Similar to its counterpart, each series focuses on a different Rider, a new set of characters and a different story set in its own universe, though there been multiple instances of past characters from previous Kamen Rider series crossing over to team up against a common foe. A common running theme in the franchise is that the Rider's power derived from the same source and technology used by malevolent forces, thus forming a moral vow for the protagonists to use this power to fight against evil. The Kamen Rider franchise primarily revolving around the eponymous Kamen Rider, a superpowered vigilante who mostly resembles a grasshopper and rides a motorcycle, and their one-man war against an ever-larger malevolent force, usually a terrorist organization bent on world domination. Bluefin Distribution, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco, distributes Kamen Rider merchandise in North America. īandai owns the toy rights to Kamen Rider Japan (and some Asia regions). The original series spawned television and film sequels and launched the Second Kaiju Boom (also known as the Henshin Boom) on Japanese television during the early 1970s, impacting the superhero and action-adventure genres in Japan.

The franchise began in 1971 with the Kamen Rider television series, which followed college student Takeshi Hongo and his quest to defeat the world-conquering Shocker organization. Kamen Rider media generally features a motorcycle-riding superhero with an insect motif who fights supervillains, often known as kaijin ( 怪人, mystery people).

Kamen Rider ( Japanese: 仮面ライダーシリーズ, Hepburn: Kamen Raidā Shirīzu, translated as 'Masked Rider Series'), also known as Masked Rider, is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, and manga, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company (for Oronamin C) MBS/ TBS (1975-1989, from Stronger up to Black RX)

A statue of Kamen Rider 1 outside of Bandai Corporate Headquarters in Taitō, Tokyo

Kamen rider flash attack