(NOTE: THEY ARE CALLED KAMEN RIDER BECAUSE KAMEN MEANS MASKED IN JAPANESE AND RIDE MOTORCYCLES)
Music for the ArticleKamen Rider (formerly romanized as Masked Rider prior to Kamen Rider Double, wherein Double and all successive riders are now officially romanized by their actual Japanese monikers) is a franchise of tokusatsu series created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by the Toei Company. A brother show to Super Sentai. Typically has a smaller main cast than Sentai (the title of each series refers to a single main Rider instead of Super Sentai's Good Guy Group), but not always. Some series feature huge numbers of Riders, with the most extreme example being Kamen Rider Ryuki and its 13 Riders (although Kamen Rider Hibiki has a lot more if you count all the Riders seen briefly, or even just briefly mentioned). Did I forget to mention that they can be women but it's very rare.
Now to list the shows in order:
Kamen Rider
Kamen Rider was originally Takeshi Hongo, college student and motorcyclist. One day, the forces of the evil organization, Shocker, nabbed him and subjected him to experiments to turn him into an elite agent of evil. However, Hongo was saved from being inducted into Shocker's ranks by the sacrifice of an unwilling Shocker scientist, Prof. Midorikawa. Now, as Kamen Rider, Hongo defends the world from Shocker's aspirations; later, he is joined by intrepid FBI agent Kazuya Taki. After that, Hayato Ichimonji, a photographer saved from reconditioning by Hongo, joins the fight as Kamen Rider 2.
Kamen Rider V3
Kamen Rider V3, the second Kamen Rider series, aired from 1973 to 1974.
The third Rider, Kazami Shiro was marked for death by the evil group Destron after witnessing a murder by their hands. When Destron forces murder his family, Kazami pleads with his saviors, the Kamen Riders to make him into a cyborg-warrior too. They only comply after he is wounded saving their lives; now, after the sacrifice of his saviors, Kazami as Masked Rider V3 takes on the forces of Destron. Later, he is joined by former Destron scientist, Yuki Jouji, who takes up the mantle of Riderman.
Kamen Rider X
Kamen Rider X was the third Masked Rider series from Shotaro Ishinomori, there was also a comic book at the same time.
Jin Keisuke is a guy living in Japan with his father and fiancee, his father is a famous inventor as well as a judo expert. His father has been working on a motor that could be revolutionary. However, the latest evil organization Government of Darkness(or GOD for short) wants the invention. Jin's fiancee is a spy for GOD and executes both Jin and his father, but not before Dr. Keitaro manages to SOMEHOW drag Jin Keisuke all the way into his lab and install the engine into him. Dr. Keitaro dies shortly after, but not before leaving his son the gear to become Kamen Rider X! X vows to destroy the Government of Darkness, and avenge his father!
Kamen Rider Amazon
Kamen Rider Amazon was the fourth Kamen Rider series.
Daisuke Yamamoto was raised in the Amazon after his parents were killed in a plane crash. His life is changed when the Ten-Faced Demon attacked and destroyed his adopted home village. A witch doctor inserts the mystical Gigi Bracelet into him, which allows him to transform into the warrior Amazon. He goes to Japan to meet a professor who knew his father, battles Gorgos's minions after the professor is killed, and becomes the new Champion of Justice.
Kamen Rider Stronger
Kamen Rider Stronger is the fifth Kamen Rider series.
Former football player Joh Shigeru's friend is captured and killed by the Black Satan group, which looks for athletes in prime physical condition to be changed into "kaijins"—monster humanoids.
Joh himself goes undercover and allows himself to be captured and altered, becoming the Electrict Human Stronger. When he is forced to pledge loyalty to Black Devil's Great Leader, he shows his true colors, calling himself Kamen Rider Stronger and escaping to seek out revenge against Black Devil for killing a friend of his. While escaping from their base, he rescues a woman who had been altered by Black Devil, but not brainwashed, Misaki Yuriko who became Electric Human Tackle, helping Stronger in his battle against the organization Black Devil.
Eventually, Black Devil falls before Stronger, but he ends up faced with the Delza army, composed by inhabitants of an underground kingdom. However, as it turns out, he wasn't the only one facing Delza's forces around the world...
Kamen Rider Skyrider
New Kamen Rider (also known as Kamen Rider: Sky Rider) is the sixth program in the Kamen Rider franchise, airing from 1979 to 1980.
While on a camping trip, aerial photographer and hangliding enthusiast Tsukuba Hiroshi rescues Professor Shido Keitaro, who was a prisoner of Neo Shocker, a new version of the old Shocker group. Recaptured after Tsukuba helps him, Professor Shido tricks Neo Shocker into experimenting on Tsukuba, claiming that he will turn Tsukuba into a mighty warrior of evil.
Professor Shido's plan changes Tsukuba into a Kamen Rider, who manages to use his powers to escape and destroy the group who changed him. His father, a prominent scientist, and his mother are kidnapped and kept as slaves, as he attempts to rescue them and tries to have a normal life.
Kamen Rider Super-1
Kamen Rider Super-1 was the seventh Kamen Rider series lasting from 1980-1981.
The titular Rider is Kazuya Oki, an astronaut who is rebuilt by NASA into "Super-1", as a space exploration and development cyborg without the need for bulky external gear. But the Dogma criminal group attacks just as NASA is putting Super-1 through tests; everyone except Kazuya are killed. Unable to transform of his own volition, Kazuya escapes to Japan, where he trains in martial arts, eventually using it to replace the external henshin command - and getting some fighting skill in the process.
Now not so much a dude with a built-in spacesuit as a force of two-fisted justice, he goes after Dogma.
He fights Jin Dogma, a second group, later on.
Kamen Rider ZX
Kamen Rider ZX, the tenth hero to inherit the Kamen Rider name, bears the distinction of being the first Rider who did not debut in a TV series.
After the end of the previous series, Kamen Rider Super-1, the Kamen Rider franchise was once again taken off the air. Following a fan campaign for a new series, Ishinomori decided to introduce a new Kamen Rider anyway without a TV series. ZX made his debut on July 1982 in an illustration published by Japanese magazines such as TV Magazine and TV Land, in which he was introduced without an official name at the time as the "Tenth Rider". After a year-long multimedia campaign that included a contest to decide the name, a radio drama that was broadcast by All-Night Nippon (starring Akira Kamiya as the voice of the Tenth Rider), the live unveiling of the character and his official name, photo stories that were published in various magazines, a few tie-in manga versions and even stage shows, ZX eventually made his live-action debut on January 3, 1984 in an hour-long special titled Birth of the Tenth! Gather All Kamen Riders!!.
Ryo Murasame, was captured in the Amazon Jungle along with his sister Shizuka by the evil Badan Empire. Badan's agents murder Shizuka, then transform Ryo into an elite-agent of evil known as ZX. Initially brainwashed, Ryo miraculously regains his sanity and escapes Badan. He then encounters three strangers whom he initially assume to be enemies. In reality, they are Riders V3, Super-1, and Riderman, who take him to meet the other Kamen Riders and welcome him to their fold. Afterwards, he joins them in battle, calling himself Kamen Rider ZX.
Before we continue incase you're wondering who the Main Villian/Mr.Big Bad is the Grand Leader of Shocker. Although we never learn precisely what he is, he's claimed to be everything from a (relatively) mundane mutant dictator to a living embodiment of hate and suffering who will exist as long as there Is Evil. Typically, if there was a series where he wasn't the Big Bad, he'd pop up in the next series and claim to have been the one bossing around the previous show's villains. However he is permanitly killed in Kamen Rider ZX.
Other, more recent series have had different main villains I will now carry on.
Kamen Rider Black
Kamen Rider Black is the eighth TV series in the Kamen Rider franchise, airing three years after the Kamen Rider ZX TV special and broadcasted from 1987 to 1988.
An evil religion named "Gorgom", consisting of two guys and a girl in white capes and robes: Darom, Baraom and Bishium. They intend to choose a new boss- known as the Creation King (Main Villain of the show of this show)- by capturing two chosen humans, implanting them with two powerful artifacts called Kingstones, and having them fight to the death. The winner will become the new Creation King, and together with Gorgom they'll Take Over the World.
Gorgom recruited many famous and intelligent people, promising them power. And the two lucky brothers to be chosen for this project- thanks to the fact that they were born during a solar eclipse- are Kotaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki.
However, Nobuhiko's father suddenly reforms and interrupts the brainwashing process. This frees Kotaro from complete brainwashing, but he still retains his strength enhancements and Kingstone. This allows him to transform into Gorgom's Champion "Black Sun", redubbing himself "Kamen Rider Black".
And so begins Kotaro's battle against Gorgom to prevent more casualties as well as saving Nobuhiko. However, things got rowdy when Nobuhiko suddenly revives himself, brainwashing complete, as Black's main rival Shadow Moon.
Kamen Rider Black RX
Kamen Rider Black RX is the ninth TV series in the Kamen Rider franchise and a direct sequel to the previous series, Kamen Rider Black. It was broadcasted from 1988 to 1989 and was the last TV series aired during the Showa-era before the transition to stand-alone movies throughout the 90s.
Six months after being practically left alone at the end of Black, Kotaro Minami has finally gotten on the road to a normal life. He's been adopted by the Sahara family and has a steady job as a helicopter pilot.
However, a new threat to the peace of Earth comes in the form of the Crisis Empire, which seeks Earth as their new invasion target. Acknowledging Kamen Rider Black as a threat, they capture Kotaro while preventing his transformation and attempt to goad him into joining the Empire. Kotaro refuses, and as a result he has his King Stone destroyed and gets thrown off to space.
The sun's radiation, however, resurrected Kotaro's Kingstone and split it into two. Thus, Kamen Rider Black evolved into Kamen Rider Black RX. It also resurrects the destroyed Battle Hopper, upgrading it into Acrobatter. Now, Kotaro must use his new powers to defend Earth from the Crisis Empire, consisting of General Jak, Colonel Maribaron, Naval Commander Bosgan, Captains Gatenzone and Gedorian.
The Main Villian/Mr.Big Bad is Grand Lord Crisis, who......may be Great Leader, it's not entirely clear, but they have the same voice actor, whose distinctive voice was Great Leader's calling card. Huh..................Weird?
Fri Oct 04, 2013 1:33 pm
