The 2024 Paris Olympics are, by now, a distant memory but fear not, sports fan, the pinnacle of suit actor athletics (and antics) is here to fill that void!
Hiroshi Fujioka, Kamen Rider 1 himself, was the first actor performing in and out of the suit in a Kamen Rider show. He was also the last, as a motorbike trick accident landed Fujioka in the hospital, leaving Kamen Rider (1971) without both a star and a suit actor. Hence, for 50 years since, we’ve had professional stuntmen handle the nitty-gritty of flinging themselves into walls or dodging real explosions in the suits.
But does that talent go recognised? Sure, for Tokusatsu freaks like us, we can probably recite the names of every suit actor off by heart. When it comes to more casual fans, or even those giving Kamen Rider a passing glance, the names and skills of these performers become less obvious, even forgotten, compared to the faces of the non-suit actors.
Enter: Kamen Rider Sports! From a one off skit in a Kamen Rider Decade net episode to making a comeback as a YouTube mini series set in the Reiwa era!
These bitesized bouts of sportsmanship put the suit actors front and centre, even the actors behind the disposable foot soldiers! Their contributions to the world of Kamen Rider (even tokusatsu as a whole) are loud and proud, on display for everyone who’s watching.
I wanted to take a look at these showings of Kamen Rider athleticism and how they celebrate the suit actors behind our favourite heroes. After all, if anyone deserves recognition, it’s the people tirelessly working to deliver the intense action scenes in our beloved shows.
Kamen Rider Decade Net Episode
The competitors are ready. The track is set. Each Rider is here to win. The Shocker footsoldier fires a gun, signalling the start of the race. Kamen Rider Hibiki, Kiva and Decade take off. Den-O immediately falls over. Kuuga and Blade don’t even make it past the starting blocks, deciding to fist fight each other instead. The other four are neck and neck until Decade makes a well timed shove to Kiva, as Den-O comes up from behind, leaving Decade and Hibiki in the lead. Decade tires, Kiva tries to catch up, while Hibiki gives up and does a silly walk at a snails pace: leaving Den-O to overtake and cross the finishing line in first place. Kuuga and Blade are still hitting each other.
If it wasn’t clear, these sporting occasions are not taken seriously; if anything, they’re a great excuse for the suit actors to flex their physical comedy skills and show off their personalities.
This was part of the webisode miniseries Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders Super Spin-off, serving as the eleventh episode; titled Bang! Heisei Rider Field Day!!! The six Heisei Riders running the 100m marathon are all prolific stunt performers from Kamen Rider, while the main stars take a backseat to provide comedic commentary and predict who will win.
Kenji Tominaga returns as Kuuga, having been the suit actor for Kuuga in the original show. Jiro Okamoto, who performed as Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Ouja, portrays Blade here. Jun Watanabe, henchmen extraordinaire, is Den-O.
Kamen Rider Knight’s Makoto Itou is Hibiki, Mr. Heisei himself Seiji Takaiwa is Decade, of course, and Kiva has Eitoku behind the mask: the stunt actor for nearly every secondary Heisei Rider!
With Narutaki vowing that this 100m sprint is the only way to defeat Decade, as well as commentating over the race, it really sets the mood for what’s to come. The stunt actors shove each other while running, strike silly poses and are clearly having fun while doing so. Eitoku really commits to the role by keeping Kiva’s signature pose the entire time while running! Decade also lives up to his role as Destroyer of Riders by constantly pushing Kiva and Hibiki over.
This Heisei marathon would be followed up by a Showa version, bringing back the stunt actors for another race, with Okamoto donning the suit of Kamen Rider Black once more…proceeding to walk extremely slowly for the whole marathon in true Black fashion. The charm of these races is really on display when Seiji, now performing as Rider Man, is affectionately nicknamed Seiji Man by the commentator.
These videos are cute, full of personality, and shed a much needed spotlight on the stunt actors. It’s essentially Kamen Rider Olympics, featuring the best of the best of suit performers!
Reiwa’s Gorgeous Sports Day
15 years later, the Rider Sport event returns! Now, a four part webseries on YouTube has been released, with multiple different Riders from the Showa, Heisei and Reiwa era competing in an obstacle course race! Even more stunt actors are here this time. It’s packed with quirky references and it’s full of Kamen Riders falling face flat into the pavement. If chaotic energy was a series of videos, it would be these four.
This special four parter highlights many of the new faces of the tokusatsu stunt world, with only Eitoku returning – though Seiji Takaiwa provides commentary as a special guest star!
Modern day suit actors present include Danki Sakae as Vice, Kenya Saito as Revi, Kosuke Asai as Saber, Yuji Nakata as Geats, and Masashi Takada as Zero-One. Eitoku returns to don the mask of Gotchard too. The actors get their own introductions, though Eitoku Gotchard photobombs each one – Kosuke Saber also recreates Kamen Rider W’s pose!
Some of these names might be familiar, with there being a lot of crossover between Kamen Rider and Super Sentai performer roles: Takada served as Zenkaiser in Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger, so he makes sure to throw out his pose when dressed as Zero-One!
There’s nothing short of personality here in these four episodes. Before the Riders even arrive, henchmen are busy running around, setting up the obstacle course.
Danki Vice is constantly bonking his competitors with his hammer in the run, while Kosuke Saber gets the sword in his helmet stuck in a net. The cross generational race, while introducing its competitors, can’t seem to find Kamen Rider V3, played by Kusano Shinsuke… only for the camera to pan up and find him, as to be expected, standing on a roof dramatically.
We also have a race dedicated to entirely female stunt performers, an overlooked part of stunt work for years, so it’s wonderful to see a celebration of prevalent female action workers. Ayumi Shimozono, playing Kamen Rider Majade, is a longtime veteran of Super Sentai stunt performance, and her decades long career is clearly respected by her fellow performers; helping her through the obstacle course, the commentators remarking how they admire their senior. It’s fantastic to see her get the recognition she deserves.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the stunt actors who took part in this year’s Reiwa Sports Day event, as well as their previous tokusatsu roles!
- Danki Sakae – Various Kamen Rider henchmen
- Kenya Saitou -Various Kamen Rider henchmen
- Kosuke Asai – Kamen Rider Saber, Kamen Rider Daybreak
- Yuji Nakata – Kamen Rider Evil, Kamen Rider Geats
- Masashi Takada -Zenkaiser, Byun Diesel
- Ayumi Shimozono – Zenkai Magine, OniSister
- Atsumi Sugimori – Kamen Rider Aguilera in Reiwa’s Gorgeous Sports Day
- Mutsumi Igarashi – Lovekov (portrays Kamen Rider Jeanne in the sports day!), Kamen Rider Hakubi
- Yuki Miyazawa – Kamen Rider Sabela, Kamen Rider Na-Go
- Nanako Sakai – Kamen Rider Glare, Valvarad
- Suzuka Usami -Giffdemos, Kamen Rider Lopo
- Shogo Teramoto – Kamen Rider Demons, Hachi Ohger
- Masato Tsutamune – Kiramei Yellow, Byun Violet
- Shinsuke Kusano – Kajiki Yellow, ZenkaiOh VrooMagine
- Iguchi Naoya– Kamen Rider Keilow, Gotchard monsters
- Nitta Kenta – Various Kamen Rider extras
- Shinnosuke Susumago – Giff Junior in Reiwa’s Gorgeous Sports Day
Its last episode has the honour of introducing Kamen Rider Gavv’s suit actor: Yuya Nawata! Having portrayed three Reiwa Riders already, he’s an experienced performer who’s already settling into the weird vibes of Gavv, flaunting all of this in a race against Eitoku Gotchard. It’s a blast to see a small snippet of Gavv before his series debuts.
Suit actors bring Kamen Rider to life, just as important to the characters as the actors portraying them outside of the costume. When you see promotions or adverts of the next new series, remember the talent working behind the mask and how integral they are to Kamen Rider as a whole. Thanks to these sports events, learning about and celebrating these suit actors becomes easier than ever.
Do you have a favourite suit actor in Tokusatsu? Are you excited about Nawata’s performance as Kamen Rider Gavv? Let us know in the comments below!
