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Henshin Men is a weekly podcast that explores the fascinating world of Japanese superheroes and all their high flying (and high kicking) adventures.
Hosts Travis and Nathan will dive into series like Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Power Rangers episode by episode to look at the exciting, the silly, and the "WTH" moments from across the many decades these shows have been running.
Allow us to be the guides up the mountain of tokusatsu (Japanese special effects) content, and let us transform the way you see transforming heroes.
85 Episodes
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Greetings, Heroes of the Internet! In this excerpt from a Patreon-exclusive livestream for MIFV MAX members, Nathan shares many stories from his weekend tabling at All Monsters Attack 2. He represented Kaiju Ramen Media and promoted MIFV, Henshin Men, and The Power Trip along with several content creator friends, including Travis A;exander, Michael Hamilton, and Elijah Thomas. You'll hear everything from his pre-con Viennese waltz to meeting a Power Ranger and two Ultramen!
This Preview Book will allow you to take a look into, "The Nebuverse," a world of Tokusatsu heroes & villains. Behind the scenes, Hunter van Lierop & James Santana have been working with their amazing team of Gaspar Flores & CJ Billotto to create a universe inspired by some of their favorite franchises and genres.Go to Kickstarter to support this new indie comic from TokUSA!
In this YouTube livestream, Nathan is joined by Ryan “The Omni Viewer” Collins (and Ryan’s sidekick, Snazzy Chapeau) to discuss the latest Ultra series, Ultraman Blazar. The show is so different from the rest of New Generation Heroes that it could arguably mark the start of a new era for the franchise. The “toyetic” elements are kept to a minimum; the tone is darker; and it bucks some of the typical Ultra tropes. These subjects and more are unpacked in this special crossover episode of Henshin Men!
In the final film/TV episode of this iteration of Henshin Men, Nathan invites YouTuber Soundout12 on to discuss the first (and only) official crossover between Japan’s biggest superheroes: Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider. This 1993 special, which is 80 minutes of retrospective documentary and ten minutes of glorious tokusatsu, has Shin Hayata and Takeshi Hongo joining forces to stop a combined kaijin/kaiju monster. It’s the one and only time the mad genius Keita Amemiya ever directed Ultraman (so far as we know). Yes, this breaks the podcast’s “legally available in the U.S.” rule, but can you blame us? See you next time for some Henshin Men V3 HYPE!
“Sixty-nine, dudes!” And now that the obvious joke is out of the way: Christopher Riner returns as a second-time guest because Jake Hambrick was busy with family (good for him!). But Mr. Riner can’t help but ask, “Why me?” The film he discusses with Nathan, Kamen Rider: The Next, is a secret J-horror movie complete with a Sadako knockoff. (Making it accidentally perfect for Halloween season). To say it’s a far cry from its predecessor, Masked Rider: The First, would be an understatement. It’s dour, convoluted, and confusing. But it does do one thing better than The First. What’s that? Let’s just say it made Chris think Koichi Sakamoto was involved with this movie. Listen to hear this and more in the latest Henshin Men!
Henshin Men goes from a reimagining of the original Kamen Rider (1971) to a reimagining of Kamen Rider Black and now back to what Nathan says is the superior reimagining of the 1971 series and manga: Masked Rider: The First (2005). He’s joined by aspiring podcaster Jake Hambrick to dive into this unique Japanese superhero film. It borrows more from Shotaro Ishinomori’s manga than the TV series, so it lacks tropes like the iconic henshin pose, and has an almost Sam Raimi Spider-Man flare to it. What truly makes it stand out, though, is its theme: the power of beauty. Throw in some great practical effects and solid fight scenes, and you have a winner in the remake debate.
Last fall, Nathan guest hosted on Tomi Trembath’s podcast, Giant-Sized Violence, as part of a crossover discussing Kamen Rider Black and its new remake, Kamen Rider Black Sun. Sadly, plans to discuss episodes 4-10 of Black Sun with Tomi fell through, so Nathan invited Christopher Riner, a hardcore listener of all his podcasts, to join him to suffer through, er, complete the coverage. This is by far the most violent and political tokusatsu Nathan has ever seen, and he’s not sure the Japanese filmmakers fully understood the cultural weight of the controversies they borrowed from American politics. It doesn’t help that the show has the subtlety of a sledgehammer with its themes and social commentary. But is it a worthy remake of a henshin hero classic? Chris and Nate don’t think so. Listen to find out why!
From TV to comics…or is it the other way around? That’s one question discussed by Nathan and his guest, Tomi Trembath the host of Giant-Sized Violence, as Henshin Men pivots to the Kamen Rider manga by the legendary Shotaro Ishinomori. This comic was created in tandem with the 1971 television series and published shortly before it premiered. However, the manga diverges drastically at points despite following a similar story. (Hongo becomes a brain in an android body?!) It would become a key influence and inspiration for other retellings of the original Kamen Rider story, such as Masked Rider: The First and Shin Kamen Rider (check out the previous episode for more on the latter). Marvel at Nathan and Tomi covering this 900-page tome in less than two hours! Enjoy!
Henshin Men returns! How could we not when a big-budget Kamen Rider movie was released in the United States? Nathan is joined by his cast-mate from Scyther Inc.’s audiodramas, Shane Cochran, who runs his own show called Masked Rider: The Audiodrama (and yes, it’s based on that “Masked Rider”). They both had the privilege of seeing Hideaki Anno’s Shin Kamen Rider in theaters during its recent Fathom Event screening. The film is full of style and thematic meat, but does the story live up to Anno’s usual standards? This question and more is answered by Shane and Nathan—with special guest appearances by past co-hosts Travis Alexander and Drew Dodgen! Enjoy our longest episode yet!
Nathan Marchand gives you a crash course on the tokusatsu medium! This was recorded at JAFAX (Japanese Animation, Film, and Art Expo) June 9-11, 2023. This is also premiering on The Monster Island Film Vault YouTube channel, and the audio will be shared on the MIFV podcast feed.
Take a crash course in henshin heroes with Nathan Marchand! This panel was recored at JAFAX (Japanese Film, Animation, and Art eXpo) June 10, 2023.
After a year-and-a-half of podcasting and numerous obstacles, Travis returns once again so he and Nathan can conclude their coverage of Kamen Rider (1971) on the day Hideaki Anno’s Shin Kamen Rider is released in Japan. Suspense and revelations abound! Double Rider action! Emotional farewells! It has everything—including the true identity of the Shocker Leader…who would give Lovecraft a nightmare. After analyzing the finale, your hosts reflect back on the entire series and the Henshin Men podcast, discussing their favorite episodes and moments of both. Did they have the same ones as you? Listen to find out!
In Drew’s final episode as temporary co-host, he and Nathan discuss the last filler episode of Kamen Rider (1971)—which has crazy-face Cactusbat—and part one of the two-part finale. If Nathan knew it’d be a two-parter, he might’ve reconsidered having Drew on because the cliffhanger is intense. But the villains brilliantly decide to interrupt Hongo’s henshin! Regardless, strap in for lots of nutty fan theories and a long discussion of how Cactusbat is the one (Gel-)Shocker kaijin to destroy himself with irony. Welcome to the penultimate episode of our Kamen Rider coverage! Next time, Travis returns…again!
THE SAGA CONCLUDES—and is interrupted by filler! Nathan and Drew were having such a great time with Kamen Rider (1971). The last few episodes were building momentum going into the final episodes, and then Hongo and Hayato destroy the Shocker Riders…by running really fast?! And then a Muppet-y monster named Crowox with ridiculous powers (like goring) shows up to finally give us flying cars. But hey, at least you get to hear your hosts talk about the semi-obscure Sega Saturn spokesman, Segata Sanshiro, who was also played by Hiroshi Fujioka! Enjoy your latest dose of Henshin Men!
The saga continues! Nathan and Drew dive into two more episodes in what feels like the final story arc of Kamen Rider (1971)—except (SPOILER WARNING!) it isn’t! With Hongo supposedly dead, the Kamen Kenny Force meets new allies who for whatever reason never talked to them until now: the Anti-Shocker Alliance. That’s all well and good, but the show actually hears your hosts yelling at the screen because Hayato returns! And he’s wearing a snazzy cowboy hat. But things really get out of hand when it turns out there’s not one, not two, but six Shocker Riders! And they all wear different-colored scarfs. It’s like Shotaro Ishinomori used them as the prototype for Super Sentai. All this plus Alvin and the Chipmunks make a cameo. Welcome to Kamen Rider and Henshin Men, baby!
They did it again! For the third time in Kamen Rider (1971), the villains have created a school for brainwashing and indoctrinating children. Nathan and Drew catch themselves to avoid making topical jokes about this. That episode also features a remarkably competent kaijin with Centigerpede, who puts Hongo in one of the worst predicaments he’s gotten into on this show. The same can’t be said for Ratcondor in the first episode covered this week. The ending drove Drew so crazy, Nathan had to give him a “rantmaster” from his other podcast, The Power Trip! Also, Jesus healing Kamen Rider’s blindness. Welcome to the madness that is Henshin Men!
Ever heard of a Japanese horror film called House? It’s evidence that LSD was popular in 1970s Japan…kinda like this week’s episodes of Kamen Rider (1971). Nathan and Drew continue to dismantle Gelshocker’s plans and question the logic and family-friendliness of their kaijin. Catgecko recalls the aforementioned film, and Canarycobra leads to a discussion of Ouroboros. (Look it up). Only on Henshin Men can you get content this wild and thought-provoking!
Nathan can’t finish Kamen Rider (1971) alone, so he hired a new co-host! Meet Drew Dodgen, the co-host of The Cel Cast, who will be joining us until the final episode of Kamen Rider. And boy, did he pick a great pair of episodes to jump onboard this careening motorcycle! Gelshocker’s latest “combo kaijin” are two with crazy gimmicks that should’ve been swapped. One is a murder-foam-spraying eagle/mantis and the other is a spider/lion (aka “the midnight assassin what assassinates at midnight”) who leaves “death notes” for his victims. Once again, Gelshocker, if these humble podcasters ran your organization, you’d have conquered the world in five episodes. OF COURSE!
Looking for an independent R-rated horror-comedy tokusatsu series about a metal band fighting the men in black? If that outrageously unique premise strikes your fancy, Amano Recon is for you! Nathan sits down with Andrew Bush, the director of this upcoming series, and discusses the characters and many influences that went into this crowdfunded project—including Kamen Rider Black, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and The X-Files. There’s even a possibility that a pair of Power Ranger alumni could be in it! Which ones? Listen to find out!
Travis returns! Yes, he comes out of semi-retirement to fill in a gap in our Kamen Rider (1971) coverage: the series’ two mini-movies, Masked Rider vs. Shocker and Kamen Rider vs. The Ambassador from Hell. Toei has generously made the films available on their YouTube channel—with hilarious wonky subtitles—until December 28, 2022, to celebrate the channel reaching 400,000 subscribers. While both movies are essentially slightly extended TV episodes, both feature dozens of past kaijin—including our favorite flying squirrel—ambitious stunts, and surprisingly good miniatures (and, as Travis points out, lots of butt grabbing). One even has both Riders fighting a kaijin over a teddy bear. Yep. Nathan and Travis discuss all this and go on tangents about a wild west Kamen Rider and a proverb about swimmers. Enjoy the latest Henshin Men with the original line-up!
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