Skull Man

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Originally seeing the light of day in a 1970 one-shot manga, Skull Man was created by Shotaro Ishinomori as his own version of the concept that would become Kamen Rider. It was revived in 1998, shortly after Ishinomori's death, by Kazuhiko Shimato using Ishinomori's notes. A TV Anime debuted in 2007.

The Skull Man was originally Tatsuo Kagura, the adopted son of a Yakuza family. He was actually the son of a mad scientist and his wife, secretly mutants, who performed experiments on him and his sister, Maya. Fearing the consequences of the experiments, Tatsuo's grandfather killed his parents and tried to kill Tatsuo. However, Tatsuo was saved by a shape-shifting mutant called Garo, who later raised him. Now, Tatsuo as Skull Man commits serial murders in his attempt to find the killer of his parents. And when he does... (The anime's storyline is significantly different.)

Not be confused with a different Skull Man.

Tropes used in Skull Man include:
  • Action Girl: Skull Maria.
  • Alternate Character Reading: Kogetsu Chisato is an extreme target to this. In the English translated version of The Skull Man manga of the 1998 he gets a "Toratsuki Chisato" instead of Kogetsu. This is the fault of the translation as both Kogetsu and Toratsuki are written in the same kanjis "虎月 ".
  • Anti-Hero : Type V in the Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes.
    • Scaled back to Type III in the 1998 manga.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Kazuhiko Shimamoto is an avid fan of Shotaro Ishinomori who made him revive the work.
  • Badass Cape: The Skullman wears one himself.
  • Badass Longcoat: The Skullman sports a rather prominent one.
  • Badass Normal: Detective Hioka in the 1998 manga until he was turned into a Reconstructed Human by The Syndicate
  • Badass Biker: The Skullman in the anime. He was turned into a complete darker version of Kamen Rider.
  • Back From the Dead: Tatsuo Kagura aka the Skull Man himself alongside his kaijin sidekick Garo. Especially when he used his power to escape the house on fire.
    • Add Maya Chisato as well.
  • Balloon Belly: Hayato and Kiriko in episode 6.
  • Blessed with Suck: Tatsuo Kagura suffers one when one of the monsters die, he immediately feels the seen particularly in the 6th manga due to his powers.
  • Body Horror: To what happens to all of the people that turns into a monster later on.
  • Clumsy Copyright Censorship: The opening song is changed in the R1 DVD. Since the record label for the band Tokio (sound familiar? ) wouldn't allow their music to be used.
  • Character Development: The Tetsuo if the 1990s manga is a great deal more reasonable than the one from the original one-shot.
  • Conspicuous CG: The trains and tanks.
  • Cool Mask: Tatsuo Kagura wears one and how much more is the new one?
  • Crowning Moment of Awesome: Too many to count especially in the 1990's manga. Added further in the anime adaptation.
  • Cute Monster Girl: The wasp girls.
  • Cute Shotaro Boy: How could we ever miss that Tatsuo Kagura/ Ryuusei Chisato aka The Skull Man could be such a cute boy?
  • Downer Ending: In the one-shot manga, Tatsuo, his grandfather and Maya all die.
    • Not to mention that at the end of the 2007 anime, the main character, who has done all he can to do the right thing, saves the world from being annihilated, dies...and is brought back as BLACK GHOST. As in, the world dominating, cyborg creating, terrorist Black Ghost of Cyborg 009. How's that for a shocker?
  • Heel Face Turn: A considerable number of The Syndicate's minions.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Skull Man is played in the anime by Hiroshi Tsuchida.
  • Large Ham: Skullman definitely qualifes and let's throw in Detective Hioka too.
  • Lighter and Softer: The 1998 manga is this for recasting Skull Man as a more conventional hero rather than a dark avenger of the night.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: In the 2007 anime Hayato becomes Black Ghost as well as Joe's father.
  • Monster Allies: Garo originally then the wasp armies and even the detective who became a Reconstructed Human but was given an upgrade by Tatsuo/Ryuusei.
    • In the anime, only two, namely Tetsuro and Rena Shingyouji.
  • Name's the Same: Not to be confused with the Robot Master.
  • Prequel: It isn't obvious until near the end, but the 2007 anime is actually a prequel to Cyborg 009. Hayato becomes the Skull, leader of the Black Ghost organization, and Kiriko gives birth to Joe Shimamura in the epilogue.
    • The ending serves more as a reference to the series than an actual prequel, however.
  • Psychic Powers: Skullman himself, in fact he used it to make Chief Tachiki reveal who the killer is.
    • Not to mention that he used it again when he escaped the burning of the house aaanndd... Added more with that being used to torment the monsters in the 1998 manga and some to some extent, destroy them.
    • Maya Chisato in the original manga using her telepathic powers to tell Tatsuo that she is his sister and the murderer is their grandfather. and this is not just her own power. It is revealed further that she can heal her brother as well.
    • Maria, the female counterpart of Tatsuo/Ryuusei in the 1998 manga.
  • Rated "M" for Manly: Played straight by Detective Hioka himself especially in the last two of the new mangas.
  • Red Herring: In the 2007 anime, doubling as a Continuity Nod. Hayato pins a supposedly-deceased Tatsuo Kagura as the Skull Man as early as episode 2. It's not him.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Tatsuo's entire goal in the original manga.
  • Scarf of Asskicking: Joe Shimamura in the 36th Chapter and Detective Tsuyoshi Hioka in the last chapters of the 1998 manga.
  • Shout-Out: The Skull Man's final blow against the Big Bad in the 2007 anime brings to mind a certain time-stopping ability.
    • It's also reminiscent of the Acceleration Ability featured in Cyborg 009
  • The Thing That Goes Doink: In Mr. Kuroshio's garden.
  • The Atoner: Tatsuo Kagura who later on became Ryusei Chisato in the 1998 manga regarding about his action from his *see the Villain Protagonist and Heroic Sociopath below* to a real deal hero.
    • Same goes to his sister Maya Chisato.
  • Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Maria in the 1998 manga.
  • Transformation Trinket: Worn by members of the White Bell Cult. Combined with Body Horror and Nightmare Fuel.
  • Villain Protagonist: The Skull Man's entire goal is to just kill anyone he thinks is a bad person. (Most of them aren't.)
    • In fact in the anime at one point, he specifically uses one person's goodness against them to lure them to a place he can kill them.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Let's throw in Maria in shall we?
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