Manga / Gekikou Kamen

Let's connect the stars.^note From left to right: Mari Rima/Beeaseder, Takafumi Nakano/Kiborger, Otoya Jissoji/Mikado Waechter, Akinori Kiridōshi/Zenopadon, Yō Serizawa/Ayamiyuri, Ichiru Narita/Nebula Buddi

In ancient times, when beasts were still stronger than men, our ancestors stared up at the sky from their caves... And, connecting the stars, made the forms of gods and fantastic beasts all with one another. Tokusatsu art modelling is the sucessor to such acts.

Otoya Jissoji, an awkward adult who works in odd part-time jobs like art modelling and selling customized model kits, used to be a member of the Tokubiken, a former university Tokusatsu fan club dedicated to create fully functional —and highly dangerous— cosplays of their favorite heroes. Most of its members have moved on to adult lives, but Jissoji hasn't quite left behind his former Mikado Waechter superhero persona... Although the passing of the club's founder, as well as a new generation of Tokusatsu fans and increasingly mysterious incidents, might give them an excuse to hang out together like in old times, as well as return to their inconsequential vigilante activities.

Gekikou Kamen ^note literally "Stagelight Mask" is a 2021 seinen manga created by Takayuki Yamaguchi (of Apocalypse Zero and Shigurui fame) and published in Big Comic Superior magazine. The manga is essentiallly a love letter to the history of Tokusatsu, both from the main characters' devoted geekness to the genre, as well as the author's in-depth overview of its history, from its earliest days through Eiji Tsuburaya's overlooked origins in wartime special effects to the genre's enduring popularity with modern blockbusters like the Shin Japan Heroes Universe.

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This series provides examples of:

• Abnormal Ammo: Downplayed with Otoya's belt-thrown steel disks which, despite being disguised as ordinary Tokusatsu compact discs, are clearly designed as weapons first and foremost.
• Armed Legs: The heels of Mari Rima's Beeasader suit can fire sticky paint balls.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Zig-zagged with Yuhito Aiba, a Fukumen Viper cosplayer who has way too much strength, but couldn't get into combat sports since he often injured himself more than anybody else. However, when he discovers the Tokusatsu character to its eventual idealization, and later comes across unpleasant cosplayers who use their costumes to hide their criminal deeds, he finally has an excuse to vent his violence on others.
• Ascended Fanboy: Mari Rima is the only one of the Tokubiken who indirectly works in the Tokusatsu industry, at a toymaker sponsor overseeing budget and designs. In contrast to the overtly idealistic Otoya, she clearly sees the Merchandise-Driven nature of the works. This seems to slowly change in the series, as she fears that the odd events that make her return to the Gekikou Kamen activities are too weird for regular people like her boyfriend.
  • To a lesser extent, everybody else seems to have jobs influenced by their love of Tokusatsu: toy fan Otoya Jissoji is both an art model himself and a model kit/prop seller, Ichiru Narita fights against real-life atomic threats as a nuclear decommissioner, Takafumi Nakano became a policeman, and Yō Serizawa is a scientist much like his Godzilla (1954) namesake. Inverted with the Fukumen Viper cosplayer, who coincidentally seems to have had a delivery rider job before discovering the motorcycle-riding hero.
• Blinded by the Light: Otoya Jissoji's Mikado Waechter suit has blinding lights in his ornamental goggles. Mari Rima's Beeasader suit is also equipped with a commercial-grade laser in her mask's forehead for the same purpose.
• Born in the Wrong Century: Otoya is not only drawn to Imperial Japan imagery, he's also compared more than once to the malnourished and idealistic wartime teenagers who were brainwashed to die for their country. His Imperial Japan-themed cosplay is what temporarily saves him from being killed by two opponents, since one of them does not want to fight against a fellow Japanese soldier.
• Bowdlerise: The Tokusatsu character Beeaseder literally cuts her enemies in half turning her legs into scissors. The Tokubiken cosplay downplays its violent nature, changing it to inflatable legs that can be used to crush whoever is between them.
• Cape Wings: Yō Serizawa's Ayamiyuri suit has a wing-shaped cape that can be used for gliding short distances, and opens with an electrical umbrella-like mechanism.
• Chainsaw Good: Mari Rima's Beeasader "Beeacutters" are small scissor-shaped chainsaws. It's mentioned that they're explicitly limited to be used for cutting hazards at an emergency work, and they have a safety plastic cover whenever they're not used.
• Cool Bike: Averted with the Fukumen Viper cosplayer, who rides a fairly utilitarian scooter for his delivery job. Not that it does stop him from listening the Fukumen Viper theme while riding it (in what is clearly a Google video search for the original actor-sung version)... Otoya Jissoji inherits it after Yuhito's mysterious immolation, but doesn't last much longer.
• Cool Mask: The vigilante Fukumen Viper's cosplayer helmet is noted one of the most expensive and limited replicas of the character's costume, signed by the original actor Shin Iwakura. This hint proves essential to discovering his identity, as the vigilante seems too young to spend so much money on a seventies character replica. It turns out that Fukumen Viper himself, Shin Iwakura, gave it to a boy called Yuhito Aiba who seemed to wield the spirit of the character. That said, Yuhito modifies it to see correctly through the mask's "eyes", instead of the hidden eyeholes.
• Cyborg: Actor Shin Iwakura, much like his character Fukumen Viper, is mentioned to have had cutting-edge surgery first used in The Vietnam War to repair his body. This is a very slightly modified homage to Kamen Rider actor Hiroshi Fujioka's surgery, who had an innovative hip surgery after having a severe accident filming the series which would make him a Tokusatsu legend.
• Decided by One Vote: Most of the Tokubiken acts where the members have to use their suits and/or practical effects have strict regulations that have to be approved by a majority of the group.
• Defeat Equals Explosion: Discussed by Otoya in a fight, who thinks that dealing a killing blow will only remove any solid evidence of a real monster. Instead, he figures out that calling a bomb defusal squad might be safer and would involve witnesses.
• Diving Kick: The Fukumen Viper cosplayer can do them even better than the series' performers, who relied on springboards and camera tricks, by sheer strength alone.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The original Mikado Waechter novel describes rather clearly the superhero's phallus just after getting prepared to perform a mission. The exact shape is compared to a World War II Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber.
• Evil Gloating: Inverted. Otoya, who is afraid to die quickly at the hands of a kaijin, tries to monologue against him to buy some time, but the monster doesn't quite fall for it, uttering a single line. Both opponents settle for preparing their next blow.
• Grappling-Hook Pistol: Yō Serizawa's Ayamiyuri suit has a rope-firing gun, which is used to stop a fight between two cosplayers.
• Hand Seals: Yō Serizawa makes a couple of them when cosplaying as Ayamiyuri, enforcing the character's ninja gimmick.
• Hazmat Suit: Yō Serizawa's Ayamiyuri suit is a minor version of this, as it is not only equipped with a gas mask (like most of the Tokubiken members), but also with anti-infection measures. It helps that Serizawa has a background in biology studies.
• Henshin Hero: Otoya pulls a real one, covering his flesh in slush powder gel and burning an outer bulky mountain climbing gear layer to reveal a fireproof Mikado Waechter Shikkoku costume.
• Heroism Motive Speech: Done in earnest by the old Tokusatsu star Shin Iwakura, who complains that a sardonic suit performer dressed as a security guard-themed superhero should take his job more seriously... And tries to perform his job with humiliating results, given the actor's feeble body. At least an onlooker takes his words very seriously and imitates his old Fukumen Viper character, acting as a cosplayer vigilante.
• Hour of Power: Enforced. Nebula Buddi (i. e. Ultraman) is mentioned to have a three minute limit. The narrator notes that this is similar to ordinary humans, who can only fight at full power for a similar time.
• Human Weapon: Some humanoid weapons seemingly created by Imperial Japan are revealed, like human bombs, steel-like supermen with human disguises, or (allegedly) air raid-resistant helmets.
• Iaijutsu Practitioner: One of Mikado Waechter (Otoya Jissoji)'s main weapons is a genuine katana drawn by a compressed air-powered belt mechanism — which is also very dangerous without the need of a weapon. So far, the belt mechanism itself has been shown to be the most dangerous weapon in the series, accidentally gouging an eye out, throwing out steel disks that cut more than a katana, and puncturing a lung covered by steel flesh.
• Japanese School Club: The Tokusatsu Bijutsu Kenkyukai ("Tokusatsu Art Research Society"), aka the Tokubiken, is a Tokusatsu fan club whose former attempts at making a completely realistic movie drive the plot.
• Lighter and Softer: Implied to be the case of the Beeasader Tokusatsu show... For one, the original Beeasader manga on which the show was based on actually has her wearing a breast-exposing outfit, Kekko Kamen-style. This is probably inspired by Go Nagai's popular manga, whose explicit content was heavily toned down in their anime adaptations.
• Loony Fan: All the Tokubiken members to some extent (after all, their objective was to turn fictional characters into legitimate weapon-armed vigilantes), but perhaps the main character Otoya Jissoji suffers most from this, not quite having found his place in society unlike the rest of the team. His safekeeping acts eventually get up to him, since Otoya's accidental gouging out of a teenager's eye (granted, the teen was trying to decapitate another kid trying to imitate graphic terrorist videos, but it was a legitimate accident) quickly turns him into a media pariah — after all, a fully armed adult cosplayer who collects nude photos (as both an art model and the former team's tailor) and "fights violently against children" is hardly laudable.
• Magnetism Manipulation: Yu Serizawa's Ayamiyuri "Magneyuuri" sword which, despite being katana-shaped, is a powerful magnet purely used to attract steel weapons. Since most Tokubiken suits use electronics, the wearer has to learn how to use it as far as possible from them including his own, lampshading the Selective Magnetism trope.
• Manly Tears: The Mikado Waechter suit appropiately "cries" after a mock funeral... Although it's a rare case of an actor's sweat spilling out from the mask's eyeholes.
• Million to One Chance: Deconstructed. In a fight, Otoya hopes that his kamikaze-like tactic works, remembering the odds of the succesfull wartime suicide attacks... His opponent, having actually lived during Imperial Japan, calls him out on what was manipulative wartime propaganda made by people who were never at risk of being deployed to combat, telling Otoya that most of his companions died in vain hoping to be the one who made a difference in the war effort. In other words, by every one out of 100.000 who managed to pull it off, 99.999 didn't.
• Nerf Arm: Otoya Jissoji as Mikado Waechter carries a paint-firing toy firearm shaped like a Nambu Type 14 gun. In what could be a life-or-death combat, Otoya fills it with chlorine gas chemicals.
• Net Gun: Yō Serizawa's Ayamiyuri suit has a net firing device, implied to have a web-like motif to the moth-themed character. While it's useful to retain any possible danger until the police arrive, he hadn't any chance to use it, since the rest of the team decides to keep their opponents free.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: The manga is a who's who of famous Tokusatsu figures like Eiji Tsuburaya (Manji Ichinoya), Tohl Narita (Yusaku Narita), early kaijin designer Akira Takahashi (Akira Sayama), producer Tomoyuki Tanaka (Tomoyuki Morinaga), suit actor Haruo Nakajima (Haruo Shimamura), "Takeshi Hongo" Hiroshi Fujioka ("Jin Sukima" Shin Iwakura) or Ishir⁠ō Honda (possibly Shirou Itome) — although other historical figures also appear, like admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Kameto Kuroshima).
• No Social Skills: Otoya is awful at human interaction, rather immature for his age, and tends to rehearse generic phrases before meeting with anyone. However, when he's doing anything related to his Mikado Waechter persona, he seems to loosen up.
• Politically Correct History: Discussed by the Tokubiken members, who notice that Akira Sayama, a seventies kaijin designer, might have lied about his creations' original violent nature to mantain a family-friendly audience, merely talking about their educational and creative value.
  • Manji Ichinoya (an Eiji Tsuburaya expy)'s wartime history is also appropiately softened: while a Tokusatsu fan cites the real-life biographical anecdote of how the Americans thought Tsuburaya's movies were real war footage, the Tokubiken members specify that what made it special to the Americans wasn't that it looked real, it was that it might have been a hint of how accurate the Japanese military's private tactical simulations could be... As well as Manji's ambiguity about his wartime involvement, which marked him him a war collaborator under American occupation, not being mentioned in his biography. At least a modified human seems to have a grudge against Ichinoya for making top-secret propaganda that probably made him want to be experimented with, which could potentially mean that he wasn't just involved in special effects.
• Power Fist: Otoya Jissoji's Mikado Waechter suit gloves are filled with ironsand attracted to magnetic knuckles. However, he can't hold anything while using it, rendering the hand useless during its use.
• The Power of Love: So far, the heroes have always managed to reach a stalemate with their deadliest opponents, from realizing that there's no need to fight to empathizing with their tragic transformations.
• Power Up Full Color Change: Yō Serizawa's Ayamiyuri suit is made of photochromic materials. It's implied that the original character could change colors depending on day or night.
• Shock and Awe: Ichiru Narita's Nebula Buddi suit has built-in defibrilators in her palms, as well as ground wires and an insulated suit to prevent any self-harm.
• Shout-Out: The Tokubiken members are named after famous industry figures: part-timer Otoya Jissoji after director Akio Jissoji, club leader Akinori Kiridōshi after media critic Risaku Kiridōshi, toymaker executive Mari Rima probably after Red Baron Ms. Fanservice heroine Mari Matsubara, policeman Takafumi Nakano after special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano, and postdoctorate researcher Yō Serizawa after the iconic Godzilla scientist Daisuke Serizawa. Nuclear decommissioner Ichiru Narita takes it a step further, since she's the granddaughter of a Tohl Narita (early Ultra Series designer) expy.
  • The Tokubiken's idols are vaguely patterned after real franchises: Postwar superhero Mikado Waechter seems to be vaguely influenced by Darth Vader/Mikadroid and the creator's own Kakugo Hagakure^note although the mention of the Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima Expy as the first Japanese stuntman on fire in the fictional Mikado Waechter film is a clear reference to Eagle of the Pacific(and his jet black Shikkoku camouflage is similar to Kamen Rider BLACK), robot Kiborger is Denjin Zaboga with elements of Daitetsujin 17^note The brief mention of being used in a dictatorship allied with Japan seems to reference the good relations between South Korea's military dictatorships and Japan, alien Nebula Buddi is Ultraman with minor Ambassador Magma/Spectreman elements, villain Zenopadon is an early Kamen Rider-style kaijin like Zanjioh or Ambassador Hell with a Hakaider-like brain, ninja Ayamiyuri seems to be a mix between Inazuman and Ninja Captor^note Although he shares the "Butterfly Ninja" title with Benikiba from Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya, and the police Kiriko Asami/Beeasader seems to based on Cutey Honey and Denpa Ningen Tackle from Kamen Rider Stronger with a scissor motif based on infamous geisha Sada Abe.
  • Other than the main heroes, there's Vroot (Godzilla), the non-tokusatsu Gekikou Kamen (Gekko Kamen, but also resembles karateka Mas Oyama's alleged anti-GHQ postwar vigilantism shown in Karate Baka Ichidai), Fukumen Viper / Zeku / Agō (Kamen Rider / Kuuga / Agito^note "Zeku" seems to be a reference to the Heart Sūtra's yojijukugo "shikisokuzekū", i. e. "form is emptiness"), TraiZion (Kikaider / Devilman), Uchū Seigi Renpō K (Uchū Keiji series / Robot Detective K), Nebula Buddy Torou (Ultraman Tiga), Buddhi Zero (Ultraman Zero), the Yaobikuneez (nineties Super Sentai), or Shōjo Kabuto Hachikazuki oo (Sukeban Deka II / Princess Hachikazuki).
  • Manaon, Nakano's wife, is into bodybuilding. He seems to be pretty proud of her, comparing her body to an "ogre back" much like the Hanma family's in Baki the Grappler.
  • In a fight, Otoya thinks of using the tactics seen in the climax of Jaws to end a fight, since he only has an oxygen tank and a bullet to pierce it as weapons. It backfires in an unexpected way, since the tank flies off like a rocket and ricochets off a wall.
  • Chapter 42 is a giantic homage to Ultraman (as Nebula Buddi): not only are Baltan, Jamila and Woo's episode metaphors explicitly mentioned, but the way of dealing with the Monster of the Week is a reference to episode 35, where it turns out that the heroes discover a space graveyard inhabited by all the killed monsters, and accidentally bring a peaceful one to earth. Narita, inspired by the episode, asks the now-disfigured opponents to hide and find a happy place, in exchange of not revealing anything about them to the authorities.
• Suicide Attack: Wartime Japan's history with suicide attacks is thoroughly discussed, like the alarmingly low success rate of the Kaiten manned torpedoes being embellished by the otherwise pefectionist Manji Ichinoya for propaganda purposes, or the Fukuryū suicide divers being an unintentional influence on some early Kamen Rider-esque kaijin.
• Square-Cube Law: Lampshaded in the first Tokubiken meeting, where the leader reads an essay about how it's technically impossible for kaiju to exist for those reasons.
• Starts with Their Funeral: The plot starts with the death of Akinori Kiridōshi, the leader of the Tokubiken university club, and how the members reunite to pay respects... As well as perform a mock funeral-execution to his Tokusatsu costume, as one of his last wills.
• Teen Genius: Downplayed with Yō Serizawa, who merely skipped a grade. Unlike the rest of the team, he's still doing university research in the present, which lets him have some more time to Tokubiken activities than the rest of the team (not helped by being the only one without a romantic partner, other than Jissoji). This is possibly a reference to how many real-life postdoctorates have to settle to being university researchers for lack of jobs.
• Three Laws-Compliant: Lampshaded with Takafumi Nakano playing as Kiborger, who must recieve commands from a human partner played by Otoya... Who deliberately tries to be ambiguous with his orders, to give Nakano an opportunity to play more freely his character.
• Torpedo Tits: Mari Rima's Beeasader suit is armed with revolving Stanley knife-style blades in her breasts, much like a fan. It's actually used in a commuting harassment incident (Mari was wearing the suit to get used to its weight), dealing small hand cuts to a pervert. In that moment, Mari Rima finally feels-like an actual hero, instead of being limited to be an award-winning, Male Gaze-enduring cosplayer.
• Transformation Sequence: Discussed with the Fukumen Viper cosplayer's henshin pose, who doesn't quite convey the original character's strength (performing more like Fukumen Viper Zeku's haka-like pose)... Until, to the surprise of everyone (and even himself), he transforms into a sea urchin-like human cluster bomb.
• Tricked-Out Shoes: Otoya Jissoji's Mikado Waechter boots have compressed air-powered extending heels, useful for meter-length jumps or a blow with the costume's steel knee pads.
• Uncanny Valley: Jissoji's obsession with tokusatsu makes him feel uneasy with a man's odd blinking. Also he seems to weigh more than his appeareance seems... Turns out that Jissoji was right: his appearance is just a disguise.
• Vigilante Man: Gekikou Kamen (roughly translated as "Tempestuous Light Mask"), a non-Tokusatsu nationalistic masked vigilante, was mentioned as an active vigilante during Occupation-era Japan fighting against American-made injustice. Noticeably, this seems to vaguely inspire the future Tokubiken.
• Vigilante Militia: The Tokubiken's functional suits are later used to stop petty crimes like voyeurism, hate speech or stalker victim protection, mostly making time for policemen to arrive. To Otoya's dissapointment, their real-world impact is very small, in comparison to the dramatic nature of their original influences. Otoya / Mikado Waechter's attempt at saving a boy from a decapitation attempt ends rather badly, with the main assailant being accidentally hurt and Otoya almost jailed.
  • Other cosplayers' practices devolve into more standard street fights and even more violent turf war battles, using the characters' masks as a mere excuse to hide their identities when using violence.
• Villains Act, Heroes React: Discussed by the Tokubiken members, who talk about how they need to compare real-life incidents to tokusatsu villains to prove they're the heroes. Policeman Nakano compares it to desiring to join the police in hopes of becoming a high-ranking officer or in riot control just to tackle the most interesting cases as seen on fictional media, instead of doing more realistic mundane tasks.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Otoya Jissoji vomits his breakfast after being crushed by a kaijin... Thankfully, his mask has a built-in emergency nozzle. Not much later, the kaijin vomits blood after having his lung pierced.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Otoya is constantly called out on his admiration for Imperial Japan, like remarking the poetic beauty of patriotic suicide in front of a WWII veteran who lost many colleagues in senseless suicide attacks (or, even worse, in their training sessions... Needless to say, neither the vet or Otoya's friend Akinori take it lightly), or wishing to live up to the ideal of doing an heroic one in a million sacrifice, without realizing that the selfish trope degrades every other human being to Cannon Fodder status.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Averted with Otoya Jissoji as Mikado Waechter, who always uses his gun as the first weapon. Its lethality is proportional to the opponent's threat level, choosing its ammo from innofensive paint to Deadly Gas.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The Hachikazuki-like woman suffers from dementia caused by her old age: she mistakes a group of horny photographers for a gang of rapists, which she might have been a victim decades ago, and uses the former wartime orders as a justification. Her brother, another mutant himself, is just trying to cover her crimes, hoping that she never makes the same mistake again, and noting that there's no excuse for it. To end with their pain, since they will never live a normal life, he chooses to do a final double murder-suicide.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Takafumi Nakano as Kiborger, thanks to his experience as a mover and his suit's abilities, is able to chuckle a football player like if he were a real-life Tokusatsu character... Thankfully he doesn't do it, since the Kiborger character doesn't harm humans, therefore preventing any possibility of heavily injuring somebody.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Kiridōshi suffered from some unspecified illness that gave him a life expectancy of 20 years at most. It's one of the reasons of why he prefers kaijin to heroes (the original Fukumen Viper being an exception, being as much as a monster as the villains), since, despite their very short-lived appearances, some are as fondly remembered as the other characters.