One of the most enjoyable things for me watching Tokusatsu over the last 8 or 9 years has been seeing all the unique and clever character designs. This year, I have decided to take a break from watching the ongoing Kamen Rider series. That is kind of a big deal for me because I have been watching Rider, as it airs, for the last 7 years. Kamen Rider, unlike Power Rangers and most other television in the United States, airs almost every single week of the year. That means that the people producing the show have to be working on it for about a year. They need to make stories, create compelling hero and monster designs and coordinate choreographed fights that will be engaging and exciting all year long. That may sound crazy, but I go to my work and do my job every week, all year long and I have been working at the same place for about 11 years. Put thay way, it means these folks probably have decent job security.
Anyway, I bring this all up to give credit and respect to many of the wonderful designs done by PLEX and others. I particulalrly love the monster designs done by Kia Asamiya, who worked on Kamen Rider Fourze and Kazuhiko Shinamoto who worked on Kamen Rider Ghost.
So much of the design work is fantastic. I stress this all becuase I am astonished by how much I dislike this design from the currently airing show: Kamen Rider Zi-O. I can’t really find anything appealing or redeeming about it. These shows are made in part to sell toys and this doesn’t cut it. That’s too bad. I suppose they can’t all be winners, right?
For perspective, my wife told me that the above design “looks like all the other monsters” I have shown her over the years. I guess you can’t help who you love, right?
MJ Muñoz 