K
Krisvee
Guest
I’ve been wanting to know this for quite a while.
I have been watching a Japanese franchise called Kamen Rider that started all the way back in 1971.
The original show was about Takeshi Hongo who was kidnapped by the evil organization, Shocker, to be turned into a cyborg. Shocker meant for Hongo to be their weapon, but he turned their own technology against them in order to uphold justice and protect the world. Since then, Kamen Riders are still using the powers of monsters as protectors of humanity.
Hiroshi Fujiyoka has quoted saying:
“There’s a Shocker in everyone. It’s a hero who notices it for themselves, fights it, and overcomes it.”
This is to say that heroes grow from their mistakes and downfalls. Whatever monster you have within does not make you a monster. A hero uses what they have to do something worthwhile.
Even though it looks like a typical hero show, its premise is a nuanced take on what it means to be a hero, blurring the line between hero and monster. Kamen Riders can be heroes, but their powers also make them the same in some ways to the monsters they fight. Sometimes, fellow Kamen Riders are even the villains. Each show offers new lessons and new statements to make on the world, sometimes going so far as to comment on politics and war.
Some Rider shows are episodic, some are intense character dramas, and some comment on the human condition. In the end, it always comes back to protecting people and becoming something more than the monsters that the Kamen Riders share their powers with. It always comes back to making the world a better place and becoming a hero.
Some examples are Kamen Rider Fourze that focuses on friendship and an intense determination to help others work through their insecurities. It’s also about helping others feel accepted even if those people are considered outcasts. Kamen Rider Faiz, is a story about heroes whose powers come from a phone and yet serves as an ironically cautionary tale about communicating properly with the people you care about. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, while video game themed, is about setting aside differences to work together for the benefit of everyone. Kamen Rider Build is about the importance of love and peace because even the most miraculous advancements can be corrupted and twisted into something evil or violent when you lose sight of those values.
They are meant to be the best of humanity, often coming from someone who otherwise would have been a completely average person. They are characters who face the worst the (supernatural) world can throw at them and who still come out finding a way to make the world better in light of that.
Accepting others for who they are and standing up for the freedoms of others, even just their right to do what makes them happy, is a big part of what Kamen Rider demonstrates year after year. It teaches to stick up for others, to do what we can because we have a responsibility to, as well as to simply be kind. It teaches us to be the best versions of us we can be and to take our weak points and grow from them. It teaches us not to let the Shocker within ourselves win.
That being said… is this something that I, as a Catholic, should watch?
I have been watching a Japanese franchise called Kamen Rider that started all the way back in 1971.
The original show was about Takeshi Hongo who was kidnapped by the evil organization, Shocker, to be turned into a cyborg. Shocker meant for Hongo to be their weapon, but he turned their own technology against them in order to uphold justice and protect the world. Since then, Kamen Riders are still using the powers of monsters as protectors of humanity.
Hiroshi Fujiyoka has quoted saying:
“There’s a Shocker in everyone. It’s a hero who notices it for themselves, fights it, and overcomes it.”
This is to say that heroes grow from their mistakes and downfalls. Whatever monster you have within does not make you a monster. A hero uses what they have to do something worthwhile.
Even though it looks like a typical hero show, its premise is a nuanced take on what it means to be a hero, blurring the line between hero and monster. Kamen Riders can be heroes, but their powers also make them the same in some ways to the monsters they fight. Sometimes, fellow Kamen Riders are even the villains. Each show offers new lessons and new statements to make on the world, sometimes going so far as to comment on politics and war.
Some Rider shows are episodic, some are intense character dramas, and some comment on the human condition. In the end, it always comes back to protecting people and becoming something more than the monsters that the Kamen Riders share their powers with. It always comes back to making the world a better place and becoming a hero.
Some examples are Kamen Rider Fourze that focuses on friendship and an intense determination to help others work through their insecurities. It’s also about helping others feel accepted even if those people are considered outcasts. Kamen Rider Faiz, is a story about heroes whose powers come from a phone and yet serves as an ironically cautionary tale about communicating properly with the people you care about. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, while video game themed, is about setting aside differences to work together for the benefit of everyone. Kamen Rider Build is about the importance of love and peace because even the most miraculous advancements can be corrupted and twisted into something evil or violent when you lose sight of those values.
They are meant to be the best of humanity, often coming from someone who otherwise would have been a completely average person. They are characters who face the worst the (supernatural) world can throw at them and who still come out finding a way to make the world better in light of that.
Accepting others for who they are and standing up for the freedoms of others, even just their right to do what makes them happy, is a big part of what Kamen Rider demonstrates year after year. It teaches to stick up for others, to do what we can because we have a responsibility to, as well as to simply be kind. It teaches us to be the best versions of us we can be and to take our weak points and grow from them. It teaches us not to let the Shocker within ourselves win.
That being said… is this something that I, as a Catholic, should watch?
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