50 Fun Facts About Kamen Rider

Which manga artist, also the creator of Cyborg 009, dreamed up the bug-eyed hero Kamen Rider?

Shotaro Ishinomori holds the Guinness World Record for most comics published by one author, more than 128,000 pages. A producer asked him to design a masked hero in 1970.

Takeshi Hongo, the original Kamen Rider who debuted in 1971, has a helmet modelled on which insect?

A grasshopper became the motif when the hero was redesigned in planning. The show had started out as an adaptation of an earlier manga called Skull Man.

Which evil organisation kidnaps student Takeshi Hongo and rebuilds him as the first Kamen Rider?

Shocker meant to brainwash Hongo as well, but he escaped just before that final step and turned his new strength against his makers.

Which word do Kamen Rider heroes shout while striking a pose to trigger their transformation belts?

Henshin means 'transformation', and the first show's popularity set off what Japan called the Henshin Boom of superhero television in the early 1970s.

Which Neon Genesis Evangelion creator wrote and directed the 2023 reboot film Shin Kamen Rider?

Hideaki Anno made it his third reimagining of a classic Japanese screen hero, after Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman, to mark the franchise's 50th anniversary.

Saban's Masked Rider, a 1995 American take on Kamen Rider, began as a spin-off of which series?

Power Rangers featured the hero in its three-part episode 'A Friend in Need' before his own show began. The solo series reused footage from Kamen Rider Black RX.

Which Japanese studio, whose producer proposed a 'Masked Hero Project' in 1970, makes Kamen Rider?

Toei watched the 1971 original turn into a merchandise phenomenon. About 3.8 million toy transformation belts were sold in roughly two years.

For more than twenty years, Kamen Rider shared a Sunday-morning hour on TV Asahi with which team-based hero franchise?

Super Sentai filled the other half-hour of the block, named Super Hero Time, giving Japanese children a full hour of costumed heroes every Sunday morning.

Kamen Rider Drive, police officer Shinnosuke Tomari, broke tradition by riding what instead of a motorcycle?

A car named Tridoron is his main machine, a first for the hero of the franchise. Entertainment news called the switch a shock.

The heroes of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, a series with a video-game motif, mostly share which profession?

Doctors fill the Rider ranks here: an intern, an elite surgeon, an unlicensed 'dark doctor' and a coroner, all treating patients infected by a living computer virus.

Which actor, the original Kamen Rider, was thrown from his motorcycle while filming episode 10?

Hiroshi Fujioka was hurt so badly that most of the staff wanted his character killed off. The producer refused, and a second hero covered for him until he returned.

Which Kamen Rider Kuuga star lent his name to an 'effect' where handsome leads attract mothers?

Joe Odagiri played the adventurer Yusuke Godai, and producers found the show drawing women around 30. The next series cast three good-looking leads to repeat the trick.

Which Rurouni Kenshin film star first played unlucky Ryotaro Nogami in Kamen Rider Den-O?

Takeru Satoh was diagnosed with a collapsed lung during the shoot and has since recovered. He credits the show's popularity to its comedic timing.

Kamen Rider Den-O's hero travels through time aboard the DenLiner, which is what kind of vehicle?

A train that runs through time carries him between eras with Momotaros, a hot-headed spirit from the future who possesses him to fight.

Kamen Rider Build's main form, made by pairing two Fullbottles, combines a tank with which animal?

A rabbit and a tank make up his main form. Each Fullbottle holds the essence of a living or non-living thing, taken from defeated monsters called Smash and then purified.

Kamen Rider's eras follow Japan's imperial reigns: which one opened with the 30th series, Kamen Rider Zero-One?

Reiwa opened with Kamen Rider Zero-One, a story about artificial intelligence in which hacked androids called Humagears are turned against humanity.

What is the original Kamen Rider's motorcycle called, a machine redesigned for a 2023 film reboot?

Cyclone had to be rebuilt on a modern bike for the film, because its designer found the original machine's silhouette impossible to recreate faithfully.

Which Kamen Rider, an amnesiac photographer, travels through nine worlds of earlier heroes?

Decade marked the tenth anniversary of the franchise's Heisei era, which is where the name comes from, and closed the first phase of that era.

In Kamen Rider W, criminals become monsters using Gaia Memories, which resemble what everyday gadgets?

USB flash drives inspired the Gaia Memories, which a wealthy family sells to criminals. Unrestrained use can drive a user insane or even kill them.

Which freelance photographer, saved from brainwashing by the first Kamen Rider, becomes Kamen Rider 2?

Hayato Ichimonji took over protecting Japan when his rescuer left to fight abroad, a twist written to cover for a lead actor who had been injured.

Kamen Rider Quiz, a riddle-loving guest hero from the year 2040, appears in which time-travel series?

Zi-O brings him back to 2019 to search for his missing father. His riddle-based fighting style is later copied by a rival Rider's futuristic form.

Which Kamen Rider, a self-styled prophet with a book of prophecies, declares 'Rejoice!' at each new upgrade?

Woz carries the Ohma Advent Calendar, a book that details his master's rise to power, and he can trap a target by ripping out its pages.

What are the monsters called that the villainous Time Jackers create, each based on a past Kamen Rider hero?

Another Riders are beaten with a Ride Watch that matches the copied hero, or with a stronger form. Unchecked, they replace the originals in history.

Which Kamen Rider, a resistance soldier from 2068, goes back in time to kill a future tyrant?

Geiz wears armour themed on a digital watch. He sets out to kill the schoolboy fated to become a tyrant, then ends up fighting at his side.

Which Kamen Rider series, set at Amanogawa High School, marked the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight?

Fourze marked 50 years since Yuri Gagarin's flight and the franchise's own 40th birthday. Its catchphrase: 'Switch on youth 'cause we're going into space!'

Kamen Rider Super-1's Kazuya Oki volunteers for cybernetic surgery in the United States to do which job?

Astronaut was the plan: his rebuilt body could survive in outer space without a bulky suit. An attack on the base ended the mission before he could leave Earth.

In Kamen Rider Black, the Gorgom cult turns the hero's stepbrother Nobuhiko into which rival 'Century King'?

Shadow Moon and the hero were both born during a solar eclipse, so the cult named them after a darkened sun and moon and fated them to fight for its throne.

Which Kamen Rider, student Shiro Kazami, is rebuilt by two earlier heroes after being mortally wounded?

V3 carries 26 special powers, most of them revealed one at a time across the series. His war begins when the group Destron murders his family.

Which Kamen Rider is Joji Yuki, a scientist who turns against his former masters in the evil group Destron?

Riderman joins the series hero near the end of the war on Destron, then sacrifices himself to save Japan and is named Kamen Rider 4 in tribute.

In Kamen Rider Stronger, cyborg Yuriko Misaki fights beside the hero under which name?

Tackle, in full Electro-Wave Human Tackle, was built by the same villains as the hero. She later sacrifices herself to protect him in battle with the Delza Army.

In Kamen Rider Ryuki, thirteen Riders fight to the death for one wish inside which parallel dimension?

Mirror World is reached through reflective surfaces, which is why the hero finds his contract deck in a flat where every one of them is covered with newspaper.

Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, an American series shown on The CW, won a Daytime Emmy in which new category?

Stunt coordination was a category introduced to the Daytime Emmys that very year, 2010. The show was adapted from Kamen Rider Ryuki.

In Kamen Rider 555, the armoured Rider Gears are activated by typing a command code into which device?

A cell phone keypad takes the codes on most of the belts. The suits were first built for the show's monsters to wear, to protect their king.

Kamen Rider Blade pairs the franchise's usual insect designs with a second motif taken from what?

Playing cards shape the whole story: each Rider takes a suit, and the 52 Undead they hunt fought a battle royal ten thousand years ago to rule the Earth.

The heroes of Kamen Rider Hibiki, warriors known as Oni, fight man-eating monsters with weapons themed on what?

Musical instruments supply their finishing moves: drumstick-like clubs, a trumpet that doubles as a handgun and stringed weapons, all channelling 'pure sound'.

Kamen Rider Kiva, a series promoted with horror-film themes, has a hero based on which classic monster?

A vampire hero suits his enemies, the Fangires, who drain human life force. His familiars are the last survivors of three monster races: a wolf-man, a merman and a Frankenstein-style creature.

The title of Kamen Rider OOO stands for the three objects its hero uses to transform, which are what?

Medals linked to animal species give him his powers, three at a time. The circles in the title also echo the infinity symbol with one extra loop.

In Kamen Rider Wizard, monsters called Phantoms are born when people with magical potential are driven to what?

Despair is the trigger: a ritual forced it on people known as Gates in order to breed Phantoms. The hero is a survivor of that ritual.

Kamen Rider Gaim mixes samurai armour and street-dance crews with a motif drawn from which kind of food?

Fruit powers come from Lockseeds, devices from a dimension called Helheim Forest. The hero's first, the Orange Lockseed, turns him into a samurai-armoured warrior.

Which Puella Magi Madoka Magica co-creator wrote Kamen Rider Gaim, a series set among rival dance crews?

Gen Urobuchi had already written Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass. His Rider story begins as a turf war between dancers and grows into a fight for survival.

Kamen Rider Ghost's hero Takeru Tenkuji has 99 days to gather heroic Eyecons and win what?

His life back is the prize: a hermit revives him as a spirit and sets the deadline. The Eyecons hold figures such as Miyamoto Musashi, Thomas Edison and Isaac Newton.

Kamen Rider Saber's hero Touma Kamiyama, a swordsman who fights with Wonder Ride Books, has which day job?

Novelist and bookstore owner Touma is handed a magic book as a boy. Later his world collides with a realm of fairy tales in a war over an all-powerful tome.

In Kamen Rider Kabuto, Riders shed their bulky Masked Form to use Clock Up, an ability that lets them do what?

Clock Up lets them move at high speed, but only in the sleeker Rider Form. Their enemies, the alien Worms, emerged from a meteorite that struck Tokyo's Shibuya district.

Kamen Rider Zero-One's Aruto Hiden is suddenly made CEO of an AI company while chasing which career?

Comedian was the dream. Instead he inherits Hiden Intelligence on his grandfather's death and keeps up appearances as its boss while fighting as a Rider.

Kamen Rider Amazon's hero Daisuke Yamamoto grows up wild in the rainforest after surviving what as a child?

A plane crash strands him without his parents. The last Inca elder later gives him the GiGi Armlet and transforms him through a mystic ritual before dying.

In Kamen Rider Build, former fighter Ryuga Banjo uses a Dragon Fullbottle to become which secondary Rider?

Cross-Z shares his name with the Cross-Z Dragon, a robotic companion the hero gives him. It combines with a copy of the hero's belt to complete the change.

In Kamen Rider Black RX, Kotaro Minami's belt is shattered before he gains new powers from what?

Sunlight revives him after alien invaders called the Crisis Empire hurl him back towards Earth. An early episode is even titled 'The Child of the Sun!'

Which motorcycle race team manager mentors Takeshi Hongo and aids the first two Kamen Rider heroes?

Tobei Tachibana runs the racing club where Hongo rides and a small café where his friends gather. He returns in the sequel to help its new hero too.

The 1979 revival series, titled simply Kamen Rider, is better known by which name of its hero?

Skyrider is created when a kidnapped scientist tricks his terrorist captors into letting him operate on an injured camper, then turns the patient into a hero instead.

In Kamen Rider Kuuga, which ancient tribe is set free when the hero's stone belt is excavated?

The Gurongi once terrorised the Linto tribe until a warrior sealed their leader in a cave. Freed, they resume a murderous game against the Linto's descendants: all of humanity.