With the booming use of computer generated images or special effects (CGI) taking over the old way of using miniatures, Hideaki Anno (Evangelion, Gunbuster) and Shinji Higuchi (Lorelei, Japan Sinks) asks for help in preserving Japan’s tokusatsu traditions.
According to a report, entitled “An Investigative Report regarding Japanese Tokusatsu,” as a part of Cultural Affairs Agency’s Media Arts Information Hub and Consortium Building Enterprise policy, tokusatsu traditions is now on the verge of dying and its related artifacts endangered, if not lost already.
In organizing their successful tokusatsu exhibit last 2012, Anno and Higuchi came to discover that due to the use of CGI in a tokusatsu film or television series, the use of miniatures, which took years and decade to polish, is getting forgotten. In addition, props used in these shows, after it ended, doesn't have any kind of proper storage facility to house and protect them.
Hideaki Anno begged,
“Please help. The tokusatsu technology system is about to end. A contents industry that Japan boasts to the world is about to disappear. […] It doesn’t matter if it’s the national government, local body, legal entity, or a corporation [that steps in to help]. Please help tokusatsu, as it helped inspire us and taught us so much. Please. Please help as soon as possible especially regarding the preservation of miniatures [and other props.]”
A fanmade trailer of Giant God Warrior Appears In Tokyo
Tokusatsu greatly influenced Hideaki Anno's hit anime series Evangelion. Along with Hayao Miyazaki, and Higuchi as the director, they created Giant God Warrior Appears In Tokyo, a short tokusatsu film shown at Anno's Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
Source: Dan Kanemitsu's Paper Trail via O: Range
Meh.
ReplyDeleteNice cause, and it is a shame that some of the suit actors are being replaced by cheaper CGI, which honestly sometimes feels either tacked on or silly. Example current Garo season, it's just weird without a suit actor on standby for the realistic fighting. But that's just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteNo! I don't want any Tokusatsu to lose their traditions! That's it, I'm doing this! Henshin! "PTERA! TRICERA! TYRANNO! PU-TO-TYRANNOSAURUS!" "GRAAAA!"
ReplyDeleteOk, I can agree with this article... anyone else remember the sets from GoGoV and Go-Busters?
ReplyDeleteHistory needs to be saved!
Err... GARO 3rd season, anyone?
ReplyDeleteI thought this was the usual lament that nowadays tokusatsu industry has no soul...bla bla bla. I sincerely hate people who would deny progress. But after reading carefully, I cannot but agree. The materials used in the past are a piece of history of television and cinema much as animation and movies are, and as such, they really should be preserved and, why not, even exposed to the public for wieving.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Anno.
ReplyDeleteThose men-in-giant suits & miniature buildings are a part of my childhood & perhaps other toku fans' childhood. Some tokusatsu action won't feel natural with CGI. They need real men-in-costume & props.
At least, build a museum or a festival for those old props so the future generations would know how the classic tokusatsu was like.
Well, the old and new should work hand-in-hand. Suit actors and detailed props have been part of the toku culture since it started back in the late 60s, so I doubt that those will be removed anytime soon. Tokusatsu is not tokusatsu without them.
ReplyDeleteBut it's also nice to see CGIs from time to time, especially from those near-impossible and physics-defying stunts that even the most experienced suit actor cannot do. That adds dynamism and awe-inspiring scene that makes toku shows and movies spectacular.
And yes, I definitely agree that it's best to place the old studio or movie props used in toku in a museum specfically just for it. It will serve as a time capsule of sorts for the past and present shows.