Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider (東島丹三郎は仮面ライダーになりたい)

My dream... was this.

Tiger Driver!

A SHOCKER HERO APPEARS?! CHASING OFF FOOD TRUCK ASSAILANTS! A Shocker hero...

Could someone like that even exist?

There's no such thing as a righteous agent of Shocker.

Yeah, there is!

I mean, maybe righteous is too strong...

Or like, maybe a whole separate thing?

But as Mitsuba's wife...

You have to consider Mitsuba's wife!

For example, there's Mitsuba's adorable, nice, Shocker wife!

Fine.

More importantly...

Die.

That monster!

Do any of you believe you can defeat a monster?

Humans can't beat monsters. That's the whole point!

And yet!

There was someone capable of knocking that monster on its ass.

First, Tojima.

I will defeat you!

Why?!

You ask why?

For one thing, our previous battle has yet to be decided.

Which is why I believe...

we should have a tournament to decide who among us is the strongest.

A tournament?!

Refill.

Uh, sure.

I ask you all:

Question!

When faced with a fierce foe, what will Kamen Rider do?

Train!

Correct!

Nice, quick answer.

Precisely. It's time to train.

Listen up. After ten days of individual training...

Tojima.

Yuriko-san.

Mitsuba.

Female combatant.

And...

I will reconvene.

Seriously, her name is Yukarisu.

Wait, what? I'm part of this?!

Fair enough.

Sounds good.

Okay.

Excellent.

Uh, d-did we just agree to do something?

Refill.

We're going to decide who is the strongest of the five of us.

But why?!

Well, we are. Aren't we? Deciding who's the strongest, I mean.

– That's just what I want. – Right.

I'm not following at all!

Come on, I thought we were all on the same side!

By competing with each other, we can push our individual limits,

ideally becoming strong enough to defeat the monster.

I think that's what my brother's plan is.

Farewell. I'll see you in ten days.

– Right. – Got it.

That's a cool bike!

It's my Hurricane!

I took the mask from the bike I rode as a kid and attached it.

And it lights up!

Nice, isn't it?

How, exactly?

Man, that was a hell of a performance again today!

Should we have invited Aniki along?

He's not really into idols, though.

But I guess we could ask him next time.

Agreed!

Say, wanna head back to my place to go over some Combat Girls concert footage

and get hyped up all over again?

Nice.

Then let's hit up the convenience store for some booze and snacks, too.

Tanaka-kun.

Do you have a minute?

- Who's this? - She's not your girlfriend, is she?

N-No.

Guys, sorry, could you go on without me?

Okay. We'll be waiting at the usual store.

Wh-What do you want?!

I'm curious why your Shocker brainwashing has worn off.

Y-You wouldn't understand anyway!

And I'm not going down...

Without a fight!

Y-Y-Y...

You stupid—

Well, the day is finally here.

Do I just hand her the wedding ring?

Or am I supposed to open the case, show it to her, and then give it to her?

Or maybe... I should ask her to close her eyes,

and then put it on her finger while they're closed?

Man, that's embarrassing! Way too embarrassing!

Suzuki-kun, right?

Why aren't you brainwashed anymore?

It's none...

of your business!

He's taking so long. I wonder what he's doing.

A birthday cake? Of course I got it.

A present too, naturally.

Took a while to find something good.

Are you Takagi-san?

Dad? Are you there?

I'd heard rumors of purges against Shocker combatants whose mind control had failed.

Was that you?

It's impressive, really. A combatant being married with children.

With a nice little house in the suburbs, too.

I'm sure you wouldn't understand what it's like to have a family.

It's tougher than world conquest. Especially with all the loans.

Why aren't you brainwashed anymore?

Well, you see...

It's because I experienced love.

Love? What's that?

If only you could go through it, you'd find happiness too.

What a shame!

The strength of a combatant reflects how strong they were as a normal human.

What are you getting at?!

I used to be in the Foreign Legion!

There's no combatant who can beat me!

Bastard!

I have a family I'm fighting to protect!

And love is the source of my strength.

Right now, I could take on a monster, too!

Now, you know better than that.

Master Bat Man.

Drink.

Become stronger, Thunder Raiko.

Thank you so much!

Transform...

V3!

V3 Chop!

It's not over yet!

V3 Finishing Kick!

D-Dammit!

I won't be beaten!

Who's that?

I think maybe the groundskeeper?

I haven't lost!