[Kiwami]

I don't know where else to put this, but I finished the original Kamen Rider manga release from Seven Seas Entertainmen over the weekend and need to talk about it. I knew some parts about it beforehand, but not the end. Jesus.

It's 50 years old by now, but just in case someone is planning to pick this new release up in the near future and doesn't want to get spoiled I'll put it in tags:

The final arc of the manga deals with "Project October", a plan by Shocker to flood the market with high-tech TV's and wristwatches which in combination with a giant machine brain can control people's free will.

Kamen Rider infiltrates the secret base, faces the final enemy "Big Machine" who in their fight reveals - it wasn't Shocker who put this plan in motion. It was the Japanese government. Shocker simply found out about their plans while they were already happening, jumped into action and usurped the plan for their own gain.

So yes, one final revelation of Kamen Rider is that the government wanted to put mind-controlling devices out there. At the end there's even a panel were a TV-broadcast is being watched in which a politician who is confronted with these claims just says "I won't resign!".

Ishinomori never did feel the need to pull his punches, damn.