Episode 4 – Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider

Like the previous episode, much of this episode is spent in extended flashbacks. After Mitsuba meets the friendly Shock Trooper turned gangster murderer and arsonist, he and his brother spend some time in the countryside with their grandparents. This is interrupted by a rogue Shock Trooper and his human girlfriend, who are then killed by a legitimate Shock Monster – along with Mitsuha’s grandparents.

This flashback does two things. The first one is to set the character of Kazuyo, the last member of the protagonist. Even as a child, he shows no fear and attacks the transformed Shock Troopers without hesitation. Because of this, his performance makes sense when we meet him today. Toshima has been imitating the fighting style of the original all his life kamen riderKazuha did this for the first three Kamen Riders and studied many different real world martial arts. After all, while Tojima wishes the Shock existed, Kazuha knows it does and is determined to be able to fight them.

Another thing about the flashback, and the scene involving Yukarisu, is that the rules are laid out for how Shocker operates. Generally speaking, they live in the shadows with their infantry and live a normal life – although they don’t seem to be very good at it. Furthermore, once you join Shocker, you’re stuck there for life, since trying to quit means you’ll be wiped out. Anyone who knows of the Shock’s existence is put under surveillance, and if the true identity of a Shock member is discovered, they kill all witnesses – except, it seems, children.

It’s this “don’t kill children” thing that raises so many questions. Of course, no one may believe children who believe that monsters from fictional shows are committing crimes such as arson and murder, but these children will one day grow up to become adults like Kazuha, bent on revenge. It’s almost like they were trying to create heroes to fight…

Regardless, this episode highlights how little we know about Shock. Of course, they look a lot like infantry and monsters kamen riderbut this may only be superficial. Heck, we don’t even know if their goal is world domination – God knows they’ve been working toward that goal without opposition for decades. All we know for sure is that the group is both mysterious and arrogant, which could lead to them taking a real beating at the hands of our self-styled Kamen Rider next week.

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