Shotaro Ishinomori
Shotaro Ishinomori is one of the most influential men in Japanese entertainment. In his youth he was the president of a manga study group and got his first big break working as an assistant to Osamu Tezuka himself (who famously remarked that Ishinomori, then going by the name Onodera, resembled a talking potato) on the Denkou The Invisible Robot story in Astro Boy. On the manga and anime side, he created Cyborg 009, which was one of the first animated super-teams.
But more importantly, he created Kamen Rider, one of the major live-action Tokusatsu franchises. KR was based on Ishinomori's Skull Man manga, which is now currently being remade by his protege, Kazuhiko Shimamoto, who was specifically commissioned to do so. He also created Himitsu Sentai Goranger, launching the Super Sentai franchise, though he had little to do with it after JAKQ Dengekitai.[1]
Due to the large number of superheroes he created, many of them much grimmer and more "realistic" than what the competition was putting out at the time while still retaining an endearing sense of over-the-top garishness, he is often considered to be the Japanese equivalent of Stan Lee.
Notable Ishinomori Series:
- Zero Zero Nine One
- Akumaizer 3
- Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine
- Cyborg 009
- Daitetsujin 17
- Flying Phantom Ship
- Ganbare Robocon
- Gilgamesh
- Henshin Ninja Arashi
- Himitsu Sentai Goranger
- Inazuman
- JAKQ Dengekitai
- Japan Inc / Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon
- Kaiketsu Zubat
- Kamen Rider
- Kikaider
- Kyoudai Ken Byclosser
- An OEL Manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past
- Rainbow Sentai Robin
- Robot Detective
- Seiun Kamen Machineman
- Skull Man
- Space Ironmen Kyodain
- Voicelugger (the last series he worked on before his death)
Commmon Tropes in his works:
- Corrupt Church: Averted; Ishinomori's depictions of Christianity were always very respectful.
- Creator Cameo: He appears as a fisherman and Mr. Exposition in the Kamen Rider Black movie.
- Henshin Hero: The undisputed king of this trope.
- Hollywood Cyborg: Who needs radioactive spiders or cosmic rays when there's tons of perfectly "realistic" ways to give your heroes superpowers? Like lots and lots of transistors.
- Phlebotinum Rebel: A recurring theme in many of his works, starting with 009, Ishinomori could be considered the patron saint of this trope.
- Playing with Syringes: By the same token, his bad guys tend to resemble the stars of a Medical Fetishist's wet dreams.
- Shout-Out: Yuusuke Onodera, the new Kuuga in Kamen Rider Decade, has Ishinomori's original surname; Shotaro Hidari, the hero of Kamen Rider Double, obviously shares his first name.
- ↑ In fact, Goranger and JAKQ were merely considered spiritual predecessors to Super Sentai for a long time instead of actual installments.