Tomokazu Seki Was Already a "Celebrity" During His Student Days!? Kouhai Katsuyuki Konishi Shares Stories... Reiji Kawashima Also Moved by "Kamen Rider" Behind-the-Scenes Tales

■New "Kamen Rider" Character Information Revealed!

In the latter half of the show, they featured a major spotlight on the hit series "Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider," in which Konishi plays the lead role. Along with the PV, Konishi himself introduced the work's worldview and story, while Seki and Kawashima excitedly commented, "The anime depiction that recreates live-action Kamen Rider footage is just so cool" and "The way the lines are used in the visual direction is amazing!"

During this segment, new character information that would debut in the next day's latest episode was revealed for the first time on the show. When it was disclosed in the introduction video that Tomokazu Seki would be playing the role of Hakkyoku Hachiro, a master of Bajiquan, the comment section exploded with excitement at this unexpected surprise announcement: "Seki-san!?!?!!" "I'm so happy!!" "That voice is so cool." Afterward, Seki played it off saying "Me! I was in it!" and drew laughter, while Konishi gave his stamp of approval for Seki's performance, saying "I absolutely wanted Seki-san to appear" and "Seki-san plays a major role. He talks non-stop!"

Furthermore, they conducted the collaboration project "Kamen Rider Mask Challenge!" Seki, Kawashima, and Konishi all put on Kamen Rider masks and "transformed" like Tanzaburō Tōjima to take on cooperative games.

In the "Extra Spicy Tomato Juice Challenge" and "Falling Stick Challenge," they demonstrated their natural insight and quick reflexes, succeeding one after another.

Finally, they faced off against staff members dressed as Shocker in the nostalgic game "Butaminton."

However, here Konishi took an unexpected action quite unheroic. In this game where players hit a shuttlecock back and forth with rackets shaped like pig faces, the mission would be cleared by scoring 2 points first. For the first point, the three showed excellent teamwork and earned the point through legitimate play, but for the second point, Konishi displayed an unusual strategy of "removing his mask." He forcibly seized the point with barely legal plays, such as using the mask as a racket substitute or picking up the shuttlecock with the mask and returning it to the opponent's court.

They cleared the mission as is, and when Kawashima interjected "Is this okay for heroes?", Seki boldly declared, "Heroes must protect by any means necessary. Defeat means Japan's destruction!" and Konishi calmly added a word: "Winning is all that matters." The studio erupted in laughter at Seki and Konishi's unheroic behavior.

■"I Finally Became One"—Katsuyuki Konishi, From Shocker to Kamen Rider

Furthermore, during the ending, there was a moment when Konishi's connection to the Kamen Rider series was discussed, triggered by his comment: "I finally became a Kamen Rider too."

Actually, Konishi had previously appeared as a "Shocker combat agent" in "Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker The Movie," and even that appearance was a coincidental event when he went to observe filming with Seki and was asked, "We're short on people, can you help?" Seki also added, "You were featured in the 'Shocker Combat Agent Introduction' in a children's magazine, right?"

After that, Konishi recalled that he provided the voice for the transformation belt in "Kamen Rider Gotchard," and then his appearance in this work "Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider" was decided, commenting with a smile, "In the end, I was able to become a Kamen Rider (lol)." Starting as a Shocker combat agent and eventually coming full circle to participate in the "Kamen Rider" content—learning about this uniquely Konishi journey, Kawashima spoke with deep emotion, saying "Amazing! That's quite a rare story," and comments from viewers such as "Really!?" "So hot" and "Destiny!" poured in, enveloping the studio in a heartfelt atmosphere.

(C)AbemaTV, Inc.
(C)柴田ヨクサル／ヒーローズ・Tojima Rider Project
(C)石森プロ・東映

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