Ultraman, an Ultra Warrior, is an example of a Kyodai Hero
Kyodai Hero (巨大ヒーロー Kyodai Hiro, lit. Giant Hero) is a subgenre of tokusatsu that revolves around a giant titular hero.
History[]
In 1966, shorty after the run of Ultra Q, Tsuburaya Productions began airing their second television series, Ultraman. Revolving around a team of investigators known as the SSSP, a member known as Shin Hayata is accidentally killed by a giant red sphere that was in pursuit of a blue sphere. The owner of the red ship, Ultraman, decides to merge with Hayata to keep him alive and gives him the Beta Capsule, a device that allows Hayata to transform into Ultraman when in danger. The series has Ultraman battle against kaiju and aliens invaders, which is a format that would stay for every installment of the Ultraman franchise afterwards. During the 1970s, many other kyodai hero series and films that were influenced by Ultraman aired. With so much popularity during the time, Toho even came into the genre with series such as Go! Godman and Go! Greenman. In the late 1970s, popularity began to slow down for kyodai hero series and films. The Heisei era of Japan began in 1989, and would bring tokusatsu back to fame, a fame that has not stopped since. Kyodai Heroes have become one of the most merchandised genres to date with a majority being produced by Bandai. Today, kyodai heroes are exceedingly popular in both Japan, and across the world.
Concept[]
To be added.
Trivia[]
- Jet Jaguar, a mecha that first appeared in the 1973 Toho film Godzilla vs. Megalon, was created due to the rising popularity of kyodai heroes.