Tokusatsu (特撮 is a Japanese word that literally means "special effects." It is primarily used to refer to live-action Japanese film and television dramas that generally feature superheroes and make considerable use of special effects.
Thought it was time for an all encompassing thread dedicated to tokusatsu news, discussion, and whatever since there wasn't a lot of Super Sentai talk going on in the Super Sentai thread.
Current Shows
Samurai Sentai Shinkenger
For 18 generations, samurai of the Shiba House have suppressed the evil intentions of the Gedoushu, malevolent spirits that enter the world of the living from gaps between buildings and other structures. Now, the youngest head of the Shiba Clan must gather his four vassals in order to battle the Gedoushu as the Shinkengers.
Kamen Rider Decade
The story revolves around the nine previous universes of the Heisei Kamen Riders merging into one, something that would destroy all the worlds. To prevent this, Tsukasa Kadoya transforms into Kamen Rider Decade and is told that to protect his own world he must travel with Natsumi and her grandfather to the other Kamen Riders' Worlds (referred to as an A.R. World or Another Rider's World) and eliminate the anomaly in that world. Along the way, confronting the mysterious Narutaki and the thief Daiki Kaito, they are joined by Yuusuke Onodera of Kuuga's World and Kivala of Kiva's World.
My Picks
Here are ten of my favorite shows/films, in no particular order. If you're new to the genre, you can't go wrong with any of these.
Kamen Rider Kabuto
The story revolves around a man named Souji Tendou. He has trained seven years while waiting for the Kabuto Zecter so that he may properly take up the name of Kamen Rider Kabuto. Making many enemies while at the same time meeting other Riders with mysterious origins of how they got there, Tendou attempts to accomplish his goal at all costs: destroying all Worms otherwise threaten humanity. He meets Arata Kagami, who later becomes Kamen Rider Gatack, the two work together to save humanity from the alien Worms that arrived from a meteorite seven years ago.
Gosei Sentai Dairanger
Over 8,000 years ago, the Daos civilization flourished in Southern China. The Daos Empire consisted of three tribes: the Dai, the Shura (ancestors of today's humanity), and the Gorma (the military tribe), who lived harmoniously. However, one day the Gorma Tribe decided to take over the empire and the world. Thus began the war between the Gorma and Dai tribes. The battle continued for 5,000 years, led by the Gorma Triumvirate. The Mythical Qi Beasts appeared to oppose the Gorma, whose magical powers had increased to the point where they could turn themselves into monsters. Five Dai warriors' Qi powers had increased to the point where they could control the Mythical Qi Beasts. The war ended with the disappearance of both the Dai and Gorma tribes. In 1993, the Gorma Tribe, one of the Daos' two missing branches, revived to take over the world. To counter them, Master Kaku assembled a team of five youths with high levels of Qi. They became the Dairangers of the present time.
Ultraman Nexus
TLT is a covert international anti-monster unit established secretly to combat Space Beasts, mysterious monsters that are out to attack humans in the year 2009. One of the TLT's new recruits, Komon Kazuki, is attacked by one of them prior to reporting for duty. However, he is saved by an unknown being called Ultraman Nexus.
Kamen Rider Blade
Ten thousand years ago, a massive battle known as the Battle Royal was fought by fifty-two Undead, each representing a species fighting for dominance over all others. The winner was the Human Undead, known as Category Two of Hearts, giving dominion of the Earth to humanity. In the present day, archaeologists discover the sealed Undead, and accidentally set them free. Thus, a new Battle Royal begins.
Having developed the Rider System, based on the Joker's ability to copy sealed Undead, the organization BOARD equips two young men, who become Kamen Riders: Kazuma Kenzaki and Sakuya Tachibana fight together as Blade and Garren to protect humans from Undead and seal them. Also fighting Undead is the mysterious Chalice, a Kamen Rider whose purpose is unknown. In addition, a young man struggles to free himself from the control of the sealed Undead powering his own Undead-made Rider System, fighting as Kamen Rider Leangle.
Ultraman The Next
Film prequel to Ultraman Nexus. First Lieutenant Shun'ichi Maki of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is a prestigious F-15 Eagle jet pilot. A lifelong fan of flying since he was a child, being a pilot is his ultimate dream. Unfortunately, his duties distance himself from his wife, Yoko, who always ends up being neglected, and his son, Tsugumu, who has a congenital blood disease and has a high risk of dying at a young age.
Maki decides to quit the Air Force to devote more time to his family and to spend whatever is left for his son. He takes a part-time job as a commercial tour guide run by a kindly group of people who allow him time to work and to also take care of his family.
However, prior to quitting, Maki and his flight partner Yamashima are alerted to a strange red light streaking towards Japan, and Maki's plane collides with the red light and becomes Ultraman.
Kamen Rider 555
The Smart Brain Corporation, the world's most powerful corporation, is trying to take over the world using Orphnoch, the next stage in humanity's evolution, to covertly kill off the human population. In pursuit of this, they develop three suits of power armor, called Rider Gear (Kaixa, Faiz, and Delta), to find and protect the Orphnoch King, who can fix a defect within Orphnoch DNA which causes their genetic structure to break down, leading to death.
A young loner, Takumi Inui, is unwillingly drawn into the conflict between the Orphnoch and humans and becomes Kamen Rider Faiz to save the life of Mari Sonoda. The Smart Brain Corporation begins targeting him in an attempt to retrieve the Faiz Gear.
Ultra Seven
At a time when Earth is about to be threatened by sinister aliens and monsters, Agent 340 from Nebula M-78 (the same planet the original Ultraman came from), who was originally sent to make a map of the Milky Way, decides to stay on Earth, and seeks to protect it.
Disguised as a mysterious human named Dan Moroboshi, he is invited by the Terrestrial Defense Force to join its elite branch, the Ultra Guard, as its sixth member to combat the threats from space. Little do the other 5 members of the Guard know that whenever the situation becomes hopeless, Dan secretly puts on the Ultra Eye glasses, and becomes his true form of Agent 340, christened by the Guard as its honorary 7th member, Ultra Seven!
Mirai Sentai Timeranger
In the 30th century, time travel becomes illegal after a time paradox crisis. The Time Protection Department is established to watch for and stop time crimes. Four new enlistee cadets of the TPD are tricked by Don Dolnero and his gang into letting them time-travel to the year 2000 to commit various crimes. To protect history, the four cadets pursue them. There they encounter a severe problem: the Timeranger program requires five members for the first operation. They thus force a present-day martial artist, Tatsuya Asami, to join them, allowing them to become the Timerangers.
Kamen Rider Agito
A man named Shouichi Tsugami has lost his memories. He doesn't know who he is, where he came from, or how he came upon his peculiar circumstances. Tsugami, seemingly for no reason, transforms into a powerful superhuman, Agito, whenever in the presence of the beings referred by the police as the "Unknown", a race of powerful monsters that have been causing murders around Tokyo, targeting certain people as their prey. In response, the police department unleash their newest weapon: the G3 powersuit, originally developed to fight against the "Unidentified Lifeforms", the enemies of No.4 (Kamen Rider Kuuga). G3 and Agito don't know whether they should join up and defeat the Unknowns, their common enemy, or to combat each other, keeping the mysteries that entwine them separate. Ultimately, even more mysteries unfold, with the appearance of Kamen Rider Gills, who is on a search to uncover why his father committed suicide. These mysteries and others collide, as the true nature of Agito would ultimately determine the fate of humanity.
Jinzo Ningen Kikaida
A classic good-versus-evil tale, the show pitted a guitar-playing, denim-clad young biker named Jiro, played by actor Ban Daisuke, against the evil DARK, a shadowy criminal organization bent on wreaking havoc upon Japan.
Professor Gill (Ando Mitsuo), the mastermind behind all the evil plots, has kidnapped brilliant robotics scientist Dr. Komyoji (Izu Hajime) and forced him to build a battalion of android monsters to serve Gill's malicious ends. The only one who can save Japan from Gill's evil designs is Jiro, himself a Komyoji creation. Jiro, actually the human form of an android, can transform into the mechanized superhero Kikaida.