the next big thing is.

Is it right to consider Doctor Who to be (at least semi-)toku?

Tokushu Satsuei means "special effects". Basically anything in the field of science fiction and fantasy can fall under that banner. Smallville, Star Wars, Doctor Who, etc.

The sub-genres are the true definition, such as Kaiju Battle (Godzilla, Alien vs. Predator) or Henshin Heroes (Ultraman, Power Rangers, Kamen Rider).

Yes, Alien and Predator are guys in monster suits. No, they aren't kaiju.

They are kaijin.