Japanese science fiction television

Known for meticulous use of miniatures and hundreds of sci-fi themed anime, Japan has a long history of producing science fiction series for TV. Only a few of these series are aired outside Japan and even when aired, they tend to be edited, rarely retaining their original storyline. While reasons like violence and sexual context are often presented, these edits are rarely a perfect solution and can make the story confusing. Yet non-anime sci-fi are still largely unknown to foreign audiences. An exception is Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and their subsequent series that used battle sequences from the Super Sentai counterpart and combined them with American actors who acted out entirely original story lines.

Many Japanese TV drama and anime have elements of science fiction casually added as one of the story devices. A reason for this is that to an average Japanese, no technology is too far away or unthinkable. Only 10 years ago, an autonomous robot pet in a home was unthinkable; in 1999 the Aibo from Sony trounced that thinking. People who worked to create Aibo openly claimed that they started their project so one day, they can have Doraemon. To most Japanese, this was no surprise at all; Doraemon was released in 1970, Astro Boy was even farther back, in 1952. Most, if not all, Japanese older than 52 or even over 60 as of 2004, once dreamed of their own robotic friend or a robotic pet as his or her company living together and had been waiting for the technology to catch up with "reality". After watching the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Ai Fukuhara, a table tennis player, commented that she thought those "gods" were robots and surprised that real actors were acting them out.

Live-action television science fiction

"Tokusatsu" (特撮), lit. special filming or more commonly SFX is the loose term used to describe the televised science fiction. Before World War Two, tokusatsu artists used their modeling techniques to make movies. However, after the war, the occupation forces under General MacArthur prohibited making war movies and many of them were fired under pressure for being involved in making war movies. Those that did not give up making movies used their skills to create sci-fi television series. Called "Kami of Tokusatsu", Tsuburaya Eiji was one of such producers known for producing "Godzilla". He produced "Ultra Q" (1964) and "Ultraman" (1966) series and set the standard of televised sci-fi. He used wireworks and fire crackers for making dramatic scenes and suit actors for aliens and monsters. Unafraid of being the target of criticism, he had already been targeted and fired from his job once, he cut into social issues while keeping audiences entertained.

A special widely used technique need to be mentioned here, the "Rambada" (ランバダ) sequence. Originally from Ultraman where a section of the secret base opens up to launch super vehicles, the name is taken from the special BGM that sounds strangely like "Rambada dada, Rambada dada..." and is used to refer to the meticulously sequenced and recycled scene where the hero dresses up, gets on a vehicle, or where a machine transforms into a robot. This idea is from "Thunderbirds" sequence in which the family travels down tubes to ride vehicles and the island reveals launch pads.

The earliest credible claim to the first television science fiction show is not the famous and history making "Ultra Q". Six years earlier in 1958, Gekkokamen (月光仮面) became the first science fiction to be aired. The basic story line is simple. Doctor Yanagi invented a fictional powerful bomb called "HO-Johatsu Bakudan" (ＨＯジョー発爆弾) lit. Hydrogen and Oxygen Evaporation Bomb and to caution the world that the next war must not begin or the human race will destroy themselves. The strange evil organisation tries to steal the bomb's secret and the masked hero, Gekkokamen stops them riding a special bike and with a powerful handgun. Satisfied with the show's success, TV station became eager to produce the superhero themed TV shows. The next series clearly showed that audiences did like science fiction. It was titled, Yuseiouji (遊星王子) lit. A Prince from Wandering Planet (1958) and like the television series Superman (1956) in the United States, the hero was a humanoid alien.

Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー) (1971), is also noteworthy series originally of manga by Shotaro Ishinomori. Loosely styled after ninja stories where a renegade ninja fight the evil organisation that trained him, it was not a simple good-fight-evil story. "Villains" that the hero had to kill was genetically engineered human who were brainwashed into serving the evil organisation. If the hero had not escaped, he would have been a "villain". The name of "Kamen Rider" is passed on to a new series every year and Masked Rider Blade (2004) is currently being run.

While Kamen Rider was a great hit, there was a problem, these "single superhero" meant only one kid can be a superhero when kids played together. Also, the hero had to appear "perfect" in any occasions and this led to difficulties in making stories. The solution was simple, make "a team of superheroes" with shortcomings who cooperated to fight a greater evil and "Sentai" (戦隊) series, lit. battle team, was introduced in 1975 with "Himitsusentai Gorenjya" (秘密戦隊ゴレンジャー), lit. secret battle team five rangers. Unsurprisingly, this theme is also copied from ninja and samurai television series where a team of them thwarted evils from harming hapless citizens. On the third series of sentai, "Battle Fever J" (バトルフィーバーＪ), a gigantic robot was used by the team to battle the equally giant opponent. Both giants were performed by suit actors.

These "hero" shows were considered "kids shows" and until recently, focused on how to interest kids. Few of actors got promoted into performing for other television shows but these were considered very isolated events. Many of actors who performed as a hero had their reputations stuck as stereotypical "good guy" and "pretty woman" and more serious minded actors declined to perform. In 2000, Kamen Rider Kuuga received a strong support from wives and working women as well as older teenager by having cool-looking Joe Odagiri star as its hero. The early morning hour of Saturday and Sunday these hero stories are run, let these previously forgotten audience groups take a break with their kids or by themselves. Other "tokusatsu" followed by having young promising actors perform and strongly supported their careers outside acting as "hero".

Many TV drama also had some markings of science fiction but they are too numerous to list. Satorare (サトラレ) (2002), originally from a manga with the same title was about genetical geniuses equal to Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton whose thought would always be "radioed" to those around them, hence "Satorare", the one whose thought would be known to all around. The facts and knowledges of "Satorare" is kept away from "Satorare" themselves and they are never let known that they are "Satorare" to keep them 'happy' and 'safe'. The main character, Kennichi Satomi is a skilled and talented physician and "Satorare". Except for theoretical knowledge of "Satorare", this story lacks strange and powerful gadgets, abominable aliens, spaceship, etc. that are the set piece of science fiction and it can be considered overdramatisation of the human interaction. But it is a science fiction nevertheless, as Flowers for Algernon is considered as such.

cience fiction in anime

Though there are thousands of anime with a science fiction theme, it is very easy to tell who and what started this trend: Osamu Tezuka with his "Mighty Atom" ("Tetsuwan Atom") (1952), more commonly known as Astro Boy. Anime has always been associated with elements from science fiction, and only the imagination limited the extent of content. Unlike cartoons, where the main audience is young children and a strict censoring of contents and storyline is enforced to make them "safe", anime is given a freer hand to express itself. In more than one way, even though it is a movie, suggests how far anime can go when using science fiction as its theme, when compared to Monsters, Inc. or Treasure Planet by Disney.

Early science fiction anime strongly influenced Japanese live-action works, and vice versa. Gatchaman (1972) had five members, like most "sentai" (combat team) "tokusatsu" (special effects) series that followed it.

"Tetsujin 28-go" (鉄人２８号) or Gigantor started another trend called "Robottomono" (ロボット物), lit. robot stories or Mecha. In "Robottomono", the hero pilots a one-of-a-kind super robot made by his father or grandfather to battle evil opponents. This is a spinoff of the superhero theme, and in the Mazinger Z (マジンガーＺ), many tricks, like the new powerful super-super robot for the hero to pilot, are perfected. Yet these "super robot stories" were still made within the limit of "tokusatsu"; the hero shouted the name of an attack or weapon before using them, enemies were custom-made robots much like villains from tokusatsu, enemies were sent by an evil organisation bent on conquering the world, etc.

Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム)) (1979) by Tomino Yoshiyuki brought change by offering a sense of reality and believable settings to "Robottomono". While "mecha", or robots, remained an important story device, themes like interactions between characters, political dealings that the main characters cannot control, and even romance gradually increased their importances. In the last several episodes of Armored Trooper Votoms (装甲騎兵ボトムズ)) (1983), there is hardly a scene where a robot appears; the entire section is devoted to politics. In "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" (超時空要塞マクロス) (1982), humanity was effectively saved in a final attack against a conquering alien race with the help of Bubblegum pop sung by the heroine. The space opera genre is best represented by Morioka Hiroyuki's Crest of the Stars.

There are many subgenres within anime science fiction that are unique. The magical girl genre is often fantasy themed, yet science fiction themes are also present. Bishōnen and Bishōjo are common subgenres. One sub-subgenres of Bishōjo is a type of anime sometimes referred to "gun maiden", where the "Bishōjo" girl totes a gun and kills coolly or rides a powerful robot, while male characters have little or no importance. Noir, Boogiepop Phantom, and Galaxy Angel are some examples. Gensomaden Saiyuki is a Bishōnen version of this sub-subgenre. Though it is clear that Bubblegum Crisis is the forerunner of this subgenre, the reason for the success of these series is a mystery. Some claim that the shock effect of killer girls heightens the drama, while others claim that these "girls" are not really girls, but are androgynous. Kill Bill, by Quentin Tarantino, has an animated sequence in which this theme is explored.