Daisuke Aino's Questionnaire

So, I live in Shinjuku, Near Kabukicho... Okay I get the implication but it's not like that, the thing is I live there cause rent is cheap. The crime rate is... somewhat of an issue, but I also hang out there so I can help people in trouble. A lot of the workers around get constantly harassed and most of the time just calling the people out and getting up close is enough to dissuade them. Though sometimes I have bitten off more than I can chew and gotten severely injured. I still have a few knife marks I've not been able to explain to my producers. They're, messy. But I think the benefit of being able to see the comfort on someone that you just saved's face is more than enough. 

I'm an actor, I play uh, the Silver Rider. He's the main character in 'The Super Silver Rider!!!'. He's this super bombastic vigilante who protects people. He's super fun to play! The shooting days are a bit painful cause I have to keep wearing this skintight suit and do stunts in it? Eventually it gets very overwhelming, but the crew are nice, I've had a lot of fond memories hanging out with them on the weekends. And I mean, the pay is... not great, I try to give whatever I can to charity and to my family then just continue with what I've got left. I don't really have a lot of stuff I'm looking to buy at any given moment anyway so it works out you know?

I've not killed anyone yet. It's a line I'm afraid of crossing honestly. The thing is, I want to be a beacon of safety for people, I want to become a hero that others can look at and smile from, knowing that they'll be alright. The Silver Rider doesn't just beat up monsters you know? He saves people, that's what he's supposed to do. When people are afraid, when they need someone to lift them up, I need to be there and I'm not gonna stop till I've become that Icon. I need to reach a point, where I can keep people from villainy through presence alone, that's my goal. To do that though I need to get stronger, as it stands I've had trouble protecting even the ones I love, how will I ever protect the ones I don't even personally know? How can I call myself a hero before that then? 

There was no one specific event that comes to my mind actually, throughout my life my moral compass was guided by my parents and TV. I grew up being told about heroes and villains and their never ending battles. So naturally when I grew up I wanted to be a part of it, I wanted to inspire people to do good like those shows did to me. I mean, that's why I became an actor. Or well rather, an actor for a teen show. It wasn't for the money and the fame it's just... the experience of it all, getting mail about how I've helped people through tough times, seeing kids drawing me in cool poses with smiley faces, just... it warms me. 

Well I've got both of my parents,  I grew up with them, my dad was a teacher at a nearby preschool and my mother was a nurse. Neither really like, had the full time to be there for me but they tried! I know they did, and I know they did because, every week, no matter how tired or stressed they were, they sat down with me to watch 'Space Ranger' on television. It was like a family tradition for us and we uh, we got popcorn and drinks and we just… enjoyed the show. They were the ones that drove me to be an actor and I hope that eventually, if I ever decide to retire an adopt a kid, I can be just as good of a caretaker as they were. 

The person I'm closest to on the other hand... hmmm, that would be my assistant Takei. He's been a wonderful presence in my life, looking out for me when I need him to, hanging out after work when we're both sour and tired... Just, okay so. He's the human version of the Silver Rider. He's this insane guy who despite everything constantly seems to keep a smile and I admire him for it. He gives me hope so I can give others that same hope and I don't know what I'd do without him. 

Oh oh oh! Okay so, I grew up in Koga, in Ibaraki. It was very… intimate? People usually knew each other mostly and they interacted on a daily basis. You could just leave your house and walk down to any other home on the block, ring the bell and have a chance to hang out. And I mean, I think that same closeness extended to school too, my friends at school were also friends outside of it that's just how it was. And as I said before, I grew up with my parents. They were extremely diligent and hardworking people who never passed an opportunity to show they cared. Whenever I fell, or hurt myself, or came back home crying cause of something that happened at school. They were there for me. Right now we don't talk as often because of just, how busy I've become but I still try to keep in touch, be the same person they were for me. 

I've never really… thought about, love actually. I've liked people here and there but the idea of a relationship never really appealed to me? I like people as they are! I like talking to them. I like both comforting them and the other way around! I don't think I'd, love one specific person so much more than others to that extent, it feels… unfair? I can't be with someone knowing that I can't love them above and beyond like they do me. But this way might be healthier, I don't want the things I do to get the people I love hurt. I can't in good conscience drag someone into my hectic existence and endanger them to the point where they get targeted by cowards who can't face me on their own. 

I am scared that eventually somebody will get hurt because of me. It's already happened somewhat when I was mind controlled and I've felt shame over the experience ever since. The thing is, I don't want to drag people into my... crusade? Crusade. I don't want to feel anxious about if they might be okay whenever I leave for a job or for patrol. I don't want to think about the possibility that the villains I take down might decide to go after the ones I love just to get to me. I can't bear that guilt. 

How do you call yourself a hero when you're the reason for their pain? When your daring, your recklessness gets them maimed? I don't want to cut them out of my life, I love them, but I also don't know how to keep them permanently protected while keeping my secret at the same time. I'm not an island, I wish I was but I'm not enough sometimes and I hate that fact, I hate that I can't be the pillar that makes sure they're always safe. I'm scared the more people I drag into this journey the more they'll get hurt and the more they'll die because of me. 

So, this might seem a bit childish but uh… I have a collection of 'Space Ranger!' memorabilia that I keep under my bed. And one of them is a small figurine that's autographed, not by the Space Ranger though! I- uh never got to see him, the thing was is my dad and I tried to make it to that signing but we couldn't and well, I was devastated. So my Dad, and I remember this part clearly, he, he uh, leant forward, grabbed a ball pen from inside his shirt and signed his name on it. He wrote, the Space Ranger's catchphrase on it and everything and I… I don't know it's one of the most important things I brought here from Koga and I never had the heart to throw it out. It just, it feels nice to see how much he cares, that despite everything he wanted me to smile. 

Well... my assistant has been kidnapped and my secret identity is under heavy scrutiny. I have to find a way to take down a gang of cyborg Yakuza members that know who I am and who have a hostage they can use for leverage. The main problem isn't even that they're hard to beat, it's that I don't know where they are. Whatever I do they'll have the advantage over me. My thought process right now was to... Talk to the local populace to see if they've seen anything interesting recently and try to figure out a heat map to see where they often move. İn theory after leaving the airport they probably reconvened at their safe location after splitting up to confuse anyone who might chase them. Assuming they are overly comfortable they probably either:

Picked a spot close to the airport so they didn't have to risk getting ID'ed

Or

They picked the warehouse where I first fought them in some sense of dramatic irony.

When I wake up, I set a small pan of water to boil at low heat. During that time I check my schedule for the day, exercise, shower then prepare tea. I have tea and breakfast then get on with my day and well… hmmm… Oh! Wait I forgot, I do have one thing I do after showering, so, my mirror gets all foggy and I utilize that fog: What I do is I make a small line, for each consecutive day I've not broken my morning streak in. And seeing that mirror get filled up over time is very like… fulfilling. I don't know I... have a hard time focusing on things sometimes so keeping the schedule helps to motivate me too! Okay no getting sidetracked. After breakfast I go to the studio to either do shooting or help out with physical labor. Even if it's not an active day for me getting to watch others perform is a great opportunity to you know pick up stuff through osmosis.

Oh wow, hmm… Okay see I'm kinda iffy on this cause I try to do my best to, well, look my best wherever I go because if I don't treat MYSELF right how can I treat others the best way they should be treated? So I guess my answer would be, I'd just do my usual routine and make sure I did it well. The only thing I would possibly change is apparel? I'm not a fancy person so I don't have any tailor made suits or anything but I do try to adhere to any codes the events I go to may have. Other than that though my usual clothes are I think good and clean which are like my two biggest criteria for whether they're wearable or not and they pass that test so there's not a lot else to be anxious about or stress over. I'm already a generally anxious person what the hell would I do if every event made me panic about what I looked like?

Hmmmm… let's see, last year, well last year I didn't actually get to do anything cause my birthday coincided with the production time for one of our big spinoff movies so I had to put full effort on that. This year, I might actually take some time off! I want to, go back to Koga and spend some time with my family. We might even do a big "Space Ranger!" marathon for old times' sake! I just got a new collection of Space Ranger DVDs with behind the scenes footage and I've been itching to find an excuse to bring them out. Before that though I will probably have a nice breakfast with Takei to celebrate getting him back, he deserves to have a nice meal after all the stress I put him through anyways so it's the least I can do for him. Though that does... Hinge on me being able to get him back.

I don't have a specific one. I often had a list of regrets that constantly piled up and bugged me though, not calling my parents, not helping out an old lady cross street, not standing up for someone when I saw them being mistreated. So often I was content with inaction and it hurt me. I knew I needed to be better I just couldn't manage it, but now, now that I've been on these jobs I've been seeing so much more of just how this violent this world is and how unfair it can get. Now I can't in good conscience let these things go, especially when I have the power to stop it. 

One of the themes that we wanted to explore in the latest season of the Silver Rider was something similar actually, an exploration of how a heroic character has to live with the responsibility of what they're capable of and what they could accomplish.

I still haven't been able to figure it out. The way we do power development for the Rider in the series is that it's built up each time they lose, it's hype to watch a Rider come back and absolutely wreck a monster they barely escaped from before thanks to their cool new form. But here I don't really have that luxury, if I lose I go back empty-handed or worst off in a body bag. So I think the dynamics of the belt and how it evolves is based on what I think the core elements of a Sentai protagonist are. I think they should have an awesome designed form that shows their themes, hides their identity and also boosts their powers? Boom. I think they should have a weapon they can use to channel the rest of their powers through? Boom. It's a sort of wish fulfillment that I think comes from my belt interpreting my wishes.