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

I made it!

Trans...

form!

I-It's you!

Kamen Ri—

Who are you kidding?!

What you do...

is nothing like...

being a Kamen Rider!

Electro-Wave Human, Tack'!

Th-The Tackle from the other day!

All you are is a middle-aged guy wearing a cheap mask!

Don't you have any shame?

Wh-What about you?

What could I possibly have to be ashamed of?

Likewise.

Yes, yes!

Things are getting even more intense!

Wh-Whoa... you're...

You're actually part of Shocker?

The OG?

Tell me!

I am.

I... ever since I was a kid, I've liked Shocker!

I loved them!

That's why I became a gang—

Sh-Shocker!

A-Are you crying?!

I-I could hug him...

If he's the real...

The real deal...

He'll be able to take what I've got!

Rider—

Punch!

Y-You okay?

He is the real deal!

Here...

Here...!

Here I come, Shocker!

It's my turn!

You'll have to face me.

And I'm nothing like this pitiful excuse for a Rider.

I am...

proof that Tackle isn't dead!

I'm Tackle!

I am Tackle II!

Electro-Wave Throw!

Rider Kick!

Did we... beat him?

And would you butt out?! That was dangerous!

Ordinary humans...

Capable of beating a Combatant, eh?

Getting rid of too many could cause problems later.

Sho...

Shocker?!

My name is Yuriko Okada. What's yours?

Tanzaburo Tojima.

How old are you?

Forty.

Forty years old, running around with just a mask on, calling yourself Kamen Rider...

That sort of thing only flies while you're a kid.

My heart is more Kamen Rider than any child's could be!

I don't know how to respond to that.

I'm kind of grateful for this ridiculous conversation, though.

Helps me avoid fixating on what happened...

Shocker is real!

In this town... in this world...

Fifteen minutes ago, we both saw the proof.

Not only that, but we fought and beat a Combatant!

And then that other guy. He had to have been...

A monster.

No, it can't be. It's just too much!

I think we've had more surprises today than most people do in a lifetime.

I can tell.

He was, without a doubt, Shocker!

And if you call yourself Tackle,

you'd be able to sense that this was your nemesis—Shocker!

You two talking about Shocker?

Would you like some more coffee?

Pardon me.

You two had a run-in with the real Shocker?

It was that incident at the convenience store, right?

And you even beat one of them!

You...

Who are you?

MITSUBA SHIMAMURA Oh, I'm Mitsuba Shimamura.

I'm the manager of this restaurant.

Tojima-san and Okada-san, right?

How do you know that?

I was listening the entire time!

I'm like the two of you.

I could tell we were birds of a feather the second you came through the door.

Go and get us a table. I'm going to change.

Just so you know, we're not cosplayers.

Oh, I know.

That was obvious from your conversation.

And that's why I wanted to let you in on something.

To be blunt, Shocker does exist.

Then you're...?

Yes. One of the few witnesses to their evil.

When? What happened?

Please tell us!

It's kind of a long story... are you sure you wanna hear it?

How long?

It covers my life from childhood to the present day, so...

Probably five novels worth of text?

Three hours in conversation. Six, if I get carried away.

Please!

A-Actually, I should probably get going.

All right, here I go!

Uh, I just said I wanted to go home.

Please! I can't wait to hear this!

What happened?! Come on!

I LOVE THE MOMENT WHEN HATE TURNS TO LOVE Hey! Are you listening?!

It started when I was six.

There was a house in my neighborhood

that was overgrown with fruits and vegetables.

It wasn't a neglected property, though. It was a garden house.

There were tomatoes and watermelons growing all over the place.

My big brother and I would always pass it on our way home from school.

Care for some tomatoes?

– This is great! – S'good!

I see.

Come by tomorrow.

What we're trying to say

is that when there's so much foliage all over the place,

it's a magnet for insects and birds and their waste,

which your neighbors have been filing complaints about.

Bees! Hey, let's get out of here!

Right!

We'll be back! Try to clean this place up!

Please!

Care for some watermelon?

Yeah!

All right, you're gonna get rid of all these plants

or we'll burn them and the damn house down.

Is that what you want? Huh?

'Cuz if it's not, you do what we say, got it?

Okay?

H-Hey! Get your ass back here!

Don't run!

You can eat as much as you want of whatever you want.

Huh? We're not here for food!

You need to clean this place up!

Just try it.

Nah, man!

Not a fan of vegetables?

How about persimmons?

Seriously, I don't need no...

P-Persimmons, though... Those are pretty good.