[Tokumonkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IXRollOutIX

I certainly hope not, but Ex-Aid's Level 1 looks like a suit to me. I do wonder what the point of Level 1 even is though. Like, why bother inventing a Driver that turns you into something like THAT just when it's then going to turn you into a proper superhero a moment later? For what purpose?

Unfortunately, until we get to the series, the answer will be "Because that's what they did with the retail action figure line." I guess a similar argument could've been made for Kamen Rider Kabuto or Den-O. I suspect the connective tissue will be an associated video game that affects an 8- or 16-bit style.

I hope you're wrong and that the chibi suits are CGI, largely because I'd prefer that the suit budget go more unique Riders and enemies. (I don't necessarily think you're wrong; that looks like a physical object to me, too.)

A few people have mentioned that the helmet doesn't look (enough) like a Rider helmet. One of the things I love most about seeing a new Rider design is imagining the process and intention that went into it.

The Heisei Kamen Rider suits - mostly the helmets - seem to always contain some reference to the original Kamen Rider. The most frequently-riffed elements seem to be the eyes, antennae, jewel, and mandible-faceplate. In the designs with bug eyes, it's easiest to see the lineage, but sometimes, they get creative. Gaim re-imagined the compound eyes as the meat of an orange. There was an obvious jewel and reference to the mandible. I'd also argue that the blade on the helmet is a riff on antennae. Drive took the same idea of eyes, but this time, saw them as a headlight, and imagined the mandibles as a car's interior. Wizard crossed the jewel with the compound eyes. The helmets aren't the only points of reference: W riffed on the scarf, and Drive had the piping on the arms and legs.

I'd also argue that Hibiki deliberately contains elements, specifically re-imagining the antennae as horns and the jewel as the oni face, but the design went so far afield, people still tend to suspect it wasn't originally a Kamen Rider show. (As I understand it, that got debunked.)

Ex-Aid's got the jewel, and I can't decide whether the molded hair is supposed to be a re-imagining of the antenna. It's SUCH a stretch, I find it just as likely that visor is an antennae reference, or that they didn't do an antennae reference at all in this iteration. As clear as most of these scans are, I still can't quite make out whether there's a compound-eye texture to the orange part of the eyes. Maybe the green on the jaw is a mandible reference?

All of it is arguable, of course, much like the number thing. After all, I'm just guessing at the intentions of the designers. I do find it interesting that Ex-Aid's Gekitotsu Robots level-up adds something clearly more antenna-like.

Am I squinting too hard? Anything I've missed?