tokusatsu - (from "tokushu satsuei") special photography, used to refer to Japanese science fiction television and movies

          You probably will not hear the word tokusatsu actually used in the shows but fans will use the word when discussing them.

          chanbara - sword fighting story, usually refers to movies and tv series about ninja or samurai or other warriors, however some early tokusatsu series mix sword fighting and science fiction. chanbara films and tv series are also known as "jidai geki" (period drama).

          kyodai - huge, colossal, enormous; used to refer to giant heroes

          sentai - a military term meaning taskforce or squadron

          super sentai - series involving a team of heroes (usually but not always 5) rather than a single hero. All but two super sentai series feature giant robots fighting giant monsters. super sentai is a subset tokusatsu. All super sentai series are from Toei, but not all group hero series are considered super sentai.

          metal heroes - a group of series by Toei from 1983 through 1996 which featured heroes who were either androids, cyborgs or humans wearing armor. similar series from before 1983 are not classified as metal heroes (why I don't know). metal heroes is a subset of tokusatu. Metal Heroes can be divided into the following sub groups: Space Sheriffs (Gavan,. Sharivan, Shaider), Alien/Space Heroes (Juspion, Spielban), Android/Robot Heroes. (Metalder, Jiban, Janperson), Rescue Heroes (Winspector, Solbrain, Exeedraft), Beetle. Fighters (Heavy Armor B-Fighter, B-Fighter Kabuto), Miscellaneous Metal Heroes. (Jiraiya, Blue Swat)

          henshin hero - henshin means "transformation" or "transform", any series about a transforming hero or heroes that is not jidai geki, kyodai, sentai or metal hero falls in this category. henshin hero is a subset of tokusatsu.

          There are tokusatsu series which do not fit in any of these sub categories, the early tokusatsu series featured heroes who did not henshin but were just wearing masks. Also there were several series that were not about super heroes fighting super villians at all but were more straight forward science fiction.

          Showa era or Showa period - reign of empeor Emperor Hirohito (1926-1989) for tokusatsu purposes any series or film which aired through January 7, 1989 is Showa (the golden age of tokusatsu was 1966-1979), ironically the word showa means "bright peace" this is ironic since the show era included World War II

          Heisei era or Heisei period - reign of Emperor Akihito (January 8, 1989 - April 30, 2019) for tokustau purposes any series or film which aired from January 8, 1989 to Apirl 30, 2019 is Heisei (silver age of tokusatsu 1980-1995), the word heisei translates as "achieving peace"

          Reiwa era or Reiwa period - reign of Emperor Naruhito (May 1, 2019 - ) for tokustau purposes any series or film which aired beginning May 1, 2019 is Reiwa, the word translates as "beautiful harmony"


          Some words commonly used in tokusatsu are:

          aku - evil

          akuma - devil or demon

          baka - fool, idiot

          bakudan - bomb

          bakuhatsu - explode (explosive)

          Chikyuu - Earth

          chou - super

          da da da - meaningless sound used in some theme songs, like "la la la" in English songs

          dai - big, giant, great, large

          dai kaiju - giant monster

          dai kanbu - emminent chief, major officer

          daijoubu - "are you OK?"

          denji - electromagnetic

          denki - electricity

          ganbatte - "go for it", "go for broke", "good luck" - common hero cheer

          gattai - to combine

          go - the number 5 (sometimes though when characters say "go" the are using the English word)

          gundan - army, army corps

          Hai- "Yes"

          hakai - to destroy

          hakase - doctor

          hassha - "FIRE!" (as in firing a weapon, mostly missiles)

          hasshin - "launch"

          hayaku - "hurry"

          henshin - transform, tranformation

          himistu - secret

          ichi - the number 1

          ikkuzoo - "Let's Go!"

          jin - man, human

          jinzo ningen - artificial human, mechanical man, android, robot

          kaeru - frog, toad (most heroes fight a frog or toad monster)

          kaibutsu - creature of abnormal form, wicked creature, monster

          kaijin - mysterious person (used to refer to man sized monsters)

          kaiju - mysterious creature, goblin, monster

          kaizo ningen - reconstructed human, cyborg (most Kamen Riders and monsters they fight are kaizo ningen)

          kame - tortoise, turtle (most heroes fight at least one tortoise or turtle monster)

          kamen - mask, masked

          kani - crab (most heroes fight a crab monster)

          kaasan - mother

          kaze - wind

          ken - sword (usually samaurai)

          kikai - machine

          kisama - "you..." (a kind of insult)

          kokoro - heart or spirit

          koraa - "HEY YOU!!"

          koroshi - kill, murder

          matte - "wait" (often shouted by heroes chasing villains or villains chasing victims)

          nage - throw (as in "Rider Nage", "Dai Sharin Nage")

          nani - "what?"

          neesan - older sister

          ni - the number 2

          nigero - "RUN!"

          niisan - older brother

          ningen - human, man

          Oi - "HEY!"

          okaasan - mother (honorific)

          oneesan - older sister (honorific), often used by children when addressing any older female

          oniisan - older brother (honorific), often usued by children when addressing any older male

          onna - woman

          onore - "you..." (a kind of insult)

          osoru beki - formidable/dreadful (used in descriptions of enemies, weapons, etc.)

          otoko - man (male)

          otousan - father (honorific)

          oyassan - pops (term of endearment), used often by Kamen Riders when adressing Tachibana, Tobei

          robotto - robot

          san - the number 3

          seigi - justice

          sensei - teacher, master, doctor, ancient sage

          senshi - warrior, soldier

          shimatta - "damn it!" (favorite tokusatu swear word)

          shin - new or real (two words that sound the same, context will determine which it is)

          shindeiru - dead

          shine - "die!" (often shouted by monsters)

          shinigami - death

          shotai, shoutai - true form or shape

          shuryou - chief, boss, leader

          tasukete - "help!" (shouted by those about to be killed by the monster of the week)

          tatakai - "fight" (spoken as a command and part of the title of several theme songs)

          toh - a martial art kia (sound used to help focus energy and breathing), used by tokusatsu heroes (mostly Kamen Riders) when jumping

          tousan - father

          uchu - space

          uragirimono - betrayer, traitor, turncoat

          usei - star

          wakatta - "got it"

          yamero - "Stop it!"

          yatta - "I did it!"

          yokai - evil spirit or ghost

          yon - the number 4

          yosh(i) - "OK!", "all right!"

          yuke - "go!"

          NOTE: Japanese nouns are both singular and plural, the context in which it is used determines whether a noun is meant in the singular or the plural

          NAMES - Japanese names are stated family name first. Keep this in mind when you hear a name. For example, the original Kamen Rider is named Hongo Takeshi. Hongo is the name of his family, Takeshi is his personal name. In the USA we might address him as "Mr Hongo". In Japan he'd be "Hongo-san".

          Some popular names for males in Tokusatsu are:

          Akira - glitter, sparkle, glisten, twinkle

          Hiroshi - ocean

          Ichiro - number 1 son

          Jiro - number 2 son

          Masaru - to excel, to surpass, to outrival

          Takeshi - brave

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