Rider Warriors (Version Showa)

I thought I'd do main Riders, like how I covered the Reds...and then every other Sentai color, mentor, sixth and extra. I only plan on doing the main Riders! I do not intend to do a post covering the likes of all 200 Ryuki assholes or the 31 Kabuto losers and so on. These posts also double as basically What Shougo Thinks Makes a Kamen Rider. Here we go...

Takeshi Hongou/Kamen Rider

The King of Kamen Rider. Fujioka is Hongou, Hongou is Fujioka. He takes the role seriously and it shows -- it cost him! Doing as many of his stunts as possible, he was injured so badly he had to leave the show! (I always wondered about the extent of his injuries; I have a feeling they were worse than was let on. Notice the way, in those early episodes, Fujioka drives his motorcycle like a maniac, WITHOUT a helmet! Once Hayato is brought in and once Fujioka returns? ALWAYS a helmet.)

We never really got to see Hongou's potential. What those early episodes were about, where they were headed was lost once the show scrambled to get around Fujioka's injury. And by the time he returns, the show's set in its comfort zone -- it doesn't come close to approximating or even trying to get back to its early tone or storytelling. It's such a shame.

But Hongou immediately has all of the qualities required in a classic Rider. He's the guy who had a bright future that was taken away by the villains. He was mutilated, he loses his sense of belonging in this world. But he tries. He tries to remain human, tries to stay close with his friends, and tries to end the monstrous fiends who did this to him, who perpetuate so much pain. And the odds are overwhelming. He's the only one who can do what he does and Shocker is not only worldwide, but filled with an astounding number of freaks with similar ability to his. Hongou's not an asshole or anti-social, he's just a loner who feels like he's been given the boot by life. He's on the outside looking in and unsure -- and scared -- of all of the abilities he now has and doesn't understand. He doesn't want to risk anyone unnecessarily. He's tragic. That's a crucial element to a Kamen Rider. A Kamen Rider is meant to be sorrowful.

It's great that the production chose to bring Fujioka back when they could have easily told him to piss off, but it's sad that they didn't have the confidence or faith in the audience to make up for that lost time and pick up where they were forced to end off. (What happened to Ruriko!?!? I basically imagined she joined Hongou on many adventures and was like Madeline Swann in Spectre, just reaching a point one mission where she's like "I just can't do this anymore!")

Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider

Hayato's fun and pretty underrated. As much as I'm a "purist" of Ishinomori's Rider, and love those early Hongou episodes, and think they're the quintessential Rider episodes, I actually favor Hayato over Hongou just for how much heavy lifting the awesome Takeshi Sasaki does. Hongou doesn't come back the same Hongou to the same show, so I feel like that old Hongou -- the "real" one -- his story was cut off, is incomplete.

But Sasaki hits the ground running; you have no idea he's a replacement. After following fill-in Taki and understandably minimal stock-footage of Fujioka for a few episodes, he immediately is recognizable as the new lead hero. He's confident, he's funny. That's the big difference. His Ichimonji doesn't seem like he's as burdened by his alteration or his constant fight with Shocker. He hates them. He can get seriously pissed off at their actions. He's not exactly nonchalant, but he can be playful at times in his dealings with Shocker. He can find fun in the moment. (One favorite bit of mine is, as he and Taki are putting on Shocker grunt uniforms they just stole to infiltrate one of their places, he shoots Taki this wild, Michael Keaton-like grin, one that's saying "The crazy shit we get ourselves into, eh?") I wouldn't say he's "goofier" than Hongou, as he's been described, but definitely not as gloomy. Not as tragic. Hongou is Sean Connery. Ichimonji is Roger Moore. Both have their merits, and the lighter take is certainly something viewers wanted at the time, and is something that kept the property thriving. After Fujioka was injured, it was a huge gamble if the show was going to survive. They chanced bringing in a new guy, it managed to work, so I can understand why the production just wanted to take it easy and play it kind of safe and just give the people the adventurous show they wanted.

While Hongou is more of a brooder who doesn't feel he belongs and goes it alone, Hayato realizes his friends are his strength. There's a kind of air of mystery about Hayato, and one thing that's interesting is whenever he saves the day and people are rejoicing, he doesn't stick around for long, like he doesn't allow himself -- or feel he can -- enjoy the happiness. Especially not when there's other people he can be saving out there, and so many people who have been sacrificed. It gives the character his own layer of tragedy; that's another crucial ingredient to a classic Ishinomori-styled Rider, is how tragic they are. They're crapped on, they've had everything taken from them, but they go on, alone, outnumbered, with the odds against them. They're not in it for attention or to go down in history; their struggles are secret, their opponents secret. (I always said Kamen Rider's not a bug for nothin' -- he's one little guy in over his head, ready to be stepped on.)

Hayato is just a good superhero. When watching superhero stuff, sometimes you can't help but wonder what superhero you'd want to rely on in real life. You'd want somebody really dependable, somebody who had confidence and you have confidence in, somebody you know would really save your ass. Superman, Wonder Woman -- they're reliable. I love Batman, he's my favorite superhero, but? I don't think I'd be comfortable counting on him, he's got issues. And I wouldn't be comfortable with someone flippant like The Flash or Green Lantern always having to charge his ring. I love the X-Men, but they're all a mess. Spider-man's just a kid. The Hulk is the most unstable hero ever. So, Superman and Wonder Woman are really the best and only. But I feel Hayato Ichimonji is up there. If he says he'll be there, if he says he'll take care of it, if he says he's going to dismantle an enemy plot, you know he'll do it or die trying. If Shocker takes his eyesight, takes his legs, he's still going to go after them. If you come to him with a crazy story, he's going to believe you. Sasaki plays Hayato with such conviction. And while it's the production getting a little softer, Hayato is shown saving way more people than Hongou; earlier in the show, a character was pretty much dead if they were attacked by Shocker or (especially) turned into a monster, but the show softens and Hayato is shown to successfully help people heal or revert their transformation, but it adds even more to his heroic victories.

To call him "Rider 2" makes you think he's inferior. But for a big portion of the show he's just "Kamen Rider." I think it's time we start calling him just "Kamen Rider" again.

And I know it shouldn't, but Sasaki's real life problems also helped me appreciate him and his contribution to the franchise more.

Shirou Kazami/Kamen Rider V3

It was always hard for me to judge Kazami since I saw V3 after Miyauchi's more larger than life roles in JAKQ and Zubat beforehand. But here's one of the things that Igadevil pointed out to me that I kept in mind when I once rewatched V3: what sets Kazami apart from not only Miyauchi's big persona and later colorful heroes, but his Showa contemporaries, is the revenge angle. Kazami begins the series VERY angry, very isolated. That's an interesting take on a Rider protagonist. It's just unfortunate that '70s TV didn't allow room to explore that more. It's remembered when it needs to be, but otherwise it's business as usual for Kamen Rider. But, even without being one of his larger than life characters, even in his first go at tokusatsu, Hiroshi Miyauchi himself is such a presence and can carry so much on his own.

Jouji Yuuki/Riderman

Jouji brings a sense of continuity to the final episodes, and another interesting take -- he's a dedicated Destron member who's basically bought the hype and was fooled into believing them to be something they never had any intention of being. Even after they try to execute him, he believes in Destron, blaming his betrayal on only a couple of rotten apples. He believes that V3 is evil, and this is the true birth of a Rider vs Rider concept.

Actor Akira Yamaguchi is just a good actor, I always enjoy seeing him pop up in shows, and has a real world-weary, sullen and gloomy expression to him that's perfect for a Kamen Rider, but especially works as a Rider who's such a misguided, confused and sympathetic poor soul.

Keisuke Jin/Kamen Rider X

Ryou Hayami makes this character better than it's written. Keisuke has a lot going for him -- I like how he's quiet, contemplative, thoughtful -- but the show kind of forgets that and gets by on Hayami's abilities alone for big chunks. I like the first several episodes, they play a bit like a Kamen Rider film noir; Keisuke returns home, his dad (one of the biggest asshole fathers in toku, which specializes in asshole fathers) gets him mixed up in a terrible situation and he has to contend with his girlfriend possibly being with the villains. He loses his dad, who was his guidance after being surgically altered, so he's on his own figuring out his strange powers. X's first episodes, thematically, also come closest to those initial episodes of the first series.

The show decides to quickly resolve these storylines in favor of bringing in rival character Apollo Geist. (I'm not the biggest fan of Apollo Geist, but I know a lot of people love the character. He's a cool idea, marred by bad casting, IMO, and he's not as interesting as the more personal and direct drama Keisuke was undergoing.) The noir-y feel dies with Keisuke's girlfriend and the show becomes a standard toku.

One thing I always found interesting about Keisuke -- and I don't know if it was written or something Hayami decided on -- is that he'll pray when he finds a dead victim. Keisuke's spiritual, that's an interesting touch.

Daisuke "Amazon" Yamamoto/Kamen Rider Amazon

Amazon's just kind of boring, as a character and as a show. He's the jungle guy who can't speak for a huge chunk of his (24 episode long!) series, but the show never uses that to make him seem as alienated or even as possibly dangerous as he should be. Nope, by episode two, he's made friends with a kid and everyone is A-OK. The show being so short and rushed, his progression into being more civilized doesn't quite work the way the show wants it to. The show and Amazon's growth is truncated, so we're left with one weird son of a bitch of a show and Rider.

Shigeru Jou/Kamen Rider Stronger

This is the kind of character you'd expect Miyauchi to play, but Shigeru Araki's great, anyway. He's a good actor on his own, but it's eerie how he looks kind of like a combination of nearly every Rider actor before him -- he looks a bit like Fujioka, but there's a strong Miyauchiness to him. It's eerie, but fitting of the "last" Rider, which wanted to evoke all of its predecessors.

We don't get a ton of info or motivation for Jou -- he undergoes the cyborg operation under false pretenses to get revenge for a friend -- but he's just a true comic-book, larger than life personality that just wants to kick some bad guy ass. People like to compare Tendou to him, but that's wrong. Jou's boastful and arrogant to bad guys, sure. Tendou's an ass to EVERYONE. (Everyone except his sister, who worships him, and Hiyori, who's similarly an ass to everyone.)

Yuriko Misaki/Tackle

She counts, dammit. I love Riderman, but if he counts as a Kamen Rider, Tackle counts even more. (Riderman's only surgical alteration is his arm! Yuriko undergoes the full thing, same as Shigeru!) Yuriko's a great addition to the show, a fresh change of pace. She's funny, she's likable, she tries her damnedest to help Shigeru. And while she's leagues above the Tachibana Racing Girls, the show and the times were just too afraid to let her do too much, certainly never anything that would outdo Stronger. Still, she shouldn't be underestimated or overlooked. She's important. Her character dies tragically trying to save the day. She's not considered a Rider out of pure sexism. (Every other Rider has died and returned. I guess Shocker puts their powerful turbines in the testicles, because you only get to be an immortal Rider if you have a dong.)

But she's awesome, she's fun, she has a great rapport with Shigeru. She's lively and kick-ass, he's an entertaining and large personality -- together, they're kinda like the toku Steed and Peel.

And, again, knowing that actress Kyoko Okada died so young -- and now that Stronger actor Shigeru Araki has passed, as well -- it casts a sad shadow over the show and character(s).

I think it's time to finally just start calling her Kamen Rider Tackle. It's only sexism that blocks it.

Hiroshi Tsukuba/Kamen Rider (Skyrider)

Honestly? This guy has one of the largest episode counts, but I couldn't really tell you anything about him. His character's lacking and actor Hiroaki Murakami is really uncompelling. The ONE interesting thing I thought the show was heading towards -- that Hiroshi was the son of the Neo-Shocker villain played by that hammy dude from Goggle V -- ended up being a fake-out, so...*shrug*

Kazuya Oki/Kamen Rider Super 1

Against my better judgment, I enjoy Super 1. I think it's goofy fun. It's not really Kamen Rider-y, it's kind of a proto-Metal Hero, but I find it entertaining. Kazuya's...not the most memorable character, and actor Shunsuke Takasugi is not the strongest actor, so the character isn't able to slide by on his strength. (Since I brought up the Metal Heroes, look at Retsu Ichijoji. If he didn't have someone of Kenji Ohba's level playing him, would he be memorable as he's written?)

The show was more fun when it had the whole martial arts surroundings, and Kazuya and Takasugi came off better in that part of the show. Too bad the villains of those earlier episodes aren't as memorable as their replacements, the Jin Dogma, so the better episodes would at least have better villains.

Ryou Murasame/Kamen Rider ZX

Shun Sugata's awesome. He's a more bad-ass Rider than what this special deserved. Because it's just...I don't understand this special. It's introducing a new Rider, but is mostly a clip show, and treats the new footage detailing the origin of the new Rider like an already existing show to make part of the clip show and...bah. It's an underwhelming mess. Sugata gives Murasame a rage beyond the script; he makes Ryou's anger seem explosive, dangerous. Sugata REALLY needed something closer in tone to Shin Kamen Rider. I would have liked to seen more of ZX, but this underwhelming special basically put the nail in the coffin of the style of Rider they wanted ZX to be.

Koutarou Minami/Kamen Rider Black

Koutarou truly was a new hero, a new legend. Even though ZX aired just a few years before him, that production looked like it came from the mid-70s. Black was hip, Black was fresh, Black was modern. And so was Koutarou. At the time the youngest Rider, the angriest, the one who's had so much taken from him, and continued to have things taken from him throughout the show. Black wasn't going to shy away from Koutarou's pain and brush it aside, it was going to be an ongoing issue for him to overcome.

Koutarou hits a lot of the familiar beats from the '70s series, but we get them done in new ways, suited for our young Rider. The big new angle for Koutarou is the tragedy of how he was cut down while so young, but also that he was just an average guy. '70s Riders were either scholars or scientists or wizards in every sport. Koutarou was a kid. He was on his own. Golgom had a strong hold over ordinary society, so he was massively in over his head. But he had to fight. He needed to fight. (Another interesting thing is that Koutarou would need to become enraged to transform. I thought that was an interesting touch for our younger, ordinary hero.) Another thing that greatly helped add to this sense of danger was that Black was the first show to be truly free of any of its predecessors -- he wasn't going to have Rider 1 or 2 come and bail him out. It was one of RX's MANY, MANY mistakes to bring them in and ruin that.

Tetsuo Kurata is awesome, and it's really hard to believe that this was his first acting gig, and that he basically stumbled into auditioning for the role. He makes the most of the role and creates a modern hero worthy of the title. In my opinion, Kamen Rider Black comes closest to best capturing Ishinomori's Kamen Rider concept.

Koutarou Minami/Kamen Rider (Black) RX

Make no mistake, this is a different Koutarou than the one in RX.

I just always think of Black's finale. Him standing in the rain after killing his brother. His sitting in the shop abandoned by his sisters. It's dark, it's bleak, but he rides off into daylight. Maybe he'll find some happiness in the future...

How the hell he ended up living with that sitcom family, I have no idea. Now, I could understand Koutarou trying to carve out some happiness for himself. Maybe he really enjoys the Saharas' company, maybe they even feel like family to him. He finds love with Reiko. I could picture him TRYING his damnedest to lead a new life, forget his past and his mutation. Koutarou's much goofier in this show. Maybe some of that is happiness, but a lot of it is him putting on this kind of Clark Kent dork act for the sake of his loved ones.

Whereas the '70s Riders were loners who devoted their lives to wiping out Shocker/Destron/etc., in all of its forms, Koutarou accomplished destroying Golgom. He didn't need to ride the world for the rest of his life, he had a chance to find some happiness. He does, but then he's faced with a new threat and brought into a new battle against his will. And rather than run away from the life he's built since the events of Black, rather than distance himself from those he loves, he stays. He puts up a front, feigns some goofiness here and there, but he keeps them close. And even that's not good enough. The Sahara parents are killed at the end of the series. This is all doubly tragic for this character.

But the show is just not made well. It leans far too heavily into comedy and fantasy and sci-fi and all of this stuff that's just so out of place for Kamen Rider, especially a character like Koutarou, especially when it's building off of something with the same world as Black's. (It's no coincidence that the franchise died after this show. Creative sloppiness. Creative cockiness. Creative greed.) This is what really bugs me about RX...it had all of this interesting stuff to explore, but chose to ignore it in favor of just being big and light and funny. The ingredients were there, but they never had any intention of making it a true and honest sequel to Black. So, you're left to fill in a lot of these gaps and make the leap; the show's not interested in exploring Koutarou keeping up this Kent routine, it's just an excuse for Koutarou to be silly or be easier to put into silly situations. It could have worked with better writing, but doesn't. Last time I tried to watch RX -- and I didn't make it far -- Koutarou was even acting like a goofball when he was alone, so you can't even blame all of his goofiness on being a cover. So he just feels like a completely different character instead.

You know what? Maybe I should just start looking at this show as Koutarou, after the events of Black, began taking massive doses of anti-depressants.