Shocker's Telephone

During the broadcasting of Kamen Rider, audiences can see some Shocker members using telephones only in promotional materials (especially the Kamen Rider Cards) but can never see any related scenes in the television series or movies. Since film cameras were expensive during 1970s, it seems illogical for the production crew to waste time and resources on filming props never used in the show, though the existence of these photos has still confused fans for decades. These telephones are usually nicknamed by the fans. 
==Derivate Explainations==
As a long-going urban legend during the Showa Era, there are several fan-theories trying to explain these pictures:
*The telephone scenes were cut from the show.
*The telephones were provided by a telephone manufacturer/telecom company sponsoring the show, but the sponsor dropped their support of Kamen Rider before airing.
*The telephone photos were secret signals, smart people would know how to decode them and win a big prize. 
*Others...
==Truth==
In 2004, an interview of retired Ishimori Productions staff members had finally revealed the truth behind the mysterious telephone: According to the staff, the 70's Ishinomori photograph team wanted their Shocker monsters holding something small in-hand to increase the impact on the viewers (in a horror/abnormal sense). Therefore, they decided to use telephones found in local studios and asked the suit actors to hold them in randomly strange poses during photographing. The staff thought that those photos did attract more people to watch the show, and appreciated the fans for proving it as a creative marketing example in Japan. Page29, Kodansha Official File Magazine: Kamen Rider Vol.2, ISBN 978-4063670929
==Legacy==
In order to promote the 2023 film Shin Kamen Rider, director Hideaki Anno and Toei had decided to recreate the Shocker's Telephone trend in the Reiwa Era: A series of pictures were taken during the filming, some are put into the "Shin Kamen Rider Snack" collaboration gift cards, and some are posted by the film's official Twitter account under the hashtag .https://twitter.com/Shin_KR/status/1603585714330796035
==References==
 
Category:Shocker
Category:Items