Director Jissoji Akio first introduced Shirubâ kamen (1971) as 26 episodes aired from 28th November 1971 until 21st May 1972 by TBS. The mask of "Shiruba Kamen" was inspired from western knights headpieces and was a novelty for that era filled with cyborg-like costumes of Urutoraman and insect-like costumes of the Kamen Rider series. The hero was fighting space aliens with the simplicity of "Silver". After more than 30 years, just like in the final episode "Andromeda 2001", Jissoji Akio is back with a new "Shiruba Kamen" (2007) and a story that grew to maturity. It might be surprising that the new hero is in fact a young woman (Zabine) daughter of a Japanese father and a German mother. But this twist of story is only following the pulse of time and the natural evolution of society in Japan and elsewhere. The "Shiruba Kamen" (2007) (aka Silver Mask or Silbermask) is split in 3 equal parts, the present, the past and the future, each part having been shot by a different director and cinematographer. And so, the characters travel through time, history and cultures, the middle part being conceived as taking place in Germany. Even hardcore 1971 fans will find themselves in sync with the new reality of "Shiruba Kamen" (2007) since evolution is undeniable.—M.O.