In late 2006, Kamen Rider's 35th anniversary series Kamen Rider Kabuto was coming close to an end. The series was not the resounding success Toei had hoped for; toy sales were only marginally up from Kamen Rider Hibiki and ratings were down as a whole from its predecessor. When work began on the next installment of the long-running franchise, Toei had decided to turn the franchise into territory it had never traveled down before; a radical departure from the action-driven shows filled with heavy drama that inhabited the early part of the Heisei Rider series. That's right: the next Kamen Rider would be a comedy. It is perhaps this radical thinking alone that allowed Kamen Rider Den-O to become the huge hit Toei could have only dreamed of.
There are several possible reasons why Den-O became the success that it was. One may be, according to Takeru Satoh himself, the comedic timing the show had. Another could be the colorful cast of the Denliner; not just the four main Imagin but also Owner, Naomi, and Hana and how they all interacted with Ryoutaro. Another could be that the show took itself far less seriously; by cutting back on the often angst-filled drama, the show became far more accessible to a younger audience that would be more willing to beg their parents for a Momotaros figure.
Whatever the reason or reasons may be, both head writer Yasuko Kobayashi and director Ryuta Tasaki became responsible for the most successful Rider series in toy sales since the last show the duo worked on together: Kamen Rider Ryuki. Although Den-O was not a ratings smash like Ryuki was, it had the target audience demographic wrapped around its finger. This eventually translated in strong DVD sales, a few hit movies, and the beginning of what could only be called the first sub-franchise in tokusatsu history. What I mean by this is that the amount of media devoted to Den-O alone could make up an entire tokusatsu franchise by itself. The numerous movies (8 films alone have Den-O billed in their titles), the tie-in appearances with other Rider shows, a few series of anime shorts, and a crossover special with Crayon Shin-chan all compose the biggest success story of the Heisei Rider series.
The show was so successful that it launched star Takeru Satoh straight into stardom; today he is one of Japan's most popular and in-demand actors, having starred in the hit TV drama Rookies and the popular live-action film adaptations of BECK and Rurouni Kenshin. The show is also responsible for the recent surge in the popularity of the suit actors, namely the four suit actors who played the Imagin and most notably Seiji Takaiwa, who not only played Momotaros but also all four transformed forms of Den-O, in what is often considered the greatest and most iconic performance by a Rider suit actor. The show has also become one of the most popular roles for all of the anime voice actors who played the Imagin. To this date, whenever the Imagin appear, the first priority seems to be getting the respective voice actors and suit actors to reprise their roles.
The show would also lead to the massive restructuring of the Heisei Rider series to follow. The next series that had the misfortune to follow in Den-O's footsteps, Kamen Rider Kiva, would borrow heavily from Den-O's success. Each form would once again be an individual character that would possess the lead, and a heavy dosage of slapstick plus the casting of a boyish lead were all clearly attempts by Toei to draw in the new audience that loved Den-O. However, Kiva performed even worse in the ratings, but didn't have the toy sales to back it up. As a result, the Den-O characters were often brought in to salvage the show. This included giving the crossover Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva The Movie: Climax Detectives a theatrical release, using the Imagin to advertise the summer Kiva film after every episode leading up to its release, and running a short featuring the Imagin before the start of the Kiva film itself.
After Den-O's supposed final film, Farewell Kamen Rider Den-O The Movie: The Final Countdown, was released, Den-O kept going with another crossover, this time with Kamen Rider Decade. Chou Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade NEO Generations The Movie: The Onigashima Battleship ensured that the franchise would keep going, even after series star Takeru Satoh left to pursue a larger career. The film did well enough for Den-O's cast of characters to see numerous appearances for the next two years; including a cameo appearance in Kamen Rider Decade The Movie: All Riders Vs. Great Shocker, a trilogy of films in early 2011 called the Chou Den-O Trilogy, more Imagin Anime, the 40th anniversary film OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Rider, and a supporting role in Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero War.
Next time, I'll look back and offer my thoughts on the Den-O franchise. The TV series, the numerous Imagin Anime, and all of the movies that Den-O had a large role in.
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