#generation kikaida

[theeighthbeacon]

For the longest time Generation Kikaida was one of the only resources Tokusatsu fans in the States could get official media available. It’s crazy to see how much official media has been made released from multiple other companies since they brought Kikaider back to Hawaii and the rest of the US. It’s definitely sad to see them go.

Most of their Kikaida DVDs are sold out but they still have copies of Kikaida 01, Kikaider Reboot, Inazuman, and Kamen Rider V3 in stock. They are some quality DVD releases and I recommend any toku fans who passed on them before, or didn’t know about them, get them while they still have the chance.

[himitsusentaiblog]

Is there a good way to watch the Kikaider series in the States?

There is, with one caveat, it’s pricey!

You see, the series aired in Hawaii shortly after it originally aired in Japan thanks to a large population of Japanese expats living in Hawaii.  The show caught on not just with the intended audience but with a lot of kids of the era and created and Kaikaider fandom in the US’s 50th State.

Years later, a company called Generation Kikaida licensed the series from release on DVD in Hawaii.  This is how the series is available and it can be ordered from their website. 

https://generationkikaida.com/

As you can see they also have the sequel series, Kikaida 01, Kamen Rider V3 and Inazuman! However, the DVD set will run you over $100.  I own it because I am a little bit mad and have to own US Toku releases and I think it is totally worth the pricetag.

They also have the 2014 Kikaider Reboot movie, which features Jingi Irie who recently did a riff on his role in Kamen Rider Zi-O as Kamen Rider Kikai.

Thanks for the Question!

[himitsusentaiblog]

I think Hawaii was also very big into Kikaider.

Oh, it’s huge on Kikaider, or as they know him Kikaida!  There is an entire store there dedicated to the Cyborg hero and his friends called Generation Kikaida.  

I have bought the entire first series and the Kikaider Reboot movie from them online.  Their name is a reference to the Generation of kids in the 1970s who grew up with Kikaider as it aired there.  Having a large Japanese population, a lot of TV shows from Japan ended up airing on Hawaiian TV and they quickly gained a following with the non-Japanese population as well. 

This is why we have an entire season of Kamen Rider (Kamen Rider V3) available on DVD for purchase in the US as well as the first Inazuman series and Kikaider 01.  Generation Kikaida have been releasing these shows on DVD since the early 2000s, long before Shout Factor started their tokusatsu releases.  Though the discs are pricey for DVDs, I think they are totally worth it.  I love my Kikaida set!

Also, my copy of Kikaider Reboot came with an autographed card celebrating Kikaider’s 40th Anniversary in Hawaii signed by Kikaider’s original actor, Ban Daisuke!

Thanks for the prompt!  I love to gush about this series!

[himitsusentaiblog]

A Kamen Rider V3 mask found on the Generation Kikaida website!

[himitsusentaiblog]

Thanks for answering I have but one more Do u recommend kamen rider V3 Im thinking on buying the jp productions DVD release

I don’t have it yet but judging from the job they did on Kikaider, I would say do it.  The DVDs are pricey but they treat the material with a kind of respect I rarely see in US releases and pack the discs with bonus materials.  

I haven’t seen all of V3 itself either, just a movie for it but I love the show before it and the series after it so I would say it would a good investment!  That Era of Kamen Rider is one of my favorites and its a really important piece of the history of tokusatsu.

[himitsusentaiblog]

On Disc 4 of the Generation Kikaida release of Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, there is a personality quiz to determine which Kikaida character you most resemble.  I took the quiz and you can see my responses and the answer I got.

Now I just need to learn to play guitar.

[himitsusentaiblog]

I have no idea why it’s not available on streaming sites.  I don’t really have anything to do with those as I feel a lot of them violate the wishes of fansubbers who specifically ask that their subs NOT be streamed and they violate the copyrights on official releases, thus taking away sales and discouraging further releases. Most fansubbers pull their subs when an official release is announced partially to avoid legal problems but mainly to encourage sales of the professional version to try and get more and more licensed here. I always encourage more tokusatsu available in the US so I avoid the streaming sites.  That’s just my personal opinion though and not a judgement on anyone who does use them.

The reason it’s not more widely available like the Shout! Factory releases is because Generation Kikaida is specifically a Hawaiian company and though Hawaii is one of the 50 states, it operates a lot on its own.  There is a certain nostalgia there for the tokusatsu of the 70s, as they aired on the island in subbed form thus allowing an entire generation to grow up with them, unlike most of the mainland (though I know the shows also aired on TV in California, specifically the San Francisco area). Generation Kikaida isn’t as large a company as say Shout! Factory or Funimation and caters to the Hawaiian market almost exclusively.

As for why V3, it seems it was the series airing in Japan when the shows began airing in Hawaii and thus was the one most people saw at the time, creating the nostalgia for it.  The reason the shows were aired there in the first place was because of the large Japanese population living and working (not to mention vacationing) on the islands. Having their TV shows on the air helped them feel more at home. 

[himitsusentaiblog]

Wait, they have English subs of V3?

Yes!  It was released by Generation Kikaida, a Hawaii-based company.  The shows (along with Kikaida and some of the early Sentai series) aired there in the 1970s, creating a huge fanbase that persists to this day.  You can order it off of Amazon or Generation Kikaida’s own website though it is a VERY pricey set retailing around $150, though you can find it cheaper on occasion.