As I have stated in the intro to this series, I am a major fan and advocate of Tokusatsu, a Japanese mother genre that covers anything live-action that is created through practical and CG effects. This genre more or less spawned from the success of Gojira (Godzilla) in 1954 released by Toho. Various long-lasting franchises such as Ultraman and Super Sentai have become household names in Japan. Which, of course, brings us to today's subject. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you; Kamen Rider!
First aired in 1971, the series is the brainchild of acclaimed manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, who initially presented the idea as a 100-page one shot named "The Skull Man", a story where the protagonist is a vigilante seeking vengeance for the death of his parents, killing many people along the way. Obviously, this was quite the dark story, revolving around mutants and psychic abilities. However, Toei (the company now in charge of producing Kamen Rider) chose only adapt certain elements of the manga and created an entire new mythos with Ishinomori having full creative control. In this case, the titular Skull Man changed from a skeletal themed vigilante to an insect themed cyborg. Said cyborg was Takeshi Hongo, a man who was kidnapped by the evil organisation Shocker and was in the process of becoming one of their minions. However, he was saved by his college professor, Midorikawa, and used his newfound power to fight Shocker's army of mutants, becoming Kamen Rider Ichigo.
For the last 46 years, Kamen Rider has become iconic with Japanese audiences, with a new season every year after it's revitalisation in 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga. Though Ishinomori-San may no longer be with us, his legacy lives on. However, we aren't just here to honour the memory of one of Japan's best manga artists, we are also to do a review of my first and personal favourite Rider series; Kamen Rider W (pronounced as Double)!
This season ran from 2009 to 2010 and was primarily written by Riku Sanjou, who would later be better known for Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger and Kamen Rider Drive, both of which were still successful series.
The story takes place in the fictional windy city of Fuuto, an otherwise peaceful town if it weren't for it's ridiculous crime rate, particularly the Dopant crimes. Dopants are normal people who get their hands on these little trinkets called Gaia Memories that, when inserted to any part of the body, transforms them into mutants with unbelievable powers. Enter our two main protagonists; Shotarou Hidari, a self-proclaimed hard boiled private detective, and his partner Philip, a person with the ability to access to the Gaia Library, where all the information on various Dopants are stored. In other words, Philip is basically a human Wikipedia, except with more viable information sources.
Regardless, the pair are a two-in-one Kamen Rider, with Shotarou being the host body and Philip's conscious entering it so that the two are in sync with each other whenever they fight the Dopants. Complicating matters is the arrival of Akiko Narumi, the daughter of Shotarou's late mentor Sokichi (formally Kamen Rider Skull), who wants in on the detective business just so the boys can pay the rent. No complicated enough? Well, how about the Sonozaki family, the main benefactors for the distribution of Gaia Memories who also have a connection to Philip's mysterious past? Add in the secondary Rider, Ryu Terui (Kamen Rider Accel), who is after a Dopant using the "W" Gaia Memory who was responsible for killing his family, and you got yourself plenty of stuff going on in this 49 episode series. And that's not even getting into the power struggles in the Sonozaki family as one of the daughters, Saeko, wants to take over the business and the other, Wakana, wants to live a normal live but can't due to her upbringing.
Needless to say, there is plenty that happens in this show, but none of it feels overwhelming as each main plot-point and sub-story is given enough time to grow and develop, giving a legitimate sense of importance and closure. One of my personal favourite sub-plots revolves around Philip's past, as he has no memory (pun unintended) of his previous life. For a good portion of the series, he is constantly confronted by Saeko, who keeps on referring to him as Raito.
This is where spoilers come in, so you have been warned.
Raito is Saeko and Wakana's brother who died 12 years prior to the series after he accidentally fell into the well that was connected to the true Gaia Memory, although he came back as an avatar of the Gaia Library and had his memories wiped by the orders of his father, Ryubee. He was kept as an experiment by his father and Saeko as a means of producing more Gaia Memories until the day that Shotarou and Sokichi broke into the facility and unintentionally rescued him, resulting in Sokichi's death and Philip and Shotarou becoming W. We actually see snippets of this in the opening scene in the first episode, but without the overall context as a means of building mystery and suspense, which the show does exceedingly well.
This also creates a great emotional conflict with Philip, as he is conflicted about what to do. He has been searching throughout the entire series to find the secrets of his family. And now that he knows, he's unsure of how to look at this, knowing that his enemies are ultimately his family. However, he overcomes this remembering that his true family now resides with Shotarou and Akiko. There is this great synergy between Shotarou and Philip, this sense that the two, through great hardship and determination, can overcome anything and that so long as the people of Fuuto love their city, they will always be partners and heroes.
The idea of balance seems to be a common theme for the entire show, now that one can think about it once it's finished. And that is best showcased with the awesome suit designs. W has got to have some of the best suits in the franchise, if not THE best.
W's base form, Cyclone/Joker, is probably the best example of this, with the green and gold contrasting beautifully with the black and purple, all of which is complimented by the excellent shade of silver running down the middle and on the antennae and the hints of red on the Double Driver and eye pieces make great eye-catchers. It's just an awesome design, but is made even better when Fang/Joker is introduced.
If this doesn't scream AWESOME, then I don't know what will.
Another character that really struck a chord with me was the secondary Rider; Ryu Terui, also known as Kamen Rider Accel. As I eluded to before, Ryu's family was killed by a Dopant that used a "W" Gaia Memory, and he uses Philip's resources to try and find the man responsible. For the first few episodes of his introduction, he is kind of a prick; shrugging off anyone's interest in what he's doing and constantly telling them to "don't ask me questions!" However, he does come learn to value the connections that he has with the people around him, especially Akiko whom he eventually marries in one of W's crossover movies with the next series, OOO. That's definitely an odd pairing, but it's one I came to really appreciate, especially when Drive comes along and reveals that Ryu and Akiko had a daughter named Haruna. And when he got his revenge against the Dopant, Weather, it feels earned, especially sense it's also the debut of his awesome upgrade form, Trial.
Another great aspect of the show is the music. W easily has one of the best soundtracks in the franchise, with each base form (Cyclone/Joker, Heat/Metal, Luna/Trigger, Fang/Joker and Cyclone/Joker Xtreme) having their own unique theme song that fights with each time they are used. Even Accel gets an epic rock ballad by the legendary Defspinal for his own standalone film. Just give it a listen!
W was the first Rider series that I watched all the way through and to this day, remains my absolute favourite, with a well-crafted story, excellent pacing, awesome soundtrack, entertaining characters and a great sense of humour. This show is easy to find subbed, but I highly recommend going to KissAsian and finding it along many other great Rider series.
Overall rating: 10/10 (Amazing)!
Til next time, I'm Callum Lewis, the Media Man, saying... HENSHIN!!!
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