The tokusatsu franchise continues to find itself on the wrong side of the law with second arrest in as many months.
The Kamen Rider TV/movie franchise is one of Japan’s greatest symbols of heroism. In terms of popularity and longevity, its only real rival in the live-action tokusastsu special effects genre is Ultraman.
But while the assorted Kamen Riders routinely beat up the bad guys on TV, in real life some of them are the criminals themselves. Last month, Tsunenori Aoki, the actor who plays Kamen Rider Duke, was arrested for groping a woman’s chest as part of a drunken bender, and now the cops have come for Kamen Rider Kabuki actor Toshinobu Matsuo.
▼ Kamen Rider Kabuki
Matsuo was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on May 14, stemming from allegations of methamphetamine use during April and May of this year. Though the 40-year-old actor denies the charges, the results of a urine test had Matsuo testing positive for meth, and he is being charged with violation of the Stimulants Control Law.
It’s another black eye for the Kamen Rider franchise, and a sad turn of events for its fans, many of whom are impressionable young kids. If there’s a silver lining to this latest scandal, hopefully it can at least serve as a teachable moment for parents to remind their children that methamphetamines aren’t really part of the path of a hero, just like there’s more to being a foreign music star than smoking weed.
Source: Yahoo! Japan News/Nikkan Sports via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
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