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Tojima Tanzaburo Wants to be a Masked Rider Anime Reveals Opening Song, October 4 Debut

The 5-ji ni Muchū! Japanese variety program revealed on Wednesday the opening theme song and October 4 debut for the anime of Yokusaru Shibata's Tojima Tanzaburo Wants to be a Masked Rider (Tōjima Tanzaburō wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai) manga. Teddyloid feat. Shigeru Matsuzaki accelerated by TOPHAMHAT-KYO (FAKE TYPE.) performs the opening theme song "Wanna be." Teddyloid, Emme, and TOPHAMHAT-KYO (FAKE TYPE.) scored and arranged the song, and Konnie Aoki wrote the lyrics. Aniplex streamed a comment video from one of the opening theme song artists, Shigeru Matsuzaki:

The anime will premiere on Tokyo MX on October 4 at 24:30 JST (effectively, October 5 at 12:30 a.m.).

• Katsuyuki Konishi as Tanzaburō Tōjima
• Ai Kayano as Yuriko Okada
• Kenichi Suzumura as Ichiyo Shimamura
• Sōma Saitō as Mitsuha Shimamura
• Fairouz Ai as Yukarisu

Takahiro Ikezoe (Ozma, Show By Rock!!) is directing the anime at LIDEN FILMS. Tōko Machida (Allison & Lillia, Wake Up, Girls!) is in charge of series scripts, Cindy H. Yamauchi (Blade, Sōten Kōro) is designing the characters, and Teddyloid (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT) is composing the music.

Additional staff includes:

• Key Animator: Shintarō Shimizu
• Prop Design: Yoshihiro Ujiie
• Art Director: Yukihiro Shibutani (Ishigaki Pro), Ayano Aizu (Ishigaki Pro)
• Art Supervision: Masaru Satō (Ishigaki Pro)
• Art Director Assistant: Kanae Kawasaki (Ishigaki Pro)
• Art Setting: Yūho Taniuchi
• Color Key Artist: Ryoko Oka
• Compositing Director of Photography: Junpei Takatsu
• Compositing Director Assistant of Photography : Tomoaki Suzuki
• Editing: Kumiko Sakamoto
• Sound Director: Takayuki Yamaguchi (movwav)
• Sound Effects: Yasumasa Koyama
• Animation Producer: Kōsuke Yokota

The manga follows the titular Tanzaburo Tojima, a man who has just turned 40 and who still seriously dreams of becoming a Kamen Rider. Just as he is about to give up on this dream, he gets caught up in a "false Shocker" robbery.

Shibata launched the manga with cooperation from Ishimori Production and Toei in the Monthly Hero's magazine in 2018, and the manga moved to the Comiplex website, where it is still ongoing. Hero's published the 16th compiled volume on April 4.

Shibata's earlier series include Air Master and 81diver. Shibata ended 81diver in July 2014. The manga inspired a live-action television series in 2008. Shibata's Air Master manga inspired a television anime in 2003, and Geneon Entertainment and Toei Animation released some of the series on DVD in North America before Funimation picked up the license. Crunchyroll is currently streaming the series.

Sources: 5-ji ni Muchū! variety program, Tojima Tanzaburo Wants to be a Masked Rider anime's website