NeonZ
Active Member
I've just finished watching every Showa Rider up to Stronger. Once in a while, watching the series one after the other got repetitive, especially towards the middle of each show, but, overall it was fun.
I'll still continue watching the remaining ones, however, considering how Stronger was basically the last first generation Rider, directly connected with the previous series since the beginning, I thought this might be a good point for a break.
Anyway, I'll post some impressions here, covering the shows up to Stronger. This first post is only about the original series and its movies though.
Kamen Rider
The First (the first 13 episodes, that is)
Well, the first Rider show and the first few episodes of it. The first Rider series in general seems kind of experimental in some senses, but these first episodes are even more so.
Anyway, in general, I think these first episodes were handled well. There are some problems regarding special effects, but there are also some good choices here, like Rider 1's bike transformation which holds up well compared to some other transformations used in early Showa. The suits aren't particularly well done, but the filming techniques used in these earlier episodes help making them work on the actual set.
As far as story and characters go, it was good. There wasn't much story progression, but the set up and his interactions with the supporting cast were done well. The episodes actually showed Hongo's suffering after becoming a cyborg and his hesitation to reveal his identity to others, which is directly related to how he feels about being altered.
There was no visible main villain, aside from the voice of Shocker's leader. However, I think that worked in some ways. Although there wasn't much of a story progression, Hongo going around actually actively destroying Shocker bases and killing Shocker agents gives these episodes a sense that he is actually doing something, that his victories have some value. I actually prefer this approach to a hero who just beats a random underling of some bigger villains every episode, like in most later toku shows.
The series was clearly changing though, and those changes were already clear during the accident with Hiroshi Fujioka that took him out of the show for a while. The dark environments and attempts to use shadows in filming mostly disappeared, and the monsters usually had started to just explode after getting hit by a Rider Kick. No more weird vaporizing effect or just a dead body lying around. In spite of the lack of Fujioka, they still were able to handle the secondary cast well, with the addition of Taki and even Ruriko's interactions with the Kamen Rider.
The last episode, although not making a direct transition to Rider 2's phase, still was appropriately "final", with Hongo facing every Kaijin he had defeated up to this point again, led by an even stronger one. Unfortunately, the change of filming techniques makes some suits that initially looked acceptable look almost unrecognizable in this story.
A second heroic character, FBI agent Taki, is introduced right in the first episode without any new Fujioka scenes. He goes on to be a stable part of the show, staying as a secondary cast member until the ending. I wonder why they didn't just turn him into Rider 2, although I ended up really liking Hayato, so that's not a problem.
The Next (Rider 2, not V3)
The transition to this phase wasn't done particularly well, but Rider 2's debut itself was. Hongo and Ruriko aren't around. Tachibana is taking a Cyclone to Hongo, when he's attacked on the way... and saved by a different looking Kamen Rider.
The series had already changed significantly when Ichimonji Hayato debuted and he was a symbol of that. Usually cheerier than Hongo's early gloominess, playing around and laughing at even his future friends, Kamen Rider 2's atittude in these early episodes really stand out compared to Hongo's.
Contrasting with those lighter elements, he also had an almost evil sounding laughter (my 11 years old brother said that his voice sounded like a monster's) and the series seemed to distance itself from him at times. Often, he'd disappear for a while only to return in some disguise or in the exact position the villains were planning to attack, without the viewer (or the other characters) being shown how he got there in the first place. His Rider suit was flashier than Hongo's and he introduced the henshin pose and call concept to the series.
In his introduction, Hayato was shown to be haunted by nightmares from the time he was captured by Shocker, yet he doesn't dwell on it and quickly tries to ignore that problem. Although he doesn't go around announcing that he's a Kamen Rider everywhere, he doesn't hesitate to transform in front of others to save them, unlike early Hongo, and even let's himself as Kamen Rider be seen as a hero. His second 2 episode arc ended with him entering in a wrestling ring donning a cape, acclaimed by the crowd around him. That arc also featured the first non-Rider altered human who, rather than dying, just recovered his memories and returned to normal. Too bad he didn't become a supporting character.
Hayato basically transformed Kamen Rider from a symbol of Hongo's shame into a popular hero loved by children, with even Rider merchandising popping up in some later episodes of the series.
Anyway, this is probably my favorite part of the original series, aside from some of the Gel-Shocker episodes. Like already said, I really like Hayato's personality and atittude. Before watching the show, I thought his actor looked odd for a Rider and thought his final visual as Rider 2 looked bad with the red gloves and boots, but I ended up really liking his character and Rider 2's first design, with the dark helmet, green gloves and boots and silver stripes on the suit is easily my favorite design out of the original series. The later crossovers generally didn't focus much on his character's main traits, besides a few exceptions here and there.
After a while, we got Colonel Zol, a persistent antagonist in addition to the faceless Shocker Leader. Personally, I don't think he changed the show much. Hayato made him look like a fool in his very debut episode (randomly sleeping while Zol was disguised as Taki, only to start laughing when Zol actually attempted to do something) and he usually didn't overshadow the monsters much in later episodes, just replacing the various minor Shocker commanders that usually died pretty quickly in the series first 20 episodes. In spite of those problems, his final episode and the reveal of his true form were handled well.
This part of the series also had the first look at the Shocker Leader, just a silhouette with shinning blue eyes, shoulder pads and a cape. Of course, this design would never be seen again. It also had the first episodes that really showed Shocker as a worldwide organization. There were a few mentions in the first 13 episodes, but, in these episodes, there were scenes taking places in other countries and various kaijin, major villains and minor supporting characters came from them. It's something that Kamen Rider in general has really lost. Watching these episodes, there's really a sense that Shocker is a worldwide threat, unlike in most modern Rider series, or even later Showa ones, where the conflict is always extremely confined to just Japan.
Of course, this phase also brought the first Rider team ups and even the first Rider vs Rider battle, when Hongo was finally captured by Shocker and brainwashed. Anyway, Hongo returned with a suit in a slightly different color and with a flashier behavior, closer to Hayato's, but he still kept some of his atittude from before, even refusing to see Tachibana. However, this team up also marked a few changes to the show which I generally disliked.
First, Hayato's supporting cast was heavily changed by that arc, with the girls who had arrived alongside him mostly leaving, replaced by two girls who came with Hongo. None of those girls added much to the story, and their fighting scenes weren't good, but the initial characters had some chemistry with Hayato and Taki, and there were even episodes focusing on everyone working together... elements which were mostly lost by the replacements who came with Hongo. That ended up hurting Taki's character too, considering how the interactions with the girls became more limited. Those two episodes also introduced Dr. Shinigami, which I'm rather ambivalent about.
Dr.Shinigami was generally characterized well, and one or two of his scenes brought back the monsters scenes from the early series to mind. However, he is a much more active figure than Zol ever was. Basically every episode after his debut is Kamen Rider(s) vs Dr. Shinigami, with him greatly overshadowing most of the monster of the week, who basically become just brute force for his operations.
Aside from that, these initial team ups all make Hayato look rather bad, with him often needing to get saved by Hongo. In the end, Hayato leaves the country and lets it stay in Hongo's hands.
Kamen Rider vs Shocker
The first actual Rider movie, featuring Hayato and Hongo fighting together against an army of returned monsters. It generally was brief, but enjoyable. Using multiple monsters is an easy way to make this seem bigger than the tv show, without needing much time or resources to do it. There are some oddities though, like the Shocker uniforms and Hongo's transformation appearing here before they did in the tv show, even though he still has his look from when he was the supporting Rider.
Also, several monsters who appear in a group shot, and even announce their names, of the army don't return later, but that wasn't noticeable when I watched this for the first time.
Zanjioh, the movie's main monster, had a good design, which even worked fine on screen more than 30 years later in Decade's part of Movie Wars 2010, standing next to Heisei monster suits.
Kamen Rider Shin #1 - 53-79
Hongo's return to the main character position and the racing club, and also the debut of his new look! A new start for the show... which is actually completely ignored. Episode 53 doesn't bother to introduce anything at all, skipping any kind of transition from the last one. Hongo's return to the racing club and meeting everyone again weren't covered at all by the show. Same for his actual new look, which is greatly different from the dark suit he had used in the previous episode... but doesn't receive any kind of introduction in the show itself.
Yes, I know that there are published explanations, but the lack of anything in the series still hurts the show. This part of the show didn't start very well. I'd expect this kind of thing from Hayato's introduction, thanks to the real world events surrounding it, but it was actually handled much better than this.
The two girls who arrived alongside Hongo in episode 40 are written out after a while, but they didn't really ever get to do anything. Even their initial battle support shown during their debut is quickly forgotten. Also, even though they debuted fighting in Europe alongside Hongo, their interactions with him after his return were just as weak as the ones they had with Hayato. Ruriko didn't return and no character became her replacement.
Anyway, unlike in earlier episodes, when the Rider usually lost to the monster in the first battle only to return later, better prepared or with a new technique, or the battle was close enough and the monster could escape, in these episodes... New Rider 1 basically easily beats everyone and everything. However, when he's about to destroy the enemy in the first half of the episode... it just vanishes. Needless to say, I think this idea was really bad. In one of the few episodes Rider 1 had actual problems in this stage of the series, in order to defeat the monster, he ended up just needing to press a button to power up.
Aside from that, although I guess this would be a complaint about the series in general, but I remember being bothered by it here... the bike vs bike battles generally just weren't done well. It's one of the main differences between V3's action scenes and the second half of the original series too, so someone obviously noticed they just didn't look good even back then.
I don't have much to say about Ambassador Hell. He had more focus than Zol, but less than Dr.Shinigami's during his stay as the main antagonist. However, the episodes which focused on him as antagonist didn't really help him much, unlike Zol's. I also wasn't very fond of his design, both human and kaijin.
Dr.Shinigami eventually returns for a few episodes, only to die... and also to get his character completely destroyed in the process. Ikadevil fights Rider 1 and is beaten up like everyone else. He kidnaps Tachibana and makes him a personal trainer of kaijin, and, then, during a fairly light hearted scene, Tachibana beats him up while Ikadevil fails at training and Tachibana ends up learning his weakness. This is the same Dr.Shinigami who previously had beaten Taki with just a look in human form and had taken his attacks without any problem at all. Yet, Shinigami was basically reduced to a joke in his final episode, thanks to the Ikadevil scenes.
Hayato eventually returns during two episodes, with his new and final look, but still using the old Cyclone, while Hongo had a new one. Yet again, he ended up needing Hongo's help during battle, in spite of appearing out of nowhere to help...
Finally, we've got the introduction of the Rider Scouts. A group of kids meant to help Kamen Rider, giving information about Shocker monsters. It's a kid's show, and that was a way they found to appeal to kids, I guess, but I just really hate the whole concept. In the original series, they're using birds to send messages, making the whole idea even worse.
The end of Shocker and birth of Gel-Shocker were well done, with an unknown powerful monster appearing in several episodes, denying that it's a Shocker kaijin... and finally Ambassador Hell's final desperate attempt to kill Rider 1, attempting to fool him into thinking that he'd leave Shocker, only to capture Tachibana and the others and force Hongo to fight to save them. I didn't like GaraGaranda's design, especially the head, which just looked too cartoony with the large eyes drawn on it... In spite of the problems mentioned above, the conclusion to this part of the series was handled well, and the next part would be another improvement.
Kamen Rider vs Ambassador Hell
The second movie... and, well, my comments about the previous phase of the tv show are mostly applicable here. The main movie villain Kamikirikid, who was just a reused suit from the tv show (or the tv show reused the monster suit... I don't know. Both claim that it's the first time that monster appears though) and he just failed and failed throughout the movie.
Zanjioh (yes, the first movie's villain was back in this one too) actually put up a better fight against Rider 1... in this movie than the actual main villain of the movie.
Also, throughout this movie, both the resurrected monster and Rider 1 just kept running around, leaving locations very quickly, so he ended up not killing most of them. Rider 1's actions made sense considering the story, which required him to go fast to stop Shocker's plan, but they really should have included everyone in the final fighting scene, rather than implying that Rider 1 just let an army of monsters roam around and felt satisfied after stopping Shocker's operation.
The same happened in the previous movie, thanks to the large group shot, but this one just handled things in a much more noticeable way, unfortunately. It also had a long bike battle sequence, and, like I've said, I was not fond of those in the original show.
Kamen Riders vs Gel Shocker (Episodes 80-98)
Gel-Shocker finally appears, and their first action is to... kill every Shocker member? This element actually continued during a few episodes, with Shocker scientists getting killed in another one. Pretty interesting debut, at least.
Anyway, Hongo and Taki investigate and learn about the new organization, Geldam Shocker, Gel-Shocker. The mysterious monster appears again and faces Rider 1 once more. Their fight ends up in the sky and... they seemingly destroy each other.
Everyone worries about how they'll continue without Kamen Rider (and Hayato isn't even mentioned, IIRC... only bad point in this arc), but, of course, he was still alive and returns to save them. Unlike in the previous arc, this time Hongo actually has problems fighting monsters. Well, most of them anyway. A few still pull the "I'm getting beaten up, but somehow will just vanish" trick. The Rider scouts are still around, but receive less focus, thankfully.
After a few episodes of battles against Gel-Shocker, everything seemed to be slowly going back to normal... until Hongo is seemingly killed alongside a monster again and a Rider with yellow boots and gloves appears in the Gel-Shocker base. Yes, it the Shocker Rider!
In the first episode, not only there was the fake rider and another monster, but also a new anti-Shocker organization involved in the story. Also, the Shocker Rider could match Hongo in combat, in addition to having extra tricks, like a foot blade. Hayato returns again, this time dressed in black for some reason, and he finally gets to shine. Yet, the story still throws twists, with more Shocker Riders appearing, until the eight Kamen Rider battle starts. Unfortunately, I think the ending of the battle with the Shocker Riders was rather weak, but otherwise these episodes were good.
After stopping a few more Gel-Shocker plans, Rider 1 and Taki track down Gel-Shocker's commander, General Black... only it turns out to be a trap. Everyone is captured and Rider 1 attempts to save them, only to fall into a trap himself, but Rider 2 returns, and together they defeat the remaining Gel-Shocker forces, General Black and the Shocker Leader... who just self destructs when they approach him.
He has this very creepy laugh, different from his standard voice, and, in this sequence, they used some experimental effects like earlier in the tv show. The "battle" with him was very brief, and it's pretty obvious that the cyclops monster that they faced actually wasn't the Shocker Leader's real form. A weird object falls from his body after he falls apart, but it blows up when the Riders attempt to check it. The base self destructs afterwards.
The series ends with Taki going back to the USA, after finishing his job in Japan. Hayato stays this time, and everything is ready for the beginning of V3... But I'll post my impressions about it later.
Final comments
The first Rider series introduced some great concepts, but also was rather rough at times. I wouldn't classify it even as my favorite Showa series, but it still had many enjoyable episodes and basically introduced me to Ichimonji Hayato, who I had seen in some later Showa crossovers, but never before in episodes largely focusing on him. Watching those introductory episodes, Rider 2 easily became one of my favorite Riders.
I didn't mention Tachibana much previously... I guess it's because he seemed to be the one constant in this series, always in a mentor role to the protagonist, doesn't matter who it was or even if the actor was around or not.
The Shocker grunts worked decently. Sometimes, they could knock out Taki in a single hit, so the writers didn't forget that they were supposed to be superior to humans, even though sometimes they were defeated rather easily by Taki and even by Tachibana. Anyway, that would be changed by V3...
Also, they started using the full face masks, resembling Mexican wrestlers... when a commander of Shocker Mexico was sent to Japan. The bones outfit came from the first real movie.
Next up... V3, but I'll post about it another day. This first post ended up too long and taking too much time already...
I'll still continue watching the remaining ones, however, considering how Stronger was basically the last first generation Rider, directly connected with the previous series since the beginning, I thought this might be a good point for a break.
Anyway, I'll post some impressions here, covering the shows up to Stronger. This first post is only about the original series and its movies though.
Kamen Rider
The First (the first 13 episodes, that is)
Well, the first Rider show and the first few episodes of it. The first Rider series in general seems kind of experimental in some senses, but these first episodes are even more so.
Anyway, in general, I think these first episodes were handled well. There are some problems regarding special effects, but there are also some good choices here, like Rider 1's bike transformation which holds up well compared to some other transformations used in early Showa. The suits aren't particularly well done, but the filming techniques used in these earlier episodes help making them work on the actual set.
As far as story and characters go, it was good. There wasn't much story progression, but the set up and his interactions with the supporting cast were done well. The episodes actually showed Hongo's suffering after becoming a cyborg and his hesitation to reveal his identity to others, which is directly related to how he feels about being altered.
There was no visible main villain, aside from the voice of Shocker's leader. However, I think that worked in some ways. Although there wasn't much of a story progression, Hongo going around actually actively destroying Shocker bases and killing Shocker agents gives these episodes a sense that he is actually doing something, that his victories have some value. I actually prefer this approach to a hero who just beats a random underling of some bigger villains every episode, like in most later toku shows.
The series was clearly changing though, and those changes were already clear during the accident with Hiroshi Fujioka that took him out of the show for a while. The dark environments and attempts to use shadows in filming mostly disappeared, and the monsters usually had started to just explode after getting hit by a Rider Kick. No more weird vaporizing effect or just a dead body lying around. In spite of the lack of Fujioka, they still were able to handle the secondary cast well, with the addition of Taki and even Ruriko's interactions with the Kamen Rider.
The last episode, although not making a direct transition to Rider 2's phase, still was appropriately "final", with Hongo facing every Kaijin he had defeated up to this point again, led by an even stronger one. Unfortunately, the change of filming techniques makes some suits that initially looked acceptable look almost unrecognizable in this story.
A second heroic character, FBI agent Taki, is introduced right in the first episode without any new Fujioka scenes. He goes on to be a stable part of the show, staying as a secondary cast member until the ending. I wonder why they didn't just turn him into Rider 2, although I ended up really liking Hayato, so that's not a problem.
The Next (Rider 2, not V3)
The transition to this phase wasn't done particularly well, but Rider 2's debut itself was. Hongo and Ruriko aren't around. Tachibana is taking a Cyclone to Hongo, when he's attacked on the way... and saved by a different looking Kamen Rider.
The series had already changed significantly when Ichimonji Hayato debuted and he was a symbol of that. Usually cheerier than Hongo's early gloominess, playing around and laughing at even his future friends, Kamen Rider 2's atittude in these early episodes really stand out compared to Hongo's.
Contrasting with those lighter elements, he also had an almost evil sounding laughter (my 11 years old brother said that his voice sounded like a monster's) and the series seemed to distance itself from him at times. Often, he'd disappear for a while only to return in some disguise or in the exact position the villains were planning to attack, without the viewer (or the other characters) being shown how he got there in the first place. His Rider suit was flashier than Hongo's and he introduced the henshin pose and call concept to the series.
In his introduction, Hayato was shown to be haunted by nightmares from the time he was captured by Shocker, yet he doesn't dwell on it and quickly tries to ignore that problem. Although he doesn't go around announcing that he's a Kamen Rider everywhere, he doesn't hesitate to transform in front of others to save them, unlike early Hongo, and even let's himself as Kamen Rider be seen as a hero. His second 2 episode arc ended with him entering in a wrestling ring donning a cape, acclaimed by the crowd around him. That arc also featured the first non-Rider altered human who, rather than dying, just recovered his memories and returned to normal. Too bad he didn't become a supporting character.
Hayato basically transformed Kamen Rider from a symbol of Hongo's shame into a popular hero loved by children, with even Rider merchandising popping up in some later episodes of the series.
Anyway, this is probably my favorite part of the original series, aside from some of the Gel-Shocker episodes. Like already said, I really like Hayato's personality and atittude. Before watching the show, I thought his actor looked odd for a Rider and thought his final visual as Rider 2 looked bad with the red gloves and boots, but I ended up really liking his character and Rider 2's first design, with the dark helmet, green gloves and boots and silver stripes on the suit is easily my favorite design out of the original series. The later crossovers generally didn't focus much on his character's main traits, besides a few exceptions here and there.
After a while, we got Colonel Zol, a persistent antagonist in addition to the faceless Shocker Leader. Personally, I don't think he changed the show much. Hayato made him look like a fool in his very debut episode (randomly sleeping while Zol was disguised as Taki, only to start laughing when Zol actually attempted to do something) and he usually didn't overshadow the monsters much in later episodes, just replacing the various minor Shocker commanders that usually died pretty quickly in the series first 20 episodes. In spite of those problems, his final episode and the reveal of his true form were handled well.
This part of the series also had the first look at the Shocker Leader, just a silhouette with shinning blue eyes, shoulder pads and a cape. Of course, this design would never be seen again. It also had the first episodes that really showed Shocker as a worldwide organization. There were a few mentions in the first 13 episodes, but, in these episodes, there were scenes taking places in other countries and various kaijin, major villains and minor supporting characters came from them. It's something that Kamen Rider in general has really lost. Watching these episodes, there's really a sense that Shocker is a worldwide threat, unlike in most modern Rider series, or even later Showa ones, where the conflict is always extremely confined to just Japan.
Of course, this phase also brought the first Rider team ups and even the first Rider vs Rider battle, when Hongo was finally captured by Shocker and brainwashed. Anyway, Hongo returned with a suit in a slightly different color and with a flashier behavior, closer to Hayato's, but he still kept some of his atittude from before, even refusing to see Tachibana. However, this team up also marked a few changes to the show which I generally disliked.
First, Hayato's supporting cast was heavily changed by that arc, with the girls who had arrived alongside him mostly leaving, replaced by two girls who came with Hongo. None of those girls added much to the story, and their fighting scenes weren't good, but the initial characters had some chemistry with Hayato and Taki, and there were even episodes focusing on everyone working together... elements which were mostly lost by the replacements who came with Hongo. That ended up hurting Taki's character too, considering how the interactions with the girls became more limited. Those two episodes also introduced Dr. Shinigami, which I'm rather ambivalent about.
Dr.Shinigami was generally characterized well, and one or two of his scenes brought back the monsters scenes from the early series to mind. However, he is a much more active figure than Zol ever was. Basically every episode after his debut is Kamen Rider(s) vs Dr. Shinigami, with him greatly overshadowing most of the monster of the week, who basically become just brute force for his operations.
Aside from that, these initial team ups all make Hayato look rather bad, with him often needing to get saved by Hongo. In the end, Hayato leaves the country and lets it stay in Hongo's hands.
Kamen Rider vs Shocker
The first actual Rider movie, featuring Hayato and Hongo fighting together against an army of returned monsters. It generally was brief, but enjoyable. Using multiple monsters is an easy way to make this seem bigger than the tv show, without needing much time or resources to do it. There are some oddities though, like the Shocker uniforms and Hongo's transformation appearing here before they did in the tv show, even though he still has his look from when he was the supporting Rider.
Also, several monsters who appear in a group shot, and even announce their names, of the army don't return later, but that wasn't noticeable when I watched this for the first time.
Zanjioh, the movie's main monster, had a good design, which even worked fine on screen more than 30 years later in Decade's part of Movie Wars 2010, standing next to Heisei monster suits.
Kamen Rider Shin #1 - 53-79
Hongo's return to the main character position and the racing club, and also the debut of his new look! A new start for the show... which is actually completely ignored. Episode 53 doesn't bother to introduce anything at all, skipping any kind of transition from the last one. Hongo's return to the racing club and meeting everyone again weren't covered at all by the show. Same for his actual new look, which is greatly different from the dark suit he had used in the previous episode... but doesn't receive any kind of introduction in the show itself.
Yes, I know that there are published explanations, but the lack of anything in the series still hurts the show. This part of the show didn't start very well. I'd expect this kind of thing from Hayato's introduction, thanks to the real world events surrounding it, but it was actually handled much better than this.
The two girls who arrived alongside Hongo in episode 40 are written out after a while, but they didn't really ever get to do anything. Even their initial battle support shown during their debut is quickly forgotten. Also, even though they debuted fighting in Europe alongside Hongo, their interactions with him after his return were just as weak as the ones they had with Hayato. Ruriko didn't return and no character became her replacement.
Anyway, unlike in earlier episodes, when the Rider usually lost to the monster in the first battle only to return later, better prepared or with a new technique, or the battle was close enough and the monster could escape, in these episodes... New Rider 1 basically easily beats everyone and everything. However, when he's about to destroy the enemy in the first half of the episode... it just vanishes. Needless to say, I think this idea was really bad. In one of the few episodes Rider 1 had actual problems in this stage of the series, in order to defeat the monster, he ended up just needing to press a button to power up.
Aside from that, although I guess this would be a complaint about the series in general, but I remember being bothered by it here... the bike vs bike battles generally just weren't done well. It's one of the main differences between V3's action scenes and the second half of the original series too, so someone obviously noticed they just didn't look good even back then.
I don't have much to say about Ambassador Hell. He had more focus than Zol, but less than Dr.Shinigami's during his stay as the main antagonist. However, the episodes which focused on him as antagonist didn't really help him much, unlike Zol's. I also wasn't very fond of his design, both human and kaijin.
Dr.Shinigami eventually returns for a few episodes, only to die... and also to get his character completely destroyed in the process. Ikadevil fights Rider 1 and is beaten up like everyone else. He kidnaps Tachibana and makes him a personal trainer of kaijin, and, then, during a fairly light hearted scene, Tachibana beats him up while Ikadevil fails at training and Tachibana ends up learning his weakness. This is the same Dr.Shinigami who previously had beaten Taki with just a look in human form and had taken his attacks without any problem at all. Yet, Shinigami was basically reduced to a joke in his final episode, thanks to the Ikadevil scenes.
Hayato eventually returns during two episodes, with his new and final look, but still using the old Cyclone, while Hongo had a new one. Yet again, he ended up needing Hongo's help during battle, in spite of appearing out of nowhere to help...
Finally, we've got the introduction of the Rider Scouts. A group of kids meant to help Kamen Rider, giving information about Shocker monsters. It's a kid's show, and that was a way they found to appeal to kids, I guess, but I just really hate the whole concept. In the original series, they're using birds to send messages, making the whole idea even worse.
The end of Shocker and birth of Gel-Shocker were well done, with an unknown powerful monster appearing in several episodes, denying that it's a Shocker kaijin... and finally Ambassador Hell's final desperate attempt to kill Rider 1, attempting to fool him into thinking that he'd leave Shocker, only to capture Tachibana and the others and force Hongo to fight to save them. I didn't like GaraGaranda's design, especially the head, which just looked too cartoony with the large eyes drawn on it... In spite of the problems mentioned above, the conclusion to this part of the series was handled well, and the next part would be another improvement.
Kamen Rider vs Ambassador Hell
The second movie... and, well, my comments about the previous phase of the tv show are mostly applicable here. The main movie villain Kamikirikid, who was just a reused suit from the tv show (or the tv show reused the monster suit... I don't know. Both claim that it's the first time that monster appears though) and he just failed and failed throughout the movie.
Zanjioh (yes, the first movie's villain was back in this one too) actually put up a better fight against Rider 1... in this movie than the actual main villain of the movie.
Also, throughout this movie, both the resurrected monster and Rider 1 just kept running around, leaving locations very quickly, so he ended up not killing most of them. Rider 1's actions made sense considering the story, which required him to go fast to stop Shocker's plan, but they really should have included everyone in the final fighting scene, rather than implying that Rider 1 just let an army of monsters roam around and felt satisfied after stopping Shocker's operation.
The same happened in the previous movie, thanks to the large group shot, but this one just handled things in a much more noticeable way, unfortunately. It also had a long bike battle sequence, and, like I've said, I was not fond of those in the original show.
Kamen Riders vs Gel Shocker (Episodes 80-98)
Gel-Shocker finally appears, and their first action is to... kill every Shocker member? This element actually continued during a few episodes, with Shocker scientists getting killed in another one. Pretty interesting debut, at least.
Anyway, Hongo and Taki investigate and learn about the new organization, Geldam Shocker, Gel-Shocker. The mysterious monster appears again and faces Rider 1 once more. Their fight ends up in the sky and... they seemingly destroy each other.
Everyone worries about how they'll continue without Kamen Rider (and Hayato isn't even mentioned, IIRC... only bad point in this arc), but, of course, he was still alive and returns to save them. Unlike in the previous arc, this time Hongo actually has problems fighting monsters. Well, most of them anyway. A few still pull the "I'm getting beaten up, but somehow will just vanish" trick. The Rider scouts are still around, but receive less focus, thankfully.
After a few episodes of battles against Gel-Shocker, everything seemed to be slowly going back to normal... until Hongo is seemingly killed alongside a monster again and a Rider with yellow boots and gloves appears in the Gel-Shocker base. Yes, it the Shocker Rider!
In the first episode, not only there was the fake rider and another monster, but also a new anti-Shocker organization involved in the story. Also, the Shocker Rider could match Hongo in combat, in addition to having extra tricks, like a foot blade. Hayato returns again, this time dressed in black for some reason, and he finally gets to shine. Yet, the story still throws twists, with more Shocker Riders appearing, until the eight Kamen Rider battle starts. Unfortunately, I think the ending of the battle with the Shocker Riders was rather weak, but otherwise these episodes were good.
After stopping a few more Gel-Shocker plans, Rider 1 and Taki track down Gel-Shocker's commander, General Black... only it turns out to be a trap. Everyone is captured and Rider 1 attempts to save them, only to fall into a trap himself, but Rider 2 returns, and together they defeat the remaining Gel-Shocker forces, General Black and the Shocker Leader... who just self destructs when they approach him.
He has this very creepy laugh, different from his standard voice, and, in this sequence, they used some experimental effects like earlier in the tv show. The "battle" with him was very brief, and it's pretty obvious that the cyclops monster that they faced actually wasn't the Shocker Leader's real form. A weird object falls from his body after he falls apart, but it blows up when the Riders attempt to check it. The base self destructs afterwards.
The series ends with Taki going back to the USA, after finishing his job in Japan. Hayato stays this time, and everything is ready for the beginning of V3... But I'll post my impressions about it later.
Final comments
The first Rider series introduced some great concepts, but also was rather rough at times. I wouldn't classify it even as my favorite Showa series, but it still had many enjoyable episodes and basically introduced me to Ichimonji Hayato, who I had seen in some later Showa crossovers, but never before in episodes largely focusing on him. Watching those introductory episodes, Rider 2 easily became one of my favorite Riders.
I didn't mention Tachibana much previously... I guess it's because he seemed to be the one constant in this series, always in a mentor role to the protagonist, doesn't matter who it was or even if the actor was around or not.
The Shocker grunts worked decently. Sometimes, they could knock out Taki in a single hit, so the writers didn't forget that they were supposed to be superior to humans, even though sometimes they were defeated rather easily by Taki and even by Tachibana. Anyway, that would be changed by V3...
Also, they started using the full face masks, resembling Mexican wrestlers... when a commander of Shocker Mexico was sent to Japan. The bones outfit came from the first real movie.
Next up... V3, but I'll post about it another day. This first post ended up too long and taking too much time already...
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