Kamen Rider (1971 TV series)


Kamen Rider is a tokusatsu superhero television series and weekly science fiction manga created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. The original airing consisted of a total of ninety-eight episodes and were broadcast from April 3, 1971 to February 10, 1973 on Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET. The manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine around the same period. The series has evolved into a franchise with many subsequent annual iterations.

Story

The series takes place in a world plagued by Shocker, a mysterious worldwide terrorist organization formed by remaining members of the Nazis. To further its plans for world domination, Shocker recruited its agents through kidnapping, turning their victims into mutant cyborgs and, ultimately, brainwashing them. However, one victim named Takeshi Hongo escaped just before the final brainwashing. With his sanity and moral conscience intact, Takeshi battled Shocker's minions as the grasshopper-themed cyborg superhero Kamen Rider. Another victim of the cyborg process, freelance photographer Hayato Ichimonji, became Kamen Rider Two after Kamen Rider, who eventually renamed himself as "Kamen Rider One", saved him from Shocker's brainwashing. Assisted by motorcycle race team manager Tobei Tachibana and FBI agent Kazuya Taki, the Kamen Riders fought in both solo and partnered missions against Shocker and its replacement organization, Gelshocker.

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 leaves the story, the series diverge greatly. In the TV show, Takeshi 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 Takeshi, becoming the second Kamen Rider. In the manga, Takeshi never left Japan. He was confronted by twelve "Shocker Riders" and was subsequently mortally wounded during his battle against them. Hayato Ichimonji, 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 takes Takeshi's role as Kamen Rider. In spite of the damage to his body, Takeshi's brain survives and guides Hayato, the two fighting as one.
Takeshi 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.

Characters

Kamen Riders

Shocker is a terrorist organization formed by former Nazis. Its name is an acronym for "Sacred Hegemony Of Cycle Kindred Evolutional Realm", as revealed in. Shocker's goal is to conquer the world. To this end, their scientists turn humans into superhuman cyborgs by surgically altering them with animal and insect DNA with robotic cybernetics. Virtually all of its members are modified the same way. Even a Shocker Combatant is tougher, faster, and stronger than an ordinary human civilian. The original manga showed that Shocker had influence over the governments of the world. Its founders had ties to the Nazis, Illuminati and the Kamen Rider Spirits manga makes references to the group's support by the Badan Empire.
Ruthless and merciless, Shocker would often kidnap prominent scientists and force them to work for the organization, then kill them when their usefulness was at an end, or if they attempted to escape. The decision to kidnap and modify college student Takeshi Hongo proved to be their undoing. He was intended to be another of Shocker's powerful cyborg warriors, a grasshopper-human hybrid, but he escaped and opposed them as Kamen Rider One. A later attempt to create a second, more powerful Kamen Rider backfired when the intended victim, Hayato Ichimonji, was rescued by the original Rider before he was brainwashed. Hayato joined Takeshi as Kamen Rider Two. The pair, known as the Double Riders, put an end to Shocker, and later its remnants, who formed Gelshocker after their disbandment.
In ', Shocker, although with a membership and leadership covering Gelshocker members from the original TV series, obtained a Core Medal and modified it into the Shocker Medal. Though they were originally unable to use it, the appearance of the Greeed Ankh in their time enabled the organization to obtain one of his Cell Medals and create the Shocker Greeed. This altered time so that Shocker defeated the Double Riders and managed to conquer all of Japan and eventually the world, setting up a union with many of the other organizations that originally emerged after Shocker's destruction. The group is ultimately defeated by the Kamen Riders.
But as revealed in Kamen Rider OOO onwards, there are some surviving members of the Shocker organization, even from Badan Empire who went into hiding to gather data of the Kamen Riders' battles against some of their respective monsters many years ago. But during the events of ', Shocker's remaining scientists created a History Modification Machine that they use to send a time displaced cyborg called Kamen Rider Three back in time to destroy the Double Riders in the aftermath of Gelshocker's defeat, creating a new timeline where Shocker rules the world with some Kamen Riders in their service. Luckily, the apparent destruction of the History Modification Machine restores the timeline, only to be found out during the events of D-Video Special: Kamen Rider Four that Shocker secretly uses it to create time loops and alters the timeline once more, allowing to create Kamen Rider Four, as well as the revelation that they have been targeting Takumi Inui, due to his sacrifice-less wish to ensure that no one dies like what happened to one of his old allies to create a loop. As Takumi is about to destroy the machine, the Shocker Leader appears with an appearance identical to Takumi's. In the end, Takumi destroys the machine and disappears alongside the modified timeline, restored back to its original timeline once more. Though most of his allies who do not originate from the Kamen Rider 555 TV series like from Kamen Rider Drive, and even Kamen Rider Den-Os Kamen Rider Zeronos don't remember if they had encountered Takumi, only some of Takumi's old friends from the Kamen Rider 555 TV series, including Naoya Kaido still remember Takumi.
In the movie Kamen Rider One, there is a civil war between the original Shocker and a newly formed organization called Nova Shocker in an attempt to kidnap Mayu, Tobei Tachibana's granddaughter, and release the Alexander Gamma Eyecon from her body, in order to obtain its power. As all of the revived Ambassador Hell's Shocker fraction had been annihilated completely, leaving only himself, and also after he witnessed how dangerous the Alexander Gamma Eyecon is, he makes an uneasy alliance with Kamen Riders Ghost, Specter and a newly improved Kamen Rider One.
Gelshocker was formed after the disbandment of Shocker, with the remnants of the organization absorbing another organization Geldam trained in the deserts Africa. After Ambassador Hell's defeat, The Shocker Leader reorganized the organization from the ground up, destroying all remaining secret bases and even killing the remaining troop contingent in a bloody forest massacre witnessed by unfortunate campers. Gelshocker Combatants wore bright purple and yellow costumes, were capable of traveling from one place to another by transforming into sheets that would drop down onto unsuspecting victims, and were capable of taking more blunt abuse than their predecessors.
Gelshocker was led by the Gelshocker Leader and General Black, a commander originally from Geldam who had a monstrous leech/chameleon hybrid form called Leechameleon who had the ability to suck blood by hugging humans, which was later used to revive Gelshocker monsters after already being defeated by the Double Riders, throwing leeches which cause the target to follow his orders, and turn himself invisible. Later, he fought the Double Riders on a roller coaster and was defeated by their Rider Double Chop while turned invisible. Weakened, he reverted to his human form and cursed the Double Riders before exploding. Eventually, General Black was resurrected and worked for Destron in an important operation, but ended up dying in the self-destruction of a Destron base. Black returned as a soulless pawn of the Badan Empire in the Kamen Rider Spirits manga, but he was defeated by a Rider Double Kick performed by Kamen Riders 2 and ZX.

Episode list

  1. The Eerie Spider Man
  2. The Terrifying Bat Man
  3. The Monstrous Scorpion Man
  4. The Man-Eating Sarracenian
  5. The Monstrous Mantis Man
  6. The Deadly Chameleon
  7. The Deadly Chameleon! Showdown at the Old World's Fair!
  8. The Creepy Bee Woman!
  9. The Monstrous Cobra Man
  10. The Reborn Cobra Man
  11. Blood-Sucking Monster Gebacondor
  12. The Murderous Geckgeras
  13. Lizardlon and the Monster Army!
  14. The Devilish Cactogron Attacks!
  15. Cactogron Strikes Back
  16. The Devil Wrestler Pirasaurus
  17. Deathmatch in the Ring! Defeat Pirasaurus
  18. Fossil Man Starfinjer
  19. The Monstrous Crabubbler Appears in Hokkaido
  20. The Fire-Breathing Caterpillar, Poison-Mothdar
  21. Poison-Mothdar, Battle at Osaka Castle!
  22. Monstrous Merman Amazonha
  23. Soaring Monster Flying-Squirdle
  24. Poisonous Monster Mushroomorg Attacks!
  25. Defeat Mushroomorg!
  26. The Terrifying Antlion Pit
  27. Centiperas's Monster School
  28. Underground Monster Molung
  29. The Electric Monster Jellydall
  30. Reborn Fossil: The Bloodsucking Trilobite
  31. Deathmatch! The Ant-eating Devil Antegabari
  32. The Man-Eating Flower, Poison-Dahlian
  33. Steel Monster Armadillong
  34. Japan in Peril! Toadiller's Invasion
  35. The Killer Queen Ant, Antchimedes
  36. The Revived Mummy Monster, Egyptus
  37. Poison Gas Monster Wolfsbane's Operation: G
  38. Lightning Monster Rayking Operation: Worldwide Blackout
  39. The Monstrous Wolf Man's Killer Party
  40. Deathmatch! The Monstrous Snowman vs. The Two Riders!
  41. Magma Monster Ghostar! The Great Battle of Sakurajima
  42. The Demonic Assassin, the Eerie Fly Man
  43. The Monster-Bird Pranodon Attacks
  44. Graveyard Monster Moldinga
  45. The Monstrous Slugzilla's Gas Explosion Plan
  46. Showdown!! Snowy Mountain Monster Bearconger
  47. The Deadly Ice Devil Sealioller
  48. Leacherrilla of the Vampire Swamp
  49. The Man-Eating Monster, Anemone
  50. The Monstrous Turtlestone's Killer Aurora Plan
  51. Rock Monster Unicornos Versus the Double Rider Kick
  52. My Name is Monster Bird Gillcrow!
  53. The Monstrous Jaguar Man's Deadly Motorcycle Battle
  54. The Seasnake Man of the Ghost Village
  55. Cockroach Man!! The Dreadful Germ-Filled Ad Balloon
  56. Poison Butterfly of the Amazon, Gireela
  57. Purseweb Man Spiderond
  58. The Monstrous Bearded Dragon, Deathmatch in Fear Valley!!
  59. The Monstrous Worm Man of the Bottomless Swamp!
  60. The Monstrous Owl Man's Killer X-Rays
  61. The Monstrous Catfigiller's Electric Hell
  62. The Monstrous Hedgehozuras's Killer Skull Plan
  63. The Monstrous Rhinogang's Deadly Auto Race
  64. The Monstrous Cicadaminga's Song of Slaughter!
  65. The Monstrous Beetle Professor and the Shocker School
  66. The Shocker Graveyard: Monsters Revived
  67. The Shocker Leader Appears!! Rider in Danger
  68. The Terrifying Truth of Doctor Death?
  69. The Monstrous Gillercricket's Nails of Death
  70. The Monstrous Electrirefly's Fireball Attack!!
  71. The Mt. Rokko Pursuit of the Monstrous Gadflygomez!
  72. The Blood-Sucking Mosquilas Versus the Two Riders
  73. Double Riders! Defeat Fiddler Crabking
  74. The Deadly Blood-Sucker! Give It Your All, Rider Kid Corps
  75. The Monstrous Poison Flower Roseranga Secret of the Terror House
  76. Three Electric Monsters: the Seadragons!!
  77. The Monster Newtgeth, Showdown at Hell Ranch!
  78. The Terrifying Urchidogma Plus Ghost Monsters
  79. Ambassador Hell!! His Fearsome True Form?
  80. Gelshocker's Debut! The Last Day of Kamen Rider!!
  81. Kamen Rider Dies Twice!!
  82. The Monstrous Jellywolf The Rush Hour of Terror
  83. Monstrous Boarbeeton, Defeat Kamen Rider With Insanity Gas
  84. Rider in Peril! Anemonaguar's Hellish Trap
  85. The Sludge Monster's Terrifying Killer Smog
  86. The Monstrous Eaglemantis's Human Hunt
  87. Gelshocker's Deliveryman of Death!
  88. Scary Story The Bloodthirsty Black Cat Paintings!
  89. The Terrifying Operation: Pet. Send Rider to Hell!
  90. The Terrifying Operation: Pet Rider SOS!
  91. Gelshocker! Enroll in Terror School!!
  92. The Evil Fake Kamen Rider!
  93. The Eight Kamen Riders
  94. The Truth Behind Gelshocker's Leader!!
  95. The Monstrous Crowox's Flying Cars!!
  96. Takeshi Hongo Becomes a Cactus Monster!?
  97. Takeshi Hongo Cannot Transform!!
  98. Gelshocker Destroyed! The Leader's End!!

    Films

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 the Shotaro Ishinomori series. Kamen Rider has had three different stories: Missing Link, Special Episode: Escape, and From Here to Eternity. 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 and the Shocker Tank.
;Missing Link chapter titles
  1. Infiltration
  2. Disappearance
  3. Awakening
  4. Puppet

    Cast

;Opening themes
;Ending themes
The Kamen Rider original series famously spearheaded launched the "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 , Kamen Rider ZO and Kamen Rider J. After the original creator Shōtarō Ishinomori's death, the Kamen Rider franchise had continued in 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga. As of 2019, thirty Kamen Rider series have been made, with the newest being Kamen Rider Zero-One which premiered in September 2019.
As of 2005, a remake of the Kamen Rider series was made and reimagined with Kamen Rider The First and continued with Kamen Rider The Next released in 2007.
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.