[ShiShiLeo]

Another facet that is sometimes overlooked is the idea of power. That the original Kamen Rider was essentially a cyborg that was made for bad turned good, is one of my favorite themes from the entire franchise, and why I tend to like the series where that element is most prevalent.

Certain International Relations Theory would suggest that power always gives way to evil, but Kamen Rider attempts to show that power can be good too. Riders protect others because they have the power to do so. Dreams, smiles, hopes, are all things being threatened by evil power, and Kamen Rider is the good power that rises up to the challenge.

One of the design elements of the original Ichigo helmet are the "tears" below the compound eyes.

These represent the inherent remorse of using violence and power to overcome... violence and power. Kamen Rider heroism is about having power and using it as force for good.

I think Kuuga represents optimism. The state of affairs in Japan circa 2000 was an optimism which included police and by extension government authority, as a force of good. And Kuuga worked with them because at the time working within the system yielded better results than rebelling from the outside. This is something that obviously fluctuates over time and zeitgeist, and as we see more corruption at different levels (and a lot of the time, not government, but corporate) Kamen Rider has adapted those core values to fit modern times to varying degrees of success.



Peace and justice are social constructs but human life is an exacting quantity. From the very beginning I never thought that Riders saw themselves as arbitrators of justice or even equality in the same way other super heroes try to uphold an internalized (note: not socially agreed upon) sense of law and order. At the end of the day, they are human and imperfect, but at least they have something they will stand for that doesn't endanger others.