On March 7th, it was announced that "Tojima Tanzaburo wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai," a manga by Shibata Yokusaru, who is known for works such as "Hachi-One Diver," will be made into an anime. On March 5th, a mysterious advertisement reading "Shocker Appears!!" appeared inside the east ticket gates of JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, which became a hot topic, and it was revealed that the manga is the anime version of "Tojima Tanzaburo wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai."
The series began serialization in "Monthly Heroes" (Heroes, currently out of publication) in 2018, and is currently being serialized on the manga distribution site "Comiplex" (same publisher). It depicts adults who love "Kamen Rider" too much, "playing Kamen Rider in earnest." The story is about Higashijima Tanzaburou, who was serious about becoming "Kamen Rider" even at the age of 40, but just when he was about to give up on his dream, he gets caught up in a "fake Shocker" robbery case that is causing a stir in the world. Ishimori Productions and Toei are cooperating with the series.
To commemorate the anime adaptation, a new visual drawn by Shibata has been released. As in volumes 1 and 13 of the manga, it depicts the main character, Higashijima Tansaburo, holding up a Kamen Rider mask. Shibata commented, "I never thought the day would come when Higashijima Tansaburo would scream at the top of his lungs in an anime! This is a simple, passionate story about a kid who wanted to be Kamen Rider, but ended up as an adult! It's so passionate that viewers might find themselves screaming along with Higashijima! 'Rider punch!!!!' 'Rider kick!!!!'" A trailer using cuts from the original work was also released on YouTube.
A production presentation for the series will be held on March 23rd at the Aniplex booth at AnimeJapan 2025, which will be held at Tokyo Big Sight (Koto-ku, Tokyo). In addition to the voice actor who will play the main character, Higashijima Tanzaburou, new information about the anime will be announced. A mysterious advertisement that appeared on March 5th also foretells the "invasion of Shocker."
