Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider – Episode 1

Content Warning: Blood

What’s it about? Tanzaburo Tojima has always dreamed of becoming a Kamen Rider, and that hasn’t changed now that he’s 40. But life has left him feeling like his dream may never come true. That is, until he’s caught in a false Shocker robbery that starts him down the path to his destiny…

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I’m part of that subset of kids who were born in the early 90s who wasn’t allowed to watch The Simpsons. Why? Because Bart wasn’t always polite and deferential to adults, something that I find incredibly funny at thirty-three because…yeah, kids are allowed to have a range of emotions, including sometimes being “difficult” and disrespectful. There’s ways to navigate that but shutting it out completely? That’s just foolishness.

I also wasn’t allowed to watch Power Rangers for similar reasons: too violent, despite being some of the most engaging action a child could ever want. But now, I get to make up for it with Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider, a series about a 40-year-old man who wants to become, well, a Kamen Rider. Question is, will he fend off the “evil” of a bad premiere, or is Tojima destined to be a fallen hero?

Episode 1 starts off immediately telling us just who Tojima is: a Kamen Rider fanatic of next level proportions who is still training to one day achieve his dream. While it’s definitely incredibly nerdy, there’s something earnest in his passion that, while it could be easily labeled cringy, comes off as so genuine that you’re instantly drawn in.

Of course, that’s not applicable to everyone. We see snapshots of Tojima’s life: him as a passionate child, him in high school being tricked into accepting being asked out by a classmate as part of her punishment for losing a bet, and the growing loneliness that comes from his deep desire to be Kamen Rider. This grows into an all-out duel between Tojima and a massive gang of students from Daikon High School, his school’s rival school. But Tojima isn’t just a nerd: he’s a hero in his heart, and he’s not going to relent on his path to becoming Rider.

On its face, this premiere has the potential to be almost mean-spirited. I mean, from a viewpoint of neutypicality, Tojima is socially aberrant: basically, he’s a real weirdo, if you go by what a man his age should be like. But fortunately, this show isn’t mean: it’s actually really curious in the way it depicts Tojima’s deep passion for doing the right thing in the name of becoming Kamen Rider. That’s not to say that this is completely kind to Tojima: in fact, he gets curb-stomped while trying to save the exact girl that asked him out on a dare. Plus, Tojima’s passion for fighting evil (and his metaphorical transformation into Rider via a sharpie’d transformation belt on his torso) kind of makes him the oddball amongst those who would sooner mistreat him, though let me tell you: he got hands, and those hands PUNCH.

Thankfully, the premiere proves to be on Tojima’s side: while he’s quirky for sure, he’s presented as someone with a deep drive for doing the right thing, getting excited when he might finally be able to fight his destined foe as a Rider. He’s also just kind of a normal nerd who likes takoyaki and happens to be in his forties. All of this comes together into the start of a story that has a lot of potential to become something bigger as Tojima seeks his self-proclaimed destiny and also, fights more bears.

In truth, I’m still not quite sure what to make of this premiere. On one hand, it’s so earnest in Tojima becoming Kamen Rider: that’s becoming his sole reason for becoming powerful, though we see an internal struggle as he starts to reckon with the fact that at 40, he’s still not his hero. On the other hand, this show feels like it’s a comedy, which is at odds with how serious Tojima is, and as a result, feels like we’re supposed to be laughing at him when all I want to do is see him actually become a Kamen Rider. Thankfully, things point to Tojima getting to eventually be a hero: the question is how?

After a lot of pondering and a rewatch, I’ve got to admit: Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider has got its hooks in me. I want to stick around to see him go from zero to hero, especially since it’s rare to see a narrative centered on a middle-aged superhero. In my own quiet way, I’m fully invested: hopefully, we’ll get to see Tojima become exactly who he knows he is and help others while doing it.