When the anime for Tojima Tanzaburo Desires to Be a Kamen Rider was introduced, I didn’t notice it was based mostly on a manga by one in every of my favourite authors, Shibata Yokusaru. Beforehand recognized for works just like the martial arts battle sequence Air Grasp!! and the bizarrely fantastic shogi title 81 Diver, Shibata is a grasp of blending absurd comedy with pleasure and stress. So although I’m not a very huge tokusatsu head, I had each cause to take a look at this present.
The story: Ever since childhood, Tojima Tanzaburo has carried a burning ardour for the unique Kamen Rider, and he’s devoted his total life to turning into as robust as its titular hero. However whereas he’s constructed up his power and martial prowess to an nearly superhuman diploma, Tojima is profoundly saddened by the truth that he can by no means use it to struggle Shocker—the villainous group from the TV sequence. Nonetheless, when a string of robberies happen by thieves dressed like Shocker’s minions, this would possibly lastly be his probability to make his dream dwelling true. Solely, he’s not alone, and it turns on the market are different Kamen Rider tremendous followers who’ve determined to emulate their favourite heroes.
One of many stunning issues about Tojima Desires to Be a Kamen Rider is the juxtaposition between fandom as a catalyst for attaining greatness and fandom as a delusion that weighs individuals down like an anchor. Tojima actually is “coaching to beat Goku,” so to talk, and the result’s a man who manifested the extremely choreographed and predictable combating type of Hongo Takeshi into actuality. All he does is throw the identical punch time and again, however he’s the embodiment of the traditional Bruce Lee line, “I concern not the person who has practiced 10,000 kicks as soon as, however I concern the person who has practiced one kick 10,000 instances.”
Nonetheless, he additionally encounters Kamen Rider followers who’ve truly educated in actual martial arts, and the distinction in technical talent turns into a degree of pleasant but intense competitors. In different phrases, Typically being the largest dork is the best superpower, and typically it simply isn’t. The characters are primarily doing essentially the most lethal critical LARP ever—one they’re satisfied is as actual as their very own flesh and blood. Over the course of the sequence, this perception spreads out to increasingly characters, growing in surprising methods.
There’s one curious factor that instantly stands out with this anime adaptation: The characters and paintings are usually good, and that’s completely not what Shibata’s artwork usually appears like. He has a really off-kilter sense of perspective and human proportions to the purpose of trying past amateurish, and the anime makes a agency choice to principally hew away from that. I might perceive the will to make this modification, however I did fear that it could lose among the heta-uma magic that I so adore in Shibata’s manga. The answer is that the Shibata type comes out in sure moments, resembling in characters’ exaggerated expressions or for the sake of comedy. It’s a good compromise.
One final word: Tojima Tanzaburo Desires to Be a Kamen Rider makes a quick reference to Air Grasp. If we get extra anime, I’m hoping to see 81 Diver get some love too.
