We open in a misty forest where a bearded man trains powerful punches on a big tree while shouting: “Kamen…Rider!” Given the title, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider, meaning an old-school TV superhero of the tokusatsu variant who “protects the world’s peace/ with a heart full of justice.” If you’re unfamiliar, think Power Rangers: heavy practical effects, moves with names, over-the-top heroes in plastic masks, monsters, and evil organizations. We witness the impact Kamen Rider has on Tojima’s life in three different moments: firstly, when it is the favorite show of a starry-eyed child (depending on how you interpret some scenes, it may be his way to cope with his father having left the family). Then, it is the philosophy of life of a friendless, yet mighty, teenager involved in some romantic drama. And lastly, when the show has become a memory that haunts a forty-year-old who has the strength and skill to defeat an actual brown bear, yet has no purpose in life. But one day, checking social media, as one does, Tojima sees some shoplifters in black masks salute to the cameras. That was the salute of “Shocker,” the evil organization Kamen Rider used to fight in the TV show. May his obsession and his training turn out to be useful after all? What do you think?

Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider doesn’t seem to know if it wants you to take the superhero fantasy at its heart seriously or not, and the story suffers for it. Tojima’s talents and actions have conventional heroic results, but they are framed as if he were a cringey, deluded loser. If Tojima is a loser, he needs to, well, lose. As a teenager who can successfully rescue a girl from a gang of fifty violent teenagers (or an adult able to defeat a brown bear), it is no surprise at all that his dream turns out not to be a fool’s errand. The show tries hard to avoid that conclusion, even having the rescued damsel-in-distress react with a “what a freak.” It just boggles the mind. This nonsensical cynicism translates into a gritty, ugly style with thick lines that make the characters hideous to look at when they are emoting. I think the central concept (a tokusatsu Don Quixote) has some potential, and one or two moments in the show manage to live up to it. But the point of Don Quixote is that he is not really able to pull magical knight feats, as that would defeat the purpose. See evidence item A: The episode kills all tension and ends up feeling like it was an hour long. In conclusion? I might have watched the Kamen Rider show that so inspired Tojima if it were available, cringiness and all. This show? I’m afraid not.

Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider is available on Crunchyroll.