My Thoughts On Shinichiro Shirakura's Announcement Of Possibly Discontinuing The Super Hero Taisen Film Series

It's no secret that I still view the first Super Hero Taisen with utter dislike or view it like as if Spongebob and Patrick had a fight and fan war. At first, I was excited for that film but then it ended up with one person after the other hating it. Just a bit of note to other people criticizing it - most crossover movies made by Toei are usually out of canon and are just what if scenarios. 

Tokusatsu News Network translated Shinichiro Shirakura's statement as follows:

We do not intend to do “Spring” movies. The “FINAL” on this one’s title refers to this as well and it concentrated the efforts for both the Winter and Spring movies. The Amazons movie is part of another thing, separate from the main Rider movies. We would like to bring something impressive.

Do I hate the SHT idea entirely? For me, I did enjoy Chou Super Hero Taisen for quite awhile, Kamen Rider Grand Prix, Super Hero Taisen Z (to a lesser extent) and Kamen Rider Grand Prix but none of those movies gave me that much satisfaction for some reason. I think the problem right now is that Toei's got their hands full or two, the SHT film series is no longer as feasible as it looks like. Producing Super Sentai and Kamen Rider requires lots of money from the Research and Development up to the production itself. How much money is invested in everything used from the stuntmen, workshops, CGI and the like? 

If the movies are no longer as profitable then it's time to cut it out. I can't really say if it's for the best. Since Shirakura is in charge of planning and production - he's probably seeing deep doo doos when it comes to the SHT films. If something is no longer feasible then it's time to get rid of it. Relying on past successes is a sure way to financial suicide. Having too many projects can be bad for innovation. If your innovative idea doesn't deliver then you might as well check why it failed. If there are too many projects then it may also contribute to why Tokusatsu can also go downhill at times. Reducing the workload may help ease the extreme pressure writers and producers are experiencing.

If you're going to cram in Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and Metal Hero into one huge what if scenario then wouldn't a video game series or Manga series be more appropriate? IMO, a video game series similar to Super Robot Taisen would be the best way to handle the idea. Considering that we're in the digital age then why not try to invite Banpresto or Bandai Namco (to name a few) to help create a video game series for them? This would mean more money for the company. I could imagine having an SHT video game that plays itself in an RPG style or turn-based gameplay style. Oh, I hope they also offer English translations for non-Japanese speaking fans too. 

You may want to check this entry out on the Super Sentai Crossover hype.