Kamen Rider W (2009)

This is an outstanding family-friendly action-adventure drama with loveable characters and complex story-telling; a must-watch for Suda Masaki's fans.


Tokusatsu genre has a bad rep. "Cringey", "full of overacting", "soulless money grab" are just several examples of accusations thrown at tokusatsu. Ultimately, though, the best tokusatsu dramas have much more in common with family-friendly classics than with shows for little kids. Think Hayao Miyazaki, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, or any given shounen manga - family-friendly just means it's exciting enough to keep kids engaged and that there is no nudity.

Kamen Rider W is exactly like this. Once the viewers accept the hyperbolic world-building and exaggerated acting as necessities of the genre, they are able to enjoy the complex multilayered story at the heart of the show.

The complexity is created by many factors. There is a postmodernism premise that includes main character (Hidari 'Left' Shotaro), a hard-boiled detective wannabe, who solves cases in hilariously family-friendly 'Gothem'-city. Naturally, his hard-boiled code of conduct requires him to religiously wear a fedora and to document all of his cases using a typewriter (while writing down Japanese words in Romaji). Little details like a giant industrial fan that obstructs the view from the private eye's office add further hilarity. Other characters never get tired of pointing out the ridiculous set-up providing much embarrassment for poor Shotaro.

There is, of course, a string of femme fatales but like any noir hero worth his salt Shotaro cares the most about his detective partner Philip. The duo of Shotaro and Philip is narrative gold. Shotaro is a character who does his utmost to pursue the toxic masculinity ideal but fails every time due to his compassionate heart and caring nature. Philip, on the other hand, is Shotaro's perfect foil - he looks delicate, he faints during Kamen Rider transformations, and he couldn't care less about any hard-boiled rep. He is also coldly rational and posses absolute knowledge and a raw power unmatched by Shotaro. In fact, Philip comes quite close to that toxic masculinity ideal.

This subversive interplay between character traits makes for charged conflicts and great character development.

Philip has a mysterious past full of abuse the extent of which is only hinted at. There are many similarly hard topics raised in the show but they are never spelled out due to the need to hide them from the young viewers.

The central arc is very coherent. New plot developments reliably catch the viewer unawares because the clever foreshadowing is easy to dismiss. The smaller arcs vary in quality, though.

The villains of the show are entertaining and relatable, and Akiko (the female lead) is one of those rare truly nicely done female characters. She may seem loud at first, but it's impossible not to like her several episodes in.

The acting deserves a special mention. Tokusatsu usually features young inexperienced actors. Kamen Rider W, though, struck gold with its leads. Kiriyama Renn who plays Shotaro was already a solid actor. He hard-carried many scenes keeping the right balance between exaggerated comic acting and more subtle one. On the contrary, Suda Masaki was playing his first ever role - Philip; indeed, he was just 16 years old. It turned out, though, that Suda was a genius.

Now, ten years since the premiere, no one in Japan doubts Suda's ability to act; after all, he received the 'Best Actor' academy award when he was just 25. However, he had never stood before the camera at the start of the Kamen Rider W shooting and it shows. Suda can barely act in the first episode; he struggles with Tokyo dialect having been raised in Osaka with its Kansai-ben; he visibly cringes when he needs to say a line about never trying Osaka's famous takoyaki. It's hilarious. But Suda needs just a couple of episodes to visibly improve. By the end of the show, he is a solid actor.

Watching one of the most acclaimed Japanese actor pick up acting skills at a neck-breaking speed is an entertainment all on its own.

((In fact, Suda's acting was too good. Once an actor proves himself capable, he never gets the simple roles popular in mainstream. The same way early careers of Ikematsu Sosuke, Ayano Gou, or Kubota Masataka are filled with roles of serial killers, rapists, and outcasts, Suda's career took an art house turn with endless variations of the young delinquent role. It took a lot of time and effort before Suda was back in the mainstream.))

The final layer of complexity comes from the many clever metaphors and world-building details. For example, Shotaro uses Joker Gaya-Memory while Philip uses Cyclone. The names seem silly until the whole story is revealed and the connection to the story progression becomes apparent.

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Half-boiled plot Hard-boiled fun

Double is at it's best when the Narumi Detective Office is solving problems around the city of Futo. Monster of the week really works for the premise if you're into that. The writers have captured the feel of a small town really well using reccuring characters and a fun, and memorable supporting cast. Despite saying that, the latter half of the series' more serious plot is arguably the weakest part of the show in my opinion. Regardless the series remains good throughout it's run, I was sad to be leaving Futo when it was all over.
Give it a try if you like the sound of that, or if you just think Double's suit is cool. You won't be dissapointed.

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Best Series and Favorite

Maybe this is after Kamen Rider Ryuki, and this is my favorite series and suddenly I fell in love with the Kamen Rider W (Double) series. I am very fond of the acting of Masaki Suda & Kiriyama Renn, these two actors are my favorites as well as the Kamen Rider W series seems very good and already famous in Japan.

Why am I suddenly in love with this series?

1. I like Hidari Shotaro's personality which is really similar to me, as well as from his person, even though he has a few flaws and looks stupid and careless he is also similar to Kido Shinji (Kamen Rider Ryuki).

2. Sonozaki Raito / Phillip wahh he is a genius reminds me of a character in the Digimon Adventure anime, Izumi Koushiro. Not only that, his acting is good and cool as well as he can solve problem cases.

3. Finally, I like the Second Rider too even though he has an emotional nature but he is also a great policeman and can protect and protect people and also this series has the theme of Private Detective elements in mixed police cases.

Kamen Rider W has the theme of a private detective, Half Boiled & police cases.

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- MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD -

Because I'm obsessed with Suda Masaki in case you didn't already know I have seen W more times than I'm comfortable saying aloud lol and okay the thing about Kamen Rider is no matter how cynical you may be you will cry like a baby several times during any season. And for seasons like Amazon, W and Build its even worse. So honestly this season just has that nostalgia factor for me. But while Amazon is super dark, and Build is emotional and angsty, W is way more light hearted and then gets dark toward the end. But like I said throughout the season even plenty of dark stuff and messed up stuff is going on from Phillip's family being the worst family on the planet lol no exaggeration... the father made his own son and daughters part of weird experiments, had his son in law put through hell, and to top it all off, used his DEAD SON TO FURTHER HIS CRAZY CAUSE. And the mother is no different! She manipulated Accel into being powerful enough so he could be W with Philip FOR NO GODDAMN REASON and then manipulated HER OWN SON to go against Shotaro, once again FOR NO GODDAMN REASON lol So as families go, the Sonozakis do crazy like no other. So naturally because Shotaro loves Philip, it's painful to watch him struggling with self-doubt because first the son-in-law (who eventually became a good person but they killed him anyhow and it pissed me off but whatever), then Philip's sister, then his father, then the goddamed mother tries to break them up ffs talk about Family in law from HELL lol but bro have you seeeen Phillip lol he looks like an androgynous fairy how can you not fall for him hard. Ahhh okay enough rambling XD but yes I loveeee these two!

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It's Fun

This show debuted in 2009, I was still a child at that time. Probably if I had watched it when it premiered, I would have said: "This is really cool". Watching now I must say that it still looks cool. But it is clearly for an audience different from me. Ryukendo was my first tokusatsu in the raider / metal hero style (i was in 5th grade i think), and this is my first kamen raider. I was not disappointed. The main characters are interesting, fun and funny (aside for Akiko sometimes) and the cases manages to be fun even when they seem to be getting boring. In fact, I think the word that most defines this show is: fun. Bearing in mind that this is a tokusatsu for selling toys and it is a child's show it is definitely a fun watch. I recommend it to anyone who is starting the raider series.

Until later.

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