1 source May 25
Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider Review: The Power of Love Drives the Back Half
Anime News Network reviews episodes 15-24 of Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider, noting the plot solidifies into one interconnected arc. Bat Man's plan for world domination involves turning Japanese idols into Combatmen and using them as honey traps.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Why it matters
The review positions the series' campy premise as a vehicle for a sincere exploration of love and obsession, with real stakes and character deaths that elevate the conflict beyond typical children's fare.
Key Facts
- Bat Man's plan for world domination turns Japanese idols into Combatmen and uses them as honey traps to convert otaku fans into a Shocker army.
- Love breaks mind control in the series: Yukarisu's love for Mitsuba frees her, a yakuza trio's brotherly love saves their boss Nakao, and Spider Man falls for Sena and reconsiders humanity.
- Bat Man's hubris, believing no human can overpower him, sets up his downfall in the series.
The review highlights the series' central theme: the power of love, which breaks mind control and fuels the heroes' obsessive pursuit of their dreams. The back half also explores the personal costs of single-minded dedication.
Bat Man's scheme in the back half of Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider targets the Japanese idol industry. He turns every idol into a Combatman, then pairs them with otaku fans to convert those fans as well. The plan aims to build an unstoppable Shocker army. The anime plays this campy plot straight, with scenes of crying women killed and turned into sex-slave honey traps. Named supporting characters die. The stakes feel real.
The series' core theme is love. Love breaks mind control for former Shocker heroes. Yukarisu's love for Mitsuba frees her. A yakuza trio's brotherly love for their boss Nakao saves them. Spider Man falls for Sena and reconsiders humanity. The Kamen Rider heroes love their fictional idols so obsessively they want to become them. That love drives them past their limits. Bat Man's hubris, believing no human can overpower him, sets up his downfall.
The back half also examines the cost of obsession. Tojima punches trees. Yuriko works out constantly. Ichiyo trains in isolation. None have social lives except Mitsuba, and that only because Yukarisu was sent to seduce him. Each sees themselves as the hero of their own story.
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Sources
- Anime News Network Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider Episodes 15-24 Anime Review