How Would You Do Kamen Rider in the USA? [Or General West]

[TheWhiteCleaver]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1eRQWL2quo"]Vlog: How Would You Do Kamen Rider in the USA? - YouTube[/ame]

I just watched TJOmega's response to the question and it kind of left me thinking how they would do it, he brings up alot of good points but I have an idea alot of people will differentiate, so... Ideas? :3

I would argue that you can touch Heisei and you dont HAVE to reinvent Ichigo and some other stuff, etc.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I do agree that a movie would be the best way to introduce the franchise, especially with a big hollywood budget.

I think I'd probably use one of the better stories from Kamen Rider Spirits, and if there is room, squeeze in a few more elements from the TV show. The suit would be slightly similar to The First/The Next's Rider suit, but still similar to the one from the show. An in-between design, if you will. The actor playing Ichigo/Hongo would need to be some kind of asian. If it can't be a Japanese American, that's fine. I don't think audiences will judge too harshly as long as it's some kind of asian and the roll is done right. I mostly want that considering Kamen Rider is a JAPANESE hero. To me, it feels appropriate to cast it that way and then make reference to it in the movie. I was willing to give live action Goku a free pass because he's not really a human, he's suppose to be an alien. But when I saw how The Last Airbender was cast, I think that went too far.

And I know this last one MIGHT be going too far, but... Would it be impossible to have Hiroshi Fujioka cameo, at the very least? He was in that one American movie; Ghost Warrior a.k.a. Swordkill according to Wikipedia.

 

[FreedomR8G6B1]

Oh...the video question that Apollo Z Hack asked the viewers a while back.:sweat:

I was gonna make a video on this. All the responses I've seen so far in regards to this were interesting. These were some of the things that popped into my mind:

-A Lab Escape Introduction / Time Skip (a la Stronger...especially where he meets Tackle)

-Rider Support Team (Mix of Local Police/Shounen Riders/Rider Club/Fuuto Irregulars/ZECTroopers)

-Mercenary Unit of Bad Guys consisting of Spider/Bat/Snake/Lizard/Jaguar and their leader given the codename "Shinigami"

-Ishinomori References


PS: To TJ Omega...

"Hey, I liked a good guy Ryuga stint. Beats getting blown up by Diend and Decade several times."

 

[MetalSymphony]

I wouldn't even try:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSMeEym9b8Q"]Mt reply to that[/ame]

 

[Bigdog]

Me? I'd heavily broaden the scope to how Ishinomori wanted the series to be.

Think Spirits, Nikita, Haywire and Nolan's Batman wrapped into one with a dose of Raimi's Spider-Man. You can whine about it possibly "sucking" but similar series that have been adapted with similar themes have done well here, notably Spiderman and Batman.

And man, having the first two villains of the franchise being of a spider and bat would be an awfully awesome great wink and laugh at the tone of the two reboots, especially Bat's voice.....:laugh:

The way the original show was, all it needs is a proper direction and globalization of the Showa series of Riders that due to the budget and lack of able foreign actors was able to do an international kind of story.

So much story to do a trilogy of the First two Riders, and then intro V3. If it has to be set in the Cold War ala First Class , do it with gusto and make it an era piece. Otherwise, update the concept and the suit.

Iron Man didn't have the same suit in his first issue nor did Spider-Man or Captain America or Thor. Just keep enough of it for nostalgia's sake, but make it open for the mainstream audience to enjoy. Have in mind that no one knew of Iron Man either, so it's not hard.

If the original comics and Spirits were to be published because of the film, that's even better and hell, why not original comics around the characters?

Since it has shows to adapt to low budget series, it would be a guaranteed success both on the Silver and small screens granted its tied in or they cross over.....

Casting wouldn't really matter other than the first rider. The other ones can be different origins, where my idea of international reduxes comes equally into play.

 

[Nnnkingston]

I think the best way to bring Kamen Rider to the west is an original Rider. Power Rangers pretty much has the adaption of "wacky-source-material" vibe cornered, and Kamen Rider wouldn't be taken seriously then. It has to be built from the ground up to be a hero who just happens to be a Kamen/Masked Rider.

 

[Glamador]

It would need to be a reboot of some kind. Not necessarily any particular series, make up a new one. Or perhaps a movie. You couldn't sell the original Kamen Rider to today's market as is.

 

[Shogun_Master]

Generally speaking, Saban had to fight hard for 8 years to get Power Rangers made in the first place & it's the only show of it's kind to survive in the US, even if it is a laughing stock to about 90% of the populace.

The main problem faced is that Kamen Rider incorporates certain aspects that hit both above & below the belt of it's intended demographic for the US- the fighting is too violent for smaller children, yet the humor is too silly for older kids. It might work in that formula if it was a cartoon, but being live action kind of hurts it.

If I was to bring it over, I'd pick a season with the least rediculous looking suits (generally Kabuto, W, or Wizard) and craft an entirely new show around it while keeping the basic core of what Kamen Rider is, using the other series' to craft an expanded universe as the show went on. I'd also probably pull a tone similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer- the only similarly made series that has worked out in the US. Even then, thereks no real guarantee that a "ripoff of Power Rangers" or "Ironman" or whatever other conclusions people may draw would work.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

[HIDE]Mt reply to that[/HIDE]

If I was to bring it over, I'd pick a season with the least rediculous looking suits (generally Kabuto, W, or Wizard) and craft an entirely new show around it while keeping the basic core of what Kamen Rider is

Just to clarify, this is NOT about which series should be made into a Power Rangers-style or Westernized adaption. This is about a challenge posted by Apollo Z Hack and TJ Omega's (and anyone else's) response. AZH specifically asked how a movie would be done; no Japanese footage, no adaptions, no TV series, nothing like that.

I really do think an American or Western movie really is the way to go. It would be interesting to see what comes of it, if anything at all. I'd hate to see it give rise to more adaptions of the Japanese shows or even Cartoons that miss the point of Kamen Rider or the Western movie based off it entirely, but that's the risk you run.

 

[Bigdog]

Just to clarify, this is NOT about which series should be made into a Power Rangers-style or Westernized adaption. This is about a challenge posted by Apollo Z Hack and TJ Omega's (and anyone else's) response. AZH specifically asked how a movie would be done; no Japanese footage, no adaptions, no TV series, nothing like that.

I really do think an American or Western movie really is the way to go. It would be interesting to see what comes of it, if anything at all. I'd hate to see it give rise to more adaptions of the Japanese shows or even Cartoons that miss the point of Kamen Rider or the Western movie based off it entirely, but that's the risk you run.

Or it could have the opposite effect and we could get something equivalent to Marvel's great luck. I honestly want to see a Kikaider or Gavan film if not a reboot of Guyver, which for these three would excel with Hollywood effects.

I honestly want to see a live action Devilman more than anything, even if it's Twilight-ified. It would not be that hard to do because both the anime and the manga have that sort of twist mixed with Spiderman. Some kid gets the power of the occult and becomes the apple of the lady's eye whilst fighting evil. Even the theme song is awesome.

And then the occult theme from the manga would be kibble to Underworld fans like me and the action....:buttrock:

It's like a moving metal poster.