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Ishinomori Issue Trilogy
Disclaimer: I don't own any tokusatsu or any of Ishinomori's works! They belong to him and the adaptation belong to Sony Animation, and Studio BONES!
AN: Before we begin I want to let you, the readers, know that I was originally planning to have three separate reviews, but I combined all three into one review, since I don't want to give away any spoilers for the show. There be some spoilers to the shows, though, so just be careful when I let something slip. Thought you should know.
With that out of the way, let's get onto the review!
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Cities have usually been the setting of each Kamen Rider show, where Kamen Riders fought against their enemies. No matter what show, the plot strangely takes place in the city, usually Tokyo. Well, this city here wasn't Tokyo, but it did look like it. Despite it didn't have Tokyo Tower, it did have the large skyscrapers, and tall buildings. However, there was one major detail... the city was deserted.
Yes, the city was deserted. A thick cloud of fog covered the entire city, preventing anyone from seeing it. However, the sound of a engine could be heard as one could see lights pierce through the dense fog. The light gradually became brighter and brighter until a blur could be see riding on the streets.
The blur halted where it was, revealing itself to be a green and black motorcycle. The one riding the motorcycle was the familiar form of Kamen Rider Raika, who did not have his i-phone and his Gaia Memory hung from a hook on the left side of his belt. After Raika parked the bike and switched off the engine, he dismounted his bike and took out a small, black cube that floated from his hand in front of him, taking form of a camera that was focused on Raika. Once pressing the 'START' button on the camera, Raika backed away as the camera rolled.
"Kamen Rider, one of the greatest Tokusatsu shows to ever have existed," Raika began as he leaned against the bike. "Fans all across the world enjoy watching the Riders fight against their evil enemies. Some say the Riders are what keep them coming back because they're memorable. However, Kamen Rider would not have been possible if it were not for that genius man named Shotaro Ishinomori."
"Shotaro Ishinomori (1/25/1938-1/28/1998), born as Shotaro Onodera, was an influential figure in manga, anime and tokusatsu," Raika explained. "Taught by Osamu Tezuka, the man who's credited as the 'Godfather of Anime.' Ishinomori would go on to make his own works, the first being Cyborg 009 in 1963, then in 1970, his one-shot, dark story known as Skull Man. In 1972, Kikaider would first air as a tokusatsu before being adapted into a manga."
"Each story, mainly Skull Man and Cyborg 009, would later be used as inspiration to make the two greatest tokusatsu franchises to date: Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Without these three, tokusatsu would not be as it is today. With that said, let's check out these three in: The Ishinomori Issue Trilogy!"
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Cyborg 009
KR Raika: Let's start off with Cyborg 009. It was at first a manga that told the tale of a nine humans who were captured by an organization named Black Ghost and turned into cyborgs to be used as weapons. Each cyborg has a unique power, which they use to escape and they band together to stop Black Ghost.
*shows the three version of the shows*
KR Raika: This show would be adapted into an anime three times, the first in 1968, then in 1979, and in 2001," Raika stated. "Since I've only seen the anime made in 2001 by Sony Entertainment, I'll talk to you about that.
*camera goes back to Raika*
KR Raika: Now let's delve into Cyborg 009!"
*Shows scenes from episode 1*
KR Raika: Our story begins with a boy named Joe Shimamura waking in a mysterious laboratory and being watched by a bunch of scientists. He hears a voice who telepathically tells him to escape, and as he does, Joe discovers that he's been turned into a cyborg with incredible. Using his newfound abilities, Joe escapes and meet the owner of the voice...
*Scene on Cyborg 001, a baby*
KR Raika: … a baby who's not even a year old. Just go with , it turns out the baby is actually another cyborg, Ivan Whisky/Cyborg 001, who had numerous brain enhancements that allowed him to develop psychic powers. The baby is not alone for its with other seven cyborgs.
*Scene with Cyborg 002 flying through the air*
KR Raika: Jet Link/002, a brash, cocky Yankee-seriously, he's from New York-who has jets on his feet that let him fly.
*Scene with Cyborg 003 carrying 001 in her arms*
KR Raika: Françoise Arnoul/003, the only girl on the team from France who has telescopic and x-ray vision along with enhanced hearing. Yeah she's the one does most of the sitting out throughout the series.
*Shows Cyborg 004 shooting a missile from his knee*
KR Raika: Albert Heinrech/004, the German guy who can fire bullets from his fingers and rockets from his knees.
*Another scene showing Cyborg 005 using his strength to throw a huge rock at fighter jets*
KR Raika: Geronimo Jr./005, the quiet Native American with super strength.
*Shows Cyborg 006 spewing fire from his mouth*
KR Raika: Chang Changku/006, a chubby man from China who can spew molten fire from his mouth. He's also the cook.
*Scene showing 007 turning into a snake*
KR Raika: Great Britain/007, the British guy who can transform into anything... with the push of his belly button? Just go with it.
*Scene showing Cyborg 008 going underwater*
KR Raika: And Pyunma/008, the African who has mechanical lungs to let him go underwater.
*Shows Isaac Gilmore and the cyborgs escaping on a plane*
KR Raika: All cyborgs escape with the help of a rogue Black Ghost scientist named Dr. Isaac Gilmore, who serves as the cyborgs' mentor. He also happened to be apart of the scientists who turned the nine humans into cyborgs in the first place, but never knew of Black Ghost's true intentions with them until he was working on the cyborgs.
*shows various scenes of the cyborgs working together to fight off Black Ghost robots*
KR Raika: Now the nine cyborgs are on the run, attempting to destroy Black Ghost's weapons of mass destruction. But who is Black Ghost?
*shows scenes of Black Ghost minions and headquarters*
KR Raika: Well, Black Ghost is an evil organization who makes destructive weapons and wants to start another world war, so they can sell these weapons to the highest bidder.
*camera focuses on Raika*
KR Raika: If that's true, then why couldn't the Bush administration send troops to fight these guys instead of Iraq?
*shows scenes of Skull, leader of Black Ghost*
KR Raika: Forgetting that bad joke, Black Ghost is led by the evil cyborg Skull, who wears basically a skull on his head and all black suit. Who he is? No one really knows because he's never revealed. However, The Skullman does provide us an idea of who he could be, which I will reveal when I get to it.
*shows Cyborgs 0010 to 0013*
KR Raika: There are other cyborgs as well, Cyborgs 0010 to 0013, but they are programmed into working for Black Ghost and are sent to deal with nine rogue cyborgs.
*shows the opening credits to Cyborg 009*
KR Raika: This anime is different than the other than two because the cyborgs in this one were cryogenically frozen.
Another thing to point out is that there are four arcs (this is not including any filler episodes), each one dealing with a villain the cyborgs have to face. First one deals with the cyborgs on the run from Black Ghost, second is a bunch of cyborgs claiming them to be the Greek gods, third one psychic cyborgs, and the final one deals with an underground kingdom.
*shows the opening to both the first Kamen Rider and Goranger shows*
KR Raika: Elements of Cyborg 009 would later be used in the first Kamen Rider show and Himitsu Sentai Goranger, like the evil organization, cyborgs, and the united team.
*camera focuses back on Raika*
KR Raika: Now, I've only watched the show in the English dub and I've go to say, the English dub is... well let's be honest, the English dub wasn't that good. The voice acting sometimes makes me cringe... that and also the show is more directed towards kids about seven or eight. Still, the show's action and story is good, in my opinion, so I would suggest for anyone who is a fan of tokusatsu or someone who loves Ishinomori's works, to go and check it out.
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Kikaider: The Animation
*shows the opening of the 1972 Kikaider show*
KR Raika: For this one, Kikaider actually began as a tokusatsu show in 1972 known as Jinzo Ningen Kikaider or Android Kikaider. It tells the story of a android named Kikaider, who was built by scientist named Komyoji, who is held prisoner by the organization called DARK. Kikaider was built in order to protect Komyoji's children from the leader of DARK named Professor Gill.
When Gill finds out about Kikaider, he sends a monster to destroy Kikaider and capture Komyoji. Komyoji is separated from his children, who are being guarded by Kikaider, who has taken the name of Jiro. And that's the basic plot.
*shows the blue prints of Kikaider's body*
KR Raika: Now Kikaider is different than other robots, because he's programmed with the Gemini Circuit that allows Jiro to think and feel like a human. Also, he has a finishing move known as the Electro End, that lets him chop his enemies to pieces. Thought I should clear that up before we begin.
*camera goes back to Raika*
KR Raika: Kikaider: The Animation would be produced in 2003 by Sony Animation, the same people who did Cyborg 009. This anime however only has thirteen episodes, while Cyborg 009 has about fifty, but I might reveal some important things to the plot. Also, Kikaider: The Animation has a sequel OVA called Kikaider 01 and a short sequel to that called The Boy Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider vs Inazuman, but I'm just reviewing Kikaider: The Animation for now. Now with that out of the way, let's start off at the beginning shall we?
*shows scenes from episode 1 of the anime*
KR Raika: The story begins in Dr. Komyoji in his laboratory making Kikaider until a explosion occurs, causing the entire place to catch on fire and burn down to the ground. The doctor apprently goes missing, so his children, Mitsuko and Masaru, try to look for him only to encounter a robotic rhino. Their saves by a person named Jiro, who has no idea who he is and who happens to transform into Kikaider and destroys the robot rhino.
*shows Mitsuko on her computer that has the blueprints to Kikaider*
KR Raika: After that, Mitsuko goes through her father's notes on Kikaider to discover what happened to her father, and his connection to DARK, the organization sending robots after Jiro, Masaru, and herself.
*shows a controlled Jiro choking Mitsuko*
KR Raika: At first things don't go so well between Jiro and Mitsuko because Mitsuko thinks of him as just a machine, and the fact that Gill tries to make Jiro kill her by... using a flute? Look, just go with it.
*shows a scene of Jiro in the city and another of a girl becoming scared of Kikaider*
KR Raika: After that, Jiro is on his own, trying to understand the world around him, but is constantly rejected. A little something like Frankenstein. In fact, Shotaro Ishinomori used elements from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio to put into Kikaider. And Jiro tries to deal with this along with DARK!
*shows Detective Hattori and his assistant*
KR Raika: To look for Jiro, Mitsuko and Masaru goes to Detective Hanpei Hattori, the comic relief of the show, and his assistant, whose name I can't remember, for some reason. Together, they try to find Jiro as well as discover more about DARK, and what their goal is.
*shows various scenes of Kikaider fighting as well as some emotional scenes*
KR Raika: The animation in this show is great, despite it looking more of Ishinomori's early works. The action is dynamic, the tone is set just right, and the you can really see what the characters are going through. Also, Kikaider: The Animation is definitely more towards teenagers 'cause this show has darker tones than Cyborg 009 does!
*camera goes back to Raika*
KR Raika: Like with Cyborg 009, I've only seen the English dub of this show and it's more tolerable than Cyborg 009. I think it's because of Saburo, aka Hakaider, another android who wants to destroy Kikaider. He's awesome, is cold, and is voiced by...
*A picture of Steven Blum*
KR Raika: (shocked) Steven Blum? The guy who voice Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bepop, Makoto Shishio from Rurouni Kenshin and Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy? That Steven Blum? OH HECK YEAH!
*camera goes back to Raika*
KR Raika: Anyway, I would highly suggest this to anyone who loves robots and action or is just a fan of Ishinomori's works. Kikaider: The Animation is an awesome show in my opinion and I hope it stays that way.
PS: Kikaider makes an appearance in the 40th anniversary Kamen Rider movie called OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Lets go Kamen Rider along with Kikaider 01, Inazuman, and Zvatt!
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The Skullman
*shows the opening to the show*
KR Raika: Ah Skull Man, the precursor to the awesome franchise known as Kamen Rider.
*shows the cover to the original manga*
KR Raika: Originally it was a one-shot manga published in 1970 that told the tale of a young man named Tatsuo Kagura with mutant powers who took up the guise of Skull Man to avenge his parents death. Skull Man was actually the first anti-hero that Ishinomori worked, since he committed crimes for his own gain. Ishinomori wanted to make it into a tokusatsu show, but the story was too dark for kids, so he toned the story down by turning Skull Man into...
*shows a picture of Kamen Rider Ichigo*
KR Raika: ...KAMEN RIDER!
*shows cover to the 1998 Skull Man*
KR Raika: Anyway, Skull Man would be released as a manga again in 1998, this time made by Kazuhiko Shimamoto. This Skull Man was a sequel to Ishinomori's original story and more based on the Kamen Rider shows for the title character fought against an evil organization.
*camera focuses back onto Raika*
KR Raika: Unlike Cyborg 009 and Kikaider: The Animation, The Skullman was made by Studio BONES, so the animation looks more modern instead of looking like Ishinomori's style of manga. This would also represent the different direction that this show took, instead of sticking with the manga. Now, there might be spoilers about The Skullman in here, so just be careful whenever they pop up. So lets being, shall we?
*shows scenes from the Skullman movie*
KR Raika: Before the show was released, there was a live-action prequel to the show called Skullman: Prologue to Darkness, which is told from the point of view from a seemingly normal woman, who finds herself involved in some organization. I'm not going to say anymore because it would just be spoiling the movie for you guys. I would suggest to check that out first before you watch the series for it to make sense.
*shows the first scene from episode 1*
KR Raika: Alright, show starts off with a women being killed by a mysterious figure accompanied by two others. Man, already starting the story and characters are already getting killed off!
*shows Hayato Mikogami*
KR Raika: We cut to our protagonist who is not Tatsuo Kagura, but a regular, 23-year-old journalist named Hayato Mikogami, whose sent to his hometown of Otomo City to find out about recent murders that are involved with a so-called 'Skeleton Man.'
*shows a scene of Kiriko Mamiya and Kyoichiro Tachigi*
KR Raika: He heads to Otomo City and meets up with a young girl named Kiriko Mamiya, who Hayato helps get into the city, as well as Kyoichiro Tachigi, a private detective who wants to learn about the murders. Kyoichiro goes off his own way, while Kiriko sticks around with Hayato throughout the series.
*shows final scene of episode 1*
KR Raika: After failing to get any information on the 'Skeleton Man,' Hayato goes out one night and witness a man running from something only to be knocked out. He wakes up to see the man has been killed by the 'Skeleton Man,' who we can identify as the Skull Man, before blacking out.
*shows Hayato in a police station*
KR Raika: After that, Hayato is arrested for murder, but is freed by Gozo Kuroshio, a major business man and an old friend of Hayato's late father.
*shows scenes of the Skull Man fighting monsters in the opening*
KR Raika: After being freed, Hayato and Kiriko tried to figure out the connection between Skullman, the mysterious death of Tastuo Kagura, the religious Byakureikai group, and the reason why people are turning into monsters.
*shows scenes of a cop and Father Yoshio Kanzaki*
KR Raika: All while this happens, Hayato hangs around his old friend, Yoshio Kanzaki, a priest who takes care of the orphans at the church he works at. Hayato also tries to deal with a cop whose name I can't remember, who believes Hayato was behind the recent murder.
*camera goes back to Raika*
KR Raika: The show has got to be the darkest out of the three shows I'm reviewing now. It incredibly dark due to it's horror, but it has some small hints humor. The first two episodes seem slow and boring, but when you hit episode three-wham!-you're right in the story!
*shows the opening*
KR Raika: The animation is simply superb! The action flows quite well and it really makes you want more. The horror and mystery to the series is really emphasized with its symbolism (well, sometimes) and the artwork!
*camera forces back on Raika*
KR Raika: However, I have one gripe about this series. The way it's first put out makes you think that the series will last for at least thirty episodes, but it shortened down to thirteen. It may have worked with Kikaider, but that was because they explained some things along the way. In this show, there are some points in the plot that are are vaguely answered, which made me scratch my head, especially at the ending. Still, I would suggest this show to anyone who likes horror, monsters, or even Kamen Rider fans, and I hope it will blow their minds away.
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Static filled the camera's vision before focusing back onto Raika. "And that's the Ishinomori Issue Trilogy, folks!" Raika finished. "I hoped you like them and if you have any comments or criticism, then please leave it in the reviews."
With that, Raika reach over to the camera and pressed the 'STOP' button. As he backed away from the floating camera in front of him, it returned back to its cubic form before floating into Raika's hand. He smiled underneath his mask as he put away the cube. "Well, that should be it," he thought aloud.
Raika was about to mount his bike when he heard a demonic echo spread across the area, which to him only meant trouble. Immediately, Raika drew the Gaia Memory from his belt and with the announcement of "RAIKA!," its black blade shot out of the tip.
Raika gripped his weapon with both hands, preparing for what was to come. As he heard the demonic echo, Raika saw three black streaks shot out of the fog before surrounding around him. The black streaks were black apparitions that took the form of medieval knights with broadswords in their hands. 'Ghosts?' Raika thought. 'Well, that's something different, for a change.'
One of the ghosts struck out with its sword, but Raika moved to the side to dodge it before bringing his weapon up in time to block a slash from another knight. Raika slashed at the closest ghost, but it backed away before the black energy blade could strike it. It left Raika open as the other two ghosts struck him in the back, sending the hooded Rider staggering forward a bit. Raika turned around to face the other two ghosts and slashed at them, who backed away to avoid the blade. 'DARNIT!' Raika mentally screamed.
Before Raika could do anything, the third ghost attacked from behind as it slashed its broadsword against Raika's armored back, while the other two took this opportunity to strike him in the chest. Raika found his feet lifting off of the ground as he crashed into a nearby window, his weapon still gripped in his hand. As Raika tried to get up, the three ghosts walked towards him with their broadswords gripped in their hands, ready to finish of the Rider. 'Oh dangit!' Raika bitterly thought when he saw them.
Lucky for Raika, the three ghosts suddenly stopped before turning their heads towards the sound of footsteps. Raika, who was about of the window, looked at the source of the footsteps. Whoever it was, no one knew for the fog covered the figure's features, save a gray belt around the waist that a crimson gem in the center of the black buckle. Once the figures stepped into the shadows, Raika recognized the figure. "Ebon?" Raika said as he stood up.
It was indeed Kamen Rider Ebon. Ebon had black torso armor with gray shoulders over a crimson bodysuit. His chestplate was trimmed in gray, and on his forearms are black gauntlets with silver armor plating on them, gray bands around the wrists, and black armor on his fingers. On his legs were black greaves that went up to his knees that had silver kneepads. His helmet had slit-like crimson eyes and black sculpted mouthpiece that resembles fangs. Hanging from his neck is a white scarf. Strapped to his back was a sword with a revolver chamber which served as the hilt, the gray gunblade called Howl. Across the blade etched was "To fight darkness you must erase the darkness of history."
"It's not like you to get your butt whooped," Ebon said as he walked over to Raika's side.
"You'd be surprised," Raika said, before mentioning, "Besides ghosts aren't usually something I deal with."
"Well, then you should leave it to me," Ebon said as he truned his head towards the ghosts.
With that said, Ebon drew Howl from his back and rested it on his right shoulder guard. Raika sighed as he deactivated the blade on his Gaia Memory and he hooked it to his belt. "Alright," Raika said as he rested his back against the wall.
Ebon smirked as he charged at the three ghosts, who all raised their broadswords in defense as they expected slashes. However, Ebon's weapon was a gunblade, not just a regular sword, as he pointed Howl at the ghosts and fired multiple rounds of red energy bullets that struck them in their chests. As the ghosts were taken by surprise at this development, Ebon slashed his gunblade at the closest ghost, forcing it back, before turning his attention to the other two. The two ghosts raised their swords high and swung them down at Ebon only for the gunblade-wielding Rider to parry them with Howl before spinning around the two ghosts and slashing at them.
The third ghosts charged at Ebon and swung his broadsword horizontally, intending to slice him in half, but Ebon blocked before leaping from the ground and bouncing off the broadsword to let him to fly up into the air. Ebon aimed Howl at the ghosts and fired, the energy bullet striking it in the head. The ghost let out a scream of pain as it faded away into nothing, while Ebon landed his two feet onto the ground. Ebon smirked at his victory, but it was short-lived when he turned around to see the other two ghosts charging at him.
However, Ebon was not worried as he continually fired Howl at the two ghosts, stopping them in their tracks. "It's over," Ebon smirked underneath his mouth guard before he announced, "Howling Shadows!"
Once he said those two words, streams of darkness shot out the ground and encompassed the ghosts in a large orb as Ebon's form melted into the shadows, approaching the two ghosts quickly. Once he reached it, Ebon form shot out of the shadows, firing a barrage of bullets from his gunblade, Howl. After his first round of bullets was finished, Ebon charged forward, slashing Howl at the ghosts.
Ebon halted to a stop with his back turned towards the ghost, while the shadows retreated back into the ground, revealing the ghosts thrashing about as slash marks appeared on their body. "GAH!" they all screamed before they faded away.
Ebon turned around to face Raika, who was still standing against the wall. "Nice job," Raika complimented as he walked towards his bike.
"Thanks," Ebon smirked as he placed Howl onto his back. Ebon noticed Raika didn't carry his i-Phone, so he asked, "What happened to that i-Phone of yours?"
"I got rid of that," Raika casually answered as he mounted his bike.
That took Ebon by surprise as he wondered why Raika would get rid of a device that granted him awesome power. "Why did you do that?" Ebon questioned.
Raika looked at his fellow Rider and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society?"
Ebon shook his head. "No."
"Be glad you don't!" Raika said. "They pretty much hunt down any Mary Sue or Gary-Stu that messes up canonical fictional works."
"Why would you be worried about them?" Ebon asked as he walked up to Raika.
"With the powers I've got, those guys might mistaken me for a Gary-Stu, and the last thing I want right now is being chased after those guys!" Raika said as he turned on the engine on his bike.
"So you tried to limit your power by getting rid of the i-Phone," Ebon deduced.
"Basically," Raika said before he looked at Ebon. "Need a lift?"
"Thanks, but no," Ebon shook his head. "My ride's coming."
Before Raika could ask, a bike suddenly rode up beside Ebon. The bike was red with white armored plates, and a head shaped like Ebon's helmet. Ebon mounted his bike and looked at Raika. "Try to keep up," Ebon said as he revved up his bike.
Raika grinned as he gripped the handles on his bike. "Oh, I will."
And so Raika and Ebon drove into the foggy city, unaware of three shadowed figure watching the whole thing from the top of a building.
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AN: That's the Ishinomori Issue Trilogy folks! I'm sorry if it's shorter, but I've been kind of busy recently and I've wanted to get this up as soon as possible. Again, I'm sorry! Please leave a review stating what you thought of this review, and please leave only constructivecriticism, so I can know what to fix! Thank you!
Also, I've added Kamen Rider Ebon, a fellow fanfic writer on this site, in the story because he asked me if he could appear in the next review. Well, I did, but I wanted him to portray his abilities and tried to make him as awesome as possible. I hope he enjoys it!
Raika out!
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