These avenues have typically been courtesy of Shout! Factory, which has licensing deals with several major companies. With the tokusatsu fandom in the West only growing in recent years, more and more options have opened up for international audiences to enjoy Japan's motorcycle riding hero. Exceptions included the reviled Saban's Masked Rider, a Power Rangers-esque adaptation of an already controversial Showa Era series, as well as the much more positively received but still niche Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. The Kamen Rider series was completely looked over in the West despite its immense popularity in Japan. RELATED: Which Power Rangers Series Would Make the Best Anime? Where to Watch Kamen Rider

Since then, the franchise has continued to grow, expanding with new TV shows and even crossovers with other tokusatsu series. There were also film remakes of the first two shows, reimagining Takeshi Hongo and Hayato Ichimonji for a new generation. These shows replaced the former cyborg concept with mere robotic belts and armor - also doing away with the connected continuity of the old shows.Īs rival franchise Super Sentai gradually became more kid-friendly, Kamen Rider experimented with darker, more introspective and even horror elements in shows like Kamen Rider Faiz, Kamen Rider Den-O and Kamen Rider Kiva. The series would finally get a hi-tech reboot in Kamen Rider Kuuga, which began the Heisei Era. Though several manga were released as well, the Showa Era would eventually end in a whimper with several movie releases in the '90s. Mainstays of the franchise included Tachibana, who acted as a mentor for the various disparate Riders. From there, the original 'Showa Era' would diverge into a connected but mostly distinct continuity, with each new Rider being unrelated to the previous. This series would be followed up by Kamen Rider V3, which featured a new Rider. The original series featured Takeshi Hongo and later Hayato Ichimonji, victims of the Neo-Nazi terrorist organization Shocker, and used their new cyborg powers and abilities to combat the sinister regime. They also employ gadgets and powerful finishing moves such as the iconic Rider Kick to defeat the legions of unearthly monsters that they fight. These forms would be accessed whenever the Rider said a phrase such as 'Henshin,' transforming into their superheroic alter ego. The heroes of these shows range from full-on cyborgs to people who don powerful armored costumes - though they all typically share an insect or grasshopper motif in their design. Kamen Rider's title translates as 'Masked Rider,' although the term Helmet Rider might be more accurate.

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