Kamen Rider: Striking The Balance Between The Toys And The Show

 

I was thinking about the fact that I've seen EVERY Heisei era Rider, I haven't seen much of the Showa era (and it's been a REAL STRUGGLE especially The First Kamen Rider is freaking 98 EPISODES LONG), and maybe I could say that I've seen Kamen Rider Zero-One up to Kamen Rider Revice. I just had a bit of a suggestion a few days ago. Now, I feel like writing it while I'm pursuing other personal issues. Now, it's time to write about the possibility that toys might be affecting the Kamen Rider franchise.

Taking a look back at the Showa-era Kamen Rider series for a clue

I remembered having that fascination with Bandai merchandise as a child. I even remembered the time when I wanted a Kamen Rider Black RX toy (while calling it Masked Rider Black) without having seen the show.  I remembered seeing Black RX on Cable TV WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING A WORD and wondering where did Gorgom and the other characters from Kamen Rider Black go? I think it'd be good point would be to think of how the Showa-era Riders did their stuff.

The First Kamen Rider had a good reason behind why a second Kamen Rider was created. The actor Hiroshi Fujioka injured himself so a second Kamen Rider (referred to as Kamen Rider Nigo if the first is called Kamen Rider Ichigo) came to be. There were two Kamen Riders that betrayed Shocker. Shocker underwent a midseason change as Gel Shocker. The show went for too long (and it can get VERY BORING eventually, it's also why I no longer rewatch a lot of shows such as Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or even the Dragon Ball series). 

The next step was with Kamen Rider V3. The story is a direct sequel to the first show as the Great Leader managed to fake his death and created Destron. Yeah, we know how that guy is the ultimate troll that become SO BORING later. To add to more toy sales - another secondary Kamen Rider was created called Riderman. What was chilling was that Riderman's actor Takehisa Yamaguchi DIED TOO SOON before the random cast recall from Black RX. The creation of another Kamen Rider worked two ways - plot AND toy sales. Though, the secondary Kamen Rider gimmick wasn't so heavily used until any series after Kamen Rider Kuuga.

If I'm not wrong Kamen Rider Super1 introduced toy gloves for children. Super-1 had various gloves working as a gimmick. Later on, Kamen Rider Fourze would manage to reach into infinity and beyond where Super-1 failed to do. I have a feeling the actor Shunsuke Takasugi was probably jealous of Sota Fukushi being able to succeed. I heard Fourze didn't initially get well-received but it did launch Sota's career. Seeing Sota doing Bleach as the reason he never returned for Kamen Rider Zi-O is proof of that. Sota was TOO BUSY so it's understandable. Meanwhile, I felt Super-1 was going to simply die down. Heck, there was even a HIATUS between Super-1 and Black one way or another. 

Rechecking Black and Black RX can also give clues. Black was the first series to introduce Shadow Moon as the first evil Kamen Rider. We had the False Kamen Rider (which I want to call Bootleg Kamen Rider because he's an illegal reproduction by the villains) getting a toy. I find it funny that Shocker gave an obvious giveaway with the YELLOW scarf. Shadow Moon appeared as a template for the Heisei era. Though, I still feel Bilgenia too was a template too. I couldn't stop comparing Takeshi Asakura (Kamen Ridre Ouja) to Bilgenia and the guy is the TRULY first evil Kamen Rider by his own free will. Shadow Moon was just brainwashed and crazy. 

Black RX did have some major innovations that survived after the 11-year hiatus. Black RX was the first Kamen Rider to have multiple forms. Yeah, Black RX was the once-commercial failure that probably only got vindicated because Haim Saban did Mashed Rider worse. Saban probably got so embarrassed by it that it got retconned as a show within a show in the fan-favorite Power Rangers Time Force. For some reason, we never had Lila watching Black RX in Timeranger. Later, we had Avatar Sentai Donbrothers even had a clip show where Donbrothers!Kaito and the others were watching the Kamen Rider Revice finale OF ALL THINGS! Black RX introduced two more forms - Robo Rider (which is most likely a tribute to Robocop by its high defense, low speed, and the gun) and Bio Rider. I felt the way Black RX learned the forms was too cheesy after watching Kamen Rider Kuuga. 

After that, we knew that an 11-year-hiatus happened. Toei Ltd. decided to devote itself to the now-defunct Metal Hero franchise. I still feel that Toei Ltd.'s decision to no longer produce Metal Hero series had something to do with Kamen Rider's revival. It's like the two series were merged into one.

The Heisei era to the Reiwa era analysis

Yeah I know, I just can't get enough of this bad joke I made!

The Heisei era began reviving Kamen Rider with Kuuga. I heard that Shigenori Takatera was one of the producers of Black RX. I still feel Black RX isn't really a bad show either - it's just that it failed to meet the love that Black has from the fans. Heck, Kamen Rider Decade REALLY even went as far as to create two versions of Kotaro Minami. I call one was A.R. Kotaro Black and A.R. Kotaro RX to differentiate the two Kotaros that differentiate from mainline Kotaro - the one that became RX. Though, it seems that A.R. Kotaro RX is the real Kotaro while A.R. Kotaro Black is an alternate version where Black RX never took place. I guess fans were happy over the split because Black has always been the more popular predecessor.

Back on topic - I felt that Kuuga did a lot of stuff from Black RX right. Kotaro only started getting help from his friends midseason. Reiko only got involved after learning her boyfriend Kotaro is Black RX. I guess Kotaro NEVER told Reiko he fought Gorgom huh? It's kinda funny really how Reiko never learned her boyfriend defeated Gorgom and was the legendary Black. Kuuga had multiple forms but he had to learn them. Ichijou gets introduced as Kuuga's closest ally - even better executed than Joe of the Wind from Black RX. Kuuga's friends go from the police to the translator Sakurako who translates the manuscripts to help Kuuga fight. I felt Kuuga having to learn how to use his form was a big plus into the show. I didn't like the idea (and never did) that he had to get objects to form the weapons. Still, one can't deny that Kuuga knew how to handle multiple forms better. Every new form became a toy to sell. It was a well-done marketing strategy to sell QUALITY TOYS. It knew how to advertise the multiple forms better than Black RX. I guess they learned from the mistakes in Black RX, right? Though, Kuuga was a standalone Kamen Rider and never had a secondary Kamen Rider for a season.

I guess the demand for secondary Kamen Riders was non-stop. So non-stop that Kamen Rider Agito (which I still believe is a direct sequel of Kuuga) added them in. We had Kamen Rider G3, Kamen Rider Gills, and Kamen Rider Another Agito. Though, the show had the conflict between them and the Lords. The Lords were more like anti-villains - trying to keep humanity's balance. However, murdering people with the Agito seed is just a douche-y move. 

Yes, the demand was there. I guess the demand got so heavy that they created Kamen Rider Ryuki - the first Rider War series. Just a thought - I dismiss the idea of a Rider War between Yasuko Kobayashi and Toshiki Inoue. Kobayashi did write one episode for Agito while Inoue wrote two episodes for Mirai Sentai Timeranger. I still think Ryuki was a series with broken potential. I felt Kobayashi's finale was nothing more than a copout by the EXECUTIVES. Come on, it's too obvious everybody died. That ending would've been awesome IF it wasn't for newer censorship. Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger has had reduced violence in contrast to the more "child-friendly" Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. The concept though never died with it as Kamen Rider Gaim was produced in 2013. That would be TEN YEARS after Ryuki. Unlike Ryuki, Gaim finally knew how to handle the multiple Kamen Riders in a Rider War.

I think Gaim did get its rather cheesy treatment with the Lockseed Toys. I think the toys in Gaim were still well-promoted within the story. Pretty much, it's no secret that I'm showing a lot of favoritism toward Gaim. I guess Gaim was meant to correct what Ryuki did wrong ten years ago. Before Gaim - we could still see how having multiple Kamen Riders was already the norm. After Gaim, he had Kamen Rider Faiz with three Kamen Riders. Though, Kamen Rider Ixa's main user, KUSAKAis viewed as another bastard to the story and another evil Kamen Rider. The trend of having good and evil Kamen Riders in one show kept going ON AND ON. Some shows didn't have it either.

We could talk about Kamen Rider Decade which I'll always berate like calling it the spiritual successor of Saban's Mashed Rider. I think Decade was an attempt to re-sell some older toys. The show ended in just 31 episodes but it got vindicated by history. Though, I still have that statement called The Decade Meltdown. Luckily, Toei Ltd. didn't have to go on hiatus. Instead, we had Phase 2 of the Heisei era starting with Kamen Rider W up to Zi-O. Tsukasa still made an appearance in future crossover movies AND in Zi-O. Well, it's because Decade is still MILES BETTER than Mashed Rider. I think the 11-year hiatus after Black RX had to do with Toei Ltd. deciding to focus first on Metal Hero and find new ways to reboot the Kamen Rider franchise ENTIRELY. Yes, we had three feature films (and Shin: Kamen Rider Prologue was an adult spinoff). I guess Toei Ltd. wanted to figure out what they wanted. Sadly, Shotaro Ishinomori died too soon in 1998 before the project could be realized.

We had new gimmicks such as new gadgets. I can't forget how Fourze had those switches. The gimmick was somehow integrated during W. Kamen Rider OOO had Core Medals and celebrated the 1,000th episode of Kamen Rider. These toys were here and there. 

Though, I could still acknowledge this setback during the Reiwa era that this mess happened...

I may think Kamen Rider Saber is a fun series. However, like Black RX, it still deserves some harsh criticism from the non-fans. I think the whole problem is that the show decided to go too fast selling toys. The earlier start just got so focused on toys that I just wanted to bang my head. Sure, I'd rewatch Saber over Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger. However, the desire to keep selling more Bandai merchandise means this - you can ruin innovation and quality. Innovation has to be done in a careful process. It's not just flashy merchandise - it's also making sure the toy that goes along with the show is good. I think Saber had that problem of trying to sell too many cool-looking toys at once. I felt the same thing happened during the Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z. The Buu Saga gave so many cool-looking toys and concepts such as the Fusion characters, Super Saiyan 3 Goku, Great Saiyaman, etc. BUT I'd say that it was nothing more than that. I felt that concepts were wasted all too soon such as how Mystic Gohan, Gotenks, Super Saiyan 3, and Vegitto were introduced only to accomplish NOTHING at the end. It was just there for... GOTTA BUY TOYS, RIGHT? I may still think Choriki Sentai Ohranger is better than Power Rangers Zeo. However, without Zeo, Ohranger just stands as a messy toy commercial. That's why I think Gekisou Sentai Carranger is better than Ohranger. 

I think Zero-One still knew how to do toy sales better. I think Zero-One for all its flaws - still gave a better story. Sure, I disliked the whole time that Yua hanged around with Gai. I still feel the cast forgave Gai too easily when he himself was responsible for why the Venjix-like Ark-One came to be. Heck, Gai, unlike Dr. K from Power Rangers RPM, didn't show some remorse UNTIL LATER. Still, I felt the progression was there. I think that Zero-One knew how to balance the toys and the show. Every product requires a good commercial to launch it. 

We later have Revice. The show did have its toys with the Kamen Rider Igarashi siblings. There were also the Vi-Stamps. Though, I think the last-minute appearance of Kamen Rider JUUGA was a totally useless gesture. I feel the finale arc was nothing more than a dramatic epilogue. I guess the hype is all just there. I even feel, many times, that Revice!Sakura is nothing more than eye candy to the show. At least Gougou Sentai Boukenger knew how to handle Boukenger!Sakura better IMHO. I still think the Juuga plot was nothing more than, "Buy this toy!" than plot material. I think Revice, unlike Saber, was now too focused on toys. At least Saber knew how to wrap things up better IMHO.

This is my biggest concern for Kamen Rider Geats. Geats is obviously another Ryuki tribute like Gaim. I hope that Geats will know how to balance the toys and the show. There will be older fans too who aren't buying the toys. There will be those buying the toys for their children. Hopefully, Toei Ltd. will find a right way to balance things with toys and the show.