Shotaro Ishinomori

Shotaro Ishinomori (石ノ森 章太郎) is a member of the Mangaka Guild often said as Tezuka's bodyguard. He considers himself to be a 'crime fighter' before a mangaka and would prefer to be in the field rather than be in the office.

He has the Talent named Masked Rider.

Appearance
Shotaro is a tall young man with light blue eyes and short brown hair with bangs that cover the right part of his eyes.

His outfit consists of a bartender suit and a white collared shirt, he also wears long black pants with black loafers. Often he would keep a pack of cigarettes.

Personality
Shotaro shows himself as a no-nonsense man, preferring to get straight to the point with his intentions. He is violent when it comes to fighting criminals and has a distaste towards people who he deems evil or has no morals. However, he himself dislikes acting violent, calling his anger and often quiet nature an "unfortunate side to his personality".

Shotaro also has a strict moral code which he calls Rider's Code (ライダーズの法律). These are rules strictly enforced towards himself to make sure that he always acts selfless, these rules include.
 * ・A crime fighter never runs in the face of danger.
 * ・A crime fighter must always help others before helping themselves.
 * ・A crime fighter never engages in private fights.

He holds great respect for Osamu Tezuka, considering him his mentor both in being a mangaka and a Talent user. Shotaro is also greatly protective of the other members of the Mangaka Guild, especially their fighting force. Promising to protect them whenever they're together.

Physical Prowess
Shotaro is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, learning MMA fighting in his spare time in order to keep his body healthy and well-shaped. He is more often seen using his fighting skills rather than using his Talent.

Talent

 * Main Article: Masked Rider

Shotaro owns a Talent named Masked Rider which activates when he says "transform". Shotaro would then be covered in a full body suit made out of a carbon-fiber like material. Masked Rider grants Shotaro protection and access to many techniques which he can use to suit his combat styles.

Background
Shotaro was a student and assistant of Tezuka back in the early days of the Mangaka Guild, learning to draw manga as side work. At one point, he suggested that Tezuka could use the organization as a front to a Talent Users Organization to help the citizens of Osaka with solving crimes which the police would not help with. In the meantime, Shotaro also developed his "Rider's Code" as a strict moral code he imposes on himself.

Shotaro's intense hatred towards criminals may have come from his years being an orphan, constantly assaulted by the criminals of Osaka. Somewhere down the line, Shotaro's learnt about his own Talent and studied to defend himself before being found by Tezuka.

Beginning
Shotaro was first introduced as a sort of chauffeur to Osamu Tezuka, picking up the members of the Gutai Group and Rembrandt from the train station and taking them to the Mangaka Guild's headquarters to meet Tezuka. He is mostly silent through the ride and only directed the kids and Rembrandt to Tezuka's room before leaving.

Appearances
{{Appearance|Chapters=

Gutai & the House of Wolves
}}
 * Chapter 5 - Q: Are We Not Painters? A: No We Are The Mangaka Guild!
 * Chapter 9 - Counterstroke

Trivia

 * Shotaro is also a homage to Shotaro Hidari from the Kamen Rider W series. Shotaro Hidari is a self-proclaimed "hardboiled detective" similar to how Shotaro is a self-proclaimed "crime fighter".
 * Shotaro's Rider's Code is partially based on the Shinsengumi code.
 * His alias, Takeshi Hongo (本郷 猛) is the name of Kamen Rider Ichigō
 * His other alias, Ichigō is also taken from Kamen Rider Ichigō.