Secret Origins, Part 2

Previously, I set the stage for "The Men Who Made Kamen Rider", Oda Katsumi & Muraeda Kenichi's comic recreation of the original Kamen Rider origin story... the origin of the franchise itself. And now, the beginning (of the beginning.)

Chapter 1: Crybaby Producer (Part 1)

The story opens with a flashback to the ruins of a bombed out city. It's not made clear just who it is (yet), but a young boy sits alone, until he looks up and sees... Kamen Rider 1! It's a metaphorical thing, don't worry it'll get explained later.

Jump ahead to the late 1960's, where the Toei staff are screening the final episode of Giant Robo. While most regard it as the end of just another kiddie show, one among them is crying a river. This is Hirayama Tôru, the creative producer at Toei who would have a hand in creating, producing or doing something-ing with many of the company's series from the early 60's all the way up to the early/mid 80's.

Hirayama takes this stuff seriously, even if no one else does (this becomes an extremely important fact later on.) Following the screening, he runs into fellow Toei alumni and old friend Uchida Yuusaku, who takes him on an impromptu trip to see...

Ikuta Studios. The rented space looks like a dump now, but Uchida is convinced that great things are going to be coming from this place! To that end, he explains his vision for the new series, and dumps the responsibility of everything on Hirayama's shoulders. Because he's going to be the producer, after all! Hirayama begins the arduous tasks of pre-series planning; series outlines, early casting try-outs, dashing about trying to get the ball rolling.

By the early 1970's, the next big sensation (even if Toei didn't know how big) was looking... not exactly like what we know it to be. So at this point, it's arguable that Kamen Rider hasn't actually been created yet. More like the show that will become Kamen Rider after many many alterations. At the moment, the show is called Maskman K, and is about a professional wrestler who also fights evil!

And Hirayama needs someone to actually design the hero. So who does he turn to?

This guy.

Next Time: The "trouble" part I mentioned earlier rears its ugly head. And Ishinomori shows us that yes, he was a bonafide genius.

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