FAQ
I often get asked a lot of questions, so here are a lot of the answers:
General Kamen Rider Questions
What is Kamen Rider?
Surely someone out there must have just found this page, is now totally confused, and needs an explanation.
Kamen Rider is a long-running live-action super hero franchise from Japan. Since 1971, it's been a weekly series aimed at viewers of all ages, mixing over-the-top elaborate action and stunts with some of the best melodrama you can get out of a story involving heroic bug-men.
While it's come and gone over the years and gone through many interesting and often strange reinventions (Riders that time travel, Riders that fight with cards, Riders that fight with killer musical instruments, etc.) the core values of the series have always remained the same: the triumph of good over evil, the strength of friendship, and the indisputable power of a flying kick.
Who created Kamen Rider?
While famous comic artist Ishinomori Shôtarô is often (correctly) credited as being the “creator” of Kamen Rider, it truly began as a joint effort among Toei staff members, led by Creative Producer Hirayama Tôru, seeking to create a new hero program. Early names included “Maskman K”, “Masked Angel”, and “Cross Fire”. Hirayama sought out Ishinomori to help in designing the new hero. Ishinomori played around with the design of one of his own characters, “Skullman”, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Thus, the official credit of 'Original Work' was graciously given to Ishinomori, who contributed a great deal to the final production, including character designs and creating the look for the original Kamen Rider. You could say that Ishinomori was instrumental in creating Kamen Rider as we know it, though it's important to remember the contributions of others (including co-producer Abe Seiji and lead writer Igami Masaru.) Both Hirayama and Ishinomori would continue to work together for many years following this, on Kamen Rider or other productions.
The Kamen Rider franchise is co-owned by Toei Co., Ltd. & Ishimori Pro., Ishinomori’s estate/company.
Who makes the new Kamen Rider series?
It’s still Toei & Ishimori Pro. While Ishinomori passed away in 1998, the Kamen Rider franchise continues to sally forth, with Ishinomori still getting the 'Original Work' credit for each successive series (and there is actually some truth to it; prior to his death, Ishinomori worked on the very early initial designs for what would much later become Kamen Rider Kuuga.)
Has Kamen Rider ever come to America?
It has! Kamen Rider V3 was shown with English subtitles in Hawaii in the 1970's, and was re-aired there years later. A super-cool DVD box set, loaded with extras and fully subtitled in English, was eventually released. On a more widespread note, the 2005 revamp film Kamen Rider THE FIRST saw a DVD release in the US as well.
In the 90’s Kamen Rider BLACK RX was also “Sabanized” (ala Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers) simply as Masked Rider. Most fans agree that the less said about it, the better, although to its credit it did have a pretty cool idea in introducing Masked Rider in the Power Rangers’ show. It’s pretty funny to see random guys in gas masks (Masked Rider’s alien buddies) hold their own against the Rangers in a fight. Yes, the hero in the show was the prince of some alien planet. The other Riders do appear (via footage from BLACK RX’s last few episodes) but their names are all jumbled up, with Skyrider infamously declaring "I AM AMAZON!”
After a lot of false starts and rumors, 2002’s Kamen Rider Ryuki was eventually adapted for American television in a similar manner. Noted director & make-up artist Steve Wang oversaw the project, known as Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, which began properly in January 2009 (after a sneak preview a month before, not to mention a very interesting leaked pilot episode.) The show ended after 40 episodes, and it’s unknown if any further series will be adapted in a similar manner. Overall, Dragon Knight seems to have split fan opinion almost as much as Ryuki did (albeit for different reasons) but I thought it was generally pretty good. The production team had their hearts in it, something noticeably lacking in Masked Rider. The show has been a big hit in Japan, where it began airing in Fall 2009 with an all-star voice cast.
How about other countries?
Oh, you betcha. Kamen Rider has a loyal following all around the world. I've gotten mail from places as diverse as Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Kuwait, Italy, Germany, Thailand, Brazil, Singapore, and others. So I can't even begin to name all the places it has gained fans.
Site-Specific Questions
Okay, so why Kamen Rider anyway?
For about as far back as I can remember, I have always loved the live-action science-fiction/fantasy films & TV series of Japan. I grew up on the movies & shows of Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, and of course, Kamen Rider. My first real exposure to the original Kamen Rider was a couple episodes of the original series (#5~8); and to the other Riders, the Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider video special. At the young age I was at, most of it went over my head, and it didn’t make much of an impression until I revisited it a few years later, thanks to bolstered interest as a result of the original series PlayStation game. The fact that my comprehension of Japanese had improved a bit by then probably didn’t hurt either.
Two big things happened around this time: I embarked on the process of watching the entire original series, and I made my first real foray into the internet, which proved to be a useful way in learning more about the series and Kamen Rider as a whole. From there, things just took off, and as cheesy as this sounds, I was forever changed. Now, years later, even after watching all the sequels, spin-offs and venturing into the greater depths of the franchise beyond the TV screen, the original series still remains my all-time favorite. Despite, or almost because of the length and the roughness of the production, which has a gritty, visceral feel to it that’s almost unmatched by anything else I’ve ever seen.
But more importantly, the original series has a lot of heart. Even when the show hit the biggest speed bump of all (losing the main star), it sallied forth, becoming something even bigger and even better. The original series to me is Kamen Rider in its purest form; it’s everything the franchise needs to be about. Everything else is just about bringing in its own spin, doing their own cover version of the best song ever written. As I often say, all the other Rider series are very good stories; the original is an epic. It changed TV, and (again, this will sound goofy) I guess it changed me. If nothing else, it inspired me creatively in so many ways, and motivated me to do some amazing things in life. Other TV shows have made me laugh, made me cry, made me angry or just made me cheer. But Kamen Rider has actually made me friends.
So why make a website devoted to the Kamen Rider franchise? I guess it was sort of accidental— originally, “Igadevil’s Page” was only going to cover some of the Kamen Riders (1 & 2, X-Rider & Amazon, and some Kuuga.) Somewhere along the line, I said “Hey, why not do the others?” A big factor in this decision was my long-suffering Kamen Rider Sigma fanfic, which to date has seen
numerous rewrites but never gotten beyond 8 or 9 episodes (out of a planned 50+... yeah, I'm hoping to break that trend some day.) After all, it would make it easier for those new to Kamen Rider to read it if they had some prior knowledge, right?
And along the way, it just sort of hit me: I simply love Kamen Rider that much. In a way, I think my appreciation of the original has helped me appreciate the others that much more— I’m proud of the fact that I can find something to like in virtually all Kamen Rider, because I’ve seen it at its best, and since then I’ve seen it continue to be pretty fantastic.
Even when it gets bad (and it gets pretty bad, especially in the comics) there’s always some good in there as well. While there are some series/movies/Riders/villains/whatever I like more than others, I’ve yet to see a Rider series or movie that totally let me down. And that’s pretty good, because that means there’s more to love. Plus, at least with the worst of the comics, I can laugh at the badness. I guess you could say that while I might not love everything to quite the same degree— I still love 'em all.
So that’s basically it— I love Kamen Rider, and I want to share my enjoyment with all of you. And that’s why there is Igadevil’s Kamen Rider Page. Well, that, and I just love talking about New Kamen Rider.
What exactly does this site cover?
Over the years, this has been a bit of a changing matter. After all, the site has gone through more transformations than I can count. But the core idea has always been this: The main focus of all this is to cover all of the official Kamen Rider series, movies, and most of the TV/video specials, with profiles for all the Riders & their various weapons/arsenals (fighting abilities, motorcycles, etc.), as well as the enemies & their Kaijin armies.
Plus episode guides, movie overviews, and all that good stuff. I will devote a little (okay, a lot) of space to the comic versions, as I love talking about them (even though the vast majority are, as I keep saying, pretty bad.) I’ll also get into some of the video games such as the excellent Genealogy of Justice. Additionally, I'll be doing a lot of coverage on Kamen Rider merchandise, and have some stuff about the songs & music, and more. In short, a little bit of everything.
Why don’t you ever update?
Well, if you’re reading this, I likely have updated! And will hopefully still be updating!
Unfortunately, as much fun as I have writing about Kamen Rider, it’s also a lot of hard work. And moreover, I’ve yet to attain a position where I can actually get paid for writing about it. Thus it’s had to remain as a hobby, albeit one I’m very passionate about. Over the past decade, I’ve had varying bursts of creativity and total dry spells.
Recently, I've had to deal with a fairly major change in life (moving from Japan back to the US- by choice, though I do feel I'll need to return some day.) I've had a bit more free time than I have the last couple years, so I'm going to attempt to step things up a bit and get this site to the point I always wanted it to be at. Here's hoping, anyway.
What’s up with all these funny words like “Kamen”, “Henshin” and “Kaijin”?
While I generally provide a translation for most every Japanese term used on this site, for various reasons, I like to keep some of Japanese words used on this site in romaji all the time. The above three are good examples of these.
When written in English, “Kamen Rider” is usually written in as “Masked Rider” in Japan. I like to stick with “Kamen Rider” to avoid confusion with the Americanized version of Kamen Rider BLACK RX, and just cuz it sounds cooler to me. In any case, Kamen means “Masked”. I sometimes slip up and use Masked, mainly for dramatic emphasis, as it's taken on that meaning in
Japan as well. Humorously, in recent years, Japan has been using both “Kamen” and “Masked”, sometimes right next to each other (i.e. “Kamen Rider W & Masked Rider Decade”.)
Ditto with “Henshin!”, which I like better than “Transform!”, “Metamorphosis!”, etc. I do tend to translate it for episode titles though, because "A New Transformation" sounds a bit more profound than "A New Henshin".
And as for “Kaijin”, it’s just less clunky than “Strange/Mysterious Person” (the literal meaning.)
How about the italics? And the accented vowels? Or the all caps for Kamen Rider BLACK?
I generally use italics for the following things:
1. Specific series & movie titles (Kamen Rider refers to the original series, Kamen Rider for the franchise as a whole.)
2. Japanese words and spellings (aside from the ones mentioned above, among others, which have kind of become part of my own little English lexicon and are used so much it’d just get annoying. Also, words like "anime" and "manga" are so commonplace in English now anyway, I just take the lazy route with them.)
3. Emphasis on occasion (when I really want you to get it!)
The accented vowels (like “ô”) are usually the equivalent of a lengthened sound (i.e. the “ô” is read as “ou”.) I do this mostly because I like to, and it looks better than “Hongou” and “Shoutarou” to me. Of course, I break my own rules in a few places— but “Tokyo” is so commonly written that way in English, I don’t see the need to write it as Tôkyô all the time. Same with Toei, which is would be “Tôei” if you want to get technical about it. And trust me, you probably don’t want to get technical about that.
And the all caps for BLACK & BLACK RX, that's because in Japan the TV series title is always written that way (that, or in Katakana), and I just kind of like doing it too. Apparently that's also done to distinguish from Ishinomori's comic, which uses lower-case version.
Why do I do any of these things? Because I can!
What the heck are "Shôwa" and "Heisei"?
In general, I see Kamen Rider as being one big thing, and freely associate series from any given era with each other. But if we have to get specific, Kamen Rider can be divided into two eras: the Shôwa (roughly pre-1989) & Heisei (1989~present.) In other words, the original series up to BLACK RX, and then Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue onward (with Kuuga being considered the first Heisei TV series) These era names are used in Japan to distinguish between the reigns of different Emperors. So in other words, the reign of Hirohito is now known as Shôwa, and Akihito's is Heisei. Accordingly, each successive year from the start gets a number attached to it. For instance, 2011 is Heisei 23, 2012 is Heisei 24, and so on.
I use these names because that's how it's done in Japan, not merely with Kamen Rider but with many, many things. The Japanese era name system is used as commonly as the Gregorian calendar, and I used to use it for a lot of things in every day life, so it makes sense to me. I don't much care for the English fan terms "Old Gen" and "New Gen" because they're fluctuating; in 30 years the "New Gen" won't be so new anymore, and I dunno about you, but 2000 doesn’t exactly feel new to me. By contrast, the Japanese names will never change; they're set in stone.
Of course, there are problems, even in Japan. The airing of BLACK RX coincided with the changeover, so the majority of the series actually aired in the Heisei era, thus it is sometimes referred to as the first Heisei series. Moreover, Toei likes grouping Shin, ZO & J with the older Riders, and marking Kuuga’s show out as the beginning of the Heisei era for Kamen Rider (on TV.)
While it makes sense in one way (grouping together the Riders made while Ishinomori was still with us) it doesn’t in others (you can’t just classify something as Shôwa because it “feels like it”.) So it’s not really so cut and dry, although the best way to approach it is the realistic way: Kamen Rider ~ Kamen Rider BLACK RX = Shôwa, Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue ~ Present = Heisei, with Kamen Rider Kuuga marking the first Heisei TV series.
But really? It's all Kamen Rider to me! Just ignore all the dating stuff and look at it that way. It’s definitely the easiest.
More Boring Stuff About The Webmaster
Who is Igadevil?
That would be me!
Born and raised outside Boston, Massachusetts, Paul "Igadevil" Sullivan first got online in the late 90's, and the world has never been the same since. Well okay, Kamen Rider fandom has never been the same since, probably. A longtime student of Japanese, I've visited the country several times since 2004, including almost 4 1/2 years spent living and studying/working there there. Most recently I made my 6th voyage there in later March/Early April 2011 to be there on the 40th Anniversary. Currently I'm back in MA, pursuing the next career.
I am also a sometimes film maker, artist, collector, and the webmaster of this very site. In addition to Kamen Rider and other Tokusatsu, I enjoy...well, too much to list right here, so I'll just say "a lot."
Wait, I thought it was “Ikadevil”?
It is! Ikadevil is the name of the Kaijin in Kamen Rider episode #68, and the mutated form of Doctor Shinigami (who also recently returned in the All Riders vs. Daishocker movie!) So where’d Igadevil come from?
I usually tell people that it’s either a pun (since k’s & g’s are often switched around in Japanese. For instance, Gamera is derived from Kame, or turtle) or that it’s the “Iga” from “Iga Ninja”. I sometimes wheel out the story of how it was a typo that became gospel and eventually turned into an in-joke. Hell, it’s even a nod to my favorite Kamen Rider writer, Igami Masaru. Honestly though?
I have no clue. It just kinda happened, it stuck, and there you go. I am now Igadevil, Iga to my friends. Hey, my nickname at one point was going to be “Hell Chameleon”, so be happy with what you get.
Also, it’s pronounced “Eee-gah”, in case you ever have me on your podcast. (^_^)
What other stuff have you done?
Unfortunately, most of my writing for other people tends to have a finite lifespan.
I wrote a Henshin! Online article on Kamen Rider Ryuki waaaay back in 2002, though that site is sadly closed. I also penned an episode of Ultra Theresa (the original story featured on the now sadly-defunct Absolute! Ultraman website, which was a big inspiration for this one) and did artwork for several monsters and aliens featured in that story. Again, also an MIA site. I had some movie reviews on the much-loved Japan Hero. I'll give you three guesses what happened to that one.
As for stuff that you can actually still see: I helped write some of the bonus material featured on the subtitled Kamen Rider V3 DVD box set released by JN Productions in Hawaii. Check out my name in the credits, just mere pixels away from Miyauchi Hiroshi's! You can get that here!
Although I used to be more of a forum regular, lately I've been cutting down, due to work, although I do occasionally pop into some of the ones listed on the Links page. I am most active on Henshin Justice Unlimited, where I’m also a semi-regular on the HJU Radio podcast! I’ve also appeared on an episode of my good buddy Mike Dent’s podcast show, R5 Central.
The Ever-Changing Top 5
What are your top 5 favorite Rider series?
A surprisingly hard question, as I like them all quite a bit. I generally don’t think there’s any truly “bad” Rider series. And compared to some of the comics, even the worst of televised Rider is award-winning stuff. But if I had to make a list, the top 5 are:
1. Kamen Rider
2. Kamen Rider X
3. New Kamen Rider
4. Kamen Rider V3
5. Kamen Rider Amazon
I know, I know, for the longest time I had Agito and Blade tied at #5, but watching Amazon and Stronger again reminded me of how much I love 'em. So there's 5 & 6. After that it gets tricky. Super-1's really gone up through the years (I like the Hirayama era, what can I say.) I love Agito and Blade quite a bit, and the current OOO is shaping up to maybe be my favorite of the Heisei series. I even really enjoyed the highly-controversial Decade.
But as I said, I love ‘em all.
What are your top 5 favorite Rider movies?
Probably more than any other top 5 list, this one's in a constant state of flux. I'll be honest, the first two are basically tied, but I've got to give 8 Riders credit: that movie's probably done more to me than anything else in Kamen Rider (and I promise I'll tell you why some day.) After that, the constant flow of Rider movies makes it tough to pick just a few and make it stick. But here goes.
1. 8 Riders vs. Milky Way King
2. Kamen Rider vs. Shocker
3. OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders
4. Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell
5. Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Daishocker
Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Fighting Demons, Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Kaijin, 5 Riders vs. King Dark, Kamen Rider Super-1, Kamen Rider ZO, Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace and Double's movie with the really long title all rank highly. Those BLACK movies too, they’re good. As for the Den-O movies, they’re almost in a class of their own now; it’s one of those series I’m just alright with, but I always love the movies. It’s hard to pick among them, but Final Countdown's probably my favorite.
If one was to count TV and video specials, I generally find those all very good, with ZX's one and only spectacular at the front of the pack.
Who are your top 5 favorite Riders?
Not surprisingly, if I like the show, I probably like the Rider that much too. You’ll notice I pick all older guys here... it’s not really a problem on the newer one’s part, it’s just that I love the old Riders that much.
1. Kamen Rider 1 / Kamen Rider 2 (I cannot choose between 'em!)
2. Skyrider
3. Kamen Rider X
4. Kamen Rider Amazon
5. Kamen Rider V3 / Riderman (Riderman’s the Dark Horse, but it would feel wrong to put the show’s lead man after him)
Kamen Rider Stronger, Super-1, and ZX usually come next. Okay, as for the new guys: Kuuga, the Agito trio, Ryuki, Femme, the Blade team, Hibiki, Decade, and OOO, though again, it’s tough to list them out like this. I invariably like all the lead Riders.
If you were to include “evil” Riders, Kamen Rider Scissors and Verde would be near the top.
Who are your top 5 favorite major villains?
1. Doctor Shinigami
2. Apollo Geist (classic version, though I like the Decade one too)
3. Black Shôgun
4. Colonel Zol
5. Baron Fang
Ambassador Hell, Doktor G, Marshal Armor, and General Shadow come next. Of course the big guy himself, the Great Leader, is in there somewhere too. Some newer favorites include La Dorudo Gu and Isaka/Peacock Undead.
Who are your top 5 favorite Kaijin?
It'd be impossible to pick just 5, as the monsters are practically half of why I love Kamen Rider to begin with. Ikadevil is #1 though, with Hiru-Chameleon (the final monster in the original series) at #2.
Other Stuff
Where can I buy Kamen Rider on video/DVD/Blu-Ray?
Check out my Links page for some places to buy Kamen Rider videos & DVDs!
Where can I buy Kamen Rider toys?
Also check out my Links page for some places to buy Kamen Rider toys!
Where can I download Kamen Rider episodes? (Raw or Subtitled)
I don't know much about the whole fansub thing, so I'm not the guy to ask, but from what I've read basically every Rider series has been or is in the process of being subbed by somebody (if it wasn't officially done, like V3.)
TV-Nihon have done (or are doing) the series from Ryuki-on, and some of the 90's movies. Over-Time is also doing the current series. The one-man Century Kings operation is subbing Kamen Rider BLACK, and a group called Hi No Tori has completed all of Kamen Rider Amazon. Agito was done years ago by Cruel Angel Fansubs, but I think somebody else might've started up their own version since then. Midnight Crew Subs has done Kuuga and is in the process of subbing Stronger. Order of Zeronos currently is doing X. KITSubs started on New Kamen Rider, Super-1, and recently has been devoting attention to the original series! If they actually finish that one, I promise I'll send them a box of cookies. I have no clue who's doing RX anymore, but I'm sure somebody is.
As for "Raw" (original Japanese with no subtitles) episodes, there's a number of programs out there, but once again, I'm no expert, so try some of the forums or sites found on my Links page. Ditto on that for better information about finding fansubs.
Hey, don't look at me. I just buy the Blyu-Ray/DVDs!
Are the comics really that bad? I read Kamen Rider Spirits and it's awesome!
Kamen Rider Spirits is an exception rather than the rule. Okay, there are plenty of good Rider comics out there. Ishinomori's rock, I love the ZO comic like a brother and the recent movie adaptation comics are good continuity-busting fun. There are some good old ones too... but by and large, there is a lot of hilariously awful stuff. SD Riders comics that kill off half the cast, Kamen Riders riding around on space-bikes fighting robots, and the dreaded domain that is the Sugayaverse. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
