Kamen Rider
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Kamen Rider
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| Episodes: | 98 |
| Year: | 1971-1973 |
| Country: | Japan |
| Seasons: | 1 |
| Seasons Breakdown: | (1) 98 |
| Category: | Superhero |
| Colour: | Yes |
| Format: | Series |
| Company: | Toei Company and Mainichi Broadcasting System |
| Creator: | Shotaro Ishinomori (Based on Kamen Rider manga by Shotaro Ishinomori and Developed by Masaru Igami) |
| Run Time (mins): | 20-25 |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Type of Show: | Live Action |
| Status: | Ended |
| Broadcaster: | ANN |
Summary
The series introduces Takeshi Hongo, a university science student and accomplished motorcycle racer who becomes the target of the Shocker Organisation, a clandestine group devoted to creating cyborg soldiers for global domination. Mortally injured in a motorcycle accident, Hongo is abducted and subjected to cybernetic reconstruction, an origin that recalls Shotaro Ishinomori’s earlier work Cyborg 009. Before Shocker can complete the mental conditioning that would bind him to their cause, Hongo is rescued by his former mentor, leaving him a fully enhanced cyborg but retaining his human will. He subsequently becomes Shocker’s principal adversary, using his augmented abilities and his pre‑existing racing skills to thwart their operations.
Hongo’s transformation into Kamen Rider is triggered by attaining a specific velocity on his motorcycle, which simultaneously converts his machine into the Cyclone superbike. His campaign against Shocker is supported by several allies, including his former riding instructor Tobei Tachibana, FBI agent Kazuya Taki, and, after episode 74, the Kamen Rider Boys Squad, a group of children who monitor suspicious activity linked to Shocker’s schemes.
In addition to confronting Shocker’s weekly succession of engineered monsters, Hongo occasionally faces evil duplicates of himself, cyborg replicas indistinguishable from the original except for a characteristic yellow scarf. These encounters underscore the recurring thematic tension between human agency and mechanical control that defines the early Kamen Rider mythos.
Cast
Hongou Takeshi/Kamen Rider 1 FUJIOKA HIROSHI, Tachibana Toubee KOBAYASHI SHOUJI, Taki Kazuya CHIBA JIROU, Midorikawa Ruriko MAKI CHIEKO, Dr. Midorikawa NONOMURA KIYOSHI, Nohara Hiromi SHIMADA YOUKO, Shirou HONDA JOU, Gorou MIURA YASUHARU, Mari LINDA YAMAOTO, Michi NAKAJIMA KAZUMI, Yuri OKI WAKAKO, Emi EMILY TAKAMI, Mika SUGIBAYASHI YOUKO, Yokko NAKADA YOSHIKO, Choko MIMI, Tokko NAKAJIMA MACHIKO, Hongou Ichimonji Hayato/Kamen Rider 2: SASAKI TAKESHI, Naoki YAZAKI KAZUNORI, Mitsuru YAMADA HOUICHI, Colonel Sol MIYAGUCHI JIROU, Dr. Deathgod AMAMOTO EISEI, Hell's Ambassador USHIO KENJI, General Black TANBA MATASABUROU, Voice of Shocker Leader NAYA GOROU, Narrator NAKAE SHINJI.
aka: Masked Rider
Lists of Lists: Kamen Rider
Tags: Superhero, Japan, 1971, Japanese
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