The , also known as Masked Rider Series (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. Kamen Rider media generally features a motorcycle-riding superhero with an insect motif who fights supervillains, often known as .
The franchise began in 1971 with the Kamen Rider television series, which followed college student Takeshi Hongo and his quest to defeat the world-conquering Shocker organization. The original series spawned television and film sequels and launched the Second Kaiju Boom (also known as the Henshin Boom) on Japanese television during the early 1970s, impacting the superhero and action-adventure genres in Japan.
Bandai owns the toy rights to Kamen Rider in Japan and other Asian regions. Bluefin Distribution, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco, distributes Kamen Rider merchandise in North America.
Series overview
The Kamen Rider franchise primarily revolves around the eponymous Kamen Rider, a superpowered vigilante who mostly resembles a grasshopper and rides a motorcycle, and their one-man war against an ever-larger malevolent force, usually a terrorist organization bent on world domination. A common running theme in the franchise is that the Rider's power derived from the same source and technology used by malevolent forces, thus forming a moral vow for the protagonists to use this power to fight against evil.
Similar to its counterpart, each series focuses on a different Rider, a new set of characters and a different story set in its own universe, though there been multiple instances of past characters from previous Kamen Rider series crossing over to team up against a common foe.
The Kamen Riders
The , also known as simply , is a collective name referring to the eponymous heroes and numerous individuals of the series. Usually resembling a grasshopper-themed masked superhero or a similarly-looking vigilante in spandex, the Riders are enhanced humans with superhuman strength, resilience and agility, specifically modified to fight an entire army. Originally created by the terrorist organization known as "Shocker" as a means of creating super-soldiers, one of these potential soldiers, biochemistry lab student and motorcycle enthusiast Takeshi Hongo, escaped from captivity and has since been fighting against Shocker, often recruiting similar individuals to fight alongside him.
Each Rider, whose appearance varies per series, has a full set of arsenal and equipment in their disposal, coined as the , consisting of their (a transformation item that allows a Rider to transform), its associating (which can be used in conjunction with the Rider Belt to gain access to multiple forms) and (auxiliary items serving as optional weapon of choice for the Riders), and their mode of transportation known as a . A common theme amongst the Riders is that the Rider System's power was derived from the same technology/power source used by the villains, ironically using it fight against evil to such extent. From Kamen Rider Kuuga onwards, each Rider has multiple different forms, often divided into six tiers: the default and its multiple alternate , the , the penultimate , the optional movie-exclusive and the powerful aptly-named .
Every Rider has a selection of powerful finishing moves, either accessible through their respective Rider Weapons and/or through other forms, though the most commonly-used finishing attack is the , a dive kick capable of destroying most enemies in a single strike by infusing it with such strength that it causes the opponent to violently explode.