This year happens to be the 25th anniversary of Kuuga, the first Kamen Rider in Heisei. When the protagonist “Yusuke Godai”, Joe Odagiri, was interviewed, he said that he was not interested in tokusatsu dramas such as Kamen Rider at the time, but he just happened to go for an interview and was selected by the director. After the content of this interview was filled in, opposition arose again in the fan community. Don’t the protagonists all like Kamen Rider? Is this really the case? Let’s discuss it together in this issue!
Can starring in Kamen Rider make him famous?
This is rumored, is this true? Although it is an IP with a long history, Kamen Rider is still a tokusatsu drama and a niche drama, so when you star in it, your acting options will be limited. Although the scope of the show is limited, the exposure rate of tokusatsu is quite high. Kamen Rider is broadcast regularly every week. Even if you are not a fan, you will remember “that is the protagonist who starred in XXX Kamen Rider”. The fans you cultivate since childhood will grow up, which will give you an ironclad fan base in the future.
In terms of character influence, the protagonist of Kamen Rider is often the embodiment of justice. Such a righteous image will certainly give actors a brand blessing, especially for new actors.
As a follow-up opportunity, after becoming a Kamen Rider, it will be easier for the agency to help promote the actor, thus receiving a lot of advertisements. Once an actor becomes famous, he or she will be easily invited to appear on TV shows. And if you show your acting skills, you can also be selected by directors to star in movies, TV series, and even stage plays.
Kamen Rider starring actors usually shoot commercials for toys such as the DX Transformation Belt, and the commercials are not played too few times. Some fast food and snack companies will also co-brand with Kamen Rider, so they will also invite the starring actors to appear!
Therefore, for a new actor, becoming the starring role of Kamen Rider is indeed a way to “increase popularity”. Whether he becomes popular depends on the actor’s fortune, strength and luck!
The filming involves not only the actors, but also the director and screenwriter! If the director/screenwriter filming at the same time becomes popular, the actors he has worked with will of course have a better chance of participating in many filming in the future.
Black, due to improvements in special photography technology, fighting design, etc., also accumulated a group of viewers, coupled with the handsome face of actor Tetsuo Kurata, it did cause a short period of popularity at the time. Unfortunately, Kurata’s relationship with Toei was not harmonious due to some minor problems, and he did not have a big management company to support him. Although he had some fans through Black and RX, he still couldn’t become popular.
Becoming a star still requires cultivation!
Becoming a leading actor only opens the way to popularity, but the cultivation of the day after tomorrow, the actor’s own strength and luck are still very important. Not all leading actors can become stars. Here is a list of successful ones for everyone:
- Joe Odagiri: Starring Kuuga, the originator of Heisei, already has strong acting skills, so after the performance, he began to star in many TV series and movies. He is a well-known actor and director in the Japanese entertainment industry!
- Ken Sato: The protagonist of Kamen Rider Den-O, although he is a new actor, he became famous thanks to Ryotaro playing 4 (5-6) roles by himself. His outstanding acting skills attracted many directors. Coupled with the later training of the brokerage company, he has now become a first-line actor.
Kamen Rider Den-O was indeed very popular at the time for many reasons. The leading actors were all endorsed and had opportunities to appear on stage. Therefore, the rumors that the leading actor who played Kamen Rider would become popular actually started with him.
- Masaki Suda: He is one of the two protagonists (Philip) in Kamen Rider W. Like Sato, although he is a newcomer, his acting skills are quite good and his agency is very strong, and he quickly became a first-line actor in Japan.
- Sota Fukushi: Kamen Rider Fourze stars Gentaro Kisaragi. He is also a newcomer, but he has a handsome face. He later starred in many TV series and movies, so many that fans also laughed at him and saw his face everywhere.
- Takeuchi Ryoma: Kamen Rider Drive Tomari Shinnosuke, Kamen Rider is very righteous. He also plays a policeman in the play. He also has a handsome face and that fascinating mole. He has many female fans and later served as the protagonist in many TV movies.
- Fumiya Takahashi: Starring Zero and Kamen Rider ZERO-ONE, this is the debut of a newcomer. He also participated in many TV series in the later period and is regarded as a representative of the new generation.
Of course, not all actors can soar to the sky with Kamen Rider, but by accumulating and growing their fans, they can still rely on Kamen Rider to continue their popularity and gain certain opportunities to appear on stage.
Why do you say you hate it?
Going back to the previous topic, why do some actors who have starred in it still come out and say they hate it? Sometimes it’s the media that misleads us. For example, our Fifth Generation Yusuke (Odagiri Joe) doesn’t hate Kamen Rider, but he doesn’t like special shots for children. He feels there is no place to develop and polish his acting skills. As a stage actor, it is indeed a torture for him to dub people in masks most of the time without giving full play to his acting skills. After many directors and production teams discussed with him, Kuuga added more literary dramas in the later stage, so that he could give full play to his acting skills. He still has a love for this work, and during the 25th anniversary Kuuga exhibition, he returned to record the exhibition speech.
Others were due to the fact that the filming time was too long at that time. Actors usually had to shoot outdoor scenes early in the morning, and also had to take care of stage plays or promotions. This caused great pressure on the body and mind, so they would talk about some negative emotional topics. For example, Takayuki Tsubaki, the lead actor in Kamen Rider Blade, was too stressed during the filming period. At one time, he did not want to mention his Kamen Rider experience, but later he slowly reconciled with fans.
Some actors said in interviews that filming Kamen Rider was a very rigorous training, but they wouldn’t say it was “hateful”. At most, they just said “I didn’t want to see the belt again during that time.”
Kamen Rider is a road to popularity. Even if you can’t become a first-line actor, you can still accumulate considerable popularity and extend your stardom. So as an actor, why would you hate it and miss the opportunity to become famous?
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