So here's what Kamen Rider EX-AID's plot is from Toei:
Plot Summary
Computer game viruses have spread in secret around the world. The virus, known as Bugstar, infects a human host before taking over the body and mutating. These Bugstar seek to undermine the world and dominate the human race.
To defeat the Bugstar, a gamer Kamen Rider is needed! Humans have developed the Kamen Rider system with the power of video games to combat the Bugstar. With cooperation from the Ministry of Health and other national institutes that manage public health, the Genmu Corporation created the game machine called the Gamer Driver. By inserting the game software known as Rider Gashats into the Gamer Driver belt, the wearer becomes a Kamen Rider!
Four doctors have been chosen to become Kamen Riders meant to defeat the Bugstar virus! A never seen before “Bugstar vs. Game Rider!” and “Doctor vs. Doctor!” game battle is about to kick off!!
Emu Hojo / Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (Hiroki Iijima) - The protagonist of the story. A 24-year-old medical resident and gamer.
Hiiro Kagami / Kamen Rider Brave (Toshiki Seto) - The first hurdle that stands before our hero Emu. Though they may be the same age, Hiiro does not see Emu as an equal. Having graduated from an overseas university early, his colleagues refer to him as the “genius surgeon”.
Taiga Hanaya / Kamen Rider Snipe (Ukyo Matsumoto) - A silver-haired doctor!? An unconventional man just from his appearance alone. Taiga is in fact an unlicensed doctor of darkness. Why was he stripped of his medical license?
Asuna Karino / Poppi Pipopapo (Ruka Matsuda) - A nurse who assists Emu as Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. However, who on Earth is the colorful girl who looks like Asuna!?
Kuroto Dan (Tetsuya Iwanaga) - The developer of the belt-type game machine known as the Gamer Driver as well as the game software Rider Gashat. Both of these are used by the Kamen Riders to transform. He is also the young CEO of the game company Genmu Corporation.
Kiriya Kujo (Hayato Onozuka) - Dressed in sunglasses and an aloha shirt, as if he’s come back from a tropical resort, this eccentric man is a co-worker of Emu and Hiiro’s as well as a former co-work of Taiga’s. Though doctors are there to cure the living of their diseases, coroners are needed to turn up the hidden mysteries of the deceased’s cause of death! Unfortunately Emu is usually at the mercy of Kiriya’s trickster personality. Please look forward to this trickster’s success!
Pallad (Kai Shouma) - Dressed in black and adorned with psychedelic pixel patterns. Though he may have a smile on his face, Pallad is far from innocent. An executive of the Bugstar, he aims to annihilate the human race. He will prove to be a formidable enemy of Emu’s in the future and will become a presence that holds the key to the story.
Hiiro Kagami / Kamen Rider Brave (Toshiki Seto) - The first hurdle that stands before our hero Emu. Though they may be the same age, Hiiro does not see Emu as an equal. Having graduated from an overseas university early, his colleagues refer to him as the “genius surgeon”.
Taiga Hanaya / Kamen Rider Snipe (Ukyo Matsumoto) - A silver-haired doctor!? An unconventional man just from his appearance alone. Taiga is in fact an unlicensed doctor of darkness. Why was he stripped of his medical license?
Asuna Karino / Poppi Pipopapo (Ruka Matsuda) - A nurse who assists Emu as Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. However, who on Earth is the colorful girl who looks like Asuna!?
Kuroto Dan (Tetsuya Iwanaga) - The developer of the belt-type game machine known as the Gamer Driver as well as the game software Rider Gashat. Both of these are used by the Kamen Riders to transform. He is also the young CEO of the game company Genmu Corporation.
Kiriya Kujo (Hayato Onozuka) - Dressed in sunglasses and an aloha shirt, as if he’s come back from a tropical resort, this eccentric man is a co-worker of Emu and Hiiro’s as well as a former co-work of Taiga’s. Though doctors are there to cure the living of their diseases, coroners are needed to turn up the hidden mysteries of the deceased’s cause of death! Unfortunately Emu is usually at the mercy of Kiriya’s trickster personality. Please look forward to this trickster’s success!
Pallad (Kai Shouma) - Dressed in black and adorned with psychedelic pixel patterns. Though he may have a smile on his face, Pallad is far from innocent. An executive of the Bugstar, he aims to annihilate the human race. He will prove to be a formidable enemy of Emu’s in the future and will become a presence that holds the key to the story.
What do I think of the plot? It's too early to judge it considering that Yuya Takahashi is still new to Tokusatsu. It's important to get new head writers every now and then and see how they do. IMO, even if I personally didn't like Ninninger but at least they let Kento Shimoyama get his shot to see how he'd do which he may still have a long way to go. For Takahashi, it's too early to judge her since I haven't seen any of her works yet.
As for the plot, it does seem to have the gaming theme which was partly involved in Megaranger though that's just a tiny portion of it. Now we're having the very first physician Kamen Rider as a main hero. Kamen Rider Agito had Kaoru Kino as a doctor but he was an anti-hero, not a real hero. With a doctor and a gamer (funny combination you have there) to fight the Bugstars which may be bringing sickness to mankind. With the Japanese health ministry involved, I'm having a lot of funny vibes going on. I may not expect this to be a serious Kamen Rider (since they may no longer be feasible anyway) but I'll expect a good public service announcement to children viewers.
Part of my wishful thinking would have some old school rescue-related heroes showing up. Maybe some of the cast members of GoGoFive, Winspector, Solbrain and Exceedraft making guest roles as rescue workers would be fun. Maybe, we can also have some of the cast members of Megaranger making a guest appearance to help pay respect to this new generation Kamen Rider. They don't need to reprise their old roles. They can just be there as totally different characters to encourage our new batch of heroes.
I think that this new Kamen Rider's cartoony design may just work in the long run. We can all move forward from what happened to Robotack, Kabutack and the end of the Metal Hero franchise. As said, Metal Hero didn't really have a unifying theme or two, Super Sentai was defeating Metal Hero in the popularity ratings and with Kamen Rider's return, I don't expect to see a new Metal Hero series though I could enjoy some of its golden moments. But still, I guess it's best to keep Metal Hero in the shelf unless Toei figures out a super creative way to bring it back.
As for now, all I can do is wait for Kamen Rider Ghost to finish its airing. Ghost may not be as good as Zyuohger but I still can't wait to see how Prince Adel will be dealt with in the finale. While reading the plot, will Kamen Rider EX-AID inevitably get me to get less excited for the next episodes of Zyuohger? Only time will tell since some Kamen Rider series end up having better writing than the Super Sentai of that year... just like I enjoy Kamen Rider Agito more than Gaoranger.
My main worry is that Asuna may be reduced from a useful heroine to a damsel-in-distress as the series progresses in the same manner as Kiriko from KR Drive (I think Medic was lucky enough to escape that fate as she was still useful in battle at least even after losing her healing powers), given that the sexist produced Takahiro Ohmori is involved.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, that's also my worry also that Asuna may be reduced to a damsel-in-distress. That kind of scenario can be very annoying especially if it's a Toku heroine and not a civilian character.
DeleteWhen I think about damsels in distress, they do exist but giving that role to a hero's ally isn't called for.