Producer Shinichiro Shirakura Explains the Reason for a Poll

The ending of the upcoming Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Wars feat. Super Sentai will be decided by the fans through voting, and Shirakura explains why there is a poll in the first place.

Fans deciding the ending is a first for Kamen Rider movies, not only that the Japanese franchise are being split up in groups to fight each other with one group as the winners remaining. A lot of fans have been responding with both criticism and praises by saying, “There’s no need to show a winner, they should be fighting together.”, “Kids want to see the heroes fight together against evil.”, “Showa and Heisei Riders have different definitions of justice, so this could be interesting.” And “Only Kamen Rider could pull something like this off.”

It’s already been a month, but the poll has collected almost 2 million votes. When the poll was announced, producer Shirakura said he was fully aware of the backlash that would occur because of the Riders fighting each other. Shirakura now explains why the Riders are fighting, despite the criticism.

“The truth is we didn’t think a winner was necessary. The reason why there’s a winner to be decided is because of the poll. So why did we announce a poll in the first place? First off, what are Showa Riders? What are Heisei Riders? There’s no clear definition, but Rider 1 to J are Showa Riders and Kuuga to Gaim are Heisei Riders. You can see from their respective shows that they’re different in their own ways. The Showa and Heisei labels are from the fans, since the fans created the label we thought it would be best to let the fans decide the winner.The poll is also here to serve as a reminder of all the respective shows. This gives the fans the chance to sit down and really think about who they are supporting, which are their favorite shows and such. There are the fans that grew up with the Showa Riders and will vote for them, but there’s also those who’ve only watched the Heisei Riders. This gives both side an opportunity to see what each side has to offer.”

As of March 1^st, Showa is leading with 1.16 million votes, while Heisei is at 700 thousand votes. This does not reflect all of the fans out there, but Shirakura explains how surprised he is over this.

“If I’m gonna be honest, this is very unexpected (laughs). I never thought Showa would be this active (laughs). We have TV commercials, while Kamen Rider is airing, for the kids since most internet users are slightly older. I thought this would help Heisei, but when I checked the site Showa was winning. I’m not voting myself, but I’m cheering for both. I really thought Heisei would be leading by March, but I can’t tell how it’s gonna end now.”

As Shirakura previously stated, many were worried about the Heisei Riders winning easily due to their varied fighting styles, but this changed once it was confirmed that Hiroshi Fujioka would return. Hiroshi Fujioka’s return has had an impact on the results according to Shirakura.

“It’s affected the results a lot, I think. The other day, I overheard two middle-aged men talking about Showa and Heisei Riders. How Showa wouldn’t lose to Heisei with Takeshi Hongo on board. This really shows how important Kamen Rider is.”

Shirakura added that if Showa happens to win, children might lose faith in the current heroes like Kamen Rider Gaim. Which will be troublesome for the current running franchise.

“It doesn’t mean that the Heisei Riders have to defeat the Showa Riders to protect the kids, kids might not want to see a movie where their heroes lose to the older generation. That’s fine though. Because Kamen Rider isn’t for kids only and this is the proof. Whether Showa or Heisei wins, it doesn’t matter. Kamen Rider isn’t Showa or Heisei, it isn’t strictly for kids only or adults only. It’s for the people of this country”

Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Wars feat. Super Sentai will be premiering March 29^th. The internet poll will be shut down March 25^th 23:59:59 JST. But, people in Japan have the chance to use ballots and vote in theaters from March 1^st to March 19^th.

Source: MyNavi.jp

All English translations are accredited to The Tokusatsu Network staff members. Please do not repost without crediting and directly linking back to the original Tokusatsu Network article.