Posted on September 30, 2025
tomohisa yuge and the case of the stolen bedroom
as must be obvious by this point, I’m a big fan of kamen rider – and when you’ve seen 35+ seasons of a show, you’re bound to have some favorites. setting aside the showa seasons as their own category (since to me, they’re just incomparably good), I’m particularly fond of the seasons from the early to mid 2000s. there’s just something about them that clicks, y’know?
one season in particular that has permanently burrowed its way into the rotten apple of my brain is the 2002 season kamen rider ryuki, the twelfth installment of the franchise. now, I could go on and on about the protagonists or the plot – but I’m not here to sell you on ryuki. no, today I’m here to solve a mystery… one involving manga, magazines, and one very particular teen model… was this my toughest case yet? read on to find out!
(more…)Posted on July 11, 2025
the mystery of the calbee cards
while doing research for a future project, I noticed something strange… was it a figment of my imagination? or had a phantom kamen rider appeared?! read on to find out!
(more…)Posted on July 3, 2025
Kamen Rider Cafe Culture – rating system
as observant readers will know, I am a huge fan of the tokusatsu franchise kamen rider – having watched the whole thing (watching week-to-week these days, as it airs), one thing that always stuck out to me was that cafes, bars and restaurants crop up in over half the seasons, often serving as some kind of “HQ” for the lead characters to come back to. so, I got to thinking – I should review these joints! both as dining establishments, but also to try and understand a little bit more about what purpose they serve in the plot as a whole. read on to hear more about the rating system I’ve been devising as the first part of this series!
(more…)Posted on June 23, 2025
edogawa ranpo covers part 5 – the edge of kodansha-hunting
as I’ve been looking for various versions of the edogawa ranpo boy detective series, there’s one edition that stood out from the rest – read on to learn more about this hair-raising kodansha selection, their unreal cover illustrations, illusive authorship and perhaps… a connection to kamen rider?!
(more…)Posted on December 8, 2020
I am Tachibana Tobei
my bf and I recently finished watching Kamen Rider Black RX, the last of the seasons before the big hiatus (and consequently, being the last of the showa-era seasons), so we thought we’d be in for some early 2000s goodness up next with Kamen Rider Kuuga – until I remembered, we’d actually skipped the 4th chronological season, Kamen Rider Amazon, from back in 1974. honestly, we skipped it because it seemed too, uh, offensive – especially for the timeslot we watch these things in (first thing with breakfast, baby!!!), and I hadn’t felt equipped to deal with the whiplash of 1970s primitivism so early in the morning – and then eventually we just forgot about it. but now, after a quick u-turn, we’re making our way through it as well.
one of my favorite parts about the early seasons that I’d forgotten was the holdover character who crossed multiple riders/seasons as a “recurring mentor”, Tachibana Tobei – is he a racing coach? owner of a motorcycle shop? cafe proprietor? itinerant, jeep-dwelling eccentric, desperate for any kind of kamen rider contact? all of the above, of course! and zipping back to season 4, we’ve been delighted to have our fill of ol’ oyassan again.
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