With the back half of Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider, the plot solidifies into one interconnected arc. Bat Man is taking a stab at world domination through the Japanese idol industry. Rather than turning only the strongest into Combatmen, Bat Man has turned every possible Japanese idol into one—and that’s only step one of his plan. The next is to pair them off with sex-starved otaku fans—luring them in and turning them into Combatmen as well. Soon, he’ll have a Shocker army of unstoppable size.

On the surface, this seems like exactly the kind of campy plot you expect from a show aimed at children. However, the anime does a great job of playing it straight—having terrifying scenes where crying women are killed and brought back as Bat Man’s sex-slave honey traps. Those who escape barely do so, and even named supporting characters are killed as they fall prey to Bat Man. It adds some real stakes to the evil plan—and makes it feel like it is one that will succeed if our heroes don’t intervene.

When it comes down to it, the main theme of this anime is the power of love. For our former Shocker heroes, this isn’t even metaphorical. It is love that breaks their mind control. With Yukarisu, it is her love for Mitsuba. For the yakuza thug trio, it is their brotherly love for their boss Nakao. The power of love even affects Spider Man, as falling in love with Sena convinces him there is more to humans than meets the eye—and love is at the core of becoming truly strong.

This idea is most clearly seen in our Kamen Rider heroes. All of them love their respective Kamen Riders—who they were and what they believed in. They don’t just want to emulate them; they want to be them. It is love in its purest, most obsessive form.

And from this love comes personal drive. Each is chasing an impossible dream. Yet, they still pursue their goal as if it’s just out of reach. The core lesson is that if you work hard to your maximum potential, you can attain your dreams. Love is the fuel that keeps you going past your limits.

While Spider Man has begun to learn this lesson (and subsequently avoids confronting the Riders directly in the back half of the series), Bat Man has not. He sees himself as superior—unable to fathom the idea that a mere human could ever overpower him and his Shocker minions. This hubris, of course, is his downfall—even if he is correct during their first encounter.

The big problem that our heroes face in the back half of the series is personal. The problem with being so single-mindedly focused on a specific goal is that it leaves little room for anything else. When not working hard labor, Tojima punches trees in the woods. Yuriko spends her free time working out. Ichiyo lives an isolated life out in the boonies, spending all his time training. None of them, save Mitsuba, has anything akin to a social life—and even that’s only because Yukarisu was a shocker agent sent to seduce him.

Each of them sees themselves as the hero of their own story. They are fighting Shocker—living their individual dreams. They don’t see themselves as a team, which gets in the way of their being as effective as possible. None of them can take on Shocker alone, and it’s only once they start to treat things as a “team up episode” (and allow Nakao into the team) that they have any chance of stopping Bat Man’s evil plan.

Another notable aspect of the series is that it gives its side characters time to shine. Futaba, Naoko, Spider Man, Sena, and Thunder Raiko all get, if not full episodes, then at least sizable portions of episodes about their backstories and growth. There are times when it feels like we don’t see our main Rider heroes for episodes at a time—and this makes the story stronger by fleshing out the world they all inhabit.

Visually, Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider has a fantastic art style. Shadows, dark outlines, and explosive use of color make the show look good even without the animation. That said, the animation does take things to the next level. There are a few anime that make punches, kicks, and throws feel as heavy as they do in this one. Each hit feels like it would kill a normal man. It visually helps us believe that Tojima and his friends are capable of defeating not just Combatants but actual monsters as well.

On top of this, the show sports fantastic sound design. Sound effects galore are taken from the classic Kamen Rider series, and the general Foley effects add as much weight to the character’s attacks as the animation does. The music is likewise fantastic. The battle theme is memorable, and the way the general soundtrack mixes in classic Kamen Rider elements with modern musical tastes is simply perfect.

The back-half Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider (along with the first half, when you get right down to it) is a feast for the eyes and ears. It delivers on solid character development and a satisfying climax. But more than that, this is a show about the passion within us and how embracing it can allow us to do things far beyond what we’d normally expect—especially with the help of like-minded individuals. It doesn’t matter if you know anything about Kamen Rider or not; give this anime a try. It has both comedy and heart to keep you entertained till the end.