Kamen Rider is one of the most popular Tokusatsu series. The series was created by Father of Tokusatsu, namely Shotaro Ishinomori who is also working with Toei Production. The journey of the Kamen Rider has been very long, starting from the Showa Era, Heisei Era, and now Reiwa Era.
Well, this time I want to share about the list of kamen riders that appeared in the Showa Era. Maybe, most of us weren't born yet when this series aired on TV stations. Check my review below!
1. Kamen Rider (Ichigo & Nigo)
Kamen Rider is the first generation Kamen Rider. The series first aired in Japan in 1971-1973 with a total of 98 episodes. The story of this Kamen Rider begins when Takeshi Hongo meets Shocker, an evil organization that wants to rule the world.
He is then kidnapped by them and turn into a guinea pig to become a cyborg. However, he manages to escape from the base when he comes to his senses and is determined to fight them off by transforming into Kamen Rider Ichigo.
Besides Takeshi, there is one other person who is also a victim of Shocker's experiments, namely Hayato Ichimonji who turned into a Kamen Rider Nigo. They both become comrades in fighting crime from the Shocker organization.
Uniquely, they have a similar appearance. The only difference lies in the color of their gloves and shoes. Ichigo's Kamen Rider gloves and boots are gray, while Nigo's is a fiery red.
2. Kamen Rider V3
Kamen Rider V3 is the second Kamen Rider series from Showa Era that aired in Japan from 1973-1974 with a total of 54 episodes. The story of this kamen rider begins with an ordinary student majoring in biochemistry at Jounan University who accidentally witnesses a murder committed by a group of evil organizations called Destron. Since then, he has become the target of Destron's assassination.
In his plan, Destron also targets Shiro's family. His family is killed by the Jaguar monster and he is fortunately saved by the Kamen Riders Ichigo and Nigo. He finally intends to take revenge and asks Kamen Rider Ichigo and Nigo to turn him into a cyborg. With the help of the two, he manages to turn into a Kamen Rider V3. The three of them become extraordinary heroes.
3. Riderman
At first, Riderman is the enemy of Kamen Rider V3. He is a former member of Destron who defected and joined the V3 to fight their crimes. The original figure of Riderman is a young man named Joji Yuki.
In the past, he was a very loyal member of the Destron organization, but he was later betrayed by his colleague Marshall Armor who hated Yuki's promotion. Yuki was then killed by Marshall Armor by being drowned in a pool of acid.
However, he was rescued by his partner and he was also operated on to stay alive. One arm that was lost due to exposure to acid was replaced with a cybernetic arm. Compared to other riders, Riderman has a unique appearance because his helmet is not full face. In addition, he can also replace his right arm with various weapons, such as Rope Arm, Power Arm, etc.
4. Kamen Rider X
Kamen Rider X is a Kamen Rider series that aired in Japan in 1974. The series tells the story of a young man named Jin Keisuke who is the son of a genius robot scientist named Keitaro. Once upon a time, they were both attacked by a terrorist organization that wanted to rule the world known as G.O.D (Government of Darkness). Because of the incident, Keisuke almost died. Fortunately, he was saved by his father by being turned into a cyborg.
With his new powers, Keisuke transforms into Kamen Rider X and tries to stop the attacks from G.O.D led by Aplogeist, a mutant inspired by Roman mythology. In addition, Kamen Rider X also has various kinds of superpowers, such as the ability to fight under a depth of 10 thousand meters and upgrade his strength three times. He also has four main weapons in the form of spears, swords, ropes, and long spears.
5. Kamen Rider Amazon
Unlike the other Showa Kamen Riders, Amazon look more wild, sadistic, bloody, and do not have insect motifs. This Kamen Rider aired in Japan from 1974 to 1975. The story of this Kamen Rider is centered on a boy named Daisuke Yamamoto. He is an orphan whose family died in a plane crash in the Amazon jungle. After that, he lived in the interior and grew into a wild child.
One day, there was an attack incident from a monster named Gorgos who wanted to find GiGi Armlet, an Inca heritage item that was able to give superpowers. After the incident, the Inca chief performed a mystical ritual on Daisuke and he was given the mandate to guard the object. Then, he transformed into Kamen Rider Amazon with that thing. GiGi Armlet are also the main source of Amazon's power.
6. Kamen Rider Stronger
Kamen Rider Stronger aired in Japan in 1975. The story of Kamen Rider is centered on a young man named Jou Shigeru. At first, he was an eccentric young man and seemed arrogant. However, everything changed when his best friend was killed by an organization called Black Satan. He also intends to avenge the death of his friend.
Jou pretends to join the organization to carry out cyborg operations. When the operation was successful, he fled before being brainwashed by Black Satan. Jou transforms into Kamen Rider Stronger and turns against the evil organization. One of Stronger's main strengths is the Charge-Up in the form of an electric attack that can sting his enemy.
7. Kamen Rider Skyrider
Just like its predecessors, Kamen Rider Skyrider returns to using the grasshopper motif. This Kamen Rider aired in Japan in 1979-1980 as many as 54 episodes. The story of this Kamen Rider begins with Hiroshi Tsukuba's hobby who likes camping and also kite flying. One time, he accidentally became a witness to the kidnapping of an organization called Neo-Shocker which later changed his life. He was with a doctor named Dr. Keitaro was kidnapped.
With his intelligence, Dr. Keitaro deceives the leader of the Neo-Shocker organization and convinces him to operate Hiroshi into a cyborg. However, instead of being a formidable subordinate, Hiroshi became a hero who turned against the organization. As the name implies, one of the super abilities of this Kamen Rider is that he is able to fly.
8. Kamen Rider Super-1
Next, there is Kamen Rider Super-1 whose series aired in Japan from 1980 to 1981. This story centers on an astronaut named Kazuya Oki. He was voluntarily transformed into a cyborg so that he could adapt in space without wearing an astronaut suit. However, the space station that is his destination is attacked by a group of enemies called the Dogma Kingdom. And he was the only survivor of the incident.
When he returned to Japan, Kazuya learned self-defense and turned into a Kamen Rider Super-1. Super-1's main strength lies in the strength of its gauntlets. He has five different gloves with various functions. One of the strongest is Silver Hands which allows him to issue a blow with a damage of 300 tons. Wow, fantastic.
9. Kamen Rider ZX
The story of Kamen Rider ZX centers on a man named Ryou Murasama. He worked as a pilot, One day, he took his brother to go to the Amazon jungle to research the mystery of UFOs. Unfortunately, his plane was shot down and he was captured by an organization called the Empire Agency. He also lost his brother who died in the incident. Later, Ryou was experimented on by the evil organization to become a cyborg warrior. Unlike the other kamen riders, Ryou didn't manage to escape and he became a member of the evil organization.
Everything changes when Ryou gets into an accident and he regains consciousness. He also had battles with Super-1 and Riderman due to a misunderstanding. The main strength of Kamen Rider ZX lies in his deadly kick and is able to eradicate his enemies. In addition, he also has modern ninja combat equipment, such as Cross Shuriken, Impact Bomb, and also a Microchain. Kamen Rider ZX premiered in Japan in 1984.
10. Kamen Rider Black
Kamen Rider Black is a very popular Kamen Rider series in the 90s. Well, originally this series had aired in Japan from 1987 to 1989 with a total of 51 episodes. The figure behind this mask is a man named Kotaro Minami who is already very legendary in the Tokusatsu world.
In this series, it is told that Kotaro Minami and Akizuki Nobuhiko were born during a solar eclipse. Kotaro's parents were killed by an organization called Gorgom. Later, Kotaro was adopted as Prof. Akizuki's adopted son. On their 19th birthday, they were both kidnapped by Gorgom to be turned into cyborgs and have their memories erased. Their goal in doing this is to find the best candidate to be the next “The Creation King”.
Prof. Akizuki, who knew this, was not willing to let his two children be used as guinea pigs. He then screwed up the operation. Kotaro managed to escape before his memory was permanently erased, but Nobuhiko was unable to escape. In addition, Prof. Akizuki was also killed by Gorgom. After the incident, Kotaro realized that there was something inside him, namely the King Stone that was implanted in his body at the time of his surgery. He then turns into Kamen Rider Black and fights Gorgom. Kotaro also intends to help Nobuhiko who turns into Shadow Moon.
11. Kamen Rider Black RX
Kamen Rider is a continuation of the Kamen Rider Black series. The main character of this series is also Kotaro Minami. After the destruction of Gorgom, the world experienced peace, though not for long. Everything changes when an organization called Crisis Empire comes to Earth and intends to rule the world.
Because Kamen Rider Black didn't want to cooperate with them, he was finally killed by destroying the king stone in his body and sending it into outer space. However, instead of dying, Kotaro's body mutated after being exposed to solar radiation. It made him have new powers and evolved into Kamen Rider Black RX.
The strength of the Kamen Rider Black RX is also more diverse. He is able to transform into other modes, namely Robo Rider and Bio Rider. The Robo Rider form is created when Kotaro is unable to contain his sadness and the Bio Rider is created when he is filled with hatred.