Finally, "MASKED RIDER BLACK" will be added to the lineup of "S.H.Figuarts SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU" and "KAMEN RIDER Series". We interviewed two people who are closely related to the works. The first interview is with Masato Hayase, who joined Ishimori Productions at the time of the "MASKED RIDER BLACK" series and was an assistant to Shotaro Ishinomori, the original author. He talked a lot about the behind-the-scenes stories of those days, as well as what he saw when he saw the prototype of the product.

■Long Long Ago ――Episode at the time of "MASKED RIDER BLACK"

──I heard that you joined Ishimori Productions because of the manga version of Kamen Rider Black.

Hayase:“At that time, I was one of the fans, and when I heard that Ishinomori-sensei was going to serialize Kamen Rider in a boy’s magazine for the first time in a long time, I was excited. And I was looking forward to reading "Weekly Shonen Sunday" every week, and one day there was an announcement for an assistant recruitment on the "pillar" on the outside of the magazine. I was still a university student at the time, but I thought, "This is my chance!" However, that recruitment was for a post-Black project, so I joined the company in 1989, after graduating from university. The next work "MASKED RIDER BLACK RX" has already started on TV.

──If there is anything you know about Kamen Rider Black, please let us know.

Hayase:The first "Kamen Rider" was serialized in Kodansha's "Weekly Bokura Magazine" and later moved to "Weekly Shonen Magazine". Therefore, Kamen Rider Black was originally planned to be serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine. However, "Weekly Shonen Magazine" at that time had many manga with different lines, and it seems that it was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Sunday" because it did not match the color of the magazine. I haven't had a deep conversation with Mr. Ishinomori about "Black", but I think it was a work that Mr. Ishinomori started with extraordinary motivation. As you can see from the fact that it was called "Kamen Rider 0" at the planning stage, "Kamen Rider Black" was a work that aimed to return to the original. Like the old "Amazon" and "Kamen Rider (new)".

──As for the title, why was the manga "Black" while the TV was "BLACK"?

──I was shocked by the design that eliminated the gloves, boots, and mufflers that are symbols of Kamen Rider.

Hayase:Gloves and boots are designs derived from "riders", but such common sense changes as the times go by. The muffler must have felt old back then. This style was inherited by later Heisei riders. But mufflers have been revived in Kamen Rider W. That was the setting of "Wind Rider", so it was an idea to express the wind.

── Also, I will never forget the existence of the SHADOW MOON

Hayase:The contrast between the silver SHADOW MOON and the black main rider is wonderful. It is a wonderful design that combines the mechanical lines and riders that Katsushi Murakami is good at. It was also novel that the leg trigger of the ankle moved every time I walked. The staff's willingness to take on new challenges like that raised the quality of the work "MASKED RIDER BLACK".

── And the production of "MASKED RIDER BLACK RX" as a follow-up program is also a point unique to "BLACK".

Hayase:It was the first attempt in the series to make a sequel with the same protagonist. But personally, at first I felt uncomfortable with riders using weapons and riding in cars. I don't think it's a good remark from my current position (laughs). But the author, Ishinomori-sensei, gave the OK, so I was convinced. And because of the precedent of RX, I didn't hesitate to let the "Heisei Kamen Riders" I was involved with carry weapons and ride cars. "It's what Mr. Ishinomori did, so there's no problem." In other words, RX became an indulgence (laughs).

■ Over time ―― BLACK revived by the SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU

──From here, I would like to ask you about SHFiguarts. What do you think of the completeness of figures in recent years?

Hayase:Since that time, BLACK has been blessed with action figure adaptations. MINAMI KOTARO There were good products such as "MASKED RIDER BLACK Full Action," in which the figure is given a suit, and "DX Transformation MASKED RIDER BLACK," in which the figure assumes a transformation pose when it receives a flash from the TV screen. As expected, it was not possible to reproduce the exact same pose as in the movie, but technological advances solved the dissatisfaction of fans at that time. After the first S.H.Figuarts, more realistic products were released, and I thought the new SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU was the definitive version.

* From the left of the image, the 2009 release version, the 2013 release version, and the rightmost version is the "SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU" version scheduled to be released in 2021.

──In the early days, SHFiguarts had no problem even if the arrangement of the figure was added as long as it matched as a symbol, but with the progress of technology, the user's eyes became more discerning, and the figure was required to have the same balance as the real thing. Because it was.

Hayase:According to the story I heard from the person in charge of SHFiguarts at the beginning, it seems that the concept was heroic proportions rather than TV. Since the concept itself is different, it is wrong to compare old and new side by side. As a toy, both are correct answers.

Heisei, then Reiwa - Run through the Kamen Rider era

──“Kamen Rider”, which was born in the Showa era, passed through “BLACK” and was inherited by the Heisei and Reiwa series. What do you think is the reason Kamen Rider has been around for such a long time?

Hayase:Professor Ishinomori once said: ``Kamen Riders will definitely come back when the time comes, so don't panic even if there is a blank. And in fact, the series continues even now. I think that's because Kamen Rider has changed flexibly according to the times. As I mentioned earlier, I threw away the trademark muffler and abolished the expression of gloves and boots, but in order to create something new like that, it is also important to deny the past. I think that if we were too caught up in the past, we would not be able to move forward as a series, and we would not have been able to attract new fans. And I think that many people were surprised by the bizarre design of the Heisei Riders, but there were many eccentric designs in the proposals for the riders that Mr. Ishinomori thought of that were not adopted. I was also surprised by the wide range of the swing, such as the face that I could not think of as a hero design, and the converter lang on the chest that resembled the rider's face. That's why even if a rider with a crazy design appears in the Heisei series, in the end it's just dancing on Mr. Ishinomori's palm. That's why I think it's hard for those who are in charge of rider design. It's a battle of "how to deviate from Mr. Ishinomori's palm" (laughs).

──From "Kuuga", the setting of a remodeled human has disappeared.

Hayase:This is because medical technology has developed and artificial organ transplantation has become commonplace. However, such artificial organs are just a substitute, and they do not get the super power of riders, and on the contrary, some people are suffering. Therefore, I had to omit the setting of a modified human. At first, I was afraid that I would lose my rider-ness, but I can't make a hero show that could promote discrimination. Also, the fact that multiple riders have appeared in one work is not justice, but it seems to be a microcosm of the times when it varies depending on the position and person.

Interview cooperation: World Photo Press "Figure King" editorial department / shooting cooperation: Fumiya Kato