Takeshi Hongo is a promising young man with a passion for motorcycle racing. However, his dreams are suddenly ruined when he gets kidnapped by Shocker, the evil secret organization planning to dominate the world. After being remodeled into a cyborg, Takeshi escapes and swears to protect the world from the inhuman monsters.
Next episode: S37 E5 Either a Dog or a Snake (Oct 4, 2026)
Latest episode: S37 E4 The Wolf Has a Hidden Agenda (Sep 27, 2026)
Kamen Rider follows Takeshi Hongo and later, Hayato Ichimonji, both were turned into cyborgs by the evil organization called Shocker, but managed to escape before they were brainwashed by them. With the help of Tobei Tachibana and their friends, they fight the evil Shocker and later, GelShocker from their plans of world domination as Kamen Rider!
This series followed Shiro Kazami on his quest to gain revenge against Destron, the group that murdered his family. Later on, Riderman, the fourth Kamen Rider is introduced as the first long term anti-hero Kamen Rider. The original two Kamen Riders also make various appearances over the course of the series to help Kazami.
Robotics scientist Keitaro Jin and his son Keisuke become caught up in the campaign of terror by an evil organization known as "G.O.D.". They are attacked and the professor's technology stolen, but before Keitaro dies, he is still able to perform surgery on his son. With the very last of his robotics technology, he transforms his son into "Kamen Rider X". To avenge his father's death and ensure the safety of the entire world, Keisuke uses this technology as he battles the monstrous minions of G.O.D.
Inheriting the ancient Incan super-energy, wild child Amazon flew over the Pacific to his far and distant homeland of Japan to stop the evil ambitions of the Geddon and the Garanda Empire!
Shigeru Jo joins the evil organization Black Satan after the death of his close friend Goro Numata, who he considered his mentor. He, promised power, and fueled by a desire for revenge, undergoes surgery to become one of Black Satan's super warriors. However, Shigeru knows that Black Satan were in fact the murderers of his friend; he was using Black Satan in order to gain new powers. The newly powered up Shigeru escapes from the Black Satan headquarters before they can brainwash him into following their campaign of evil and becomes Kamen Rider Stronger. While escaping from Black Satan, Stronger meets Yuriko Misaki another cyborg warrior created by Black Satan who has the ability to transform into Electro-Wave Human Tackle. Together they fight the evil Black Satan and later the Delza Army to restore peace in Japan.
Doctor Keitarō Shido, an acclaimed scientist, has been kidnapped by the terrorist organization Neo-Shocker in order to exploit his expertise in robotics technology. Desperate to escape, he convinces Neo-Shocker command to allow him to operate on an injured camper. Explaining that he can turn the camper, Hiroshi Tsukuba into a powerful Neo-Shocker warrior, they allow Doctor Shido to operate. However, he quickly turns the tables on them, transforming Hiroshi not into an evil monster, but into the powerful warrior Skyrider, using his new found abilities to combat the evil Neo-Shocker menace.
Kazuya Oki volunteers to undergo cybernetic surgery in the International Space Development Program in the United States in order to become an astronaut who can survive in outer space without the need for a bulky external suit. After a successful operation, he is given the codename "Super-1". Before he can depart for space, however, the base where he received his operation is attacked by the Dogma Kingdom. Only Kazuya is able to escape and determined to avenge the deaths of the scientists, he returns to Japan and is trained by a martial arts expert, Master Genkai. With this knowledge, he is able to transform into the powerful Kamen Rider Super-1 to fight the evil Dogma Kingdom and later the Jin Dogma.
After being kidnapped by the cult Gorgom on the night of their 19th birthday, stepbrothers Kotaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki are submitted to a mutant surgery with the purpose of becoming the candidates to be the next Creation King. Kotaro escapes before the brainwashing, with help from his foster father, and turned against Gorgom. He soon finds out the horrific truth from his stepfather: Gorgom originally killed his true parents. Later on, Kamen Rider Black must battle with his brother, who has become the trump card of Gorgom, Shadow Moon.
A month after the defeat of Gorgom, Minami Kotaro is kidnapped by the Crisis Empire. After refusing to join them, he is thrown out into space where he undergoes the change to become Kamen Rider Black RX.
Revived from ancient ruins, the Gurongi Tribe began to terrorize the people. Godai Yusuke, an adventurer, equips the combat tool of Arcle, and bears his destiny as a Kuuga warrior.
A man with amnesia, Tsugami Shoichi, is awoken to his powers of Agito. With Hikawa Makoto (man who equips G3) and Ashihara Ryo (transforms into Gills), he is at the mercy of his destiny.
Thirteen Card Decks were created for thirteen Kamen Riders. They make Contracts with monsters from the mysterious Mirror World, a parallel dimension opposite to our own in which only the Kamen Riders can exist. The Riders draw on their monsters' strength in exchange for feeding them the life force of the creatures they destroy. The creator of the Advent Cards has only one rule: that there can be only one Kamen Rider. The others must be killed, and the sole victor will be granted a single wish, which leads to a conflict known as the Rider War.
While travelling, Inui Takumi is involved in an incident revolving around what is known as Faiz Gear. Before long, he awakens into a rider that fights the Orphnoch. However, he himself was also an Orphnoch.
Ten thousand years ago, fifty-two demons—the Undead—partook in a Battle Royal to decide which species would inherit the Earth. The winner was the Human Undead, and thus dominion of the Earth was given to Humanity. In the present day, archeologists discovered the sealed Undead, and accidentally released them. To counter this threat, the Board Of Archaeological Research Department–BOARD–equips two young men with the Rider System. As a new Battle Royal begins, who will emerge the victor?
The Kamen Riders, known as Oni, battle man eating beasts called Makamou with "pure sound". One of the Oni, a man named Hibiki ends up having a teacher and apprentice-like relationship with Asumu Adachi. A young boy unsure of himself and is at a crossroads in his life as he transitions to high school, Asumu learns to be an adult through watching Hibiki and the other Oni as they all train together to hone their skills in fighting the Makamou and the homunculi aiding them. However, the sudden raise of Makamou numbers proves to be a prelude to an upcoming calamity.
Using the Masked Rider System developed by the secret organization of ZECT, Tendo Soji fights the Worm, extraterrestrial life forms that murder and mimic human beings.
One day out of the blue, a faint-hearted boy named Ryōtarō Nogami picks up a pass to the time-travelling train, Den Liner. Ryōtarō then becomes Kamen Rider Den-O to fight the invaders from the future, Imagin.
Twenty-two years after the disappearance of his father, Wataru Kurenai lives in an infamous "haunted house" where he is destined as Kamen Rider Kiva to fight life-draining monsters called Fangires, the very race his father fought years ago before his disappearance. Wataru must also deal with Kamen Rider Ixa who is part of an organization seeking to destroy the Fangire menace, as well as the Fangires' own Rider, Kamen Rider Saga. The story is split between the actions of Wataru in the present (2008-09) and his father Otoya in the past (1986-87), slowly revealing the link between the Fangire Race and Kiva.
Many of parallel worlds were merging to bring a great catastrophe; Kamen Rider Decade travels around the worlds to prevent it with exploiting all the other Kamen Rider’s skills.
A detective, proclaiming himself to be hard-boiled, and a mysterious boy who is connected to “Memory of the Earth” together transform into the 2-in-1 Kamen Rider, W. They protect their city Fuuto from crimes caused by superpower-granting devices known as “Gaia Memories”.
Coin-based homunculi known as the Greeed have awoken from an 800-year slumber! The only hope of stopping them in their pursuit of human desires is a rogue Greeed named Ankh, reduced to the form of a disembodied arm, and the wandering hermit Eiji Hino. Presented with a belt and three Core Medals, Eiji steps forward as the champion of human desire - Kamen Rider OOO!
Amanogawa High School is no stranger to high-school drama, but what happens when that drama involves monsters?! Enter yankee-styled transfer student Gentaro Kisaragi and the Kamen Rider Club, combatting the threat of the Zodiarts threatening their school days as Kamen Rider Fourze!
Man with a strong magic power is called as “Gate” and Phantoms seek and attack them. Kamen Rider Wizard / Haruto Souma, himself was also a “Gate”, fights for a hope of people with a power of Phantoms within.
The world was eroded by Helheim and the nationwide Yggdrasil Corporation conspires to sacrifice the majority of human beings. Mysterious fruits of Helheim give Kouta Kazuraba the power to transform into Armored Rider Gaim.
On April 8th, 2014, the world came to a standstill. Hundreds were killed by the sudden assault of the mechanical life forms, Roidmudes. The event became known as the Global Freeze, and the effect referred to as 'Density Shift'. Six months later... Former police officer Shinnosuke Tomari is demoted to the Special Investigations Division - a group investigating the Density Shift events. When he is chosen by the Drive Driver, Shinnosuke transforms into Kamen Rider Drive, and is tasked with battling and destroying the 108 Roidmudes, before they can eliminate the human race.
Takeru Tenkuuji was murdered by evil Ganma. He has to collect fifteen Eyecons to bring himself back to life. With learning the souls of heroes inside of Eyecons, he saves the people around.
The Bugster virus - a new type of virus that slowly takes over its host, before converting them fully into a virtual creature known as a Bugster. The only form of combat against this viral threat are the Kamen Riders of the Computer Rescue Center, a secretive medical team working for the Ministry of Health. Enter Emu Houjou, a pediatrics intern and a genius gamer, who stumbles into the fight against the Bugsters as Kamen Rider Ex-Aid!
10 years after the Pandora's Box disaster divided Japan into three separate nations, unidentified lifeforms called 'SMASH' have appeared. To fight them, a prodigy physicist with no memory utilises the Full Bottles to transform himself. This man is Sento Kiryu, Kamen Rider Build.
In the fall of 2018, a time machine appears before a hero born in the year 2000. The hero has always dreamed of becoming a king. A mysterious girl appears from the time machine, telling the hero “I come from the year 2068, a world without hope where the king of demons reigns supreme.” The girl has come from the future in a desperate effort to change her own time. The girl then gives the hero an ominous warning “You will become Kamen Rider Zi-O, King of Time, the demon destined to rule the world.” Can this really be the hero’s fate? This is the story of a Kamen Rider who would be king, who will fight to save the past, present, and future, encountering the various Heisei Kamen Riders throughout space-time.
Humagear, created by the leading company for A.I., Hiden Intelligence, serve humanity's every convenience. But a cyber-terrorist organization begins hacking the Humagears in a conspiracy that turns them into monsters. Aruto Hiden has taken over at Hiden Intelligence, and along with the CEO's post, he also takes over the responsibility for Kamen Rider Zero-One by using his company's technology. Aruto tries to keep the peaceful world between humans and Humagears with his Humagear secretary, while A.I.M.S., a military squad, pursues the terrorists!
Long ago, a sect of swordsmen known as the Sword of Logos protected the Book of Ancients, a powerful tome of history that contains everything known to man; myths, creatures, stories, science, technology, and the evolution of human civilization. However thousands of years ago, a traitor working for the Megiddo tried to steal it for himself. As a result, the Book vanished and each of its pages scattered across the world. Fast-forward to present day, young novelist Touma Kamiyama has been having dreams of another dimension where he witnessed swordsmen and monsters coming out of a storybook, and a mysterious girl calling for help. One day, a strange phenomenon occurred without notice; a part of the city had disappeared.
In 1971, a scientific expedition in Latin America had uncovered an ancient artifact containing the remains of the demon Giff, leading to the creation of the Vistamps. In the present day, the remains of Giff now lie in the hands of a demon cult called the Deadmans, who seek to resurrect him by converting peoples' inner demons into their fold. Fenix, a governmental organization opposing the Deadmans, have developed the Revice Driver for someone with complete control over their inner demon. Ikki Igarashi, a young man who runs a public bath with his family, comes into acquisition of the belt while forming a contract with his inner demon Vice. Together, as Kamen Rider Revi and Vice, they are Kamen Rider Revice!
Congratulations! As a result of rigorous judging, you have been selected. From now on you will be a "Kamen Rider." Equip the "Desire Driver" and enter the "Desire Grand Prix." The "Desire Grand Prix" is a game of survival in which players must protect the peace of the city from the "Jamato," an unknown entity that attacks people, and survive to the end. The winner will be given "the right to make their ideal world come true." The greatest game awaits you to save people and make your own hopes come true. Welcome to the "Desire Grand Prix."
Alchemy is a pseudo-science that attempts to create gold from various different combinations. One experiment to do so artificially brings to life a race of creatures known as the Chemies, made to imitate things that exist in the world, such as grasshoppers. Stored in Ride Chemy Cards, they were accidentally released all at once. Houtarou Ichinose is entrusted with the Gotchardriver and the mission to recollect the Chemies. Some are friendly, and Houtarou can fuse with them to transform into Kamen Rider Gotchard. However, if influenced by human malice, they may birth monsters known as the Malgam. This is a story that explores the nature of good and evil, which are two sides of the same coin.
The looming threat of monsters. Granutes, monsters from another world. Humans have no idea they are secretly coming to their world. Humans have no idea their kind are being hunted. One young man steps up to protect humanity. Shoma is a young man who loves to eat. By eating treats, he can create beings known as the Gochizo that become his companions and his main source of power as Kamen Rider Gavv. The story of Shoma, who fights to protect people's happiness from the Granute, begins now!
In a world shaped by the dreams we see in our sleep, Zeztz enters people’s dreams as an agent on a mission. Equipped with a cutting-edge Rider belt worn across the chest, Zeztz brings a bold new form to the battle.
The cynical servant Sora Otosumi, lives alone in a mansion with the innocent and carefree young lady, Yuna Mizuki. The two lead elegant lives but harbor a dark secret... that is to defeat the mysterious race of monsters known as the Fukashigi. Sora transforms into Kamen Rider My-Th and defeats these mysterious creatures with his mouse powers. Meanwhile, the members of the Zyunishi Doumei, all sworn to fight against the Fukashigi, have risen from their 100-year long slumber. However their leader is... a cat?! The alliance has begun to realize that their prey is being stolen. And so the battle between cat and mouse begins now!
Special installments of the series.
It’s hard to explain the exact pull of a man in a grasshopper helmet dropkicking rubber monsters until they burst. On the surface, Kamen Rider sounds like pure merch logic. latestnetflix.com's view is that but if you shrug off the 1971 series as toy-shelf television, you miss how strange and haunted it really is.
Shotaro Ishinomori’s 98-episode original—the beginning of a 36-season, 1,720-episode franchise, with a 37th still waiting in the wings—plays less like clean superhero myth and more like a bad dream about what industry does to the body.
The first episode lays that out fast. Takeshi Hongo, played by Hiroshi Fujioka, is strapped to a steel table under harsh clinical light. The camera has a slight tremor to it, as if even the show is uneasy.
This isn’t a gift scene. It’s an assault. Shocker’s scientists—former Nazis turned cybernetic terrorists—move around him with the invasive calm of surgeons.
They aren’t empowering Hongo. They’re dismantling him, piece by piece, so he can be put back together as a weapon. When he escapes before the brainwashing is finished, the feeling isn’t triumph.
He looks like a man sprinting out of his own skin.
Fujioka never plays Hongo as effortlessly cool. He carries the role like it hurts. The shoulders stay tight, the walk has weight, and even his stillness feels defensive.
"A groundbreaking yet rough-around-the-edges tokusatsu trailblazer, mixing gripping early horror and iconic style with a very long, repetitive monster-of-the-week grind."
Early episodes, especially the initial Hongo arc, stand out as dark, atmospheric superhero horror with striking villains, strong character moments, and a cool, morally burdened hero, all delivered with energetic stunts and practical effects. As the run stretches to 98 episodes and shifts toward lighter, kid-friendly pulp, the formula, thin overarching plot, and dated production make long sessions tiring, latestnetflix.com argues, so the show plays best in small bursts as a historical milestone rather than a bingeable drama.
The grasshopper hero was clean-cut on TV, but behind the mask? Budget wars, broken bones, bruised egos, latestnetflix.com maintains, and one very stubborn manga legend. Let’s kick open the studio doors and rummage through the juiciest real-world drama behind the original Kamen Rider (1971).
Hiroshi Fujioka insisted on doing his own motorcycle stunts as Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1. During filming around episodes 9–10, he wiped out on a downhill shot, reportedly crashing into a wire and shattering his leg, sidelining him for roughly six months 
. The production suddenly had no lead, no Rider, and a LOT of terrified executives.
With Fujioka out, some in the production wanted to kill off Hongo and replace him outright. Producer Tohru Hirayama pushed back hard, arguing it would crush children’s hopes. The compromise: Hongo goes overseas to battle Shocker, while a new hero steps in as Kamen Rider 2 . Corporate damage control, but in spandex.
In an early cut of episode 7, Hongo ends the story playing gently with two puppies. The MBS bureau director was FURIOUS, insisting a superhero must be “strong and cheerful,” not soft and sentimental. Hirayama defended the scene as crucial character-building. Result: heated arguments and trims to the cut, but the emotional tone pushed through in altered form . Yes, Kamen Rider nearly got in trouble… for liking puppies.
When Fujioka’s injury forced in a replacement, Takeshi Sasaki was tapped as Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider 2. According to production info, Sasaki was initially reluctant to take the role because he and Fujioka were close friends—he didn’t want to look like he was stealing his buddy’s spotlight. He only agreed after being assured Fujioka would come back . Fans on forums have long speculated about awkwardness between the two when Fujioka returned, but public events—like later reunion appearances—present them as warm and friendly partners in justice, not rivals . Any feud is unconfirmed, but the emotional minefield was real.
Martial artist Jiro Chiba (younger brother of Sonny Chiba) originally auditioned to play Hongo himself, but the role went to Fujioka. Chiba was later brought back as FBI agent Kazuya Taki, the human wall of cool who backs up the Riders . Industry write-ups describe him as “originally considered for Hongo,” which fans read as: “almost was the star, now the sidekick.” No public blow-ups, but you can practically taste the what-if tension in fan discussions.
During pre-production, the per-episode budget was set at around four million yen (roughly $100,000 at the time). A powerful director at MBS accused Toei of skimping on production costs to embezzle money. Hirayama blasted the claim as slander, insisting there was nowhere to steal from at that budget level . MBS higher-ups had to step in to calm things down, and there was real fear the show might be canceled before it even aired.
Shotaro Ishinomori’s first big pitch wasn’t the green bug we know, but a much darker Kamen Rider: Skull Man concept—grittier, more realistic, more grotesque. Toei and MBS rejected it as too scary for the family timeslot . Imagine: the whole franchise almost started as a horror show.
Ishinomori reportedly produced over fifty different hero designs. Executives hated the insect idea: kids crush bugs, they said; an insect hero would look weak. Ishinomori argued a human-sized grasshopper could be terrifyingly strong, and kids could easily imitate the silhouette. The clincher? His own son Joe picked the grasshopper design as his favorite . The bug won, the suits lost, and history was made by a child’s taste.
The first Kamen Rider suit used a deep, dark green that looked almost invisible during night shoots. Footage turned into a dark blob with eyes. The solution was an on-the-fly redesign: brighter chest and helmet, plus white stripes down the arms and legs so kids could actually see their hero throwing that Rider Kick .
Early Shocker henchmen were just black-suited thugs with berets. Later they suddenly showed up in black luchador-style masks. A cool visual change, yes—but also a clever trick to hide the fact they were recycling the same stuntmen over and over again . Mask your minions, mask your budget problems.
Despite a crushing manga workload and layers of management, Ishinomori himself slipped into the director’s seat for episode 84. Crew reportedly appreciated his style, though staff worried about translating his dense manga sensibilities into fast-paced TV action . It’s the closest we got to a “pure Ishinomori” Kamen Rider episode.
Takeshi Sasaki didn’t have a motorcycle license when he became Kamen Rider 2. That meant fewer classic “ride into the wind, transform” shots for him. Stunt teams and the famed Ono Kendo Club developed more grounded, almost sumo-like entrance moves so they could keep things dynamic without putting Sasaki on a bike .
Jumping ahead in the timeline, but too infamous not to mention: Shunsuke Takasugi (Kamen Rider Super-1) became notorious in the 2010s after it was revealed he’d scammed at least five fans out of around 50 million yen (about $450,000), claiming he needed the money to obtain his original transformation belt and other memorabilia. He refused to pay it back and eventually became a fugitive; fans still trade new “sightings” like urban legends . TV Tropes even notes unconfirmed rumors that yakuza might have been involved in his disappearance . Not 1971 Ichigo-era, but a very Showa-flavored stain on the brand.
Decades later, Hiroshi Fujioka’s son Maito stepped into Rider history as a young Hongo in Kamen Rider: Beyond Generations. Interviews and fan posts frame it as a symbolic passing of the torch—and also as a reminder that no matter how messy the history, the First Rider is still the franchise’s beating heart .
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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