Kamen Rider Month is underway! Now while I will be reviewing the three films stated in the introduction, I thought the first article needed to be something to give you a taste of what Rider is. So what better way to start out the month themed around a franchise than with an article designed to give you, the potential new fans, a good idea of where to start.
The series has 25 seasons, which means it isn’t exactly that easy to get into per say. Now luckily none of the seasons are connected aside from Black and Black RX. Sure back in the Showa Era you’d see past Riders pop up every so often, but never have the shows been directly linked in continuity with each other outside of the previously mentioned Black and Black RX. This means it is rather easy to jump right in. You know, once you decide what to watch.
I’ve seen countless people want to get into the franchise and have no clue on where to start. The easiest solution is to simply pick the show that has grabbed your attention the most. Even then though people still like to ask us initiated fans on where we believe they should start. That is the basis for this article. Below is a listing of five Kamen Rider shows that I believe are perfect entry ways for newcomers. Now this isn’t really a countdown. I’ll admit I find some of these shows to be better than the other ones listed, but this isn’t about saying that one particular season is the best to start with and you have to go watch it. Opinions change and what you feel is the best choice may not grab somebody else’s attention. This is simply a listing of the programs that I feel could best get somebody into the franchise, in no real particular order (I’ll list them according to when they originally aired for ease).
So enough chitchat, let’s get started!
Kamen Rider Black (1987-1988)
PLOT - On his and his brother Nobuhiko’s nineteenth birthday, Minami Kotaro is kidnapped by the Gorgom cult. The purpose? To turn these young men into candidates for the next Gorgom Creation King. Each is turned into a Century Kings and children of the stones. One night Kotaro escapes the compound with help from his father, only to later witness his death. With his enhanced powers and a trusty living motorcycle known as Battle Hopper, Kotaro will fight to protect the Earth and save his brother. Minami Kotaro is…KAMEN RIDER BLACK!
REASONING – Black is a part of the Showa Era and with Black RX marks the end of that era. The show makes a great starting point due to it being a great representation of that era. While the plot is on an episodic basis and not yet in the drama style that the Hesei shows would take on, Black manages to pack in a lot of story in its run and provides some really dramatic and shock moments and never dips into the territory of being too simple save for a few monster of the week episodes. The action is top notch for the time period and while the effects are dated (and beyond seizure inducing) they aren’t too terrible. It also encompasses a lot of the tropes and nuances that can be seen from a lot of the Showa shows (say that ten times fast) and acts as a bit of a greatest hits of them, but does them a bit better in my opinion. For that and providing solid action with a dramatic (if episodic) story, Kamen Rider Black makes a perfect starting place for both getting into the Showa Era as well as Rider as a whole.
Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000-2001)
PLOT – Long ago a tribe known as the Gurongi played a devilish game, they terrorizing the Linto people and using them for their game. That is until a warrior known as Kuuga appeared and put a stop to the Gurongi’s reign of terror, sealing them away forever. But now in the present day, an archeological dig has unearthed the tomb where the Gurongi were sealed, they being unleashed onto the world again. However hope comes in the form of a man named Yusuke Godai; he finding that he is linked to a belt find in the tomb. Using the belt’s power Godai (along with the police) will fight against the Gurongi to protect the world. Godai has taken on the role of the warrior, the protector. Godai has become Kamen Rider Kuuga.
REASONING – Kuuga marks the beginning the Hesei Era (as dictated by Toei) and introduces a lot of the nuances that would be and are seen throughout the Hesei run of the series. It abandoned the episodic format for a more drama like one, the simple stories replaced with a complex mystery and character drama which runs fluidly episode to episode. While not the first to use supernatural monsters, Kuuga began the trend of the enemies being linked to the supernatural on a yearly basis, with the Rider/s themselves using having a link to it as well. As mentioned the plot is deep and built around mystery and drama, but is easy to follow and while not as complex as later seasons is still but together well. This is all backed by great characters, wonderful music, and stellar action. And really that’s why Kuuga makes a great starting point. It introduces the viewer to the nuances of the Hesei series and provides a great and easy ride in terms of story and characters, it complemented by adrenaline pumping action.
Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002-2003)
REASONING – Let’s just get this out of the way; Kamen Rider Ryuki is my absolute favorite Kamen Rider show of all time. I recommend it solely because of that. However my recommendation isn’t just playing favorites, Ryuki is just a great show overall and perfect for newcomers. It carries on the format started with Kuuga and adds to it, the story filled to the brim with character drama and mystery. It also features fantastic music and great action. It sounds all the same, so what makes it so great of a starting place. While Kuuga and Agito (Ryuki’s predecessor) featured deep complex stories, Ryuki boasts a very complex one and is one helluva a twisty journey. Along with this though is the fact that while Kamen Rider has always been a dark show, Ryuki is when it dives into the deep end is utterly dark. Because of that it makes a great introduction simply that it gives the viewer a look at how dark the franchise can get in later entries, and acts as a way to get use to it so that later entries don’t come as a shock to the system. It sounds weird to suggest such a dark show as a starting point, but Ryuki backs the darkness with a great story and great characters to not make it seem unneeded or childish. It’s simply one of the best the franchise has to offer and is a great ride beginning to end (just try to look up too much info, it will spoil it for you).
Kamen Rider Den-O (2007-2008)
PLOT – Ryotaro Nogami has shitty luck. He constantly has accidents and has a tendency to get himself in trouble. His life gets even more complicated when he finds a train like pass and meets a girl named Hana. Turns out Hana lives on a time traveling train and Ryotaro found a pass for it. It gets even more complicated when he meets Momotaros, a being known as an Imagin. Imagin are creatures that travel through time and try to change it. After being possessed by Momotaros and getting some support from Hana, Ryotaro finds he can help people by traveling through time to fix things gone awry. With this Ryotaro becomes Kamen Rider Den-O.
REASONING – Den-O presents us with a bit of a turning point in that introduces some factors that would become prevalent in future seasons. For starters it’s the first series which is based quite a bit in comedy. Rider shows before Den-O have humor and comedic moments, but Den-O features them a lot. In fact a lot of its popularity is attributed to how comedic it is. Not that hard to imagine considering that before it we had 7 shows that were steeped heavily in drama. Another thing that Den-O makes great use of that would become popular later is the two episode format, in which it takes two episodes to tell a full story. We’ve seen this before, especially in Kuuga. It’s simply that Den-O uses them for almost the entirety of the run, whereas Kuuga and previous shows would have some self contained episodes. The plot is pretty good and barrels of fun, rather interesting too. Again, the characters are great and fun, the action is top notch, and the music is nice. For me at least Den-O is a good starting point fort sort of the same reason Ryuki is; it offers the viewer a ride through an aspect of the franchise (in this case humor) in a very spotlight manner that would become used more throughout the years. Plus considering the show is one of the most popular of the franchise and went on to span a giant series of spin offs, it should be on anybody’s to watch list. There’s a lot to trek through, but Den-O is a great ride start to finish and should bring a smile to anybody’s face.
Kamen Rider W (2009-2010)
PLOT – There’s been a rise in crime in Futo City, the criminals using devices known as Gaia Memories to turn into Dopants to do their deeds. At the head of this is The Sonozaki Family, a powerful family who is distributing the Gaia Memories to the city’s criminals and other interested parties. But it isn’t all gravy for them, as a detective service run by (self proclaimed) hard-boiled detective Shotaro Hidari and a mysterious young man named Philip are on the many cases, they determined to protect the city, they possessing their own Gaia Memories. With the use of the memories and the Double Driver, Philip and Shotaro come together to create the hard-boiled hero Futo needs; Kamen Rider W.
REASONING – Kamen Rider W is a near perfect series and one of the best both Kamen Rider and the tokusatsu genre have to offer. From a great story steeped in mystery, to fantastic characters you’ll come to love (even the villains get some love), and just being an overall great show. But what really makes W a good starting point is that it encompasses everything about Kamen Rider. It has great characters and drama, has truly hilarious moments, emotionally gripping stories, a dark side, and spectacular action. W simply encompasses every great thing about Kamen Rider and presents it in a way that is easily accessible to viewers of any age. I may not be ranking these, but honestly if there is any series to start with it’s Kamen Rider W, it is that damn great.
And there you have it, five Kamen Rider shows that are (to me) perfect starting places for anybody wanting to get into the franchise. Where should you start? That’s up to you. While I personally would point anybody towards Kamen Rider W, it’s all up to you in the end. If you don’t want to follow suggestions the next easiest thing to do is watch the one that seems to have catches your attention the most. But if you need some hand holding and ideas of where to start then I hope this list will prove of great use to you.
With that our first Rider Month article is complete. When we ride back into action next week we’ll get started with those movies reviews. And believe me, this first one, it’ll be one interesting ride.
Kamen Rider OOO is also a good starting point for anyone new. Also, I think those newcomers would appreciate more modern Kamen Riders like those from the Heisei era and not the Showa era? (Not contesting your opinion though ;) )
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