Henshin Men
Kaiju Weekly
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.
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Top 10 Henshin Men Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Henshin Men episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Henshin Men for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Henshin Men episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
07/07/21 • 51 min
Travis and Nathan begin their henshin hero journey with one of the most popular: Kamen Rider! Toei’s iconic motorcycle-riding grasshopper-inspired superhero burst onto the scene with a classic manga and TV series in 1971. Nathan the noob is educated by super-fan Travis as they discuss Kamen Rider’s origin story and first battles with the evil organization Shocker—against villains confusingly named “Spider Man” and “Bat Man.” Or is it more accurate to say, “Man-Spider” and “Man-Bat”? Except those are also American comic book characters.... Anyway, speed through the first few miles of this 96-episode (of the show, not the podcast) ride with us!
Kamen Rider (1971) is available to watch on Shout!Factory TV and Tubi.
018 - Trilo-bonanza (Kamen Rider Eps 30-31)
Henshin Men
11/15/21 • 65 min
Travis and Nathan come to another pair of Kamen Rider (1971) episodes that want so very badly to harken back to the “Hongo era”—by featuring a vampire trilobite and a plague-spreading anteater. Yep. Col. Zol performs a bizarre ceremony to resurrect a fossilized trilobite (that may or may not have been found under Godzilla’s foot) while the Rider Girls try ward the monster off with garlic. Because that makes sense. Ironically, the anteater proves to be one of the scariest and most powerful kaijins-of-the-week KR2 has fought! He even infects Goro the “Kamen Kenny,” forcing KR2 to finally learn a new move. In other words...this time, it’s personal! Welcome to Henshin Men, heroes of the internet!
Kamen Rider (1971) is available to stream on Shout!Factory TV and Tubi. Watch there to follow along with us!
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s main podcast, The Monster Island Film Vault.
MUSIC:
-“Kamen Rider - Let's Go!! Rider Kick (Cover)” by Eternal Melee
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
11/29/21 • 65 min
Nostril eye holes. That’s one of the many important things discussed in this week’s Henshin Men by Travis and Nathan. Why? Because both of the kaijins-of-the-week, Toadiller and Alkimedes, have their “eyes” on the tops of their heads, but the suit actors are obviously seeing out the masks’ noses. It’s not unlike what Travis brought up last week about the Kamen Rider costume. Besides that, they discuss the first (sorta) on-screen appearance of the Shocker Leader (using a brainwave scanner that projects memories as a movie), the best one-liner in the series so far (hint: it involves a password), and the career of actress/model Linda Yamamoto (who played Rider Girl Mari) and how it parallels the development of Japanese culture. You’re welcome.
Kamen Rider (1971) is available to stream on Shout!FactoryTV and Tubi. Watch there to follow along with us!
Linda Yamamoto's website and Wikipedia page.
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault and The Power Trip.
MUSIC:
-“Kamen Rider - Let's Go!! Rider Kick (Cover)” by Eternal Melee
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
11/30/21 • 1 min
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Power Rangers with Michael Hamilton (Kaiju Weekly, The Kaiju Groupie Podcast) and Nathan Marchand (The Monster Island Film Vault, Henshin Men) as they embark on a quest through every season of this morphenomenal franchise. Coming January 4, 2022, to a podcatcher near you! IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!
Follow The Power Trips on Twitter: @ThePowerTripPod.
Join the podcast’s official Facebook group: Power Rangers Legacy.
12/06/21 • 65 min
“Are you my mummy?” That’s the question Nathan is asked by Travis to start this week’s episode of Henshin Men. In today’s Kamen Rider coverage, as is the unwritten law of all popular entertainment, there must be an ancient Egypt episode featuring a mummy monster. In this case, it’s the proto-King Sphinx who can somehow understand Japanese but only speaks in gibberish that may or may not be ancient Egyptian. It’s even more confusing than it sounds. The next episode features another flower kaijin, but this one, Wolfsbane, is freakishly cool. It’s just too bad his poisonous gas is inconsistently deadly. But he ticks off KR2 so bad, he gets not one, but two finishing moves! Now, as for the unceremonious resurrection and second deaths of some defeated kaijin, that’s less impressive.
Kamen Rider (1971) is available to stream on Shout!FactoryTV and Tubi. Watch there to follow along with us!
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault and The Power Trip.
MUSIC:
-“Kamen Rider - Let's Go!! Rider Kick (Cover)” by Eternal Melee
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
12/20/21 • 77 min
There are a few pairs that go hand-in-hand. Peanut butter and jelly. Pen and paper. Bread and butter. Werewolves and Christmas. (Wait, what?!) Yes, Travis returns as Nate celebrates Christmas the Japanese way by eating a KFC dinner and watching Kamen Rider (1971). While the first episode they discuss is a bit typical for the show (despite the kaijin-of-the-week being “Bat-manta”), the second one—what a doozy! Col. Zol unleashes a werewolf virus, steals a little girl’s doll, and holds a costume “murder party”—before revealing that he, too, is a kaijin! A final boss battle ensues! Can KR2 defeat Shocker’s one-eyed super pseudo-Nazi? Listen to find out...after you watch the episode, of course. It’s a Kamen Rider Christmas tradition, after all.
Kamen Rider (1971) is available to stream on Shout!FactoryTV and Tubi. Watch there to follow along with us!
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault and The Power Trip.
MUSIC:
-“Kamen Rider - Let's Go!! Rider Kick (Cover)” by Eternal Melee
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
With Travis still on his much-needed “pod-cation,” Nathan brings on Jack “GMan” Hudgens and J.R. Villers from The Drift Space podcast to discuss the second of the “duology” of Ultraman Zero specials. This one, Killer the Beatstar (which would be the best DJ name ever), was released as a tie-in with Ultarman Saga (2012), but for Jack in particular, this special doesn’t live up to the pinnacle of the previous special Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero or the film Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial. While this one has plenty of beloved characters—both human and Ultra—a great villain, and lots of fascinating ideas, it doesn’t do enough with any of them. Then it’s brought down by a weeping robot crying the Matrix code. Get ready for an episode that tangents into a bizarre fusion of Ultraman and Star Trek! (“Toku Trek”? That’s a great podcast title!)
Ultraman Zero Side Story: Killer the Beatstar is available as part of The Ultraman Zero Collection blu-ray set released by Mill Creek Entertainment.
Listen to Jack and J.R.’s previous appearance on Henshin Men.
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault and The Power Trip.
Check out Jack and J.R. on The Drift Space.
MUSIC:
-“Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle (Opening Theme) Cover ウルトラマンゼロ” by It Takes 2 to Toku
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
02/01/22 • 89 min
With Travis away for one last week, the “Littlest Gatekeeper,” Elijah Thomas, of the Kaiju Conversation podcast joins Nathan to go ’90s EDGELORD EXTREME!!! By that we mean discuss the 1995 film Mechanical Violator Hakaider directed by the mad genius Keita Amemiya. This is a gritty reboot done right. It’s a bold reimagining of a character from Toei’s Kikaida TV series from the early 1970s. You’ll hear Nathan and Elijah speak with Epic Trailer VoicesTM and constantly compare the film’s villain to their friend Michael because they share a name. But beneath the undiluted bad@$$ery and reversed angel/demon motifs is a story with rich themes and often poetic messages about religion, dystopia, and justice. Welcome to Henshin Men!
Hakaider is available on blu-ray from Media Blasters and to stream on Tubi.
Check out Elijah’s podcast, Kaiju Conversation, and his YouTube channel.
Henshin Men is a proud member of the Kaiju Ramen Media Podcast Network.
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod. Join the official Facebook fan page for this and The Monster Island Film Vault, The Markalite Lounge.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault and The Power Trip.
MUSIC:
-“HAKAIDER - ハカイダー出陣” by Koichi Ota and Shinji Kinoshita
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
02/15/22 • 57 min
Nathan and Travis get back into the Kamen Rider (1971) routine. This required they re-watch a pair of episodes they intended to cover a month ago—and it’s a good thing they did. This week’s KR offerings feature one of the scariest kaijin yet—Moldinga/Kabibinga—and one that should’ve gotten Toei sued by Toho—Slugzilla. You’ll hear Travis and Nathan discuss the symbolically corruptive nature of mold/fungus and how to translate crazy kaijin-of-the-week names—and complaints about more mind control! (Seriously, Shocker has maybe three plays in their playbook). In other words, everything you’ve come to expect from Henshin Men.
Kamen Rider (1971) is available to stream on Shout!FactoryTV and Tubi. Watch there to follow along with us!
Follow Henshin Men on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod.
Listen to Travis’s main podcast, Kaiju Weekly, and Nathan’s podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault and The Power Trip.
MUSIC:
-“Kamen Rider - Let's Go!! Rider Kick (Cover)” by Eternal Melee
-“Not Your Above-Average Joe [Standing Ovation]” by Ivan Hakštok
07/26/21 • 50 min
Just when you thought Shocker couldn’t get more evil, it turns out the secret society bent on world domination has ties to another group that rhymes with Yahtzees! Who’d have thunk it?
Yes, Travis and Nathan continue their journey through classic Kamen Rider in an episode that risks getting banned on YouTube due to the necessary naming of a certain WWII political party in Germany. This time Shocker unleashes the diabolical Mantis-Man and Chameleon-Man—and drives Nathan crazy because episode six ends on a cliffhanger! Also, your intrepid hosts issue a retraction for saying Scorpion-Man and not Mantis-Man turned his victims into beaded necklaces that get sucked away like spaghetti noodles. All this and more in the latest edition of Henshin Men!
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Kamen Rider (1971) is available to watch on Shout!Factory TV and Tubi.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Henshin Men have?
Henshin Men currently has 90 episodes available.
What topics does Henshin Men cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts, Tv Reviews, After Shows and Tv & Film.
What is the most popular episode on Henshin Men?
The episode title 'EXTRA LIFE 2021 PROMO - Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Charity Livestream!' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Henshin Men?
The average episode length on Henshin Men is 72 minutes.
How often are episodes of Henshin Men released?
Episodes of Henshin Men are typically released every 7 days, 2 hours.
When was the first episode of Henshin Men?
The first episode of Henshin Men was released on Jul 7, 2021.
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