What is Kamen Rider about?

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...

Kamen Rider

TV Show 1971 24m/ep 6.5 /10 Returning

A tv asahi Original

Created by Yuya Takahashi

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Not Currently Available On (7 platforms)

Streaming availability last verified: January 31, 2026

About Kamen Rider

Takeshi Hongo starts out as a talented motorcycle racer whose ambitions are cut short when he is abducted by Shocker, a shadowy organization plotting global domination. They alter his body into a cyborg, but he manages to break free before losing his humanity. With new abilities and a burning sense of responsibility, he rides out to stop Shocker's engineered monsters and protect ordinary people, while wrestling with what it means to be part human and part machine. The series keeps the focus on action and moral choice, with pulse-pounding chases and one-on-one confrontations rather than mystery or melodrama, and it avoids revealing later twists or endings here.

The show premiered in 1971 and was created by Yuya Takahashi, launching as an original television property rather than adapting prior material, with its episodic format aimed at weekly viewing.

It wasn't a big awards contender at the time, and there are no major international prizes widely associated with the first season. Over the years critics and genre historians have given it more attention, and fan communities have highlighted its place as an important early work in masked hero television.

Kamen Rider became influential within Japanese special effects and superhero programming, helping to popularize the masked motorcyclist image. Clips, costumes, and the idea of a lone rider fighting an evil syndicate have turned up across pop culture, and the original concept grew into a long-running franchise with many iterations, making the series a recognizable reference point for later shows.

Critical response is mixed, reflected in a 6.5/10 user vote average from 92 votes, with praise aimed at its stunt work and straightforward heroism and criticism often pointing to dated effects and repetitive monster-of-the-week plots. Thematically it wrestles with identity, the ethics of technological enhancement, and the cost of fighting an institutional evil, while offering plenty of action for viewers who enjoy practical stunts and classic tokusatsu style.

Details

Release Date: April 03, 1971
Episode Length: 24m
User Ratings: 94 votes
Type: TV Series
Seasons: 37
Episodes: 1720
Network: tv asahi, TBS, NET
Status: Returning Series
Genres: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Country: Japan
Studio: TV Asahi +3 more
External Links: View on IMDB

Official Trailer

Cast

Ryutaro Imai

Baku Yorozu / Kamen Rider ZEZTZ

Maho Horiguchi

Nem

Kenta Mishima

Tetsuya Fujimi

Rina Onuki

Nasuka Nagumo

Miki Yagi

Minami Yorozu

Yuki Furukawa

NOX

Jay Kabira

Zero (voice)

Koichi Yamadera

ZEZTZ Driver (voice)

Created by: Yuya Takahashi

Seasons (37 seasons, 1720 episodes)

Kamen Rider

98 episodes - 1971

52 episodes - 1973

35 episodes - 1974

Amazon

24 episodes - 1974

Stronger

39 episodes - 1975

Skyrider

54 episodes - 1979

Super-1

48 episodes - 1980

Black

51 episodes - 1987

Black RX

47 episodes - 1988

Kuuga

49 episodes - 2000

Agito

51 episodes - 2001

Ryuki

50 episodes - 2002

555

50 episodes - 2003

Blade

49 episodes - 2004

Hibiki

48 episodes - 2005

Kabuto

49 episodes - 2006

Den-O

49 episodes - 2007

Kiva

48 episodes - 2008

Decade

31 episodes - 2009

49 episodes - 2009

OOO

48 episodes - 2010

Fourze

48 episodes - 2011

Wizard

53 episodes - 2012

Gaim

47 episodes - 2013

Drive

48 episodes - 2014

Ghost

50 episodes - 2015

Ex-Aid

45 episodes - 2016

Build

49 episodes - 2017

Zi-O

49 episodes - 2018

Zero-One

45 episodes - 2019

Saber

48 episodes - 2020

Revice

50 episodes - 2021

Geats

49 episodes - 2022

Gotchard

50 episodes - 2023

Gavv

50 episodes - 2024

ZEZTZ

25 episodes - 2025

S37

Season 37

0 episodes

Frequently Asked Questions

Kamen Rider is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy it on Amazon Video.

Yes, Kamen Rider is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Yes, you can buy on Amazon Video.

Kamen Rider has 37 seasons with a total of 1720 episodes.

With a rating of 6.5/10 from 94 viewers, Kamen Rider is considered decent by viewers and may be worth checking out.

Kamen Rider stars Ryutaro Imai, Maho Horiguchi, Kenta Mishima, Rina Onuki, and Miki Yagi.

Kamen Rider was created by Yuya Takahashi.

Kamen Rider was released on April 03, 1971.

Kamen Rider is a Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, and Drama series.

No, Kamen Rider is a fictional tokusatsu series. It was created from the manga and ideas of Shotaro Ishinomori and follows a cyborg hero fighting the evil organization Shocker.

"Henshin!" literally means "transform" and it's the call characters use when they change into their Rider forms. It's a signature part of the show's action sequences and transformation scenes.

The original series was aimed at children and families, but it contains action, monster fights, and some moderate violence that might be intense for very young viewers. Parental guidance is recommended, especially for younger kids.

Yes, the 1971 series launched a long-running franchise that includes many TV series, films, and spin-offs over the decades. The Rider concept has been reinvented many times, so there are lots of later entries to explore.

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Kamen Rider