As I had mentioned in the previous term, I enjoy watching a long-running Japanese Television show called Kamen Rider and I have used it as inspiration in some of my sci-fi work. I had watched the weekly episodes of the concurrent season, Kamen Rider Zero One (pictured above), as well as finishing Kamen Rider Ghost, Kamen Rider OOO, and Kamen Rider W. I adore the series in a variety of aspects, from cinematography to storylines and themes.
The designs of the characters are also very intriguing, as all have an underlying insect theme in the presence of large eyes. Alongside with the design are weapons and equipment that are unusual for superheroes, such as the usage of USB drives in Kamen Rider W.
Displayed above is the titular character of Kamen Rider W; their design includes the iconic "bug eyes" found on every other Kamen Rider, which goes back to its roots in the original 70's show. On his waist is the Double Driver, which enables two people to transform into one superhero using Gaia Memories, which are devices that are used to transform. I admire the uniqueness of the character designs and it opens up new possibilities for superhero themes.
Although it is a children's show, because of different regulations in Japan than the rest of the world there are more serious elements to the shows from mental illness to actual murder. To contrast this, there are main characters who are optimistic and always ready to help others in need, whether they are Kamen Riders or their non-superhero friends. They are like this to act as a role model for children so that they can become better people through emulating their own heroes. One example is Gentaro Kisaragi, otherwise known as Kamen Rider Fourze.
As Gentaro Kisaragi, he is an extremely extroverted high-schooler who aims to make friends with everyone in his school, teachers included.
As opposed to Power Rangers' realistic interactions between human characters, Gentaro Kisaragi keeps an unrealistic belief that he is able to perform such a feat of befriending everyone he meets in a way that could be considered comedic. This comes to my next point: comedy. While Power Rangers typically have designated comedy duos for comic relief, Kamen Rider depends on running gags and occasional messing around casually by most of the main characters from heroes to villains. This allows for comedy to pop up unexpectedly without the intervention of two random dudes who would otherwise interfere with the plot.
References
Good first post with lots of detail - well done
ReplyDelete