The TV anime "Tojima Tanzaburo wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai" is based on a manga by Shibata Yokusaru, who is known for works such as "Hachi-One Diver." Even at the age of 40, Higashijima Tanzaburou was still serious about becoming Kamen Rider, but just as he was about to give up on his dream, he was caught up in a fake Shocker robbery that caused a stir in the world... This is the story. Kenjiro Tsuda plays Nakao Hachiro, who becomes a Shocker fighter midway through the story. Nakao, played by Tsuda, initially appears as a villain, but is a lovable character that you can't hate. We asked Tsuda about his thoughts on heroes and villains.
◇ Empathize with the frustrations and frustrations of ordinary people
The film depicts adults who love Kamen Rider so much that they "play Kamen Rider seriously." They want to transform like Kamen Rider... Not only children, but adults too should be able to admire heroes. It's a story that makes it easy to understand why, living in today's stressful society, our desire for heroes grows.
"It's a story about the comeback of a good-for-nothing middle-aged man, and it's a work that middle-aged men love. Both Higashijima and Nakao are middle-aged men. But it's not just the middle-aged men; the young characters also have their own concerns about the current situation, and it's a story of each of their struggles. In that sense, I think it's a very courageous work. And I mean that as a compliment, it's also very silly, and almost everyone is an idiot (laughs). It's the best, isn't it? It's a really interesting work with a whole lineup of cute idiots."
Tsuda plays Nakao, a gangster who admires Shocker. Due to the harshness of his childhood, he has doubts about the existence of Kamen Rider, the hero of justice who never saved him, and he becomes devoted to Shocker. During a conflict between gangs, he encounters Spider Man, is pierced through the body, and appears to have lost his life, but becomes a Shocker fighter. He has some middle-management qualities, and there are many points in the character that middle-aged men can relate to.
"Higashijima has a bit of a lone wolf side to him, but Nakao has the feel of a useless big brother in an organization, and he certainly has a middle-management side to him. Nakao is stupid in a good way, so he's not the type to analyze himself well. He's frustrated and on the verge of exploding. He's always had an admiration for villains, so I think he'll resonate with people who like villains. I can understand Nakao's feelings too. Nakao himself is stupid, but his three underlings are stupid too, and cute. At first he looks down on his underlings, but he gradually becomes influenced by them, so Nakao has that kind of drama going on inside him."
Tsuda also commented on Nakao's appeal, saying, "He's an interesting character in a different way from the members of Higashijima's team."
"He's one of the strongest in terms of violence, but he encounters overwhelmingly strong people and ends up frustrated. That's what makes him interesting. Higashijima's team is full of extreme eccentrics, but Nakao has a sense of being an ordinary person, and he experiences the frustrations and frustrations that ordinary people experience. That's another thing that makes him easy to empathize with. Higashijima and the others are extreme, but Nakao is just a Shocker fighter, and he wasn't originally a monster."
◇ The appeal of villains is the high degree of freedom
As Tsuda says, Nakao is a charming and lovable character. How did you try to play him?
"He's an older man who still has some lingering sense of stubbornness towards society, and he hasn't been able to come to terms with it properly. He's a character with very strong irritability and anger, and that's what's at the root of his negative emotions. The other characters have admiration at their roots, but I thought that Nakao's roots lie in irritation towards himself. Also, I had to make sure the comedy parts were funny. There are many characters with a lot of energy, so I wanted to play them carefully while still respecting that energy."
He also said that he "took a bold step" when it came to the Shocker fighter's familiar line, "Yeeeeh!"
"In the historical superhero series Kamen Rider, the transformation scene is a form of catharsis, and Nakao also has a transformation part, so I thought it had to be a strong scene that would give a sense of catharsis. I think there's a sense that a kind of explosion of anger is riding on that 'Yeeeeh!'"
With his deep bass voice and acting ability, Tsuda can play a wide range of roles, from serious to comical. He is also well-known for his villainous roles. When asked about the best part of playing a villain...
"I think it gives you a lot of freedom. There are things that a good character shouldn't do, but that's almost never the case for a villain. You can pretty much do anything and it works, so I think the high degree of freedom is what's appealing. It's fun. You can do a lot of things that you normally can't do or say."
◇Courage given by great people
Did you have a hero when you were a child?
"There weren't many of them when I was a kid. I liked Superman and stuff. I also liked Western movies like Star Wars. Of course, I watched Kamen Rider. For my generation, it was Amazon, and they were really cool. I wanted a Kamen Rider belt. I think heroes become a model, a presence that inspires you. When I reached adolescence, great people like musicians, painters, actors, and film directors became my heroes. I think that not just artists, but great people are almost always eccentric. They have a certain level of concentration, but no social skills. They give me courage."
Tsuda, who is a very successful actor, may seem like a hero, but he says, "I don't think I'm lacking at all."
"I do have the desire to break through. The greats don't play it safe, they just keep running. I think I need to follow their example."
"Tojima Tanzaburo wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai" is also an anime with outstanding appeal.
"Not only is the setting interesting, but there's also the drama of the characters, and each one is serious, sometimes silly, but also cute. It's full of humanity. You might wonder why they devoted so much time to an episode where Nakao fights a chicken, but it's a luxurious anime that's hungry for laughs."
"It's ridiculous," as Tsuda often said, is the highest compliment. We want to break through, but it's not easy to do so in our everyday lives. "Tojima Tanzaburo wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai" may be the anime that gives us courage.
The original story of "Tojima Tanzaburo wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai" began serialization in "Monthly Heroes" (Heroes) in 2018, and is currently being serialized on the manga distribution site "Comiplex" (same publisher). Ishimori Productions and Toei are collaborating. The anime is currently being broadcast on TOKYO MX and other channels. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
