Growing Up With My Imaginary Friend, Kamen Rider Black

Kamen Rider Black or who I once knew as Masked Rider Black (Kamen means Masked) was one of my imaginary childhood friends. I guess an emotionally rough childhood had me seek escapism through the world of Tokusatsu and Kamen Rider Black was one of them. I still think about the time I had spent "with" Kamen Rider Black at least in my head. Back then, I had no idea that Black RX was a sequel to Black without the Internet and just wondered why Kotaro Minami (Robert Akizuki in the dub) had different powers and different enemies in Black RX.

I thought about how I thought Tokusatsu gave me an escape route yet it's also where I'm encouraged not to give up no matter how hard things get. I know the Tagalog dub really SUCKS and I'm glad that there are fan subbers who completed my childhood with subs. The hero had a lot of monsters to fight and a lot of episodes were nightmare fuel. Was it really child-friendly entertainment? Yet I still found it funny why my I was allowed to watch the show with parental guidance in spite of the obvious nightmare fuel. Who can remember that episode when a little girl's parents got caught in a haunted house? That alone didn't give me a good night's sleep until Kamen Rider Black "saved" me at least in my dream.

What I always thought was that I didn't care too much about the plot. Back then, it was just a kiddie show that "helped me escape from reality". I kept seeing Kamen Rider trading cards in the late 1990s. I remembered seeing Kamen Rider toys in the now closed down Nova Fontana store and the still existing Toy Kingdom and Toys R Us. It wasn't until later I got into the Internet before graduating high school with barely passing grades. I saw the detail that the Kamen Rider started in 1971 and that the franchise was shaky. I never even knew Kamen Rider Black was meant to be a separate continuity and that Black RX was a problematic season.

Somehow, I still curse ABC-5 now TV-5 for showing that idiotic Saban's Mashed Rider. It was a failure in its own home country. Black RX was a failure and lacked popularity. However, it had one thing Saban's Masked Rider didn't have - better execution. I always knew Saban's Mashed Rider was based on Black RX because of the toys, trading cards, and believe it or not I used to watch Black RX on Cable TV WITHOUT understanding a single word. Hmmm... but that was long ago and I didn't get to see the finale and ended up seeing one episode of Exceedraft during the late 90s. Saban's Mashed Rider tried to ride on Power Rangers' success but FAILED. One show was legend during its time and Saban's Mashed Rider is much worse than how Black RX was in Japan. I can rewatch Black RX or even Kamen Rider Decade all over again.

How my imaginary friend would later affect my life as an adult 

When I think of it, I ended up realizing what the lyrics of Long Long Ago 20th century tend to get stuck in my head. Here's the English translation I found from the Internet from the Kamen Rider Wikia:

The land covered in green
The flowers that bloom in the four seasons
The white sandy dunes and
The lovely rosy seashells

People still had
Warmth in their hearts
Back when the sea still had
A cobalt blue color

Good old times
Long long ago, 20th Century

The blessings of nature
Bring people and the cities together
The trees grow luxuriously along the road
Along with the towering skyscrapers

Men still longed
For freedom
Back when women
Were still gentle

Nostalgic times
Long long ago, 20th Century

The land covered in green
The flowers that bloom in the four seasons
The white sandy dunes and
The lovely rosy seashells

Just looking at that song, I really think it over. I think about the good old times before everything fell apart. I still remembered how bitterly I wept last 2008. I sat down and looked at the times I walked with my paternal grandmother as a child. I still cry thinking about how I was told it was time for her to go. I didn't want to accept it inwardly. I didn't throw a tantrum but I still cried a lot of tears. I visited the places where I and her spent our happy times. I just needed to cry to move on though there are times I just want to cling on to "Long Long Ago, 20th Century." when it's already the 21st century and it's already 2017 this year. In other words, it's 30 years after Kamen Rider Black.

Years later, he'd still come back last 2009. It was something to think about that Kamen Rider Decade and Shinkenger both appeal to my nostalgia even if they were new for their time. I admit, I can get many nostalgia hangovers with Tokusatsu while checking out new school J-Drama, C-Drama and K-Drama at the same time. While I end up preferring Heisei era over Showa era for Kamen Rider yet I can't deny he still plays a role in my later years.

What I can't deny is that aside from the Shinkenger crossover with Kamen Rider Decade (which totally FIXED that awfully idiotic "Friend in Need" arc in MMPR) is that it was nice for Tetsuo Kurata to play as two versions of himself. He's back as Alternate Reality Tetsuo Kurata where in one dimension Black RX never happened and in another, Black became Black RX and the two alternate realities collide. It was a nice trip though it didn't change the fact that I still want to think that there's such a thing as the Kamen Rider Decade Meltdown which Gokaiger managed to fix in 2011.

I just thought that the nostalgia is somewhat there even if I'm more into the Heisei era of Kamen Rider than the Showa era of Kamen Rider. I know it sounds weird I usually prefer 80s to 90s Super Sentai all the while I prefer new school Kamen Rider at the same time. But hey, it doesn't mean that I can't like all of them even if I can't like everything the same right? Then I think of Black RX's ending theme where the English translation goes like this:

When you've spent after fighting a lonely battle
And feel like sinking
Close your eyes, look up
Just listen closely

Lonely Lonely Heart
The wind will go on whispering
Lonely Lonely Heart
You're not alone

Somebody loves you
Somebody believes in you
Somebody is looking for you
Somewhere Somewhere

[Instrumental]

When you're hurt and you fall upon your knees
And when you feel sorry about your faraway dreams
Don't look back, look up
Just keep your eyes fixed at the path you'll take

Lonely Lonely Heart
Earth is a planet where love dwells
Lonely Lonely Heart
You're not alone

Somebody loves you
Somebody is searching for you
Somebody is gazing at you
Somewhere Somewhere

Somebody loves you
Somebody believes in you
Somebody is looking for you
Somewhere Somewhere
Always Somewhere

Arigato Kamen Rider Black for being my childhood imaginary friend!