If you find yourself nearly hitting 30 this year, or just passed it, or skirting really close, chance are you've seen at least one of these shows. You probably ate Bubble-Yum, bought Tora regularly, and knew the Apollo theme song with that tiny astronaut boy flying through space. If you understand all of these things, this list is for you. These are the top five things we all went through while watching 90's Japanese tokusatsu TV series on RTM 2 and RTM 1:
5. The rush you get when Jupiter calls on his Cyber Arm in Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop.
Police in the year 1999 rely on cyber suits to fight crime and summon their armour from ANYWHERE. Phone booths, temples, you name it. The red hero with amnesia Shinya Takeda, or Jupiter, has his bitchin' Cyber Thunder Arm that he whirls around to charge before he blasts his enemies to bits.
4. The moment you look at your friend and think somersaulting into each other will turn you into Ultraman Ace.
There are many Ultramans who came to Malaysia before they were banned, but the one that 90's kids can remember is Ultraman Ace. The transformation is whacky as hell as an adult, but damn does it still sends shivers down our spine.
3. Following along to the Kamen Rider transformation without missing a beat. You can still do it today in fact.
A.k.a Baja Hitam for us Malaysians. Why Baja Hitam you ask? We've got no idea unfortunately. But we all remember the smoke that came out of his armour after he transformed. Kotaro Minami was the name of the main character and we all wanted his bike.
2. Singing along to Jet-to, Jet-to, Jet-to-man!
Choujin Sentai Jetman was one of the many Super Sentai series that made it to Malaysia, but this still takes the cake as the catchies song ever.
1. Legit taking Taekwondo in school because you wanted to be a Power Ranger.
Yeah, this was adapted by the Americans but remains a pop culture icon. Who remembers the word "morphing" being censored on TV? "Go, go Power Rangers! Mighty - Power Rangeeerrrsss!"