Kamen Rider (franchise) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The is a metaseries of manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

and tokusatsu

Tokusatsu

is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....

television programs and films created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori

Shotaro Ishinomori

was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and tokusatsu, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009 and Himitsu Sentai Goranger, what would go on to become part of the Super Sentai series, and the Kamen Rider Series...

. The various Kamen Rider media generally feature a motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

-riding superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

with an insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

motif who fights supervillain

Supervillain

A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

s often referred to as . The franchise began in 1971 with the Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider

, is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV . A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine...

television series which followed college student Takeshi Hongo

Kamen Rider 1

is a fictional character and main superhero or henshin character featured in Japanese tokusatsu. He first appeared in the television series Kamen Rider, the first in the famous Kamen Rider franchise of tokusatsu programmes. The primary protagonist of the series, Kamen Rider 1 is a motorcycle-riding...

and his quest to defeat the world-conquering Shocker organization. Over the years, the popularity of the franchise has grown and the original series has spawned many television and theatrical sequels.

Shōwa era

Produced by and designed by Shotaro Ishinomori

Shotaro Ishinomori

, creator of Cyborg 009

Cyborg 009

is a manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different magazines, including Monthly Shōnen King, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Shōnen Big Comic, COM, Shōjo Comic, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Monthly Shōnen Jump and Monthly Comic Nora in Japan...

, Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider

premiered on April 3, 1971. Initially intended to be an adaptation of his Skull Man

Skull Man

is a manga series created by Shotaro Ishinomori which first appeared in Shōnen Magazine in 1970 and immediately caused a sensation, selling over 1.5 million copies. The hero, orphaned when his parents were murdered, grows up to use his peculiar powers to take his revenge...

, Ishinomori and Hirayama redesigned the main character to resemble a grasshopper

Grasshopper

The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...

, supposedly chosen by his son. The hero Takeshi Hongo, portrayed by actor and stuntman Hiroshi Fujioka

Hiroshi Fujioka

, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor known for playing the hero Takeshi Hongo in the tokusatsu superhero series Kamen Rider, and later the Sega Saturn mascot Segata Sanshiro. Fujioka is a cultural icon in Japan, even having the minor planet 12408 Fujioka, discovered by Akimasa...

, was described as a , or cyborg. During the filming of episode 10, Fujioka was thrown off his motorcycle during the filming of a stunt and shattered both of his legs. His character would be phased out until the introduction of another transformed human in episode 13, Hayato Ichimonji as portrayed by Takeshi Sasaki, was introduced. The return of Fujioka and his character Hongo in episode 53 united the two actors and characters, as both Kamen Riders 1 and 2 would go on to appear in every show in the first half of the Shōwa Kamen Rider Series. The continuous run from April 1971 to January 1976 (Kamen Rider, V3

Kamen Rider V3

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original Kamen Rider...

, X

Kamen Rider X

, translated as Masked Rider X, is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It was broadcast in 1974 on NET . It is the third entry in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows...

, Amazon

Kamen Rider Amazon

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The fourth installment to be produced as part of the Kamen Rider Series, the series aired in Japan from late 1974 to early 1975 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System...

, Stronger

Kamen Rider Stronger

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The fifth program to be created as part of the Kamen Rider Series, the series was broadcast on TBS and MBS from April 5, 1975 to December 27, 1975, lasting 39 episodes, and aired every Saturday at 7:00 p.m...

) distinguished itself by featuring the recurrent mentor character, Tobei Tachibana

Tobei Tachibana

is a fictional character who appears in the Shōwa Kamen Rider Series from Kamen Rider to Stronger and in Kamen Rider SD, acting as a confidant to the various Kamen Riders and supplying them with their motorcycles and other equipment. He was portrayed by Akiji Kobayashi until his death in 1996...

.

After a four year hiatus following the finale of Kamen Rider Stronger

Kamen Rider Stronger

, the series returned to television broadcast in October 1979 for two years with The New Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider (Skyrider)

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the sixth program in the Kamen Rider Series. It has the same name as the first series in the franchise, and fans usually refer to this series as or in order to distinguish it from the original. The series was broadcast on TBS from October 5, 1979...

(featuring Skyrider

Skyrider (Kamen Rider)

is the primary and eponymous protagonist in the 1979-1980 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider, more commonly referred to as Skyrider or The New Kamen Rider. As the name suggests, he was the first Kamen Rider who could fly...

) and Kamen Rider Super-1

Kamen Rider Super-1

is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the seventh installment in the Kamen Rider Series. The series was broadcast on the Mainichi Broadcasting System from October 17, 1980 to October 3, 1981, lasting 48 episodes...

. In these new shows, the role of Tachibana was replaced by a similar character named . The broadcast of yearly new shows ended briefly in the 1980s, punctuated by the airing of the Kamen Rider ZX

Kamen Rider ZX

is the tenth fictional superhero in the Kamen Rider franchise to bear the eponymous title. ZX holds the distinction of being the first Rider who did not star in his own television series. The character debuted in an eponymous manga series which began serialization on the July 1982 issue of the...

special, Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! in 1984 which became the last project in the franchise to be produced by Hirayama.

In 1987, Kamen Rider Black

Kamen Rider Black

, translated as Masked Rider Black, is a tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the eighth installment in the famous Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It is a joint collaboration between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo...

premiered and was the first series that neither indicated nor hinted at any relationship with its predecessors. Black was also the first show in the franchise to feature a direct sequel, Kamen Rider Black RX

Kamen Rider BLACK RX

is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series produced as part of the Kamen Rider Series. The ninth show in the franchise, it was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei Company, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo Broadcasting System from October...

, the basis of Saban's Americanized Masked Rider

Masked Rider (TV series)

Masked Rider is an American adaptation of the Japanese television series Kamen Rider Black RX, the ninth in a line of series in the popular Kamen Rider Series franchise. It was produced by Saban and aired on FOX part of the Fox Kids program block from September 16, 1995 to August 31, 1996 and then...

. RX's finale showed the ten previous Riders return to help Black RX defeat the Crisis Empire. Kamen Rider Black RX was the final show to be produced during the Shōwa era, its broadcast spanning from the Shōwa era and into the beginning of the Heisei era. The manga Kamen Rider Black

Kamen Rider Black

acted as a novelization and reimagination of the Black/RX series' continuity.

Heisei era

Being completely absent from television during the 1990s, the franchise was kept alive mainly by stage shows, musical CDs, and the Shin, ZO

Kamen Rider ZO

, translated as Masked Rider ZO, is a 1993 Japanese tokusatsu movie produced by Toei Company, part of their Kamen Rider Series. Directed by Keita Amemiya, the film was the first joint production between Toei Company Limited and Bandai....

, and J

Kamen Rider J

, translated as Masked Rider J, is a 1994 Japanese tokusatsu movie produced by Toei Company, loosely based on their Kamen Rider Series.As part of the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series, J was shown on Toei's pay-per-view channel during September 2011...

movies, though many fans classify the movies as part of the Showa series as they treat Ishinomori's passing the pinnacle of the Showa era. Toei announced its new project, Kamen Rider Kuuga

Kamen Rider Kuuga

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the tenth installment of the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows and the first of the series to air entirely in the Heisei period. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was shown on TV Asahi from January...

, in May 1999. Kuuga was part of a Kamen Rider rebirth that Ishinomori had worked on in 1997, planning for a leadup into the 30th anniversary. However, Ishinomori died before he could see these shows materialize. During the summer of 1999, Kuuga became publicized through magazine ads and commercials. On January 30, 2000, Kamen Rider Kuuga premiered, introducing rookie actor Joe Odagiri

Joe Odagiri

, born is a Japanese actor.-Career:Commonly known just as Odajō, and also known for his unusual hairstyle and eclectic style of dressing, he is the epitome of Cool Japan...

. Kuuga was followed by the anniversary series, Kamen Rider Agito

Kamen Rider Agito

, is the eleventh installment in the popular Kamen Rider tokusatsu franchise. The series represented the 30th Anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series. The series was also a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei and was shown on TV Asahi from January 28, 2001 to January 27, 2002....

, which began several trends throughout the Heisei Series: multiple Kamen Riders (Agito featured 4: Agito, Gills, G3, and Another Agito); the ending theme playing during the climactic scene instead of the end credits (this would be briefly broken in Hibiki

Kamen Rider Hibiki

is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Kamen Rider Hibiki first aired on January 30, 2005 and aired its final episode on January...

with Akira Fuse

Akira Fuse

is a Japanese singer who was once married to Olivia Hussey. He debuted in 1965 with the single . His greatest hits are and . He currently makes consistent appearances on television, performs occasional seasonal tours, hosts a late night talk show, and is involved in a number of stage plays...

's songs); and the relationship to Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

for the Kamen Riders' motorcycles and other motor vehicles. Following Agito, Kamen Rider Ryuki

Kamen Rider Ryuki

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It was the twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and it was shown on TV Asahi from February 3, 2002 to January 19, 2003. The catchphrase for the series is...

began the relationship with the record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

Avex Group and its artists to perform theme songs for the series, such as ISSA of DA PUMP

Da Pump

is an Okinawan male idol group comprising lead vocalist, Issa and MCs Ken, Yukinari, and Shinobu. The group formed as students at Okinawa Actors School in 1996...

for 555

Kamen Rider 555

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the 13th installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was broadcast on TV Asahi from January 26, 2003 to January 18, 2004...

, Nanase Aikawa

Nanase Aikawa

is a Japanese musician known for employing a variety of musical styles, most notably rock. She publishes her music under the Motorod label, a division of Avex Group.- Early life :Nanase Aikawa was born on February 16, 1975, in Osaka, Japan...

for Blade

Kamen Rider Blade

, is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fourteenth installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It aired on TV Asahi from January 25, 2004 to January 23, 2005. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Along with the standard insect motif of the Kamen...

, YU-KI of TRF

TRF (band)

TRF is a Japanese pop/dance group. Its members are rapper DJ Koo, lead vocalist Yu-ki, and dancers Chiharu, Etsu, and Sam.-History:...

for Kabuto

Kamen Rider Kabuto

is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the sixteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first episode aired on January 29, 2006, and...

, and AAA

AAA (band)

, and also known as Attack All Around, is a Japanese pop band signed to the label Avex Trax which debuted in September 2005. The group originally consisted of five young men and three young women who had all acted in commercials and had been dancers for other Japanese stars, such as Ayumi Hamasaki...

for Den-O

Kamen Rider Den-O

is the seventeenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. It premiered January 28, 2007 on TV Asahi, and concluded airing on January 20, 2008...

, as well as the introduction of the group RIDER CHIPS

RIDER CHIPS

is a Japanese hard rock band started in 2000 on the Avex Mode label. Originally, it consisted of only three instrumentalists who invited different vocalists periodically...

, deemed the official band of Kamen Rider.

In 2005, Kamen Rider The First

Kamen Rider the First

is a 2005 Japanese tokusatsu film. The film is an adaptation of the television series Kamen Rider, though there are many differences between the film and the original programme; some of these, however, are due to a closer reliance on the original Kamen Rider manga by Shotaro Ishinomori...

was produced. Written by Toshiki Inoue

Toshiki Inoue

is a Japanese screenwriter from Saitama Prefecture. He is known for his work on anime and tokusatsu dramas and films. He is the son of Masaru Igami, who himself was a screenwriter for tokusatsu dramas.-TV anime:*Akakage...

, the film is an original reimagining of both the manga and original television series. Various characters from the original series had their storylines altered to fit the time span of the movie. Masaya Kikawada

Masaya Kikawada

is a Japanese actor. His most prominent role has been as Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider #1 in the film Kamen Rider The First and its sequel Kamen Rider The Next. He was also in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon as Sailor Jupiter's love interest Motoki Furuhata, as well as the sequel to Battle Royale, Battle...

portrays Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1

Kamen Rider 1

and Hassei Takano

Hassei Takano

born in Chiba Prefecture is a Japanese actor. He has portrayed various superheroes in tokusatsu dramas, beginning with in Ultraman Gaia in 1998, a role he reprised in the 2008 film Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers...

(previously Miyuki Tezuka/Kamen Rider Raia in Kamen Rider Ryuki

Kamen Rider Ryuki

) as Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider 2

Kamen Rider 2

is a fictional character and secondary protagonist from the Japanese tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider, the first in the famous Kamen Rider franchise of tokusatsu programmes. Like Kamen Rider 1, he is a motorcycle-riding superhero modelled upon a grasshopper. In the original series, he is...

. This was followed in 2007 by Kamen Rider The Next

Kamen Rider The Next

is a 2007 Japanese tokusatsu film directed by Ryuta Tasaki and written by Toshiki Inoue. The film was released on October 27, 2007. The film borrows elements from the Kamen Rider V3 television series and is a sequel to the Kamen Rider The First movie...

, an adaptation of Kamen Rider V3

Kamen Rider V3

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original Kamen Rider...

, starring Kazuki Kato

Kazuki Kato

is a Japanese actor and singer from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. He is known most notably for his role as Daisuke Kazama aka Kamen Rider Drake in Kamen Rider Kabuto and Keigo Atobe in The Prince of Tennis musicals.- Drama :...

(previously Daisuke Kazama/Kamen Rider Drake

Kamen Rider Drake

is one of the characters of Kamen Rider Kabuto. The motif is of a dragonfly; his name is a pun on that, as "Drake" has dragon connotations.-Daisuke Kazama:...

in Kamen Rider Kabuto

Kamen Rider Kabuto

) as Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3

Kamen Rider V3 (character)

is a fictional character from the Japanese tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider V3, the second in the famous Kamen Rider franchise of tokusatsu programs. The primary protagonist of the series, Kamen Rider V3 is a motorcycle-riding superhero modeled upon a dragonfly and armed with a variety of...

with Kikawada and Takano reprising their roles.

The year 2007 brought Kamen Rider Den-O

Kamen Rider Den-O

, the eighth series, taking a turn from past Kamen Rider series, introducing a Kamen Rider that is completely unsure of himself. The series makes use of a large vehicle, the DenLiner; a bullet train

High-speed rail

High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...

that can travel through time. This series only had two Riders, Den-O and Zeronos, but they had multiple forms that they could switch between, similar to Black RX, Kuuga, and Agito. Due to the large popularity of Den-O, a second theatrical production, crossing over with the 2008 series Kamen Rider Kiva

Kamen Rider Kiva

is the title of the 2008 Kamen Rider Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions. It premiered on January 27, 2008, following the finale of Kamen Rider Den-O. It aired as a part of TV Asahi's 2008 Super Hero Time block with Engine Sentai Go-onger...

, was released in theaters April 12, 2008, becoming the top film in its opening weekend and grossing 730 million yen. In addition, Animate

Animate

is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...

produced an OVA

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

titled Imagin Anime that features SD versions of the Imagin that are contracted to Den-O and Zeronos that have been featured in the company's other Den-O products. Finally, a third movie, called Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown with two more new Riders serves as an epilogue to the series. The third original film was the first for any series. Takeru Satoh

Takeru Satoh

is a Japanese actor. His debut role was as the lead in Kamen Rider Den-O, and is known for his subsequent roles in the dramatizations of Q10 and Ryōmaden.- Career :...

, the actor who portrayed the lead character of Den-O for the television series and first three films, claims that this is because of the series' comedy.

The 2009 series Kamen Rider Decade

Kamen Rider Decade

is the title of the first of the 2009 editions of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. Decade, as its title suggests, is the tenth of the Heisei Rider Series, having begun with Kamen Rider Kuuga in 2000...

serves as an anniversary series being the 10th of the Heisei run. To commemorate this milestone, Japanese recording artist Gackt

Gackt

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....

was brought onto the project to perform the series' opening theme "Journey through the Decade

Journey through the Decade

"Journey Through the Decade" is the thirtieth single by Japanese musical artist Gackt, released on March 25, 2009. It is his first song performed for Kamen Rider Decade, used as the television series' theme song.-Summary:...

", and later the film's theme song "The Next Decade

The Next Decade

"The Next Decade" is the thirty-fifth single by Japanese musical artist Gackt, released on August 11, 2009.-Summary:It will be used as the theme song for the Kamen Rider Series film Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker in which Gackt portrays Riderman...

". Gackt also jokingly expressed interest in portraying a villain in the show. Also announced in 2009 was a fourth film for Den-O, later revealed to be the beginning of the Cho-Den-O Series of films, starting with the film Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship. In the March 2009 issue of Kindai magazine, Decades lead actor Masahiro Inoue

Masahiro Inoue

is a Japanese actor from Kanagawa Prefecture. He got his start in acting portraying Keigo Atobe in the Prince of Tennis musical The Imperial Presence Hyotei Gakuen as part of the Hyoutei B Cast. In 2009 he portrayed the lead role in Kamen Rider Decade, Tsukasa Kadoya, who had the ability to...

stated that Decade was only slated to run for 30 episodes.

Advertisements throughout the months of May, June, and July 2009 built up to the debut of Kamen Rider W, who first appeared at the 10th Anniversary Project MASKED RIDER LIVE & SHOW event, and was featured in Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker

Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker

is the film adaptation of the 2009 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Decade. The film was released in Japanese theaters on August 8, 2009, alongside the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger film, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger The Movie: The Fateful War. The catchphrases for the movie are and...

. Double is the first Kamen Rider to transform from two people at once. The series premiered on September 6, 2009. Continuing into 2010 with Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010, W ran for a full year from September 2009 to September 2010, instead of January to January. Also in 2010 were the second, third, and fourth films of the Cho-Den-O Series, collectively known as Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy

Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy

is a series of films part of the Kamen Rider Den-O franchise, particularly its Cho-Den-O Series. It was released beginning on May 22, 2010, with each subsequent chapter of the trilogy released in two week intervals. Each of the films' subtitles contains the name of the protagonist...

. Late 2010 brought the series Kamen Rider OOO

Kamen Rider OOO

is a 2010-2011 Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the twelfth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-first overall. It began airing on September 5, 2010, the week following the conclusion of Kamen Rider W, joining Tensou Sentai Goseiger and then Kaizoku...

to television after Ws finale, and the year 2011 will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise. The festivities include the Kamen Rider Girls

Kamen Rider Girls

is an idol group developed by Avex Trax and Ishimori Productions to commemorate the Kamen Rider Series' 40th anniversary in 2011. Each of the group's current members represent one of the protagonists of the Kamen Rider Series...

idol group, the film OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Rider, released on April 1, 2011, and OOOs successor Kamen Rider Fourze

Kamen Rider Fourze

is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the thirteenth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-second overall. It began airing on September 4, 2011, the week following the conclusion of Kamen Rider OOO, joining Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger in the Super Hero Time...

, which references the previous heroes in its characters' names and within the plot.

Productions

Shōwa era

: This series aired from 1971 to 1973 and ran for 98 episodes, making it the longest series to date. This series set up many themes that are still used today. This series followed the battles of the first two Kamen Riders against Shocker and later Gel-Shocker.
: This series aired from 1973 to 1974 and ran for 52 episodes. This series followed Shiro Kazami on his quest to gain revenge against Destron, the group that murdered his family. Later on, Riderman, the fourth Kamen Rider is introduced as the first long term anti-hero Kamen Rider. The original two Kamen Riders also make various appearances over the course of the series to help Kazami.
: This series aired in 1974 and ran for 35 episodes. Keisuke Jin and his father Kentaro Jin are attacked by the Government Of Darkness (GOD), Keisuke and Kentaro are both mortally wounded in the attack, but before he dies, Kentaro transforms his son into Kamen Rider X. Many of the monsters Kamen Rider X faced were based on Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

and later on various animals and historic figures.
: This series aired from 1974 to 1975 and ran with just 24 episodes - making it the shortest Kamen Rider series to date. Daisuke Yamamoto, an orphan lost in the Amazon has grown up with an Amazon tribe and lead a peaceful life until his tribe was attacked by Gorgos. Before dying, his tribe elder turned Daisuke into Kamen Rider Amazon. This was the first Kamen Rider not to use a belt to transform. This was also the first series not to have any previous Kamen Riders appear, although Amazon meets his seniors in the next series.
: This series aired in 1975 and ran for 39 episodes. This was intended to be the final Kamen Rider series. Shigeru Jou joins Black Satan after the murder of his best friend and mentor. Knowing the organization to be the culprits, he allows himself to undergo an operation that changes him into Kamen Rider Stronger. Later on, Black Satan is defeated and a new group known as Delza becomes the series enemy. Stronger is later joined by Electro Wave Human Tackle, a female warrior who later sacrifices herself to save Stronger from a powerful opponent. This was also the first series to have a temporary power up for the main character.
: This series aired from 1979 to 1980 and ran for 54 episodes. Hiroshi Tsukaba is kidnapped and transformed into Kamen Rider as a means to help Doctor Shiro escape Neoshocker. During the course of the series, former Kamen Riders appear and Kamen Rider is dubbed Skyrider by Kamen Rider Stronger to differentiate him from the original Kamen Riders. This was a revival of the franchise after four years off of broadcast. Intended to be a remake of the original series, the idea was slowly phased out as references to the past were made and senior Kamen Riders made guest appearances.
: This series aired from 1980 to 1981 and ran for 48 episodes. Wanting to become an astronaut, Kazuya Oki undergoes an operation that allows him to survive in space. The area were he is operated in is attacked by the Dogma Empire and Kamen Rider Super-1's peers are all killed. Super-1 has special gloves that allow for different attack types.
: This 1984 television special introduced the character of Ryo Murasame, , who fights the Badan Empire after they brainwashed and cyberized him and killed his sister. The special shows his meeting with three of his nine predecessors, after much of his story was told in the Kamen Rider Spirits

Kamen Rider Spirits

is an ongoing manga adaptation of the popular Kamen Rider franchise by Kenichi Muraeda. The focus of the story is on the original ten Kamen Riders with shifting focus on main characters...

manga and a radio show.
: This series aired from 1987 to 1988 and ran for 51 episodes. After being kidnapped by the cult Gorgom on the night of their 19th birthday, stepbrothers Kotaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki are submitted to a mutant surgery with the purpose of becoming the candidates to be the next Creation King. Kotaro escapes before the brainwashing, with help from his foster father, and turned against Gorgom. He soon finds out the horrific truth from his stepfather: Gorgom originally killed his true parents. Later on, Kamen Rider Black must battle with his brother, who has become the trump card of Gorgom, Shadow Moon. Kamen Rider Black is the first Rider to not wear a scarf (which was synonymous with past Riders and Ishinomori's other works).
: This series aired from 1988 to 1989 and ran for 47 episodes. Years after the defeat of Gorgom, Minami Kotaro is kidnapped by the Crisis Empire. After refusing to join them, he is thrust out into space where he undergoes the change to become Kamen Rider Black RX. This is the final show in the Shōwa era of shows.

Heisei era

: This series aired from 2000 to 2001 and ran for 49 episodes. Yuusuke Godai finds an ancient artifact that allows him to transform into Kamen Rider Kuuga to battle the Grongi forces, while deciphering the relationship between Kuuga and the Grongi. This was the first Kamen Rider series in 11 years and the start of the Heisei Kamen Rider Series of shows.
: This series aired from 2001 to 2002 and ran for 51 episodes. This was the first series to feature more than one Kamen Rider as the main character at the same time. Shouichi Tsugami has lost his memories, he lives with a foster family and fights against the Unknown as Kamen Rider Agito. Looking for the origin of his power and his lost memories, this series follows Kamen Rider Agito, G3, and Gills who deal with the Unknown and learn the true nature behind Agito.
: This series aired from 2002 to 2003 and ran for 50 episodes. Shinji Kido, a reporter, finds his way into a parallel world that exists within reflective surfaces. In this parallel world, Shinji forms a contract with a creature known as a Mirror Monster, allowing him to transform into Kamen Rider Ryuki and join a tournament with twelve other Kamen Riders who are fighting to be granted a single wish.
: This series aired from 2003 to 2004 and ran for 50 episodes. A strange new form of humanity known as the Orphnoch, who are people who have mysteriously been brought back to life, begin to appear and in Kyushu

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

. Young man Takumi Inui crosses paths with Mari Sonoda who is being chased by an Orphnoch enforcer of the Smart Brain Organization, and he uses the device she stole from them to transform into Kamen Rider Faiz. Inui is unwittingly drafted into the fight against Smart Brain, who are trying to eliminate mankind in favor of the Orphnoch race, along with a group of rogue Orphnoch and two other Kamen Riders who see Faiz as their enemy.
: This series aired from 2004 to 2005 and ran for 49 episodes. Kazuma Kenzaki is hired by the mysterious BOARD organization to combat the Undead, a series of 52 creatures who ten thousand years ago fought between each other in what was known as the Battle Royale to determine the dominant species on the Earth. They were all sealed away by an Undead known as the Joker until archaeologists in the present day undo the seal. As Kamen Rider Blade, Kenzaki must end the new Battle Royale by sealing away the Undead once more, cementing humanity as the dominant species, and is joined by three other Kamen Riders in the fight.
: This series aired from 2005 to 2006 and ran for 48 episodes. Throughout Japanese history, there have been people who undergo intense training to use the purity of sound to transform into beings known as Oni to battle monstrous creatures known as the Makamou. Asumu Adachi, a student ready to transfer into high school, is unsure as to how he should proceed in his life when he meets a man only known as Hibiki, one of the Oni. Hibiki takes Asumu under his wing and trains him in the way of the Oni in the fight against the Makamou, joining fellow Oni Ibuki and Zanki and their apprentices.
: This series aired from 2006 to 2007 and ran for 49 episodes. Souji Tendou has been training his entire life to be the recipient of a device known as the Kabuto Zecter that allows him to transform into Kamen Rider Kabuto. The ZECT organization initially developed the technology to combat the aliens known as the Worms who came to Earth on a meteor that struck in Shibuya

Shibuya, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

in 1999, but have been hiding in plain sight ever since. He uses his powers to protect Hiyori Kusakabe from the Worms, but has to deal with ZECT officers trying to regain the Kabuto Zecter from him. He befriends ZECT agent and Hiyori's coworker Arata Kagami, who is the first person to know his identity as Kabuto, and combats ZECT's other affiliated and rogue Kamen Riders, all the while dealing with the Worm menace.
: This series aired from 2007 to 2008 and ran for 49 episodes. Ryotaro Nogami is a young man with incredibly bad luck who in one day is possessed by a mysterious creature known as an Imagin and discovers the Rider Pass, a device that enables him to transform into Kamen Rider Den-O. When the Rider Pass's owner Hana approaches him, they are attacked by another Imagin, one who come from a possible future to 2007 who grant wishes to weakwilled humans in order to go back further in time to change the past to favor the Imagin's own future. Hana has Ryotaro transform, and the Imagin who possessed him takes pity on him and offers to take over his body and fight in his place. Ryotaro joins Hana, the Imagin Momotaros, and the crew of the DenLiner, which soon includes other Imagin who open contracts with Ryotaro, to protect the flow of time so the future of humanity remains as the one true future.
: This series aired from 2008 to 2009 and ran for 48 episodes. Wataru Kurenai is a young man who transforms into Kamen Rider Kiva to fight the vampiric Fangire Race in the year 2008, while dealing with the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization who sees Kiva as a threat. Otoya Kurenai is a violin virtuoso and Wataru's father who encounters the Fangire in the year 1986 and assists the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization in their fight with the Fangire. The actions Otoya takes in the past in regards to the Fangire affect how Wataru must deal with the same Fangire in the present.
: This series premiered in 2009 after the finale of Kiva and was billed as the 10th anniversary of the Heisei Rider Series, lasting for only 31 episodes. Tsukasa Kadoya is a photographer with no memory of his past and whose photos never turn out quite right. When dimensional portals open up, trapping his only friend Natsumi Hikari with the various monsters other Kamen Riders have faced, she finds the Decade Driver which Tsukasa instinctively uses to transform into Kamen Rider Decade, a being Natsumi has seen in her nightmares. While the world seems to collapse around him, everything freezes and he is approached by Wataru Kurenai who tells him that the multiverse is collapsing, and this world will be destroyed unless he travels to the worlds of the other Kamen Riders and fix them in order to prevent the destruction of every world. However, the mysterious Narutaki disseminates rumors throughout the other realities that Tsukasa will be the destroyer of all worlds, causing the Kamen Riders to turn on him.
: This series premiered in late 2009 following the finale of Decade. Shotaro Hidari is a private investigator in the ecologically-minded city of Futo who works with his partner Philip to investigate crimes that involve users of Gaia Memories which transform them into monstrous beings known as Dopants. Shotaro and Philip have their own set of Gaia Memories that they use in conjunction with the Double Driver belt, with Philip's mind travelling into Shotaro's body to fight as Kamen Rider Double. With their landlord (and daughter of their mentor) Akiko Narumi, Shotaro and Philip protect Futo all while discovering more about the past that Philip cannot remember.
: OOO, pronounced similarly to "O's", premiered in late 2010 following the finale of W. Eiji Hino is unwillingly drafted by a being known as Ankh to be his guard in the fight amongst the Greeed, monsters whose powers stem from mystical coins known as Core Medals. When they awoke, several of their Core Medals were missing; Ankh having lost most and thus stole some from his kin. As the Greeed hunt down their Core Medals, they use Cell Medals to create monsters called Yummy to produce more Cell Medals to sustain their incomplete bodies. However, Ankh uses Eiji Hino and gives him the OOO Driver to allow Eiji to transform into Kamen Rider OOO to get the Medals for him. However, a third party is also after the Medals for mysterious reasons in the form of the mysterious Kougami Foundation.
: Fourze premiered in late 2011 following the finale of OOO. The series has a spaceflight

Spaceflight

Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...

motif and is intended to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

's and mankind's first flight into space as well as the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series. Gentaro Kisaragi has recently transferred to Amanogawa High School, where he seeks to make everyone there his friend. After he meets with childhood friend Yuki Jojima, and runs afoul of her friend Kengo Utahoshi, a monster known as a Zodiarts attacks. After Gentaro takes the Fourze Driver Kengo intended to use himself, he transforms into Kamen Rider Fourze and fights the Zodiarts. Yuki convinces Kengo to begrudingly allow Gentaro to assist them in their fight, even as Gentaro transforms the lunar base they can transport to into the headquarters for a Kamen Rider Club to gather friends and supporters in the fight.

TV Specials

Shōwa era

1976: All Together! Seven Kamen Riders
1979: Immortal Kamen Rider Special
1984: Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!!
1987: This Is Kamen Rider Black
Kamen Rider Black
, translated as Masked Rider Black, is a tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the eighth installment in the famous Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It is a joint collaboration between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo...
1988: Kamen Rider Ichigou through RX: Big Gathering

Heisei era

1993: Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider
Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider
is the name of a television special that aired July 21, 1993 featuring clips from the various series from over the years, interviews with two of the stars, and finally a team-up between Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman and Toei Company's Kamen Rider. It was also released on VHS and Laserdisc in...

(Co-production with Tsuburaya Productions
Tsuburaya Productions
is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producing the original Ultraman TV series, as well as the Ultra...

)
2000: Kamen Rider Kuuga: New Year's Special
Kamen Rider Kuuga
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the tenth installment of the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows and the first of the series to air entirely in the Heisei period. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was shown on TV Asahi from January...
2001: Kamen Rider Agito Special: Another New Henshin
Kamen Rider Agito
, is the eleventh installment in the popular Kamen Rider tokusatsu franchise. The series represented the 30th Anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series. The series was also a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei and was shown on TV Asahi from January 28, 2001 to January 27, 2002....
2002: Kamen Rider Ryuki Special: 13 Riders
Kamen Rider Ryuki
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It was the twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and it was shown on TV Asahi from February 3, 2002 to January 19, 2003. The catchphrase for the series is...
2004: Kamen Rider Blade: New Generation
Kamen Rider Blade
, is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fourteenth installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It aired on TV Asahi from January 25, 2004 to January 23, 2005. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Along with the standard insect motif of the Kamen...
2006: 35th Masked Rider Anniversary File
Kamen Rider Kabuto
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the sixteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first episode aired on January 29, 2006, and...
2009: Kamen Rider G

Theatrical releases

Shōwa era

1971: Go Go Kamen Rider
Kamen Rider
, is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV . A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine...
1972: Kamen Rider Vs. Shocker
1972: Kamen Rider Vs. Hell Ambassador
1973: Kamen Rider V3
Kamen Rider V3
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original Kamen Rider...
1973: Kamen Rider V3 vs. the Destron Monsters
1974: Kamen Rider X
Kamen Rider X
, translated as Masked Rider X, is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It was broadcast in 1974 on NET . It is the third entry in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows...
1974: Kamen Rider X: Five Riders Vs. King Dark
1975: Kamen Rider Amazon
Kamen Rider Amazon
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The fourth installment to be produced as part of the Kamen Rider Series, the series aired in Japan from late 1974 to early 1975 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System...
1975: Kamen Rider Stronger
Kamen Rider Stronger
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The fifth program to be created as part of the Kamen Rider Series, the series was broadcast on TBS and MBS from April 5, 1975 to December 27, 1975, lasting 39 episodes, and aired every Saturday at 7:00 p.m...
1980: Kamen Rider: Eight Riders vs. Galaxy King
Kamen Rider (Skyrider)
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the sixth program in the Kamen Rider Series. It has the same name as the first series in the franchise, and fans usually refer to this series as or in order to distinguish it from the original. The series was broadcast on TBS from October 5, 1979...
1981: Kamen Rider Super-1
Kamen Rider Super-1
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the seventh installment in the Kamen Rider Series. The series was broadcast on the Mainichi Broadcasting System from October 17, 1980 to October 3, 1981, lasting 48 episodes...
1988: Kamen Rider Black
Kamen Rider Black
, translated as Masked Rider Black, is a tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the eighth installment in the famous Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It is a joint collaboration between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo...

: Hurry to Onigashima
1988: Kamen Rider Black: Fear! Evil Monster Mansion
1989: Kamen Rider: Stay in the World - 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...

theme park special

Heisei era

1992: Shin: Kamen Rider Prologue
1993: Kamen Rider ZO
Kamen Rider ZO
, translated as Masked Rider ZO, is a 1993 Japanese tokusatsu movie produced by Toei Company, part of their Kamen Rider Series. Directed by Keita Amemiya, the film was the first joint production between Toei Company Limited and Bandai....

(1)
1994: Kamen Rider J
Kamen Rider J
, translated as Masked Rider J, is a 1994 Japanese tokusatsu movie produced by Toei Company, loosely based on their Kamen Rider Series.As part of the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series, J was shown on Toei's pay-per-view channel during September 2011...

(1)
1994: Kamen Rider World
Kamen Rider World
is a short 3-D film produced by Toei Company based on the Kamen Rider Series that premiered on August 6, 1994 and was shown in amusement parks and special events nationwide in Japan...

- 3-D theme park special
2001: Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4
2002: Kamen Rider Ryuki: Episode Final
2003: Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost
2004: Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace
2005: Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Senki
2005: Kamen Rider The First
Kamen Rider the First
is a 2005 Japanese tokusatsu film. The film is an adaptation of the television series Kamen Rider, though there are many differences between the film and the original programme; some of these, however, are due to a closer reliance on the original Kamen Rider manga by Shotaro Ishinomori...
2006: Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love
Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love
is the theatrical film adaptation of the Kamen Rider Kabuto TV series directed by Hidenori Ishida and written by Shōji Yonemura. Unlike many others Kamen Rider movies, it does not follow the TV series's storyline. Instead, it is more like a prologue...
2007: Kamen Rider Den-O: I'm Born!
Kamen Rider Den-O: I'm Born!
is the theatrical film adaptation of the Kamen Rider Den-O TV series directed by Takao Nagaishi and written by Yasuko Kobayashi. The movie takes place between episodes 27 and 28 of the series, featuring the DenLiner and its passengers travel as far back as the Edo period of Japan.The film is...
2007: Kamen Rider The Next
Kamen Rider The Next
is a 2007 Japanese tokusatsu film directed by Ryuta Tasaki and written by Toshiki Inoue. The film was released on October 27, 2007. The film borrows elements from the Kamen Rider V3 television series and is a sequel to the Kamen Rider The First movie...
2008: Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka
Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka
is a Japanese tokusatsu film in the Kamen Rider franchise. Climax Deka is the second film to feature the characters of the television drama Kamen Rider Den-O and the first to feature the characters of Kamen Rider Kiva. It opened in theaters on April 12, 2008 as part of the...
2008: Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World
2008: Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown
2009: Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship
2009: Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker
Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker
is the film adaptation of the 2009 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Decade. The film was released in Japanese theaters on August 8, 2009, alongside the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger film, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger The Movie: The Fateful War. The catchphrases for the movie are and...
2009: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010
- Kamen Rider Decade: The Last Story
- Kamen Rider W: Begins Night
- Movie War 2010
2010: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy
is a series of films part of the Kamen Rider Den-O franchise, particularly its Cho-Den-O Series. It was released beginning on May 22, 2010, with each subsequent chapter of the trilogy released in two week intervals. Each of the films' subtitles contains the name of the protagonist...
- Episode Red: Zero no Star Twinkle
- Episode Blue: The Dispatched Imagin is Newtral
- Episode Yellow: Treasure de End Pirates
2010: Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate
2010: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W featuring Skull: Movie War Core
is a 2010 film in the Kamen Rider Series, featuring the casts and characters of Kamen Rider W and Kamen Rider OOO. Originally announced in a teaser at the end of the film Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate, film was released in Japan on December 18, 2010. The catchphrase for...
- Kamen Rider Skull: Message for Double
- Kamen Rider OOO: Nobunaga's Desire
- Movie War Core
2011: OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Rider
2011: Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals
Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals
is the film adaptation of the 2010 & 2011 Kamen Rider Series drama Kamen Rider OOO. The film was released on August 6, 2011, alongside the film for Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger the Movie: The Flying Ghost Ship...
2011: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max
is a 2011 film in the Kamen Rider Series. It will feature the casts of Kamen Rider Fourze and Kamen Rider OOO and will be in Japanese theaters on December 10, 2011. The catchphrase for the movie is ....

V-Cinema releases

V-Cinema

Japanese is the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan in the 1980s. The term is a trademark of Toei Company but is widely used in the West to describe any Japanese direct-to-video release. In Japan the term used is...

releases began appearing during the Heisei era of the franchise. Previously depicting independent Riders and storylines, current releases have been shorts that serve as a series recap relating to Rider abilities and the rider showing off a exclusive power within the special. Since 2002's Ryuki release, they have come to be commonly known by fans as "Hyper Battle Videos".

Heisei era

1992: Shin: Kamen Rider Prologue
1993: Kamen Rider SD - only anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

adaptation
2011: Kamen Rider W Returns
Kamen Rider W Returns
is a set of two V-Cinema releases that serve as spin-offs of characters from the Kamen Rider W television series and films. These films focus on the characters of Ryu Terui as Kamen Rider Accel and Katsumi Daido as Kamen Rider Eternal...
- Kamen Rider Accel Chapter
- Kamen Rider Eternal Chapter

Hyper Battle Videos

2000: Kamen Rider Kuuga: vs. the Strong Monster Go-Jiino-Da
2001: Kamen Rider Agito: Three rider TV-kun Special
2002: Kamen Rider Ryuki Hyper Battle: Kamen Rider Ryuki vs. Kamen Rider Agito
2003: Kamen Rider 555: The Musical
2004: Kamen Rider Blade: Blade vs Blade
2005: Kamen Rider Hibiki: Asumu Henshin: You can be an Oni too
2006: Kamen Rider Kabuto: Birth! Gatack Hyper Form!
2007: Kamen Rider Den-O: Singing, Dancing, Great Time!!
2008: Kamen Rider Kiva: You Can Also be Kiva
2009: Kamen Rider Decade: Protect!
2010: Kamen Rider W: Donburi's α/Farewell Recipe of Love
2011: Kamen Rider OOO: Quiz, Dance, and Takagarooba!?

Thailand

In 1974, Chaiyo Productions in Thailand produced the Hanuman and the Five Riders

Hanuman and the Five Riders

Hanuman and the Five Riders is a tokusatsu superhero film produced in 1974 by Chaiyo Productions of Thailand. Chaiyo's own Kamen Rider film, half of it uses footage from the Kamen Rider X film Five Riders Vs...

Taiwan

In 1975 to 1976, the Tungstar Company Limited in Taiwan produced the Super Riders series based on the Japan version.

1975: The Super Rider V3 based on Kamen Rider V3
Kamen Rider V3
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original Kamen Rider...
1976: The Five Of Super Rider based on Kamen Rider X
Kamen Rider X
, translated as Masked Rider X, is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It was broadcast in 1974 on NET . It is the third entry in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows...

'
1976: The Super Riders based on Kamen Rider vs. Shocker and Kamen Rider vs. Hell Ambassador

United States

In 1995, Saban

Saban

Saban Entertainment , was a worldwide-served independent American television production company formed in 1984 by music and television producers Haim Saban and Shuki Levy as "Saban Productions", a U.S...

produced the first American Masked Rider series after his success adapting Super Sentai

Super Sentai

The is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...

into Power Rangers

Power Rangers

Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...

and the Metal Hero Series (VR Troopers

VR Troopers

VR Troopers was a syndicated live action show produced by Saban from 1994 to 1996...

& Beetleborgs). In 2009, a new series was broadcast, produced by brothers Michael and Steve Wang

Steve Wang

Steve Wang is an award-winning make-up artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Born in Taiwan, he and his parents moved to the US when he was 9. His greatest inspirations were the tokusatsu superhero TV shows Ultraman and Kamen Rider, as well as Hong Kong kung fu films including Master of the Flying...

.

Saban's Masked Rider

Masked Rider (TV series)

: Airing from 1995 to 1996, Masked Rider was originally presented as a spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...

. Dex, prince of the planet Edenoi, is granted the ancient Masked Rider powers from his grandfather to protect them from the evil Count Dregon who wants to use them to take over the universe. Dex finds his way to Earth where he lives with the Stewart family, while protecting the planet from Dregon's attacks. The footage in this series came from Kamen Rider Black RX

Kamen Rider BLACK RX

, as well as the movies Kamen Rider ZO

Kamen Rider ZO

and Kamen Rider J

Kamen Rider J

.
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight

Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight

Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is the Daytime Emmy Award-winning American adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Ryuki, the twelfth installment of the Kamen Rider Series. It was brought to television by Steve and Michael Wang and produced by Jimmy Sprague through Adness Entertainment...

: Airing in 2009, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight features 12 warriors known as Kamen Riders who protect the parallel world of Ventara from the evil General Xaviax by using their Advent Decks. Xaviax begins seeking out corrupt humans on the Earth to give them the Advent Decks of Kamen Riders he has defeated in battle to act as his subordinates. Kit Taylor, who finds the Advent Deck to allow him to become Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, teams up with Len, who can transform into Kamen Rider Wing Knight, to defeat General Xaviax and save Kit's father who was captured by Xaviax and is held in Ventara. The footage in Dragon Knight comes from Kamen Rider Ryuki

Kamen Rider Ryuki

. While the series was cancelled before it finished its run, it later won the first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Coordination at the 37th Daytime Emmy Awards

37th Daytime Emmy Awards

The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were held on June 27, 2010, hosted by Regis Philbin and broadcast on the CBS network. Nominations were announced May 12 on The Early Show...

. The series was also exported back to Japan where it is shown on Toei's pay-per-view channel and later shown on TV Asahi

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

Homages and parodies

The Kamen Rider franchise has been parodied in various productions, both in and outside of Japan. One of the main trademarks being parodied is the Kamen Rider henshin

Henshin

is the Japanese word for "transformation," literally meaning, "to change or transform the body." This word is primarily used in manga, anime, and tokusatsu dramas for when a character transforms into a superhero. usually have a "henshin call", a catchphrase which they recite when they transform...

pose. In video games, Skullomania (from Street Fighter

Street Fighter

, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...

) and May Lee (from King of Fighters

King of Fighters

, officially abbreviated KOF, is a series of fighting games by SNK Playmore . The series was originally developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware, which served as the main platform for the series until 2004, when SNK retired the MVS in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board...

) are some examples of Kamen Rider parodies, as well as Viewtiful Joe

Viewtiful Joe

is a video game developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. Viewtiful Joe was later ported to the Sony PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the...

. In anime, various aspects of Kamen Rider are noticeable. Examples range from Tokyo Pig

Tokyo Pig

Tokyo Pig, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series. The anime was based on a book titled Fair, then Partly Piggy , written by Shiro Yadama and translated into English by Keith Holeman .Tokyo Pig is about a young boy and the adventures he...

to My-HiME

My-HiME

is an anime series, created by Sunrise. Directed by Masakazu Obara and written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, the series originally premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo from September 2004 to March 2005...

and its sequel My Otome to Crayon Shin-chan

Crayon Shin-chan

is a Japanese manga and anime series written by Yoshito Usui.Crayon Shin-chan follows the adventures of five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin" Nohara and his parents, baby sister, neighbors, and friends and is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan....

to Dragonball Z to Bleach

Bleach (manga)

is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a —a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki...

to Franken Fran

Franken Fran

-Track listing:# - # - # - # - # -...

; either being used as a comical parody or homage. In live action, known parodies of the Kamen Rider series include "Kamen Renaider" (by SMAP

SMAP

SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...

's Takuya Kimura

Takuya Kimura

, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...

and Shingo Katori

Shingo Katori

is the youngest member of SMAP, a popular Japanese idol group from the agency Johnny & Associates, and he is from Yokohama, Japan. Shingo Katori has acted in several dramas such as Three Peace, and has appeared as a voice actor in such anime series as Akazukin Chacha, in which he voiced the part of...

), which is a parody skit of Ryuki, "Kamen Zaiber" a parody of the original, "Kamen Norida" (by the Tunnels, a popular Japanese comedy duo), a parody of Kamen Rider 1

Kamen Rider 1

and the first series, "Kamen Rider HG" Hard Gay

Masaki Sumitani

is a Japanese comedian, retired professional wrestler and tarento , best known under his performing name of , which he adopted the name from the original wrestler Razor Ramon...

's parody of the original for a Japanese TV show, and "Ridermen" a short skit of a man called Ridermen (an obvious parody of the Riderman

Riderman

is a fictional character, an anti-heroic protagonist from the tokusatsu television series, Kamen Rider V3. He was the first Kamen Rider to wield personal weapons, and the first Kamen Rider whose face is partially exposed...

) on the set of Kamen Rider Kuuga

Kamen Rider Kuuga

.

Akimasa Nakamura

Akimasa Nakamura

is a Japanese astronomer.He is a prolific discoverer of asteroids. He has worked extensively at the Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory near Kuma, Ehime Prefecture, where he remains a staff member...

named two minor planet

Minor planet

An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...

s in honor of the series: 12408 Fujioka

12408 Fujioka

12408 Fujioka is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 20, 1995 by Akimasa Nakamura at Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory. It is named in honor of Hiroshi Fujioka, who is known in Japan for his portrayal of the character Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider #1 in Kamen Rider and following series.-...

, after actor Hiroshi Fujioka

Hiroshi Fujioka

, known for his portrayal of Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1

Kamen Rider 1

, and 12796 Kamenrider

12796 Kamenrider

12796 Kamenrider is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 16, 1995 by Akimasa Nakamura at Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory. Its name is in honor of Shotaro Ishinomori's Kamen Rider Series, particularly the first series Kamen Rider....

, after the series, itself.

TV Asahi

Toei

Others

Ishimori@Style - Shotaro Ishinomori with Ishimori Productions
Ishimori Productions
or is a Japanese production company that develops works created by the late manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. Such works include Cyborg 009, Kikaider, Inazuman, Skull Man, Ganbare!! Robocon, Voicelugger, the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series, and the Kamen Rider Series....

Official Website
Toei Kyoto Studio Park - A theme park with official events, exhibitions and shops related to the Kamen Rider series

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