“Shin Kamen Rider” embraces modernity. A look at good and evil, violence, and power

What the “mask” symbolizes

To begin with, Kamen Rider is a tragic hero. Hongo wears a mask in order to demonstrate his power, but as symbolized by the line in the manga, "Only a mask hides the scars...the heart," he becomes a non-human. It is also to cover one's face. The sadness of having no choice but to accept fate and move forward, and the true feelings of not wanting to fight. In ``Shin Kamen Rider,'' there is a symbolic scene in which Hongo sheds tears while wearing a mask, and the ``mask'' also functions as a device to depict his feelings.

What I am reminded of here is a quote by manga artist Masato Hayase, who is Shotaro Ishinomori's drawing assistant, who said, ``The distinctive feature of Ishinomori Hero's mask design is the tear line under his eyes.'' The sadness and loneliness of being forced to fight is part of Kamen Rider's identity.

In addition, Shotaro Ishinomori says this in the afterword of the manga. ``In today's modern society, where it is unclear whether justice is right or wrong, the simple, natural, but important concept (belief) that ``justice always triumphs over evil'' was firmly ingrained in my consciousness as a child. As long as you can keep it there, that would be meaningful."

This article was written after expressing his anxiety about ``to what extent was the author's intention conveyed within the standards of a TV movie for young children and a manga for young boys, and whether it was conveyed to viewers and readers?'' Ishinomori's mission is to present children with a kind of catharsis in which ``justice triumphs over evil,'' but he also says ``Nature's rebellion against ``civilization'' (represented by technology), which is walking on a distorted path. Kamen Rider was depicted as a messenger for that warning.

However, 50 years have passed since then, and I feel that the message that ``justice always triumphs over evil'' no longer necessarily resonates with children. Rather, in today's online society, faceless people wearing the mask of justice are overflowing with acts of hurting others through the "violence" of words, and what is needed as a Arrival rather than "justice drives out evil" is " It may be about ``eliminating conflicts'' and ``understanding others who are in different positions'' or reaching mutual understanding through dialogue.

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