(NOTE: THEY ARE CALLED KAMEN RIDER BECAUSE KAMEN MEANS MASKED IN JAPANESE AND RIDE MOTORCYCLES)
Kamen 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 (Mr. Big Bad 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?
In the 1990s, while the series was on hiatus, a trio of movies was made
Shin Kamen Rider
Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue is a Darker direct-to-video incarnation of the Kamen Rider franchise released in 1992.
It is the story of Shin Kazamatsuri, a simple young man who's experimented on by his father, Dr. Kazamatsuri, and his father's partner, Dr. Onizuka. Rather than contributing to a possible cure for diseases, Shin is instead gene-spliced with Grasshopper DNA. This results in him getting the power to become a Grasshopper-monster himself. This secret puts him and his loved ones in danger from the Syndicate funding the experiment, the CIA, and Onizuka, who himself can change into a Grasshopper-monster.
the Syndicate as well as the CIA are the main villians/the Big Bads
Did I forget to mention it's darker nature is not well recived by all viewers and even the Fans
Kamen Rider ZO
Kamen Rider ZO is a 1993 Kamen Rider film produced to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary.
Geneticist Dr. Mochizuki splices grasshopper DNA into his lab assistant, Asou Masaru, who stumbles from the lab and goes comatose in the middle of the woods. Mochizuki's next experiment has even more dire results: He creates the Neo-Organism/Doras (both names apply), a diabolical mutant life form that holds him hostage when he won't complete its development. It tries to kidnap Hiroshi, Mochizuki's son, to force him to do as it demands, but he sends a telepathic call for help to Masaru, who transforms into Kamen Rider ZO to battle Doras.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad is the Neo Organism
Kamen Rider J
Kamen Rider J was a 1994 movie installment in the long-running Kamen Rider series.
S
egawa Kouji is a reporter whose sister is carried off by the monstrous children of the alien Fog Mother to feed to her newly-hatched offspring. Kouji is given the mystical "J Power" to become Kamen Rider J and defeat Fog Mother before she can destroy mankind.
The Main Villian/Big Bad is the Fog Mother who reproduces similar to ants, bees, and termites
Sorry to interrupt but the following every series created after Ishinomori's death (Don't worry he died of old age)
Kamen Rider Kuuga
The 2000-2001 entry in the Kamen Rider franchise.
A group of archaeologists uncover an ancient tomb of a legendary warrior, and discover a mysterious belt-like artifact known as the Arcle. Unfortunately, they also happen to pop the lid off of the Sealed Evil in a Can at the same time, unleashing a race of monsters known as the Grongi. The tribe-like Grongi compete against each other in a "game" of killing humans, with the strongest Grongi winning the right to challenge their leader for domination of their race.
Enter Yuusuke Godai, your typical everyday nice guy. While in town visiting one of his archaeologist friends, the building they are in is attacked by one of the Grongi. Seeing the Arcle and feeling an overwhelming urge to protect everyone, Yuusuke instinctively dons the belt, which is then absorbed into his body. From that point on, he can summon the Arcle from within himself to transform into the legendary warrior known only as Kuuga.
While Kuuga's power is extremely weak to begin with, Yuusuke learns to use his instincts and burning desire to protect those around him to access new and more powerful forms to battle the Grongi. However, he must also contend with the police who, baffled by the appearance of these "Unidentified Lifeforms", have classed Kuuga as an enemy alongside the Grongi.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad is N Daguva Zeba the Grongi Lord
Kamen Rider Agito
The 2001-2002 entry in the Kamen Rider franchise.
All across the city, mysterious and impossible crimess are taking place, carried out by angelic creatures that are Immune to Bullets and seem to be hunting very specific families.
Following the Kuuga Incident from last year, the Metropolitan Police Department commissioned their best technical geniuses to create an effective countermeasure should their city ever be plagued by monsters again. The result was the Generation 3 (G3) Powered Armor, worn by capable-but-klutzy police officer Makoto Hikawa. In response to these supernatural creatures, codenamed "Unknowns", the G3 Unit is sent out to protect the city. They find an uphill struggle ahead of them not just against the Unknowns but against those within their own police department who would seek to use the G3 System for their own gain.
Ryou Ashihara had a promising career as a swimmer until a near-fatal car accident. He began to swim again once he had healed, only to find that his body had undergone a metamorphosis, one that would drive all of his former friends and confidants away from him. After this, he receives a letter containing a list of passengers from the Akatsuki-Go cruise liner: the same cruise liner that his father boarded shortly before committing suicide. Ryou resolves to uncover the reason why his father committed suicide, driven by his loneliness and the new power he has attained: to transform into the feral creature known as Gills.
Shouichi Tsugami is a man without a past. Months ago, he washed up on a beach with no memory and an empty envelope addressed to himself. Taken in by the Misugi family, he enjoys nothing more than a simple life tending a vegetable patch and looking after the household. However, when an Unknown is about to attack a human, he feels an overwhelming compulsion to go to their defence, summoning a mysterious power he knows nothing about but holds the key to everything: the ability to transform into Kamen Rider Agito.
This show links the stories of all three men together as they attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding the Unknown and the source of the Agito power, clashing not only with the Unknown but with their own insecurities, pasts, and with each other.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad Is the Overlord of Darkness who is an Evil Precursor
Kamen Rider Ryuki
The 2002-2003 entry in the Kamen Rider franchise.
Shinji Kido is a young, highly excitable Intrepid Reporter for the online news website ORE Journal. Whilst investigating a series of seemingly random disappearances, he stumbles across a mysterious card deck at the home of one of the victims. After picking it up, he finds that he is able to see hostile monsters living inside of reflective surfaces, and is soon sucked through into the Mirror World: a parallel universe that serves as the home for the monsters and battleground for the Kamen Riders.
He soon meets up with two people involved with this strange otherworld: Yui Kanzaki, a young girl looking for her missing brother, and her partner Ren Akiyama, a longcoat-wearing, Harley-riding stoic Badass who has a card deck of his own and can use it to transform into Kamen Rider Knight. Despite the warnings of Ren and Yui, Shinji decides to make a contract with one of the Mirror Monsters to gain its power and fight as Kamen Rider Ryuki to protect the innocent. However, he has unwittingly entered into something far greater...the Rider War.
Thirteen Advent Card decks have been created for thirteen Kamen Riders, and There Can Be Only One. The mastermind behind the Rider War is Shirou Kanzaki, Yui's missing brother, and he offers to grant a single wish to the last Rider standing. Shinji is determined to stop the in-fighting between the Riders and concentrate on eliminating the threat of the Mirror Monsters, but Ren is equally determined to have his wish granted, and he isn't the only one. Ideals and friendships clash on and off the battlefield as the pressure of the war grows and the Riders are eliminated one by one.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad is Shiro Kanzaki, who is a Type 3 Anti Villian.
Kamen Rider Faiz
The 2003-2004 series of Kamen Rider.
In the future, the Smart Brain megacorporation has achieved almost global dominance of the electronics and vehicle industry. However, their true goal is to Take Over the World by forcing mankind to the next stage in their evolution: the Orphenoch.
A young man named Yuji Kiba is involved in a terrible car accident, falling into a coma for two years and eventually dying. However, moments later he comes Back from the Dead, reviving as the Horse Orphenoch. Awakening to a world where his parents are dead, his career has been given to another man, his possessions have been stolen and sold by greedy relatives and his fiance has married his former best friend, he goes mad with grief and goes on a killing spree. He is stopped by the mysterious Smart Lady, the mascot character of Smart Brain, who gives him a new home and purpose; one that he soon comes to rebel against...
Mari Sonada is an orphan who receives a Smart Brain briefcase and motorbike from her stepfather in Tokyo. On her travels she encounters the Stoic drifter Takumi Inui, and a mixup with their bags causes him to pursue her. Soon afterwards, Mari is attacked by an Orphenoch who is after the contents of the briefcase: the Faiz Gear. Putting on the Faiz Driver, Mari attempts to transform but is rejected by the belt. In desperation she puts it on Takumi, and he successfully transforms into Kamen Rider Faiz...
What unfolds is a saga between two men on different sides of the same war: friends as Takumi and Yuji but fierce rivals as Faiz and the Horse Orphenoch.
Things become more complex with the arrival of Masato Kusaka, a fellow orphan and wielder of the Kaixa Gear, who holds a deep infatuation with Mari and is not shy about disposing of any romantic rivals. The trio of belts is completed with the arrival of the Delta Gear, which can be used by anyone. Opposing them is Smart Brain's strongest four Orphenoch, Lucky Clover, whose objective is to seize all three Gears and awaken the mysterious Orphenoch King.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad Is Smart Brain who are Complete Monsters. Their actions are dedicated to human extinction for no other reason than what could be considered sheer hatred for humanity.
Kamen Rider Blade
The 2004-2005 series of Kamen Rider.
Ten thousand years ago, a massive battle royale took place between the immortal Undead monsters, each one representing a species of creature on Earth. The Human Undead was the victor, and as a result the human race was allowed to multiply and populate the Earth as its dominant species. Meanwhile, the losing Undead were sealed into cards to slumber for eternity.
Fast forward to the present day. The Undead have been released from their confinement and have started a new battle royale for dominance over the Earth. To counteract this, the secret organisation BOARD has created the Rouse Card System and recruited two individuals- Kazuma Kenzaki and Sakuya Tachibana- to seal the Undead on behalf of the human race by merging with Sealed Category Ace Undeads to become Kamen Riders. Kenzaki merges with the Sealed Category Ace of Spades to become Kamen Rider Blade, while Tachibana uses the Sealed Category Ace of Diamonds to transform into Kamen Rider Garren.
Unfortunately, BOARD is swiftly destroyed by an Undead attack and Kenzaki finds that Tachibana has apparently betrayed the human race. A second opponent is found in Hajime Aikawa, an introverted photographer who hides a deadly secret: he is actually an Undead who can use the Sealed Category Ace of Hearts card to transform into Kamen Rider Chalice without the use of an external Rouzer device. The quartet of Riders is completed with Mutsuki Kamijo, who is chosen by the Sealed Category Ace of Clubs card to become Kamen Rider Leangle, only to have the evil Spider Undead sealed within slowly take over his mind and create a new, deadly enemy.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad is Hiroshi Tennoji who is an evil corporate executive and a Complete Monster. He unleashed the Undead upon the world, attempting to manipulate the battle by creating the Trials and Titan, and creating/merging with Kerberos in order to become the genetic template for a new world. It takes all four Riders to stop him in his transformed state, and some of the more sinister Undead (and Joker) are ultimately less evil than he is.
However Hiroshi Tennoji is usurped by Giraffe Undead, the last member of the Royal Club, who was ticked at being used by Tennoji.
Kamen Rider Hibiki
The 2005-2006 series of Kamen Rider, actually based on a story by Shotaro Ishinomori titled "Onigeki Hibiki".
A secret war is taking place between the Oni- humans who have trained their bodies to be able to harness supernatural power- and the Makamou, demonic creatures that lurk in the forests of Japan. Into this conflict stumbles Asumu Adachi, a young boy who is unsure what he wishes to do with his life. He encounters one of the leading Oni of the Takeshi organisation- a cool and confident man named Hibiki- and soon they develop a student-teacher relationship.
Later on, additional Oni enter the story: first, a mellow young man named Ibuki and his young student Akira, who is in training to be Ibuki's successor as an Oni. Meanwhile, an excitable new Oni named Todoroki wishes to create his own legacy under the watchful eye of his veteran teacher, Zanki.
The story is told from the perceptive of Asumu and is very much a Coming of Age Story focusing on the relationship between mentor and student, the old and new generation and the choices that we make in life. The Oni are all Musical Assassins, using their "pure sound" to purify the Makamou they fight. The series also averts Hard Work Hardly Works by showing the Oni training hard to maintain their bodies and ability to use the Oni power; in fact, an entire arc- "Summer Of Training"- is devoted entirely to their training efforts.
The Main Villians/Big Bads are The Man Oni and The Woman Oni and all their myriad clones. We don't even meet the actual originals until the finale. And its even possible that they aren't the originals after all...Huh.
Kamen Rider Den-O
The 2007-2008 series of Kamen Rider
Ryotaro Nogami is the unluckiest guy in the universe. But his life changes on the day he stumbles across a mysterious train pass that allows him to board the DenLiner, a Cool Train that travels through time.
Just as he is recovering from the shock of this, he is suddenly possessed by a monster known as an Imagin: shapeless creatures from the future that take on forms based on the ideas within their host's imagination. The Imagin make contracts with their hosts to gain physical bodies, offering to grant them a single wish. Once this is fulfilled, they can then use their host as a gateway back through time, aiming to destroy the past to seize control of the future.
However, it turns out that Ryotaro is a Singularity Point, a person immune to any changes to the timeline and able to resist the possession of his Imagin. He is soon corralled by Hana, a mysterious passenger of the DenLiner, into using his power as a Singularity Point and his Rider Pass to transform and fight the hostile Imagin invaders as Kamen Rider Den-O.
While Den-O's base form (Plat Form) is incredibly weak, Ryotaro can relinquish control of his body to an Imagin who has possessed him and power up. His first Imagin, a Hot Blooded Boisterous Bruiser called Momotaros, transforms Den-O into the red Sword Form. Together, They Fight Crime.
The plot thickens when Ryotaro discovers that Yuuto Sakurai, his sister's missing fiance, is hiding in the past for reasons unknown, and somehow linked to the Imagin attacks. Just as Ryotaro goes to confront him, he is stopped by none other than a younger version of Yuuto Sakurai. This version of Yuuto is brash and cocky, bringing with him his own Time Train called ZeroLiner and the ability to transform into Kamen Rider Zeronos.
though it had average television ratings, Den-O proved to be a massive hit in Japan.
This show is unique because it features as stated above TIME TRAVEL.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad is Kai the Singularity Point who is Faux Affably Evil. His manner of speech and actions are normally realitively unvillainous, which serves to make him far more creepy as a result. Note, he keeps this even when letting loose an entire army of Imagin on the city and preparing to open a time rift to erase an entire area and everyone in it from time.
Kamen Rider Kiva
Across the years humanity has been menaced by the vampire-esque Fangire. As a organization of hunters tries desperately to hold the line, 2008's main hope rests in Wataru Kurenai, a violinist with some very strange habits. His father has disappeared, leaving behind his magnum opus, the Bloody Rose violin. Whenever the strings of the Bloody Rose vibrate, Wataru is called to do battle using his half-Fangire heritage and his partner bat Kivat to transform into Kamen Rider Kiva.
The story is told in two time periods simultaneously, with events in the past directly affecting the present. In 2008, Wataru struggles with his legacy as Kiva while contending with the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization, humanity's defence against the Fangire. Of particular note are two members: Megumi Aso, a model by day and Fangire hunter by night who wishes to carry on her mother's legacy, and Bounty Hunter Keisuke Nago, the organization's top operative who wields the power of Kamen Rider IXA and a vengeful obsession with defeating Kiva.
Meanwhile in 1986, Wataru's father Otoya Kurenai waltzes through life while the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization struggles to fight off the Fangire threat. He falls for Yuri Aso, the organization's top operative who seeks to avenge her mother's death, and joins her in their fight. He soon comes into conflict with another new operative, a mysterious vagabond named Jiro, who is chosen to be the user of the Wonderful Blue Sky Organisation's newest weapon: the prototype IXA System.
This one has a Horror film theme to it but isn't dark or scary to children.
The Main Villian is The Fangire King who is a Complete Monster. He forcing the last of the Wolfen, the last of the Mermen, and the last of the Franken to become Weapons and developing a full-blown hate-on for Otoya, up to the point of threatening his own son's life if his wife sees Otoya again...the same woman whom he told was not worth destroying because he had no feelings for her. Did I forget to mention The King's actions were so horrible that Kivat II, who is meant to be the King's loyal Trinket, is so HORRIFIED by King's threat to destroy his own son that he reforms to let Otoya become Dark Kiva to defeat King.
Kamen Rider Decade
The first 2009 series of Kamen Rider, created as part of the anniversary for the Kamen Rider series. The series is a Crisis Crossover featuring all nine preceding main Riders from the Heisei series.
The story is as follows: each Kamen Rider series thus far has existed in its own parallel world. Unfortunately, these ten worlds have begun to be forcefully merged into one, which will lead to their destruction.
Tsukasa Kadoya is a (very bad) photographer by trade with Identity Amnesia. When his world literally starts to fall apart around him, he receives the power to become Kamen Rider Decade and is told that to stop the collapse of the The Multiverse, he must travel to the other nine worlds and destroy the Kamen Riders that live there, absorbing their powers as his own.
Accompanying him on this journey is Natsumi Hikari, a girl whose family runs the photography studio that Tsukasa stays at, and who has been having a recurring nightmare where she witnesses the Rider War: a vast conflict that sees every Kamen Rider fall to Decade. There's also Yusuke Onodera, the
Alternate Universe Kamen Rider Kuuga who befriends Tsukasa and decides to join him on his journey across the worlds.
As time goes by, it becomes evident that there are more than ten worlds caught up in the dimensional turmoil, and that a dark power lies at its root. Tsukasa also manages to attract some recurring antagonists: Daiki Kaito, an inter-dimensional thief who can transform into Kamen Rider Diend and summon past Kamen Riders to fight for him; and Narutaki, a mysterious man who believes that Decade is the source of The Multiverse's destruction and will do anything it takes to stop him.
Rather than just a straight reuse of the suits, the series promised to use the "parallel universe" aspect of the story to introduce new features to the universes (and excuse the replacement characters brought about by alternate universes).
This series is unique because it involves traveling to parrel dimensions
The Main Villian is Apollo Geist leader of Dai-Shocker and a Complete Monster. He drains the life out of people to extend his own and has been working to converge the various worlds to facilitate Dai-Shocker's invasion of them, eventually becoming powerful enough to wipe entire worlds from existence which he does with sickining glee.
Kamen Rider Double W
The second Kamen Rider series of 2009.
Shotaro Hidari is a Private Detective who imagines his life as something straight out of a Hardboiled Detective novel. His partner is a boy called Philip, a mysterious researcher able to psychically connect to a collection of all the world's knowledge.
Together with their landlord and self-proclaimed "chief" Akiko Narumi, they operate the Narumi Detective Agency in the "Windy City", Futo. Their specialty is solving supernatural crimes committed by monsters called Dopants, which are created when an ordinary human is transformed by one of the dangerous Gaia Memories.
To combat this threat, Shotaro and Philip use their own set of purified Gaia Memories and their Double Drivers to fuse into the world's first "two-in-one" Kamen Rider: Kamen Rider Double W.
As the story unfolds, Shotaro and Philip slowly uncover the secrets behind the latter's forgotten past, contend with a Hot Blooded police officer on a quest of personal vengeance, and track down the source of the Gaia Memories that are being manufactured and sold in the shadows of Futo: the enigmatic "Museum" organization, controlled by the Sonozaki Family.
This series is unique because of a Dective and film Noir theme.
The Main Villians are The Sonozaki Family who are lead by Ryubee Sonozaki/the Terror Dopant who are Complete Monsters (Every Family Member). headed by an apparent a Corrupt Corporate Executive who seeks to "improve" humanity by turning them into scary monsters. They give powers to not-very-nice people and children in what sparks his son-in-law's trying to reform and subsequent demise at the famly's hands. The patriarch's own powers can be described as weaponized Nightmares. While they arguably fall short due to celebrate becoming all-powerful (in addition to having humanity's survival at heart), it's not for lack of trying; anyway, the fact that they gave a few of the people below the Gaia Memories that enabled their rampages without regard to the well-being of others arguably justifies their classification as monsters by association.
Kamen Rider OOO
The story opens with the reawakening of the Greeed, who are monsters formed from human desire. Each Greeed possesses a number of Core Medals that form the heart of their bodies, and they seek to complete their immature forms by feeding on desire in the form of Cell Medals, which they collect through lesser monsters called Yummy. There's also a prophecy that whoever obtains every Core Medal shall become the destined "Multi King" of the Greeed.
Enter Eiji Hino: an Unlucky Everydude and vagrant without any kind of drive, ambition or passion. He runs into Ankh, a bird-type Greeed (and Magnificent Chessmaster) whose body has been reduced to a single arm. Having plundered several Core Medals from the other Greeed but without a body to use them, Ankh manipulates Eiji into accepting a forbidden Transformation Trinket and using his Core Medals to transform into Kamen Rider OOO. Eiji just wants to use the power to protect others, but Ankh plans to use the naive boy as his unwitting pawn to destroy rival Yummy, rebuild his body from their Cell Medals, and seize the power of the Multi King for himself. There's also the Kougami Foundation, an omniscient council who is very vague who pledge their resources to help Eiji in his fight against the Greeed.
The major recurring theme in Kamen Rider OOO is about "desire" oe "greed". The interesting part is that rather than painting a clear Black-and-White picture about the topic, the story maintains a balance between excess and void - in short, it presents a pragmatic view about desire.
The Main Villian/Big Bad is Kazari, the Feline Greeed who is BOTH a Magnificent Chessmaster and a Complete Monster. Of the five original Greeed, he has by far the most horrifying way of making Yummy, implanting them in their host and controlling their body like parasites; in some cases, the host is conscious the entire time. In the end, they're consumed by it and trapped inside, fully aware of what's happening. If that weren't bad enough, Kazari's actual actions are much worse. He used Mezool (The Fish Greed), the Motherly figure of the Greeed, and Gamel (The Elephant Greed), an adult with the mind of a child who really doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, as lab mice to see what would happen if a Greeed absorbs Core Medals that aren't their own and wasn't the least bit disturbed when this resulted in their mutual demise. In fact, he took advantage of it to assimilate their Cores and get even stronger. After that, he begins raising Ankh's body as his own personal shell to serve and actively helps Dr.Maki try to destroy the world. And he did all this with a sick smile on his face. He's so evil that even his own kind doesn't care about his demise.
It gets worse When Kazari is upsurped by Dr. Maki who is also a complete monster. He does some truly horrible things early on, like helping aBomber who is hosting one of Mezool's Yummy carry out his attacks to see the Yummy grow, not caring who is harmed or even destroyed in the process. When the swarm of Yummy hatches, he responds by locking his workers inside with them to see what would happen. Predictably, they leave no workers spared, which Maki doesn't care about. He then one-ups himself by joining forces with the aforementioned Kazari. Later, it seems like he might find redemption when his dead sister is brought up. However, it turns out what he came to believe were false memories and he actually burned his sister to death in her sleep just because she was getting married and would have abandoned him. After he realizes this, he loses all the humanity he had left and willingly sides with Kazari to attempt to destroy the world. This is where he flies past the Line by absorbing five Purple Core Medals to begin transforming into a Greeed himself. His Yummy so far have been Omnicidal Maniacs and a monster who tears people's dreams apart, leaving them in a coma as a result. What's his reaction to this? He finds it "interesting" and justifies it as For Science! He's just been getting worse and worse since then. Kazari finds out too late that Maki was Eviler than Thou when Maki impales him and rips all his cores out of him, leaving him to die a slow painful (though admittingly well deserved) death. He also gives two of his own Cores to Eiji, to accelerate Eiji's greeedification. Finally, he tosses the remaining Core Medals from the other Greeed into Uva (The Insect Greed) to forcibly set his ultimate plan into motion much to Uva's horror. However, Dr. Maki is destroyed by Kamen Rider OOO and explodes into energy.
Kamen Rider Fourze
The 2011-2012 Kamen Rider series and the current one.
Amanogawa High School is a school that encourages every one of its students to be themselves, creating a diverse (but chaotic) student body. Arriving into this bedlam is New Transfer Student Gentaro Kisaragi, a cool guy with a Delinquent image who immediately vows to become friends with every single student in the school.
When the school is attacked by mysterious monsters named Zodiarts, Gentaro receives the Fourze Driver and Astro Switches from fellow students Kengo Utahoshi and Yuki Jojima. Using their power, he transforms into Kamen Rider Fourze to protect the students of Amanogawa High. Fourze can equip up to four Astro Switches at once, using them to equip attachments onto his arms and legs that boost his combat potential.
The plot's main driving element is Gentaro's goal in making friends with everyone in the school, even the Zodiarts Switchers. As such, many of the characters learn important life lessons from Gentaro as he tries not only to fight monsters, but also to befriend them and save them from themselves. The Zodiarts themselves show parallels to the darker sides of humanity and with each one that appears, it becomes harder and harder to free them.
This show is unique because it takes place in a high school, also involves astronomy and the space program.
The Main Villian/Mr. Big Bad is The Red-Eyed Man AKA Mitsuaki Gamou he is actually Affably Evil and geuninely nice guy. I also forgot to mention that he is appears to be an Anti Villian and as one of his followers the Scorpion Zodiart states that he is apparently trying to benefit mankind
Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:14 pm
