[JAPAN] Masked Rider rides again: This time, he’s half man, half vampire and you scare him

January 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith

In a recent article on Daily Yomiuri, writer Saori Kan writes about “Kamen Rider Kiva”.

Kan wrote, “Superheroes usually reflect changes in society. The hero of the new Kamen Raida Kiva (Masked Rider Kiva) is a young violin maker who is a little antisocial, choosing to avoid dealing with people.”

“While past heroes of the long-running series have been fully human, Masked Rider Kiva gives its lead an interesting twist: He’s half vampire, but doesn’t really know anything about this part of himself.”

“The first Masked Rider series debuted 37 years ago, and many more series have followed. Masked Rider Kiva, which airs Sundays at 8 a.m. on the TV Asahi network, is the ninth of the “Heisei riders” series produced in the current Heisei era, which began in 1989.”

“In Kiva, Wataru Kurenai (Koji Seto) is human on his father’s side, while on his mother’s side, he’s of the Fangire, a clan of vampires who feed off human life energy to survive. “Kiva is all about self-discovery,” TV Asahi producer Atsushi Kaji tells The Daily Yomiuri.”