[Xtreme RX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macblo

Zio looks... alright. The suit itself looks fine, though I'm still not sure how I feel about the large chest armor as it looks kind of awkward from certain angles, I wasn't really feeling the helmet when I first saw it but its grown on me since then.

On the subject of the female Zio rumor, I have a question. Kamen Rider, above all else, is a toy commercial not a tv show. It does not exist to challenge social ideals or anything of the like, it exists to pump out highly marketable heroes every year to sell toys and other merchandise to a primarily male market of both children and, to a lesser extent, adults. The question is, are there any financial benifits for Toei and Bandai to make Zio female rather then male.

Lupinranger and Patoranger is selling well in the toys department, exceptionally and unprecedentedly so for the girl rangers. This is mostly due to the casting of Haruka Kudo, a former idol (Morning Musume), as Lupin Yellow. Toei and Bandai could be trying to repeat this success by having the next Rider being played by an idol or popular female personality as well.

From a creative standpoint, Toei might have just figured now, if any, is a good time to experiment. An anniversary series is a safe, low-risk playground for experimentation. People will watch the show regardless due to the return of legendary heroes, and the toys will sell for the same reason. At best, it could attract a new demographic to join the already existing one, at worst it would be a harmless try at something new (especially if the season is rumoured to be shorter than usual).