Kamen Rider Zeztz, the latest entry in the popular Tokusatsu franchise, premiered on September 7th. The series gained attention for its darker aesthetics and unorthodox belt. However, a recent manga creator has called out the new series for using similar ideas from his manga. This has led some observers to speculate that Kamen Rider Zeztz may have plagiarized from another series. The manga creator is Koji Mori, the new supervisor of the Berserk manga after the passing of Kentaro Miura in 2021. Mori has expressed some disappointment about the similarities between the new Kamen Rider show and his other manga, D. Diver, in a series of tweets on X (formerly Twitter).
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It should be noted upfront that Mori did not accuse Kamen Rider Zeztz of straight-up plagiarism. Most of the mangaka’s concerns stem from a lack of communication and the disheartening discussions he had with the producers after voicing the similarities between their works. Mori claims he was in talks with one of the Kamen Rider producers to develop a story for a Kamen Rider film, during which he shared the contents and premise of D. Diver. Once realizing that Zeztz shared a similar premise to D. Diver, he messaged the producer about the similarities but received disappointing follow-ups.
How Are Kamen Rider Zeztz and D. Diver Similar?
Kamen Rider Zeztz follows the exploits of a regular young man named Baku Yorozu, who dreams that he is a great warrior. When strange monsters called Nightmares start invading dreams and the real world, Baku is gifted a belt to become the new Kamen Rider. D. Diver is an action manga that Mori began publishing in 2023. The manga features similar dream abilities, with the main protagonist of D. Diver achieving new powers and fighting enemies in his dreams.
In several long texts on X, Mori shares his perspective on the Zeztz and D. Diver situation. According to Mori, he met with a Kamen Rider producer a few years ago to discuss work on a potential movie. He and the producer initially got along, with Mori even gifting a copy of the first volume of D. Diver to the producer. Plans for a Kamen Rider movie fell through, but Mori believed he left on good terms with the producer. When he discovered the premise of the new Kamen Rider show, he sent out a message to the producer to clear up any potential similarities. Mori was assured that everything would be cleared up and was originally relieved. However, the original producer contacted them with their superior, claiming he was only a producer on films and had no involvement with television.
The original producer promised Mori that the producer for the Kamen Rider television shows would contact him. Yet after several days of no contact, Mori messaged Toei to get in contact with the TV Producer. The other producer sent him a message, claiming to know nothing about his original work before producing Kamen Rider Zeztz. Furthermore, the TV producer claims that the concept of a warrior fighting in dreams is not entirely original, as it exists in various forms of fiction worldwide. The message advised Mori not to worry about the situation, which he found dissatisfactory. He also expressed belief that his dream premise for D. Diver was something he had never heard before, coming up with the idea himself.
Did Kamen Rider Zeztz Copy D. Diver?
Mori makes it clear he doesn’t intend to push the matter further, having no intention of going against a big corporation like Toei. The purpose of his online messages was to express frustration and dissatisfaction about how the producers were communicating with him. He was hoping to have a simple and clear explanation about how Kamen Rider Zeztz differs from D. Diver, and continue his good relationship with the producers. He recognizes that ideas overlap and originally had faith that as he learn more about the new Kamen Rider series, he wouldn’t feel as if Toei copied his idea. Instead, it felt as if the producers weren’t keeping their promises or keeping him in dialogue.
Even though Mori believed his dream concept was original when making D. Diver, the Kamen Rider TV producer was correct in that the dream setting had been used before in various media globally. The third Nightmare on Elm Street film featured a cast of literal dream warriors who face Freddy Krueger in the dreamscape. There’s also the Dream Hunter Rem OVAs from the 1980s and 1990s, starring hunters who can enter people’s dreams. Moreover, dreams have been featured in other Kamen Rider series, with some fans seeing Kamen Rider Zeztz as a spiritual continuation of the franchise’s dream premises. While there are some superficial similarities between Kamen Rider Zeztz and D. Diver, most notable being that both series star a young everyman, so far, Zeztz doesn’t borrow much from D. Diver.
You can read Mori’s full messages on X, yet they are in Japanese.
Do you believe Koji Mori had the right to be upset, or is he making connections that don’t exist? Reply with what you think about this drama and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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