History ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames / KamenRider

** A ContinuitySnarl occurs in the film ''[[Film/HeiseiRiderVsShowaRiderKamenRiderWarsFeaturingSuperSentai Kamen Rider Taisen]]'' where Kouta does not recognize Hongo's use of the term "Kamen Rider" initially and needs a child to explain it to him despite learning what one is from Wizard in the last episode of his show, which implicitly took place during the first few episodes of ''Gaim''.

* [[Series/KamenRiderFaiz Faiz]] was never referred to as a Rider, and neither were the similarly-themed Kaixa and Delta systems and their users. When Kaixa first appears, the side-characters are surprised to see "another Faiz," not "another Rider."

* ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', being a MilestoneCelebration, naturally averts this, with both the Decade and Diend systems originating from [[spoiler:a [[LegionOfDoom multiversal alliance]] of Rider villains]]. However, this trope tends to hold true in the AlternateUniverse counterparts to the shows which Decade visits. Yusuke Onodera, for one, starts off as just Kuuga or "Unidentified Lifeform #4", with Decade himself being marked as "Unidentified Lifeform #10" in Kuuga's World.

** The TimeTravel {{crossover}} video game ''VideoGame/KamenRiderSeigiNoKeifu'' has, not unlike what would happen with ''Wizard'' and ''Gaim'', Agito learning of the Kamen Rider name, first when he is identified as one by a Shocker monster, followed by him meeting and fighting alongside Kamen Riders of the past. Upon returning to his own time, he shares his discovery with Gills, deciding that they will call themselves Kamen Riders from now on.

* Played with in ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', where the local DJ gives our hero his name... but that name is ''Armored'' Rider Gaim (as an ''armored'' member of the Team ''Gaim'' dance crew, where such crews are called "Beat ''Riders''"), and "Armored Rider" becomes the term used for the series' warriors instead of "Kamen Rider". Like with other shows, the phrase "Kamen Rider" is used in crossovers, though Gaim ''is'' one of the rare ones that goes "Kamen Who?" at first. It ends up being FridgeBrilliance, as most of ''Gaim'''s Armored Riders are in fact not heroic, so it becomes pretty clear that the series may have many characters in armor but only ''one'' true Kamen Rider.

In the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise, the usage of the term "Kamen Rider" to refer to its superheroes flip-flops depending on the whims of each series' staff.

* Though it's said in the movie section, just for the sake of completeness: ''Film/KamenRiderTheFirst'' and ''Film/KamenRiderTheNext'' never use the term. [[NebulousEvilOrganization Shocker]] calls Riders 1, 2, and V3 "Hopper version [number]" only, and no name is ever used by people who don't know those names, dialogue written so as to not make it awkward that they don't.

In the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise, the usage of the term "Kamen Rider" to refer to its superheroes flip-flops depending on the whims of each series' staff:

* Ironically, ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' uses it plenty, in a series where what it means to be a Rider is ''very'' different. A Kamen Rider is one of your opponents in the Rider War, and ThereCanBeOnlyOne in the end. [[OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchPhrase If you don't fight, you won't survive]]!

* Played with in ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', where the local DJ gives our hero his name... but that name is ''Armored'' Rider Gaim (as an ''armored'' member of the Team ''Gaim'' dance crew, where such crews are called "Beat ''Riders''"), and "Armored Rider" becomes the term used for the series' warriors instead of "Kamen Rider". Like with other shows, the phrase "Kamen Rider" is used in crossovers, though Gaim ''is'' one of the rare ones that goes "Kamen Who?" at first. It ends up being FridgeBrilliance, as most of ''Gaim'''s Armored Riders are not in fact heroic, so it becomes pretty clear that the series may have many characters in armor but only ''one'' true Kamen Rider.
* Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', where the Rider tech's creator George is a fanboy of all previous Riders and so naturally insists on labeling his gears' users as Kamen Riders.

* ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' plays this straight for the Kamen Rider name, as it appears to take place in a world with no previous Riders at all. Furthermore, the main Riders are never referred to as Amazon Alpha or Amazon Omega, instead using their names or "the red/green Amazon" (the Amazons being the monsters of the series), despite their transformation belts calling out "Alpha" or "Omega". The third Rider, Kamen Rider Amazon Sigma, is indeed called "Amazon Sigma" once to differentiate him from [[spoiler:Jun Maehara, the dead body he posesses]], although the Kamen Rider name is still never used.

* The heroes of ''[[Series/KamenRiderAgito]]'' are referred to as "Agito," "G3" and "Gills" (though only once for the latter), [[spoiler: as are the handful of other Agitos in existence]] but never as Kamen Riders. Additionally, the fourth Rider is never referred to by his official name, [[spoiler: "Another Agito"]]. The scattered mentions of Kuuga at the start of the show also only refer to him as "Number 4".

Modern series vary in this respect, asserting the autonomy of their own universes from each other (barring SchizoContinuity in crossovers), with only a handful of series actually calling their warriors "Riders".

** [[Series/KamenRiderAgito Agito]], a loose sequel to ''Kuuga'', has its hero initially mistaken for a returning Kuuga/No. 4, and was unique in the respect that [[spoiler: a handful of chosen people implanted by the Seed of Light can become Agito themselves.]] So Agito is not so much a unique warrior of justice than [[spoiler: a step in human evolution]].

* [[Series/KamenRiderFaiz Faiz]] was never referred to as a Rider, and neither were the similarly-themed Kaixa and Delta systems and their users. When Kaixa first appears, the side-characters are surprised to see "another Faiz," not "another Rider." The series being a [[GreyAndGrayMorality really ambiguous world]] as it is, [[spoiler: with these systems created by the more-megalomaniac elements of the Orphenoch race (here again, another step into human evolution)]], it probably fits.
* Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderBlade''. This series advances the idea that Kamen Riders are UrbanLegends, with supporting cast member Kotaro Shirai trying to research them for a book he wants to write, which leads to his befriending Kazuma Kenzaki (Blade). However, it's (perhaps intentionally) hard to tell if he means '''all''' the Kamen Riders or just the ones from this specific series, who were active for a little while before the series begins. On top of that, the belts are actively called "Rider Systems" by their creators, and the term "Kamen Rider" is used many times throughout the show.

* ''Series/KamenRiderKabuto'' is a noteworthy aversion, since the term is built into the show; the {{Transformation Trinket}}s are called "Masked Rider Systems", and can [[MultiFormBalance form-change]] between the heavily armored Masked Form and the much more agile Rider Form.

* Unsurprisingly averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' and ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'', being anniversary seasons featuring every Rider at the time of their respective airings. Decade even refers to himself as "just a passing-by Kamen Rider", and all the Riders in Zi-O have "Rider" [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS written on their faces]] in either katakana or hiragana.

* In ''Series/KamenRiderFourze''[='s=] second episode, PerkyGoth Tomoko sees Fourze defeat the MonsterOfTheWeek and refers to him as a Kamen Rider, explaining that they're considered an Urban Legend by the world at large, but she has proof of their existence (security camera footage of several past Rider battles). Gentaro proudly adopts the name and does his best to live up to their reputation, including seeking out past Riders' approval (and friendship) in crossovers.

* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' also averts it, as both "Kamen Rider" and "Build" are coined by the TransformationTrinket's creator: "Project Build" was the name of the effort to create {{Super Soldier}}s for the military, and "Kamen Rider" was the title he gave to those soldiers. When our hero [[PhlebotinumRebel escaped the project and started fighting back]], he took "Build" as his personal codename.
* ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'' averts this because "Zero One" is coined in the series and "Kamen Rider" is said by the main characters, but citizen characters don't seem to know about both such as when the manager of the amusement park in episode 1 refers to Aruto and Zero One as the "Mysterious Yellow Hero".

* Unsurprisingly averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' and ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'', being anniversary seasons featuring every Rider at the time of their respective airings. Decade even refers to himself as "just a passing-by Kamen Rider", and Zi-O has Japanese script for "Kamen Rider" [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS written on his face]].
* Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', where the people of Fuuto give the name "Kamen Rider" to their mysterious protector. Shotaro, who's very fond of the city, takes a good deal of pride in the name, and when a MonsterOfTheWeek tries to frame them he almost seems angrier at his sullying the "Kamen Rider" name. However, only people in the know refer to him as "Double".

** This brings up an interesting point: even if a character does not share an origin with any other Rider, and the term never comes up and never has a reason to, when he finally meets other Riders, he ''will'' know the term, maybe even using it as if he always has. Nobody ever says "Kamen who?" except in ''Fourze'', where again, Tomoko applied the term to Fourze due to his similarity to Riders past. Fourze introduces the term to Wizard on their first meeting, and the latter gladly adopts it because the idea of "masked heroes who fight humanity's enemies in secret" [[RuleOfCool sounds pretty cool]]. Meteor actually gets mildly offended at Wizard's flippant attitude, saying "Don't take the Kamen Rider name so lightly!", but Fourze calms him down.

* Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'', where the name is used regularly; the Roidmudes coined it in the backstory to refer to the original Drive as something of a [[TheDreaded Dreaded]] nickname; when the new Drive pops up, the Roidmude's reaction is "OhCrap ''Another'' one of you Kamen Riders?!", making it the first time both Drive himself and the audience hear the term. Funnily enough, this is the series where "Kamen Rider" is an ArtifactTitle, since Drive is the only hero in the franchise who uses a CoolCar instead of a CoolBike.[[note]]One Rider, Series/KamenRiderBlackRX, had one of each.[[/note]]
** This also allowed the staff to play around with the advertising campaign, by announcing "This Rider is a driver!" When they introduced the SecondRider Mach (who actually does have a motorcycle), they spoofed themselves by declaring "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment This Rider is a rider!]]"
* ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' goes back to generally not using the title (except for the OpeningNarration). Oddly, it is established to exist in-universe as Ghost is given the "Kamen Rider" title by the sage who gives him his powers; but unlike in other Rider series no reason is ever provided as to ''why'' the sage would name him that. The tie-in movie ''Film/KamenRider1'', a crossover with [[Series/KamenRider the original series]], suggests that this is because the sage knows about the original Kamen Rider and has a great deal of respect for him, giving Ghost the name in honor of the legendary hero.
* Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'', which uses a similar system as ''Blade'' and ''Kabuto'' in that there's an organization recruiting and equipping people to fight the monsters, and they're the ones designating such people as Kamen Riders.

* [[Series/KamenRiderKiva Kiva]] (and for that matter, Saga and Dark Kiva), were considered as "armors" to be worn by the villainous Fangire leaders/kings when their Fangire forms are not enough. And for that matter, the secondary Rider (the IXA system) was never called that as well. The "IXA System" was referred to, but not "Kamen Rider Ixa" as a name. "Kamen Rider" itself was rarely heard - when Ixa's first seen user says "My Rider System is much stronger than his," this may be the only time. ''Kiva did'' have the same head writer as ''Series/KamenRiderFaiz.''

* ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'' sort of averts this because "Zero One" is coined in the series. Although "Kamen Rider" doesn't seem to be used, such as when the manager of the amusement park in episode 1 refers to Aruto and Zero One as the "Mysterious Yellow Hero".

** ''Series/KamenRiderKabuto'' is a noteworthy aversion, since the term is built into the show; the {{Transformation Trinket}}s are called "Masked Rider Systems", and can [[MultiFormBalance form-change]] between the heavily armored Masked Form and the much more agile Rider Form.

** [[Series/KamenRiderKuuga Kuuga]] is generally referred to as "Unidentified Lifeform #4" (or just "Number 4" for short), thanks to the police mistakenly thinking he's one of the Grongi at first[[note]]They also mistake his weak default form as an entirely different being, "Unidentified Lifeform #2"[[/note]]. Only a few people know his proper name is Kuuga, and the term "Kamen Rider" doesn't exist outside the opening credits.

** Ironically, ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' uses it plenty, in a series where what it means to be a Rider is ''very'' different. A Kamen Rider is one of your opponents in the Rider War, and ThereCanBeOnlyOne in the end. [[OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchPhrase If you don't fight, you won't survive]]!
** [[Series/KamenRiderFaiz Faiz]] was never referred to as a Rider, and neither were the similarly-themed Kaixa and Delta systems and their users. When Kaixa first appears, the side-characters are surprised to see "another Faiz," not "another Rider." The series being a [[GreyAndGrayMorality really ambiguous world]] as it is, [[spoiler: with these systems created by the more-megalomaniac elements of the Orphenoch race (here again, another step into human evolution)]], it probably fits.
** Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderBlade''. This series advances the idea that Kamen Riders are UrbanLegends, with supporting cast member Kotaro Shirai trying to research them for a book he wants to write, which leads to his befriending Kazuma Kenzaki (Blade). However, it's (perhaps intentionally) hard to tell if he means '''all''' the Kamen Riders or just the ones from this specific series, who were active for a little while before the series begins. On top of that, the belts are actively called "Rider Systems" by their creators, and the term "Kamen Rider" is used many times throughout the show.
** [[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]] and his fellow warriors are precisely called "Oni", '''''never''''' "Riders." This being an adaptation of another independent Ishinomori series (''Ongeki Hibiki'') reworked as a Kamen Rider series, it is the [[BrokenBase source of contention among the KR fandom]].

** ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' also rarely, if ever, uses the term outside crossovers.
** [[Series/KamenRiderKiva Kiva]] (and for that matter, Saga and Dark Kiva), were considered as "armors" to be worn by the villainous Fangire leaders/kings when their Fangire forms are not enough. And for that matter, the secondary Rider (the IXA system) was never called that as well. The "IXA System" was referred to, but not "Kamen Rider Ixa" as a name. "Kamen Rider" itself was rarely heard - when Ixa's first seen user says "My Rider System is much stronger than his," this may be the only time. ''Kiva did'' have the same head writer as ''Series/KamenRiderFaiz.''
** Unsurprisingly averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' and ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'', being anniversary seasons featuring every Rider at the time of their respective airings. Decade even refers to himself as "just a passing-by Kamen Rider", and Zi-O has Japanese script for "Kamen Rider" [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS written on his face]].
** Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', where the people of Fuuto give the name "Kamen Rider" to their mysterious protector. Shotaro, who's very fond of the city, takes a good deal of pride in the name, and when a MonsterOfTheWeek tries to frame them he almost seems angrier at his sullying the "Kamen Rider" name. However, only people in the know refer to him as "Double".
** In ''Series/KamenRiderOOO,'' Kougami seems to know about Riders, so Birth is "Kamen Rider Birth" (it's even in the suit's instruction manual!) but OOO is only called a Rider during crossovers. And of course all this is ignoring the Fourth Wall-shattering MilestoneCelebration of the franchise's 999th and 1000th overall episodes, which openly refer to ''Kamen Rider'' '''as''' a franchise, with a retired {{Mook}} who has a notebook listing the names, episodes, and airdates of every monster the Riders ever defeated.
** In ''Series/KamenRiderFourze''[='s=] second episode, PerkyGoth Tomoko sees Fourze defeat the MonsterOfTheWeek and refers to him as a Kamen Rider, explaining that they're considered an Urban Legend by the world at large, but she has proof of their existence (security camera footage of several past Rider battles). Gentaro proudly adopts the name and does his best to live up to their reputation, including seeking out past Riders' approval (and friendship) in crossovers.
** ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'' plays by the rules of the early 2000s' series, not using the term "Kamen Rider" outside of crossovers. Outsiders refer to the heroes as "wizards" (''mahoutsukai'') rather than Riders, while people who know them personally use their GratuitousEnglish titles like "Wizard" and "Beast". However, one such character (the White Wizard) is ''only'' referred to by this nickname; his "Rider name" wasn't revealed until after the series had ended, and since the name would have been a massive spoiler the use of a nickname was wholly justified. [[spoiler:The name is "Kamen Rider Wiseman", which reveals that the White Wizard and the villains' leader Wiseman are one and the same]].
*** This brings up an interesting point: even if a character does not share an origin with any other Rider, and the term never comes up and never has a reason to, when he finally meets other Riders, he ''will'' know the term, maybe even using it as if he always has. Nobody ever says "Kamen who?" except in ''Fourze'', where again, Tomoko applied the term to Fourze due to his similarity to Riders past. Fourze introduces the term to Wizard on their first meeting, and the latter gladly adopts it because the idea of "masked heroes who fight humanity's enemies in secret" [[RuleOfCool sounds pretty cool]]. Meteor actually gets mildly offended at Wizard's flippant attitude, saying "Don't take the Kamen Rider name so lightly!", but Fourze calms him down.
** Played with in ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', where the local DJ gives our hero his name... but that name is ''Armored'' Rider Gaim (as an ''armored'' member of the Team ''Gaim'' dance crew, where such crews are called "Beat ''Riders''"), and "Armored Rider" becomes the term used for the series' warriors instead of "Kamen Rider". Like with other shows, the phrase "Kamen Rider" is used in crossovers, though Gaim ''is'' one of the rare ones that goes "Kamen Who?" at first. It ends up being FridgeBrilliance, as most of ''Gaim'''s Armored Riders are not in fact heroic, so it becomes pretty clear that the series may have many characters in armor but only ''one'' true Kamen Rider.
** Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'', where the name is used regularly; the Roidmudes coined it in the backstory to refer to the original Drive as something of a [[TheDreaded Dreaded]] nickname; when the new Drive pops up, the Roidmude's reaction is "OhCrap ''Another'' one of you Kamen Riders?!", making it the first time both Drive himself and the audience hear the term. Funnily enough, this is the series where "Kamen Rider" is an ArtifactTitle, since Drive is the only hero in the franchise who uses a CoolCar instead of a CoolBike.[[note]]One Rider, Series/KamenRiderBlackRX, had one of each.[[/note]]
*** This also allowed the staff to play around with the advertising campaign, by announcing "This Rider is a driver!" When they introduced the SecondRider Mach (who actually does have a motorcycle), they spoofed themselves by declaring "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment This Rider is a rider!]]"
** ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' goes back to generally not using the title (except for the OpeningNarration). Oddly, it is established to exist in-universe as Ghost is given the "Kamen Rider" title by the sage who gives him his powers; but unlike in other Rider series no reason is ever provided as to ''why'' the sage would name him that. The tie-in movie ''Film/KamenRider1'', a crossover with [[Series/KamenRider the original series]], suggests that this is because the sage knows about the original Kamen Rider and has a great deal of respect for him, giving Ghost the name in honor of the legendary hero.
** Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'', which uses a similar system as ''Blade'' and ''Kabuto'' in that there's an organization recruiting and equipping people to fight the monsters, and they're the ones designating such people as Kamen Riders.
** ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' plays this straight for the Kamen Rider name, as it appears to take place in a world with no previous Riders at all. Furthermore, the main Riders are never referred to as Amazon Alpha or Amazon Omega, instead using their names or "the red/green Amazon" (the Amazons being the monsters of the series), despite their transformation belts calling out "Alpha" or "Omega". The third Rider, Kamen Rider Amazon Sigma, is indeed called "Amazon Sigma" once to differentiate him from [[spoiler:Jun Maehara, the dead body he posesses]], although the Kamen Rider name is still never used.
** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' also averts it, as both "Kamen Rider" and "Build" are coined by the TransformationTrinket's creator: "Project Build" was the name of the effort to create {{Super Soldier}}s for the military, and "Kamen Rider" was the title he gave to those soldiers. When our hero [[PhlebotinumRebel escaped the project and started fighting back]], he took "Build" as his personal codename.
** Though it's said in the movie section, just for the sake of completeness: ''Film/KamenRiderTheFirst'' and ''Film/KamenRiderTheNext'' never use the term. [[NebulousEvilOrganization Shocker]] calls Riders 1, 2, and V3 "Hopper version [number]" only, and no name is ever used by people who don't know those names, dialogue written so as to not make it awkward that they don't.