Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー) is the first installment of the Kamen Rider Series. Produced by Toei, it was broadcast from April 3, 1971 to February 10, 1973, every Saturday at 19:30, on MBS and NET, with a total of 98 episodes.

The series is based on the original manga, created by Shotaro Ishinomori. The manga adaptation was also featured in Shonen Magazine around the same period. The series has evolved into a franchise with many subsequent annual iterations.

The cultural impact of the series in Japan resulted in astronomer, Akimasa Nakamura, naming two minor planets in honor of the series: 12408 Fujioka, after actor, Hiroshi Fujioka, known for his portrayal of Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1, and 12796 Kamenrider, after the series itself.

Plot
"Takeshi Hongo is the cyborg, Kamen Rider. He was remodeled by Shocker, an evil organization bent on ruling the world. Kamen Rider stands against them for the sake of all humanity."

- Narrator

"Hayato Ichimonji is the cyborg known as Kamen Rider. He was reconstructed by Shocker, an evil organization hell bent on ruling the world. The Kamen Rider stands against them for the sake of all humanity."

- Narrator

One day, a scientist and motorcycle racer named Takeshi Hongo is captured by the evil secret organization named Shocker. Shocker was impressed by Hongo's abilities and captured him in order to remodel him into a remodeled human with a grasshopper motif to serve them. Luckily, before the brainwashing, Hongo with the help of his friend, Professor Midorikawa, managed to escape. From that day, Hongo was the cyborg known as Kamen Rider and took out Shocker's monsters one after another.

Later in the series, Shocker, in order to destroy Kamen Rider, captured and turned into a cyborg a freelance photographer named Hayato Ichimonji. Just before the brainwashing, he was saved by Hongo. With that, there were two Riders born. The two Riders also have many allies in their battle against Shocker such as Hongo's motorcycle race team manager named Tobei Tachibana, FBI investigator named Kazuya Taki and the Boys' Kamen Rider Squad.

Allies

 * Tobei Tachibana
 * Kazuya Taki
 * Professor Midorikawa
 * Ruriko Midorikawa
 * Hiromi Nohara
 * Snack Amigo
 * Shiro
 * Rider Girls
 * Tachibana Racing Club
 * Yuri
 * Mari
 * Michi
 * Goro Ishikura
 * Emi
 * Mika
 * Tokko
 * Yokko
 * Choko
 * The Boys' Kamen Rider Squad
 * Naoki
 * Mitsuru

Shocker

 * Great Leader of Shocker
 * Colonel Zol
 * Doctor Shinigami
 * Ambassador Hell
 * Shocker Combatmen

Gel-Shocker

 * Great Leader of Gel-Shocker
 * General Black
 * Shocker Riders

Cast

 * Takeshi Hongo (本郷猛): Hiroshi Fujioka (藤岡弘)
 * Hayato Ichimonji (一文字隼人): Takeshi Sasaki (佐々木剛)
 * Tobei Tachibana (立花藤兵衛): Akiji Kobayashi (小林昭二)
 * Kazuya Taki (滝和也): Jiro Chiba (千葉治郎)
 * Ruriko Midorikawa (緑川ルリ子): Chieko Maki (真樹千恵子)
 * Hiromi Nohara (野原ひろみ): Yoko Shimada (島田陽子)
 * Shiro (史郎): Jo Honda (本田じょう)
 * Yuri (ユリ): Wakako Oki (沖わか子)
 * Mari (マリ): Linda Yamamoto (山本リンダ)
 * Michi (ミチ): Katsumi Nakajima (中島かつみ)
 * Goro Ishikura (石倉五郎): Yasuharu Miura (三浦康晴)
 * Emi (エミ): Emily Takami (高見エミリー)
 * Mika (ミカ): Yoko Sugibayashi (杉林陽子)
 * Tokko (トッコ): Machiko Nakajima (中島真智子)
 * Yokko (ヨッコ): Yoshiko Nakata (中田喜子)
 * Choko (チョコ): Mimy (ミミー)
 * Naoki (ナオキ): Tomonori Yazaki (矢崎知紀)
 * Mitsuru (ミツル): Yoshikazu Yamada (山田芳一)
 * Great Leader of Shocker (ショッカー首領): Goro Naya (納谷悟朗)
 * Colonel Zol (ゾル大佐): Jiro Miyaguchi (宮口二朗)
 * Doctor Shinigami (死神博士): Hideyo Amamoto (天本英世)
 * Ambassador Hell (地獄大使): Kenji Ushio (潮健児)
 * General Black (ブラック将軍): Matasaburo Niwa (丹羽又三郎)
 * Narration (ナレーション): Shinji Nakae (中江真司)

Guest cast

 * Professor Midorikawa (緑川博士): Kiyoshi Nonomura (野々村潔)

Suit actors

 * Kamen Rider 1 (仮面ライダー1号): Hiroshi Fujioka (藤岡弘), Masaru Okada (岡田勝), Bunya Nakamura (中村文弥), Tatsuyoshi Sejima (瀬島達佳), Kenji Amari (甘利健二), Kazuo Nibori (新堀和男), Tetsuya Nakayashiki (中屋敷鉄也), Yutaro Osugi (大杉雄太郎)
 * Kamen Rider 2 (仮面ライダー2号): Masaru Okada (岡田勝), Bunya Nakamura (中村文弥), Tatsuyoshi Sejima (瀬島達佳), Kenji Amari (甘利健二), Kazuo Nibori (新堀和男), Tetsuya Nakayashiki (中屋敷鉄也), Takeshi Sasaki (佐々木剛), Minoru Izuka (飯塚実), Keisuke Chiyoda (千代田恵介), Hiroo Kawarazaki (河原崎洋夫)
 * Monsters (怪人): Masaru Okada (岡田勝), Bunya Nakamura (中村文弥), Tatsuyoshi Sejima (瀬島達佳), Kenji Amari (甘利健二), Kazuo Nibori (新堀和男), Yutaro Osugi (大杉雄太郎), Tsuyoshi Ishimaru (石丸強志), Boshin Sano (佐野房信), Hiroshi Namekawa (滑川広志)
 * Shocker Combatmen (ショッカー戦闘員): Tsuyoshi Ishimaru (石丸強志)

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * "Let's Go!! Rider Kick" (レッツゴー！！ ライダーキック)
 * Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Hiroshi Fujioka (1-13), Koichi Fuji (14-88), Male Harmony
 * Episodes: 1-88
 * "Rider Action" (ライダーアクション)
 * Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Masato Shimon
 * Episodes: 89-98


 * Ending theme
 * "Kamen Rider no Uta" (仮面ライダーのうた)
 * Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Koichi Fuji, Male Harmony
 * Episodes: 1-71
 * "Rider Action" (ライダーアクション)
 * Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Masato Shimon
 * Episodes: 72-88
 * "Lonely Kamen Rider" (ロンリー仮面ライダー)
 * Lyrics: Mamoru Tanaka
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Masato Shimon
 * Episodes: 89-98


 * Insert theme
 * "Bokura no Kamen Rider" (ぼくらの仮面ライダー)
 * Lyrics: Masaru Igami
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Columbia Yurikagokai
 * "Tatakae! Cyclone" (たたかえ！サイクロン)
 * Lyrics: Masayuki Shimada
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Masato Shimon
 * "Kaijin no Uta" (怪人のうた)
 * Lyrics: Shin Doi
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Sunny Singers
 * "Kaettekuru Rider" (かえってくるライダー)
 * Lyrics: Mari Takizawa
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Masato Shimon
 * "Oh! Shocker" (オー！ショッカー)
 * Lyrics: Mamoru Tanaka
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Kazuyuki Miki, Sunny Singers
 * "Kamen Rider Kazoe Uta" (仮面ライダー数えうた)
 * Lyrics: Toichi Nakase
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Masato Shimon, Columbia Yurikagokai
 * "Rider no Komori Uta" (ライダーの子守うた)
 * Lyrics: Mari Takizawa
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Kumiko Onogi
 * "Akuma no Shocker" (悪魔のショッカー)
 * Lyrics: Masaru Igami
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Sunny Singers
 * "Kamen Rider Christmas" (仮面ライダークリスマス)
 * Lyrics: Mamoru Tanaka, Itari Okato
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Ichiro Mizuki, Columbia Yurikagokai

Manga
Many manga based on the original Kamen Rider series have been published, but only one was penned and drawn by Ishinomori himself. Ishinomori was also the author of one chapter of the Kamen Rider Amazon manga and the entire Kamen Rider Black manga. However, those manga were based on sequels to Kamen Rider, rather than the original series. The original manga, published in 1971, initially follows a path resembling the first few episodes of the TV series, from basic plot to creature designs. However, when Takeshi Hongo leaves the story, the series diverge greatly.

In the TV show, Hongo travels abroad to fight Shocker in other countries, leaving Japan's protection to Hayato Ichimonji, a freelance cameraman who was experimented on by Shocker but saved by Hongo, becoming the second Kamen Rider. In the manga, Hongo never left Japan. He was confronted with twelve "Shocker Riders" and was subsequently mortally wounded during his battle against them. Hayato, one of the twelve Shocker Riders, receives a head injury during the fight and regains his conscience as a result. He then turns against Shocker and succeeds Hongo's role as Kamen Rider.

In spite of the damage to his body, Hongo's brain survives and guides Ichimonji, the two fighting as one. Hongo eventually returns as a Rider in both stories, but starting with Hayato's debut, villains and even basic story development greatly diverge between the two versions. The manga portrays a seemingly hopeless battle against Shocker, an organization with ties to governmental conspiracies that seems much bigger than either of the two Riders. The live-action TV shows portray the Riders as heroes strong enough to bring down Shocker, only to see it replaced by similar organizations led by Shocker's mysterious leader. The Shocker Riders eventually appear in the TV series, too, but they looked different and had different abilities. There were also only six Shocker Riders, rather than the manga's 12.

Novel


A novel based on the series was published in the 2000s.

Kamen Rider (1993)


The game was released on November 12, 1993 by Bandai for.

Kamen Rider (1998)


The game was released on October 1, 1998 by Bandai for. Unlike the previous game, Kamen Rider 2 is also a playable character along with Rider 1.

S.I.C. Hero Saga
Published in Monthly Hobby Japan, the "S.I.C. Hero Saga" stories illustrated by S.I.C. figure dioramas portray stories featuring the characters from Shotaro Ishinomori series. Kamen Rider has had three different stories: Missing Link, SPECIAL EPISODE -Escape-, and From Here to Eternity (ここより永遠に). Missing Link ran in the July to October 2002 issues, From Here to Eternity was featured in the special issue HOBBY JAPAN MOOK S.I.C. OFFICIAL DIORAMA STORY S.I.C. HERO SAGA vol.1 Kakioroshi, and SPECIAL EPISODE -Escape- was featured in the October 2006 issue of Hobby Japan.

New characters introduced during the Missing Link story are the twelve Shocker Riders (ショッカーライダー) and the Shocker Tank (ショッカータンク).


 * Missing Link chapter titles
 * 1) Infiltration (潜入)
 * 2) Disappearance (失踪)
 * 3) Awakening (覚醒)
 * 4) Puppet (傀儡)

Legacy
The series famously spearheaded launched "Second Kaiju Boom" or "Henshin Boom" on Japanese television in the early 1970s, greatly impacting the superhero and action-adventure genre in Japan. The famous "henshin sequence", in which the title hero performs ritualistic poses and shouting a keyword to transform into his superhero form has since become a staple in Japanese pop-culture, inspiring superheroes and magical girl genres. Kamen Rider went to later produce a great number of spin-offs which remain in production today. Several Kamen Rider series were aired in Japan after the first Kamen Rider finished. After Kamen Rider Black RX ended production in 1989, the series was put on hold.

There were three movies released as the 1990s "Movie Riders", which were Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue, Kamen Rider ZO and Kamen Rider J. After original creator, Shotaro Ishinomori's death, the Kamen Rider franchise was continued in 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga. As of 2014, twenty-five Kamen Rider series have been made, with the newest being Kamen Rider Ghost which premiered in October 2015. As of 2005, a remake of the series was made and reimagined with Kamen Rider: The First and continued with Kamen Rider: The Next, released in 2007.