[Den-O]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Oh no. Oh god, no. That would be the worst thing ever. I'd take doughnut tranny as the secondary Rider over another Gai Ikari.


I'd like that more, but it'll never happen. I recently heard an explanation for why there are so few female Riders and it made the whole thing click with me, to the point where I doubt we'll ever see one as a regular on a show. Kamen Rider is, first and foremost, a merchandise-driven show for little boys. One of the biggest aspects of the merchandising is the roleplay belts and weapons. How many little boys in Japan are going to buy a roleplay belt that would turn them into a girl character?

It's unfortunate that we have to define what is a "boys" or "girls" toy. I'm sure there are little girls in Japan who like rider and sentai as well. But they get screwed on the role play toys in the current setup. I know that female characters, much like villains, don't sell and are hard to merchandise though. It's a shame that that puts us in situations like this. Where a female lead character in a power position is almost out of the question. It'd just be nice if franchises like this could appeal more, or would try to appeal more to young girls if they aren't willing to make their products broad enough to appeal to both demographics simultaneously.