Tohru Hirayama (平山 亨 Hirayama Tōru) was the producer of Kamen Rider Series, starting at its very beginning. He worked alongside Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of Cyborg 009. The series spent nearly five years on hold while Hirayama worked on other shows and searched for a proper character designer. In 1969, Shotaro Ishinomori, who was a known face in Tokusatsu‎ industry at the time, was approached by Hirayama to have his Skull Man manga adapted for the Masked Hero Project. Originally the project was rejected due to criticisms that it was too violent for the timeslot it was given.