Kamen Rider Sigma Episode #3 Production Notes *Updated and Revised as
of
- In a change of pace from the last two episodes, episode #3 has a simple, one-word title, something that will become more prevalent as the series goes on, to have a nice balance of cryptic and more explanatory episode titles. This is also something of a nod to Kamen Rider Kuuga, with its simple, one-word all-Kanji titles. The “Memories” in question are those of Tachibana’s of course.
- This is technically the third draft if this episode, something that will remain true of all further episodes until #11, which will be the first “all-new” episode, with no previous version having ever being released. Like the first two episodes, episode #3 has roots in an initial version dating back to 2001. However, a lot more was scrapped from the first draft to the second 2004 version, since that was about the point where I decided I really wanted to take Kamen Rider Sigma in a new direction from how it might have originally gone. The most significant event that is still included is the long-awaited return/guest appearance of Tachibana Tôbei.
- Note that here, as well as at times in episode #2, Maya refers to Hongô as Hongô-san as opposed to Hongô-senpai. She’s taking after Kazami, who in the early days did the same thing and ultimately (as is seen in Kamen Rider Sigma) refers to him on more equal terms.
- I had to come up with some reason for why Ichijô (who in the Kamen
Rider Kuuga series, was originally from
This brings up another point— if all the Rider series take place in one world, how do things like the apocalyptic end of Kamen Rider BLACK and aforementioned end of Kabuto (not to mention series like Ryuki & Blade) work into it? I do actually address these later on, in varying ways. Let me just say that you guys are in for a ride.
- “Then again, with all the stuff that has— or publicly, hasn’t— been going on lately” : Somehow, everything that has happened in the last two episodes has been either unnoticed or covered up by the law enforcement. At some point off-screen (or rather, off-page) Ichijô files a report on the events of the previous episode, but as he points out, everything is being kept under wraps and he’s being transferred back to Nagano to keep things quiet.
-The enigmatic Kurobe-san, who we finally meet in this episode, makes one more mysterious appearance via cell phone before his big debut.
- Gokurosama Deshita = Basically “I appreciate your efforts.”
- The whole idea of having Maya go to Miura in Kanagawa Prefecture is both a
nod to Kamen Rider Spirits (where
Tachibana was based post-Kamen Rider Stronger) and sort of a finalized version
of what happened in the original two drafts, where Maya goes “someplace else”
for a bit. Originally it was the nearby city of
- Usually, I try to be as accurate as possible about locations (within reason) to give some sense of believability, but I admit that I totally the church Maya goes to. Much like the “Fujioka Quarry” in #2. I guess you can say maybe this is the “St. Miyauchi’s Cathedral” or something.
- The church scene was inspired by Kamen Rider Kuuga episode #2, and anyone who has seen that can probably figure out where this plot thread is heading.
- Why are the windows in the church nondescript? Why does the place look old and stripped-down? Why is there a nun wielding a big stick in a deserted church anyway? The first two are important details to keep in mind, and the latter is just because I wanted to do a spin on the usual occupant of such a place, as seen in Kamen Rider V3, Kamen Rider Kuuga, among others: A Catholic Priest. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but hey. It is Kamen Rider.
- Take note of the part where Maya collects herself and “turns on the charm” to try and smooth-talk the nun. I like the idea that, even though she’s the heroine and ultimately a good person, Maya still isn’t above using some deception and manipulation to get her way when she wants to. In this case, she’s clearly trying to use her own “cutesiness” to get our of a sticky situation.
- The aforementioned church scene took forever to write, because despite the fact that it’s obvious that something is up, I didn’t want to make it too apparent to Maya herself… otherwise, the episode would be over real quick!
- Ah, the Tachibana Racing Club garage & repair shop. The description I gave to this place doesn’t do it justice. Imagine every place Tachibana’s ever owned rolled into one, covered with dirt and rust and literally falling apart at the seams, and with piles of scrap metal and junk outside it. The idea is that while he still gets business, it’s a far cry from the clean, pristine and snazzy places of the old days (then again, he didn’t actually really own anything in Kamen Rider Amazon and Kamen Rider Stronger!) Of course, fans of the classic Riders will know that the “yellow jeep in desperate need of repair” is Tachibana’s signature yellow jeep made famous in his later appearances, especially in Stronger.
- Konnichiwa = “Good Afternoon”
- We meet two very important characters in this episode, and one of them is
Taki Mikoto, the daughter of Taki Kazuya, that world-class FBI agent and Kamen
Rider 1 & 2's best buddy from the original Kamen Rider series. Now
wait a minute, you say, when did Taki have a daughter? Well, he didn’t, but he
did get married, in his first episode (#11) and his wife, Hiroko, appeared
again in episode #13, before dropping out of the series entirely (and it was
assumed Taki was now the world’s most eligible bachelor, at least he seems to
be in Kamen Rider Spirits!) Well, I thought, what exactly did happen to
Hiroko? At the end of the series, Taki leaves
Mikoto’s character is something I’ll talk about more in-depth elsewhere, but to make a long story short she was conceived as being the “third lead” of the show, after Maya and Kôhei. She’s pretty much the same as she was when I began, aside from being fleshed out as a much more interesting and unique character aside from “the sidekick girl”. One thing that I want to do with her, which is established in this episode, is she has a very playful rivalry with Maya that isn’t necessarily based on anything; they just tease and bicker with each other because they can. But at the end of the day, she’s still a loyal and trustworthy friend. Keep an eye on how character relationships develop in this series— it’s one thing I really enjoy writing.
- Mikoto’s old “JAC” T-shirt is a hand-me-down from daddy. In the original series, Taki (portrayed by JAC member Chiba Jirô, younger brother of Sonny) wore stuff with the Japan Action Club’s insignia on it, as kind of a fun little in-joke. Of course, the JAC has since become the JAE (Japan Action Enterprises) but naturally Taki would still have one of the old ones lying around to give to Mikoto.
- To give you some idea of just how old Sigma really is, in the first draft, Mikoto still listened to a CD player!
- Irasshaimase = “Welcome” as used in stores, shops, etc. Usually accompanied by a bow.
- While some may catch on sooner than others as to who Maya is looking for, I threw in a couple of twists to build the mystique. Namely, the yellow jeep; Maya forgetting Tachibana’s name; Mikoto’s use of “Oyassan”, and lastly, the description of the graves Tachibana visits, which I’ll explain in a minute.
- Oyassan = “Pops”, and the name that the original seven Kamen Riders used for Tachibana. Basically a slang term for father or more commonly a father-like figure. The similar “Oyaji” is more like saying “Old Man”, and is used by Jin Keisuke/Kamen Rider X towards his father.
- The first time we see Tachibana (And no, I’m not talking about Kamen Rider Garren!) : Oh man, was this scene hard to write. I’ll go into that further over the next few notes below…
- First things first, the place he’s visiting is the grave of Misaki Yuriko, aka Electro-Wave Human Tackle, and someone else who I think is pretty obvious. I’m not sure *exactly* where it was supposed to be, but we see it in Kamen Rider Stronger episode #31, and it is revealed Kamen Rider Spirits to be in Miura.
- “The sun shines brightly after yesterday’s storm” is a reference to the end of the previous episode. It was raining, remember?
- Tachibana was pretty old when we saw him last in Immortal Kamen Rider, which is pre-New Kamen Rider, so naturally he’s really old here. You’ll have to suspend a little bit of disbelief, seeing as how the story is set in 2007, and the actor… well, see below…
- The basic gist is that Tachibana hasn’t seen any of the Riders in a very long time, except for one, who readers should be able to figure out based on all the clues I’ve stuck in.
- Guys in trench coats and sunglasses appearing out of nowhere : A true Rider tradition.
- “We’re the messengers.” : hidden within this line of wacky dialogue is a
nod to Stanley Haggard (Barangas) in Ultraman: Towards the Future (Ultraman
Great in
- “You should have died years ago, old man.” : a sadly ironic line, as the actor who portrayed Tachibana Tôbei, veteran actor Kobayashi Akiji, passed away on August 27th, 1996. In addition to the gentle and caring Tachibana (who appeared in almost every episode of the first five Rider series) Kobayashi was very well known for his role as Captain Muramatsu, the equally gentle and caring but always no-nonsense leader of the Science Patrol that supported the original red and silver guy himself, Ultraman, in the show of the same name (1966). Kobayashi’s other work included numerous Ultra series guest spots (one of my favorites being as a very lost businessman in an episode of Ultraseven), appearances in some of the 90's Godzilla and Gamera films, and a ton of other stuff, Tokusatsu or otherwise. Well loved and respected, it was said his name on a children’s series guaranteed its success. Kobayashi clearly thought highly of the Rider franchise, and even parodied himself in the hilarious Kamen Norida skits. His last actual appearance in a Kamen Rider show, movie or special was the SD Riders cartoon, where he voiced Tachibana, who fittingly was the Oyassan for all the Riders (up to BLACK RX). Akiji did get a fitting tribute in the Kamen Rider Stronger chapter of Kamen Rider Spirits, which I’ll mention again shortly.
- The scene where Maya shows up and starts kicking butt left and right while Tachibana watches is meant to evoke episode #5 of Kamen Rider X, where our main man Jin Keisuke did the same.
- Tobidashi-Kumo returns! I purposely had her survive episode #2, because as you can probably tell, Maya has a personal bone to pick with her, and we’ll see where that goes next episode.
- The “jumping out of the bushes” reference actually refers to Kamen Rider Faiz, where the Lucky Clover goons often seem to appear out of nowhere a lot (and literally, in one episode, they pop out of the bushes.)
- Ojiisan = Grandfather, though a little explanation is in order as
to why Maya calls Tachibana this. In
- From her on I’ll probably be shortening the whole “Henshin” arm-waving sequence description to simply saying “She assumes the Henshin pose”, since if you’ve read episode #2 you know the drill. And you have read episode #2, right!?!
- The scene where Tachibana first sees Sigma really sticks out in my mind as a highlight of this episode. Notice that the Sigma Kuuchuu Kaiten Kick is utilized again here.
- The stalemate between Sigma and Tobidashi-Kumo is another Kamen Rider Faiz reference, since there are several times in the series where the Rider Kicks are blocked (and in some cases, broken) by an equally powerful or stronger force.
- “…And!? What about Jôji!? And Keisuke!?! Or Amazon!?!” : As I mentioned, the Stronger chapter of Kamen Rider Spirits had a big impact on this episode, since it began with the same basic idea, that being “Tachibana hasn’t seen any of the Riders in a long time”. The key differences, though are that Spirits is set when the newest Rider would be ZX, and Jô Shigeru/Kamen Rider Stronger still hangs around with Tachibana. When Taki Kazuya goes to visit him, Tachibana asks him about Kazami Shirô, Yuuki Jôji and Amazon (the three Riders Taki hasn’t met yet at that point in the story that Tachibana also knows.) I did a little spin on that scene with Maya, except now he doesn’t mention either Hongô, Ichimonji or Kazami, since she would have told him she met them, and Jô Shigeru, since it should be clear by now that Tachibana is aware of his current location… Also, note how he refers to the Riders by their first names, like he did in the TV series.
- The whole “Tachibana reflects on the past” scene was a pain in the neck too, because getting down exactly what kind of a guy Tachibana would be like nowadays turned out to be pretty tough. What I wound up with was pretty emotional, in my opinion. The dreary feeling that hangs over the whole scene— both Maya and Tachibana are aware of the fates of the Triple Riders, through different ways—only adds to the despairing mood. I’ve been told that even the older version of this scene was spot-on, and one of the best moments in the series yet. Hopefully, I’ll top it several times over!
- “Tachibana-san… Hongô-senpai… er, Hongô-san and the others told me that I had a responsibility now… as a Kamen Rider. I have a job to do… ” : Once again, Maya refers to Hongô differently here, quite consciously this time. In future episodes, we’ll learn more about the relationship between the two of them, and why Maya has always seen Hongô as more than just a Sensei (Teacher.)
- Tachibana’s role call, followed by sternly asking Maya to identify herself is another nod to episode #5 of Kamen Rider X.
- It’s almost impossible to describe the kind of joy Tachibana should be feeling from meeting a new Rider after all these years, but hopefully, I did my best.
- What is it in the envelope that Maya gives to Tachibana that has him so amazed? We’ll see next episode…
- The second of the two very important characters met in this episode is the oft-mentioned but hitherto-unseen Kurobe Kôhei, who has really become one of my favorite characters to write in the entire story. In a lot of ways, Kôhei in fact predates Kamen Rider Sigma itself, in the most bizarre way possible. Back around 1997, when I was way into the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, I came up with the idea of my own spin off/sequel of sorts, with uninspiring title Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 (a name I’m almost certain was used by about a billion other people for their Evangelion fanfiction.) Anyway, the point of this story is that the main protagonist (aside from the ever-suffering Shinji) was to be named “Kariya Kôhei”. Well, that was the tentative name, taken from a character in Ultraman Dyna. I dunno, I just liked the sound of it. That Kôhei was a very, very early (albeit 14-year old) version of the guy who shows up in Sigma. So what happened? Well, Kôhei went through a lot of changes, including the eventual collapse of that project before it ever got off the ground, but he persevered through a ton of other goofy fan story ideas I had, ranging from a heavily Inazuman-inspired hero series to something akin to an every-cliché-in-the-book Giant Super Robot story. In each case, that was the name of the main character (somewhere along the line, the “Kariya” became “Kurobe”), who was more often than not, a young, spiky-haired goof-ball with a heart of slightly tarnished gold. Then of course, April 2001 rolled around, and by then the origins of Kamen Rider Sigma were already being put to paper (or word processor). Almost as a tribute to this main character who never quite made it, I stuck him in as a detective who was equal parts Hattori Hanpei, Ichijô, and Shin Asuka (from Ultraman Dyna) not to mention quite a few others. Initially, Kôhei was to simply fill in for Ichijô when our favorite Kuuga detective had to be doing something else in between plot-centric episodes. But oh, how times change. Jump ahead to 2007, and Kurobe Kôhei is not only the second main character of the story, but his life has become intertwined with that of Ryûsaki Maya’s in ways that are just hinted at in this episode. In other words, there is a chemistry between the two that I think will definitely become a point of interest throughout the series. And I certainly won’t hide the fact that a lot of myself goes into Kôhei. Well, really, into all the characters, although the one who I put the “most of me” into has yet to be introduced. Oh, I might regret that someday…
- “I’ll have you know that I specifically went for Magenta rather than Pink when I had my hair dyed and—” : Another infamous authorial in-joke. In the earlier pictures of Maya I came up with, she did indeed have magenta, almost purple hair along the lines of the color of her alter-ego’s body armor. But, for some reason or another, over time, her hair has just wound up looking more like hot pink, or perhaps a very light magenta.
- “He just felt, after all the craziness that’s been going on lately and you going to him ranting about Carmine Spiders and all that, you might want a little extra protection… in case something happens again.” : Kôhei’s completely irrelevant as well as irreverent comments are a trademark of the character. One of my personal favorites is this one, where he unknowingly substitutes “Kamen Riders” with the similar-sounding “Carmine Spiders”, which is of course a reference to the classic Kikaida villain.
- “But face the facts, sweetie: this ain’t your garden-variety brand of weird.” is possibly my favorite line in the entire episode.
- “Well, aside from the fact my family is known for a long line of famous
detectives, dating back to the great Kurobe Sanshiro in the
- “Son, one of these days I’ll tell you about the robot I’ve built for you that I hid in the basement of some church. But until then, go out and make miracles happen.” : actually, THIS is my favorite line in the episode. The entire deal with the “robot being hid in the basement of some church” is a nod to Denjin Zaboga. The rest of it is just good old tomfoolery.
- “Ryuki-san” : I decided to use the name “Ryûsaki” for my main protagonist (another element that came about from that transitional period before 2001 in another story) so you can imagine my amusement at a Kamen Rider being called “Ryuki”. Kôhei unintentionally drops the “sa”, and there you go.
- “Well, no… more like to keep you from getting yourself killed… like right now LOOK OUT!” : This line is actually pretty close to one from the original draft of episode #3, which also introduced Kurobe Kôhei, albeit in a much more rushed manner. He literally pops up out of nowhere, says this, and vanishes for the rest of the episode!
- “Ha! Who says that only works on TV?” : Yet another nod to the source material on which Sigma is inspired.
- The entire “Maya appears to get run over” bit references Kaiketsu Zubat, where Hayakawa Ken, more often than not, got his butt kicked up and down and even sometimes “dies” before he later magically reappears in the nick of time, fully armed and ready for combat.
- “Fmmm… People should always clean up after themselves. That’s Kôhei’s Rule #1.”: “Fmmm” is just another way of saying “Hmmm”. Kôhei’s often contradictory rules of thumb are another wacky detail of the character.
- “I’ve been expecting you…to DIE!”: I’m pretty sure that I was thinking of the line from Goldfinger when I wrote this.
- Kômori = Bat
- Kamisori = Razorblade
- I just love the alliteration of Kômori-Kamisori’s name.
- Saiminjustsu = Hypnotism
- “Getting sleepy” : A twist on the stereotypical vampire hypnotism catchphrase.
- Like other bat monsters (well, most of them) in the Rider series, Kômori-Kamisori is temporarily weakened by bright/direct light.
- It didn’t dawn on me until this point in the writing of episode #3 that Tachibana is essentially completely vulnerable while Maya is off on her little excursion. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to dawn on Geier at all.
- Ah, the Maya/Kôhei banter. The purpose of this scene is to establish the kind of love/hate relationship between the two characters, which of course we’ll see develop as the series goes on.
- -kun = In hierarchal Japanese, the suffix -kun is used for boys or in some cases, by older adults to younger adults (similar to using -san) but Maya’s usage of it is somewhat like mockingly talking down to the slightly older Kôhei. Just as he develops various nicknames for her, she does the same (re: Spike.)
- Yoshi = “OK!”, “Alright!”, or a similar phrase implying something really good. Kôhei’s “Yoooooooooooosha!!!” is a bit like saying “Yeeeeeeeesssss!”
- “I feel like I’m trying to put together a puzzle without the instructions” : This line makes me smirk every time I read it!
- The Maya/ Mikoto conversation does go on for a while, but I felt it was important in establishing their characters, as the friendship they build that will become an important part of the story.
- Having Mikoto be born in the
- “Well, your Japanese is flawless.” : I’ll let you make you own analysis of this line.
-Mikoto’s casual view point on the Kamen Riders (not to mention her father’s role with them) is another unusual quirk of the character that really stood out in my mind.
- “Those stories of men who fight for justice without reward have just become too hard to swallow these days. Everyone says that people that eccentric can’t exist…” : I should give credit to the folks who translated the first chapter of Kamen Rider Spirits at www. snoopycool.com for these lines, as it’s based on a part of their translation. Alas, the project has since seemed to go on permanent hiatus, but thanks all the same, guys!
- Again, vague references are made to Kamen Rider Kuuga and other newer series.
- We learn a little bit more about Maya’s recent past in this scene, like her college major! The “goodbye” line is wonderfully ironic. Also note that Maya mentions that she has an older sister. This is *important*, so remember it.
- Where is Maya’s motorcycle anyway? To be revealed next episode!
- Mikoto, as you can probably tell by now, is supposed to be an unusual, charmingly quirky character. So I had to have her drive an unusual, charmingly quirky vehicle. What better than a Vespa Moped? For the anime fans out there, this was an intentional reference to Haruko’s ride of choice in the series FLCL (also known as Furi Kuri.)
- Kôhei’s encounter with the bats is probably my favorite of the many creepy moments in this episode. We see a glimpse of Kôhei’s softer side as he cowers in fear from the onslaught of bloodsucking flying mammals. For all his tough talk and often times obnoxious attitude, he’s a good guy beneath it, and I think there’s some great moments planned for later in the series where this really comes across.
- “Now, you’re supposed to DIE!” : Kômori-Kamisori has something a fixation on the word “DIE!”
- The random landmine explosion bit is a staple of many early Rider motorcycle scenes.
- Maya and Mikoto share in a little banter themselves before the fight begins. Mikoto (and the readers) can probably tell by now that there is something about Maya and Kôhei…
-“Oh, I really hope I just said the right thing…” : I wanted to reaffirm that Maya is still relatively new to this, so of course her confidence in spouting heroic one-liners and talking tough is still fledgling.
- Kômori-Kamisori being stunned by the cross around Kôhei’s neck is a big hint about another mystery in this episode…
- Maya performs a lying-down Henshin! That’s a rarity.
- There’s not much else for me to say about the rest of the episode, aside from the real cliffhanger of an ending, to be resolved next time.
"Dragon Fang Rider Kick!!"
~Igadevil
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