# Kamen Rider (1971)

> A motorcycle-racing youth turned cyborg battles the monstrous agents of a secret organization in a long-running Japanese tokusatsu hero franchise.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2528

## Facts

- Seasons: 37
- Episodes: 1760
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: action, science fiction, fantasy, family
- Network: tv asahi, TBS, NET, Toei Channel
- Cast: Shinji Nakae, Kanna Mori, Kimiko Tanaka, Hiroaki Murakami, Hidekazu Chinen, Takashi Tabata, Renji Ishibashi, Yôsuke Naka
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156214/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: earnest, kinetic, bright, heroic, campy

## What critics say

Audiences regard the long-running franchise as a positively received tokusatsu staple, with its best-loved seasons praised for action and heroic spirit while some later seasons draw weaker ratings.

## Synopsis

Kamen Rider (1971-present) is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero series created for TV Asahi and TBS, a sprawling franchise that has grown across thirty-seven seasons and roughly 1,760 episodes. Its origin story follows Takeshi Hongo, a promising young motorcycle racer kidnapped by Shocker, a secret organization bent on world domination, and remodeled into a cyborg. He escapes and vows to protect the world from the inhuman monsters Shocker unleashes, transforming into a masked rider in each episode's battle. Across later seasons the franchise passes the mantle to new riders with new gadgets, allies and villains, while Narrator voice work and recurring cast members such as Hiroaki Murakami as Skyrider and Hidekazu Chinen as Kamen Rider Gavv hold the saga together. Each episode is built around a monster of the week, a clash with a conspiratorial enemy and a heroic transformation sequence, all delivered at a brisk twenty-four-minute pace. The tone is earnest, bright and kinetic, with a strong sense of childhood heroism and comradeship. Its setting shifts with each era of the franchise, grounded in contemporary Japan and in the rider's ongoing war against hidden villains. Fans of Super Sentai, Ultraman and Power Rangers will find the same blend of transformation spectacle, weekly monster battles and loyal franchise devotion.

## Shows like Kamen Rider

- [Amazon Riders (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/84535)
- [Madan Senki Ryukendo (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/1935)
- [Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/66834)
- [ULTRAMAN (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/69225)
- [Ultraman Z (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/84789)
- [SSSS.GRIDMAN (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/70765)
- [Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/80794)
- [Ultraman Nexus (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/1201)
- [Kuromukuro (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58317)
- [Tojima Tanzaburo Wants to Be a Masked Rider (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/191567)

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