Kamen Rider

Disclaimer: In this article, there’ll be a mix of TV Shows, TV Specials, and Movies, as it’ll rather focus on giving a quick description of each main Kamen Rider, from Ichigo up to Gotchard. It will also be divided in different eras (Showa, Heisei Phase 1, Heisei Phase 2, Reiwa). Despite the Heisei & Reiwa series including more than 1 rider, the only one that will be here is the one marketed as the protagonist, who is in the title of the series. Also, in the sections with more than 1 name, you can know who’s the Rider’s identity by seeing which character has their japanese name in parenthesis.

Kamen Rider is the name given to different characters from the franchise of the same name, who through a morphing device (almost all of them including a belt), transform into the Kamen Rider, who shall fight against different kinds of evil. The series is considered to be Shotaro Ishinomori’s greatest success alongside Super Sentai. As a matter of fact, Kamen Rider constantly does crossovers with Super Sentai, the most notable being the Super Hero Time block in TV Asahi. It’s also one of the longest franchises, as it started back in 1971.

List of Kamen Riders

Showa Era (1971-1994)

Kamen Rider 1 (??????1?): The very first Kamen Rider of them all, from the series of the same name (1971-1973). Takeshi Hongo (?? ?) is a young motorcyclist who was kidnapped by the evil organization known as Shocker, who turned him into a cyborg and tried to make him a soldier of the organization; however, he was saved by Dr. Hiroshi Midorikawa, who, despite being killed while they both escaped, helped Takeshi decide to become a hero and help people; thus becoming Kamen Rider 1.

Kamen Rider 2 (????????): The second protagonist of the first Kamen Rider series (1971-1973). Hayato Ichimonji (??? ??) is a freelance photographer, who was turned into a cyborg by Shocker, with the plans of killing Hongo Takeshi. However, before he can be brainwashed, he’s saved by Takeshi. After this, Takeshi leaves Japan to fight Shocker around the world, leaving the Kamen Rider title to Hayato; after Takeshi returns to Japan, he and Hayato become known as the Double Riders, with Hayato gaining the name of Kamen Rider 2.

Kamen Rider V3 (??????V3 -?????-): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider V3 series (1973-1974). Shiro Kazami (?? ??) is a college student who’s a junior of Takeshi, as the latter also protects him. After Kazami loses his father, mother an sister when they’re murdered by Hasami Jaguar (who works for Destron), he asks for the Double Riders (who saved him from the murder fate) to give him the power to fight against Destron, while at first the double riders refuse, they later change their minds when Kazami saves them and ends up fatally wounded, so they decide to turn Kazami into a Rider and give him their powers, thus making him Kamen Rider V3.

Riderman (??????): One of the main characters of the Kamen Rider V3 series (1973-1974). Joji Yuki (?? ??) is a member of Destron, who after losing his right arm from acid and barely escaping with his life from an attack, tries to kill V3 in order to gain the trust of Destron. However, when he finds out the truth about Destron, he decides to join V3’s cause, and becomes Riderman. The reason he’s considered to be a main Kamen Rider, despite not having the full name, is because of Shotaro Ishinomori’s petition to consider him a main Rider.

Kamen Rider X (??????? -????-): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider X series (1974). Keisuke Jin (? ??) is the son of the robotics scientist Keitaro Jin, who was killed by the evil G.O.D. organization, alongside stealing his technology; however, before he died, Keitaro was able to perform surgery on his son Keisuke, turning him into Kamen Rider X; with this newfound identity & powers, Keisuke decides to avenge his father’s death and ensure the safety of the entire world by fighting against G.O.D.’s minions.

Kamen Rider Amazon (??????????): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Amazon series (1974-1975). Daisuke Yamamoto (?? ??) was just a kid when he lost his parents after the plane he and his family were on crashed in the Amazon rainforest, leaving him as the only survivor; luckily, he was soon adopted by an Incan tribe who raises him in their tribe as a wild child named Amazon (????). However, his idyllic existence is cut short when Golgos, the Jyumenki, massacres his village, slaughtering everyone except Amazon in search for the powerful “GiGi Armlet”, which gives the bearer amazing and great powers; as his last will, the Elder Bago, who raised Amazon, gives him the GiGi Armlet to safekeep it while he (Bago) performs a mystical “operation” on Amazon turning him into Kamen Rider Amazon. After this, Amazon arrives to Japan, and with the help of the nephew and niece of Professor Kousaka, he learns more about the GiGi Armlet all while fighting against the Gedon and Garander Empire.

Kamen Rider Stronger (????????????): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Stronger series (1975). Shigeru Jo (? ?) joins the evil organization Black Satan after losing his close friend Goro Numata; he then undergoes surgery to become one of Black Satan’s strongest warriors. However, he actually knew that Black Satan killed his friend, and only went under surgery to gain powers and fight against Black Satan; before they can brainwash him, he escapes and becomes Kamen Rider Stronger. While escaping, he meets another Black Satan warrior named Yuriko Misaki,who helps him fight evil under the identity of Electronic Wave Humanoid Tackle; together, they shall fight against Black Satan and the Delzer Army to restore peace in Japan.

Skyrider (???????): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider series (1979-1980); in order to not confuse the series with the original 1971 series due to the name, the series is normally referred as Skyrider, to reference the protagonist in a similar way the other series do. Hiroshi Tsukuba (?? ?) is an injured camper who is captured by the evil Neo Shocker, who plan to turn him into a powerful Neo Shocker warrior. However, Doctor Keitar? Shido, the man who performs surgery on him, is desperate to escape from Neo Shocker, so he instead turns Hiroshi into the powerful warrior Skyrider, who shall fight against Neo Shocker with his new found abilities.

Kamen Rider Super-1 (???????????-??-): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Super-1 series (1980-1981). Kazuya Oki (? ??) volunteers to undergo a cybernetic surgery by the International Space Development Program to become an astronaut able to explore outer space without the need of a spacesuit. The surgery turns successful, and he gains the codename of Super-1; however, the base gets attacked by the evil Dogma Kingdom before he can go on a mission. Only Kazuya survives this attack, and returns to Japan to study martial arts under the supervision of Master Genkai, in order to avenge the scientists who helped him. After gaining more knowledge, he becomes Kamen Rider Super-1, and fights against the Dogma Kingdom and later the Jin Dogma.

Kamen Rider ZX (??????ZX -????-): The protagonist of Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! (1984), a special which commemorated the 10th personification of Kamen Rider. Ry? Murasame (?? ?) is an aircraft pilot who one day while riding with his sister, gets his aircraft shot down by an UFO; while his sister is killed by the Badan Empire, Ry? instead gets turned into a combat roid known as ZX, who fights for the Badan Empire as an agent of evil after they erase his memory. However, after he regains his memories due to an accident, Ry? escapes Badan and becomes Kamen Rider ZX, who plans to fight against Badan. He later gets help from the past 9 Riders for his mission.

Kamen Rider Black (??????BLACK -????-): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Black series (1987-1988). Kohtaro Minami and his stepbrother Nobuhiko Akizuki are kidnapped by the cult Gorgom on the night of their 19th birthday, after that, they’re submitted to a cyborg surgery to become candidates for the next Gorgom Creation King. They’re destined to fight to death against each other sooner or later as the Century King, and the winner would become the next Creation King. However, before they can brainwash Kohtaro, his stepfather Soichiro manages to save him (however, he fails on his attempt to save Nobuhiko), and tells him the truth that his true parents were killed by Gorgom. After finding out about this, Kohtaro becomes Kamen Rider Black, and determines to save his stepbrother, who has now become the evil Shadow Moon.

Kamen Rider Black RX (?????? BLACK RX -???? ???????-): Protagonist of Kamen Rider Black RX series (1988-1989); despite being the same protagonist of Kamen Rider Black (Kohtaro Minami), he’s considered a separate rider in the merchandise and other series or media from Kamen Rider (in a similar fashion to Grover Cleveland being considered both the 22nd and 24th POTUS). After the downfall of Gorgom, Kohtaro Minami gets a job as a helicopter pilot in a business owned by the Sahara family, who also have taken him to their home. However, Kohtaro is captured by the Crisis Empire and offered a position. But when he refuses the position, his kingstone is shattered and he gets thrown into space, where due to the sun’s radiation, his kingstone mutates, and ends up turning him into Kamen Rider Black RX; whith these new powers, Kohtaro fights against the Crisis Empire.

Disclaimer: The next 3 characters are Showa Riders despite their movies coming out in the Heisei Era; this is due to Ishinomori’s involvement in these 3 movies before he died in 1998.

Kamen Rider Shin (????????): The protagonist of Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (1992), a direct-to-video movie. Shin Kazamatsuri (?? ?) is a motorcycle racer who becomes the test subject of an experiment to strenghten the human body and using it to experiment the cure of various diseases; unknowingly to him and the scientist doing the test, the experiment is being funded by the Institute of Super Science, who plans to use these super humans to make them super soldiers, an upgrade compared to cyborg soldiers. However, Onizuka, one of the scientists doing the test, has bigger plans, and turns Shin into an human/grasshoper hybrid, making him become Kamen Rider Shin. Once Shin finds out about Onizuka’s intentions and murders, he starts to dig to find out all that he can about the experiment, endagering him and his loved ones in the process.

Kamen Rider ZO (??????ZO -?????-): The protagonist of Kamen Rider ZO (1993), a direct-to-video movie. Masaru Aso (?? ?,) was the lab assistant of the geneticist Doctor Mochizuki, after the latter uses Masaru as a test subject for an experiment to create the Neonoid, Masaru turns into Kamen Rider ZO. After escaping to the mountainside, Masaru went into a coma, and awakened 2 years later,when they give him the task of protecting Hiroshi, the child of Doctor Mochizuki, from monstrous creations that have been sent after him.

Kamen Rider J (??????J -???-): The protagonist of Kamen Rider J (1994), a direct-to-video movie, and the last Kamen Rider of the Showa Era. Kouji Segawa (?? ??) is an enviromentalist reporter who was investigating the pollution in a lake, when he notices that 3 strangers are trying to kidnap his young friend Kana Kimura, these 3 strangers turn out to be Garai, Zu, and Agito (not to be confused with Kamen Rider Agito, which came out many years later), the oldest children of the evil Fog Mother, an alien who’s looking for a “perfect human” to feed to her newborn babies. Kouji then protects his friend from the agressors while both escape from them; however, Kouji is thrown over by a cliff by Agito while Kana is taken by Zu. Luckily, Kouji is rescued and resurrected by the Earth Spirits, who grant him the power to become Kamen Rider J, the J-Powered Warrior who acts on their will to fight the Fog and rescue Kana, all with the help of the emissary Berry as his guide.

Heisei Era Phase 1 (2000-2009)

Kamen Rider Kuuga (?????????): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Kuuga series (2000-2001), which serves as the first series of the Heisei Era. Yusuke Godai (?? ??) is a multi-talented man who finds himself linked to a mysterious stone belt, the belt was found inside a cave where long ago, a hero named Kuuga sealed away the leader of the Gurongi Tribe, who were terrorizing the Rinto before Kuuga intervened; in the current era, the Gurongi are resurrected after the belt is found, and start terrorizing the Rinto descendants, humanity itself. Because of this, Yusuke becomes Kamen Rider Kuuga, who alongside the assembled Science Police, will fight agaisnt the Gurongi Tribesmen and try to ensure the happiness of others.

Kamen Rider Agito (?????????): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Agito series (2001-2002). Shoichi Tsugami (?? ??) is a young man who doesn’t who he is, where did he came from, and why he is in his current circumstances. Alongside that, he finds out that whenever he’s nearby danger caused by the mysterious “Unknown” race of monsters, he transforms into a powerful superhuman under the name of Kamen Rider Agito. Throughout the series he finds out more about him and his Agito form.

Kamen Rider Ryuki (????????): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider Ryuki series (2002-2003). Shinji Kido (?? ??) is an intern who’s investigating about the mysterious disappearances of different people; unknown to him and everyone else, is that the disappearances are caused by monsters from the Mirror World, who capture these people and use them as food. During one of his investigations, Shinji discovers a mysterious Card Deck, and ends up being sucked into the Mirror World. However, before he gets killed by a dragon named Dragreder, he gets saved by Kamen Rider Knight, whose real name is Ren Akiyama. After this, Shinji finds out that the mysterious Card Deck’s purpose is to make contracts with strong monsters (which then are named Contract Monsters), allowing the people who make the contracts to become Kamen Riders (there’s a total of 13 Card Decks, counting Shinji’s, making a total of 13 Riders), with the only condition being that the monsters from the contracts need to be fed with the life force of the monsters they destroy. However, another important thing he finds out is that there can only be One Kamen Rider in the end. After finding out about this, Shinji decides to participate, not for the prize, but to protect others from the threat of the Mirror World; by making a contract with Drageder, he becomes Kamen Rider Ryuki, who after finding out that other Riders need to be killed, fights in order to stop this.

Kamen Rider Faiz (????????? -????-): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider 555 series (2003-2004). Takumi Inui (? ?) is a young loner who gets involved in a conflict between the Orphnoch and humans. The Orphnoch are “the next stage in humanity’s evolution” by the Smart Brain corporation, who wants to take over the world; they also create 3 different power armor suits (named Delta, Faiz and Kaixa) to protect the Orphnoch King, these suits receive the name of Rider Gears; however, the Rider Gears are stolen by Hanagata, the Goat Orphnoch and former leader of Smart Brain, who then sends the Rider Gears to his foster children known as the Ryuseiji, who can’t use them as they were built for Orphnoch DNA. Nonetheless, Takumi is able to use one of the Rider Gears, turning him into Kamen Rider Faiz to protect Mari Sonoda (one of the Ryuseiji) and others, albeit it makes him a target of Smart Brain corporation. Throughout the series, some Orphnoch are able to desert succesfully and help the Ryuseiji.

Kamen Rider Blade (??????? -????-): The protagonist of the Kamen Rider series (2004-2005). 10000 years ago, a massive battle known as the Battle Fight took place with 52 demons as the participants, each representing a species who wanted dominance above others; the winner was the Human Undead, which then started dominion of Earth to humanity; however, in the current era, archaelogists discover the sealed Undead and accidentally set them free. Because of this newfound problem, the BOARD (Board Of Archaeological Research Department) equips 2 young men with the Rider System, which can copy the Undead and turns the users into Kamen Riders. These 2 young men are Kazuma Kenzaki (?? ??) and Sakuya Tachibana, who become Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider Garren respectively, and whose objective is to protect humans from the Undead and seal them.

Kamen Rider Hibiki (???????? -???-): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Hibiki series (2005-2006). Hibiki (???) is a well-trained Oni who can turn into a Kamen Rider, just like the other Onis, his Rider identity being Kamen Rider Hibiki, alongside the other Onis, he fights against the man-eating Makamou with the power of “pure sound”. One day, he meets a kid named Asumu Adachi, who’s transitioning to high school and learns about being an adult with the help of Hibiki and the other Onis; throughout the series, he and Hibiki form a master and apprentice-like relationship.

Kamen Rider Kabuto (?????????): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Kabuto series (2006-2007). 7 years ago, a meteorite fell in the heart of Shibuya, from this meteorite, an alien life-form known as “Worms” arrived to Earth and threatened humanity ever since. Since those events, Soji Tendo (?? ??) has been training to be able to take up the Kabuto Zecter; after he’s finally able to do it, he becomes Kamen Rider Kabuto, who fights against the Worms. He also meets Arata Kagami, an operative from ZECT, and together they work to save humanity and uncover the truth behind ZECT.

Kamen Rider Den-O (???????? -????-): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Den-O series (2007-2008). Ryotaro Nogami (?? ???) is a young unlucky man, who after finding a strange pass, meets a mysterious woman inside a time-travelling train and later being possessed by Momotaros, an entity also known as Imagin. Albeit confused over some of these things, Ryotaro, with the help of Momotaros, becomes Kamen Rider Den-O, who can travel to different times in the Denliner train in order to prevent evil Imagin from altering and affect the past, present and future.

Kamen Rider Kiva (????????): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Kiva series (2008-2009). 22 years since his father disappeared, Wataru Kurenai (? ?,) lives in a infamous “haunted house”, where his destiny is to become Kamen Rider Kiva and fight against the evil life-drainer monsters known as Fangires, the same monsters his father fought against before his disappearance. Apart from being Kiva and fighting against the Fangires, Wataru also has to deal with Kamen Rider Ixa, another Rider who works for an organizaton that seeks to destroy the Fangire menace. The story is split between 2 periods, from the point of view of Wataru in the present (2008-2009) and the point of view of Wataru’s father Otoya in the past (1986-1987).

Kamen Rider Decade (??????????? -DCD-): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Decade series (2009), and the last Kamen Rider of the Heisei Era Phase 1. Natsumi Hikari is a woman who constantly has dreams about all the Heisei riders up to 2009 (from Kuuga to Kiva) fighting against one being known as “Decade”. She lives with Tsukasa Kadoya (?? ?), a young man who doesn’t really feel like he’s home. One day, while many monsters from different dimmensions start attacking people while sinking the world into chaos, Tsukasa meets Wataru Kurenai (from an alternate reality), who tells Tsukasa that he shall become Kamen Rider Decade, the Destroyer of Worlds. As Decade, Tsukasa shall travel through the 9 different universes of the Heisei Riders to find and eliminate the anomaly in each one, all while looking to find a world he can call “Home”.

Heisei Era Phase 2 (2009-2019)

Kamen Rider W (??????? -???-): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider W series (2009-2010), and the first Rider of the Phase 2 of Heisei Era. This Rider has the quality of actually being two persons instead of one (similar to Vegito or Garnet). The crime is rising in the ecologically-minded city of Futo after the Sonozaki family starts selling mysterious devices named “Gaia Memories”, that look like USB flash drives and turns anyone who uses them into monsters known as Dopants. Shotaro Hidari (? ???) is a self-proclaimed hard-boiled detective, who after the death of his boss, starts working with the mysterious Phillip (?????) to investigate the crimes involving the Dopants; together, they become Kamen Rider W (Double), who fights against the Dopant menace to keep Futo safe. Their adventures after the series finale continue in the Fuuto Tantei manga.

Kamen Rider OOO (??????OOO -???-): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider OOO series (2010-2011). Eiji Hino (?? ??) is a travelling man with a tragic past and no place to call “Home”. However, his life changes when the Greeed homunculi awaken after 800 years of slumber and start attacking humans to feed off their desires; this is because the disembodied arm of Greeed known as Ankh gives him a belt and 3 medals, which allows him to turn into Kamen Rider OOO and figh agaisnt the evil Greeed. Throughout the series, Eiji receives help from the mysterious Kougami foundation, learns more about the Greeed and Ankh, and starts to find a purpose beyond the end of his journey. An interesting fact about the series, is that it’s ending had to be rewritten after the Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011.

Kamen Rider Fourze (??????????): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Fourze series (2011-2012). Gentaro Kisaragi (?? ???) is the new bad boy styled transfer student to Amanogawa High School, which has been the focus of different strange events. Here he reunites with his childhood friend Yuki Kojima, who’s a self-professed space travel otaku, and gains the ire of the loner Kengo Utahoshi. Whoever, things get crazier when the Zodiarts start attacking the campus; Kengo and Yuki try to use the strange devices they found in the secret Rabbit Hatch lunar base; however, after finding out Kengo is unable to use the device due to the strong strains of battle, Gentaro intervenes in their plans and he himself becomes Kamen Rider Fourze, who fights and fights against the different Zodiarts, including the Horoscopes, who are evolved Zodiarts. Throughout the series, Gentaro creates the Kamen Rider Club, making different kinds of friends along the way, which includes his teacher, and another Kamen Rider. An interesting fact about this series, is that the reason why it’s more hopeful than other Kamen Rider series was because of the Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011. The series was then written to be more lighthearted and hopeful than other series to bring smiles and inspire people around Japan in those hard times.

Kamen Rider Wizard (???????????): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Wizard series (2012-2013). Haruto Soma (?? ??) is the survivor of a ritual done to relase demons known as Phantoms into the world. After being saved by a mysterious girl named Koyomi, Haruto gets mystical powers alongside the Wizardriver belt and Wizard Rings from a mysterious white wizard, which allow him to become Kamen Rider Wizard, who has the duty of protecting the hopes of the people.

Kamen Rider Gaim (???????? -???-): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Gaim series (2013-2014). The once bustling city of Zawame has become a j?kamachi (castle town) ever since the large company known as Yggdrasill Corporation settled up there. To escape this feeling, many people have started to create their own dance crews as a way to bring back enjoyment to the public; alongside this, the mysterious Lockseeds, which contain monsters known as Inves that are said to come from another dimension, have been used in a very popular new game. Kouta Kazuraba (?? ??) is a young man who quit his dance crew to help his sister Akira. One day, Kouta finds one of the mysterious Lockseeds and the Sengoku Driver, which allows him to become an Armored Rider known as Kamen Rider Gaim. Alongside this, the Inves have started to come to Earth thanks to tears in reality; as Kamen Rider Gaim, Kouta shall fight against the appearances of the Inves, alongside fighting against other Armored Riders also known as Kamen Rider, thus entering into a new Sengoku era, where the winner shall get the power of the mysterious forbidden fruit known as Helheim Forest.

Kamen Rider Drive (??????????): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Drive series (2014-2015). Shinnosuke Tomari (? ???) is a elite police officer in the Metropolitan Police, who is “demoted” from his position after being involved in an event which traumatized one of his colleagues. Shinnosuke is then moved to the Special Investigations Division, a section who looks into the more stranger happenings in the city, one of these being events under the name of “Heavy Acceleration”, which are caused by the evil & mysterious monsters known as Roidmudes, who leave people unable to move and thus allow the Roidmudes to cause havoc. One day, Shinnosuke finds out about Shift Cars, which grant him special powers and make him able to move during the “Slowdown” caused by the Roidmudes; after being chosen by the Drive Driver and Tridoron the car, Shinnosuke is able to transform into Kamen Rider Drive, who has the task of battling the Roidmudes and stop them from taking over the world.

Kamen Rider Ghost (??????????): Protagonist of the Kamen Rider Ghost series (2015-2016). Takeru Tenkuji (??? ???) is a young wannabe ghost hunter who’s murdered on his 18th birthday by two monsters from a race known as Gamma. However, he’s miraculously revived, albeit with the condition of gathering 15 Ghost Eyecons within 99 days, otherwise he’ll permanently cease to exist. He’ll be able to do this with the Ghost Driver, which transforms him into Kamen Rider Ghost, who shall also protect the lives and innonce of humans from the corruption caused by the Gamma.