History Franchise / Kamenrider

* ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'' (2022-present, a CrisisCrossover anthology series that connects all unresolved plot points from Heisei Phase 2 shows starting with ''Double'' all the way to the Reiwa era up to ''Revice'')

** ''Outsiders'': Benevolence vs. Malice, Free Will vs. Oppression, Dehumanization, Hypocrisy

** ''Outsiders'': Benevolence vs. Malice, Free Will vs. Oppression
* ''Gotchard'': Dreams, Malice

The ''Kamen Rider Series'', simply known as ''Kamen Rider'' (also known under the English translated title of ''Masked Rider'' in shows prior to ''Series/KamenRiderDouble''[[note]]The switch from ''MASKED RIDER'' to ''KAMEN RIDER'' being a result of ''Kamen Rider Dragon Knight'' keeping the actual Japanese moniker in order to distinguish itself from the earlier ''Saban's Masked Rider''.[[/note]]), is a franchise of {{toku}}satsu series created by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori and produced by the Creator/ToeiCompany in 1971, and has since then become one of the milestones in Japanese pop culture, greatly revolutionizing the Japanese superhero and action genre, effectively becoming the figurehead of classical superheroes and the idea of "poetic justice" in Japan.

[[AC:Heisei Era Phase 2 (2010-2019):]] ''Decade'' had a protracted 31 episode run, and its status as the Heisei Era's MilestoneCelebration allowed the franchise to have a mini-reboot in 2009 in the next 10 years of shows to follow. These shows, referred to in Japan as "Phase 2 Heisei Rider" (第２期平成ライダー) and in some English-speaking circles as "Neo-Heisei", set themselves apart from the prior run of shows by having a different production staff, a different tone, a different broadcast schedule (beginning in August or September rather than January), and a switch from using "MASKED RIDER" to "KAMEN RIDER" in the English portions of the logos.

* ''VideoGame/KamenRiderSeigiNoKeifu'' (2003, UsefulNotes/Playstation2)

** ''VideoGame/GreatBattleFullBlast'' (2012, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]])
** ''VideoGame/LostHeroes'' (2012, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita PS Vita]], UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS)
** ''VideoGame/HeroesVs'' (2013, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]])
** ''VideoGame/SuperHeroGeneration'' (2014, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita)
* ''VideoGame/KamenRiderClimaxHeroes'' series (2009-2012 and 2017-2018, UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]], UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch)

** ''Kamen Rider Ganbaride: Card Battle Taisen'' (2010, UsefulNotes/NintendoDS adaptation)

* ''VideoGame/AllKamenRiderGenerations'' series (2011-2012 and 2016, UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]])
* ''VideoGame/KamenRiderBattrideWar'' series (2013-2014 and 2016, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/WiiU, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita PS Vita]])

* ''Kamen Rider Travelers Record'' (2013, UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS)
* ''Kamen Rider Summonride'' (2014, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/WiiU)

* ''VideoGame/KamenRiderMemoryOfHeroez'' (2020, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4)

** Creator/{{Sony}} has had a few collaborations where their products stand in for those made by an in-universe company, with the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PlayStation VR]] in ''Ex-Aid'' and their Aibo line of {{Robot Dog}}s in ''Zero-One''.

* ThePresentDay: Most ''Kamen Rider'' series take place in the year they air. ''Kiva'' is unique in that it is partly set in 1986, 22 years before its present day of 2008, while ''Den-O'' and ''Zi-O'' also use TimeTravel to hop up and down the timeline.

* LighterAndSofter: Dependent on perspective whether it's happened or not. While it is still darker and has more character deaths than ''Super Sentai'' or western superhero TV series, and the writers generally have stated in interviews a preference to cater to an 'all ages and demographics' audience; the content has been viewed as having gotten more kid-friendly since ''Den-O'', compared to the early Heisei shows that had the monsters brutally killing people in many episodes. This is primarily due to changes in broadcast standards in Japan following a series of brutal murders and terrorists attacks in the late 2000's requiring content in live-action series be less graphically violent, unless it is broadcast past certain times of day. The writers of Phase 2 Kamen Rider have since compensated with that by adding more elements of Psychological Horror, sickness and abuse which makes the content more cerebral-storytelling-focused in its darker elements than that of the prior period's visual violence. To those who that appeals to, Heisei phase 2/Neo-Heisei and Reiwa series are darker than ever.

* BreakoutVillain: Quite a few villains have become every bit as popular as the heroes they fought against, and as such have gone on to make future appearances. [[Series/KamenRiderDouble Kamen Rider Eternal]] and [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Ryoma Sengoku]] are two particularly notable examples, as both got their own movies based on their popularity.

* ''[[VideoGame/KamenRiderSeigiNoKeifu Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu]]'' (2003, UsefulNotes/Playstation2)

* ''Series/KamenRiderSD''

The ''Kamen Rider Series'', simply known as ''Kamen Rider'' (also known under the English translated title of ''Masked Rider'' in shows prior to ''Kamen Rider Double''[[note]]The switch from ''MASKED RIDER'' to ''KAMEN RIDER'' being a result of ''Kamen Rider Dragon Knight'' keeping the actual Japanese moniker in order to distinguish itself from the earlier ''Saban's Masked Rider''.[[/note]]), is a franchise of {{toku}}satsu series created by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori and produced by the Creator/ToeiCompany in 1971, and has since then become one of the milestones in Japanese pop culture, greatly revolutionizing the Japanese superhero and action genre, effectively becoming the figurehead of classical superheroes and the idea of "poetic justice" in Japan.

* BewareTheSuperman: The franchise isn't immune to the idea that even the most heroic {{Henshin Hero}}es can potentially pose a clear and present danger to the world if they couldn't keep themselves in check. This trope is even explored in Heisei era shows like ''Kuuga'', ''Decade'', and even ''Zi-O''. ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'' also deals with the trope as one of its underlying themes.

* ''Literature/SICHeroSaga''

* AffirmativeActionGirl: The series is usually reluctant to get girls involved in its battles, so any woman that actually does so becomes one of these. They've gradually become more common, with the Heisei era having several token female Riders, and the Reiwa era launched with one as a regular cast member in ''Zero-One''.

* ArchnemesisDad: Heisei and Reiwa have a notable tendency to make one of the heroes fight their father near the finale, with seasons like [[spoiler:''Kiva'', ''Double'', ''Wizard'', ''Drive'', and ''Ex-Aid'']] having fathers as the BigBad, while fathers in [[spoiler:''Ryuki'', ''Blade'', ''Ghost'', ''Amazons'', ''Build'', ''Zero-One'', ''Saber'', and ''Revice'']] have [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom inadvertently created]] the conflict in the first place.

* BewareTheSuperman: The franchise isn't immune to the idea that even the most heroic {{Henshin Hero}}es potentially posing a clear and present danger to the world if they couldn't keep themselves in check. This trope is even explored in Heisei era shows like ''Kuuga'', ''Decade'', and even ''Zi-O''. ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'' also deals with the trope as one of its underlying themes.

** Zi-O and Geiz have 19 Rider Armors between them that are based on the other Heisei Riders. The Decade Ridewatch can even double up with another, giving 37 total different Armors (since it can't be doubled up with itself).

** Phase 2 Heisei shows produced by Hideaki Tsukada (which, so far, include ''Double'' and ''Fourze''), the villain faction Foundation X is usually involved. The other Phase 2 Heisei shows' staffs seem less keen on using Foundation X: They had little to no presence in ''OOO''[='s=] series (despite {{foreshadowing}} in TheMovie of ''Double'') and absolutely no involvement in or after ''Wizard''. In ''Movie Wars [=MegaMax=]'', the BigBad of ''OOO''[='s=] segment is not related to Foundation X in any way, until the very end. They eventually resurface in ''Ex-Aid'', but only in a tie-in special.

* NonLethalKO: In Heisei/Reiwa series where the MonsterOfTheWeek is a transformed human [[spoiler: except for Gaim]] the human will fall out of the explosion unharmed, no matter how violently the monster form was defeated.

** ''[[Series/KamenRiderDecade All Riders Vs Dai-Shocker]]'' is particularly baffling, because while the events of it don't seem to fit anywhere in Decade[='s=] continuity, it also contains massive revelations about the whole plot, and events from it were mentioned in ''Decade''[='s=] finale movie, which is canon to both ''Decade'' and ''Double''. [[AWizardDidIt The worlds were probably merging.]]

** ''Zi-O'' wholly parodies any notion of a shared universe between the Heisei Rider shows, having [[spoiler:it be that all 20 Heisei Riders took place in their own separate timelines, which were forcibly merged together by the BigBad but reset back into their own separate worlds at the end of the series.]] Up until this gets {{retcon}}ned by ''Revice''.

* SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality: ''Kamen Rider'' is a well-known instance of "Men Are More Equal". There's always a female lead who is one of the Riders' closest allies, but for all her importance she stays in a support role. Women who take combat roles as Riders themselves are rare, and they usually get killed off or suffer some other indignity that male Riders don't have to. That said, it has improved over the course Heisei Phase 2, and the Reiwa series so far are making great efforts to have at least one female Rider: ''Zero-One'' has a female Rider who was part of the initial group of Riders (though she ends up becoming a FauxActionGirl), ''Saber'' features a female Rider who's a legitimate ActionGirl able to fight on par with most of the male Riders, and ''Revice'' has all three siblings become Riders including the only sister of the group, with a second female Rider joining midway through.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: A common trend in the Heisei era is that in addition to the lead Rider, there is usually a secondary main character, who may or may not be the secondary Rider.

** The villain of the ''Geats'' movie is X Geats, whose suit is a retooled form of Geats' SuperMode Geats IX that's been repainted from white to black.

* {{Mons}}: Noticeably embraced by the Heisei Riders from ''Ryuki'' to ''Ghost'' (though Gouram in ''Kuuga'' can also count). Ranging from Deconstructions (''Ryuki'', ''Kiva'', ''Gaim''), played straight (''Blade'', ''Hibiki'', mechanical ones in ''555'') and parodied (''Den-O''). Several of the late Heisei series shifted somewhat to [[RobotBuddy Robot Buddies]] instead. %%''Gotchard'' could possibly be added, once we see how it treats the Chemies

* SixthRanger: A staple of the franchise from the Heisei era onward (starting with ''Agito''), an additional Rider is always introduced at the beginning of the show's second quarter. They are typically anti-heroes, some start as straight-up villains, but they mostly all take the side of TheHero in the end. (Keep in mind, though, that the fandom-equivalent term "Second Rider" isn't ''quite'' the same; it refers to a show's {{Deuteragonist}} Rider who often overlaps with this as a late-added cast member but could also have been part of the show from the beginning.)

[[AC:Reiwa Era (2019-present):]] The '''Reiwa Era'''[[note]]Named after the reign of Naruhito as Emperor of Japan following the abdication of his father Akihito.[[/note]] is the current state of the franchise. After ''Zi-O'' was set to be another MilestoneCelebration it was also publicly advertised as the definitive end of the Heisei Era (not just because RealLife determined that a new Imperial Era would begin in early 2019).

[[/index]]

[[AC:Showa Era (1971-1989):]]
The original run of the ''Kamen Rider'' franchise in the 1970s and 1980s comprise the '''Showa Era'''.[[note]]Named after the reign of Hirohito as Emperor of Japan which began in 1926.[[/note]] All series in the Showa Era were developed in some form by Shotaro Ishinomori.

* ''Series/KamenRiderSkyrider'' (1979-1980; AKA ''New Kamen Rider''; originally called simply ''Kamen Rider'', it was intended as a ContinuityReboot, but the idea was abandoned)

* ''Film/BirthOfTheTenthGatherAllKamenRiders'' (TV special in 1984) featuring Kamen Rider ZX (who debuted in 1982 in a series of magazine stories)

[[AC:Heisei Era (2000-2019):]]
[[OutlivedItsCreator After Ishinomori's death in 1998]], ''Kamen Rider'' was revived as a television franchise in 2000, beginning the '''Heisei Era'''[[note]]Named after the reign of Akihito as Emperor of Japan, beginning after his father's death in 1989.[[/note]] run of the franchise. Each show still credits Ishinomori as the original creator of ''Kamen Rider''.

''Decade'' had a protracted 31 episode run, and its status as the Heisei Era's MilestoneCelebration allowed the franchise to have a mini-reboot in 2009 in the next 10 years of shows to follow. These shows, referred to in Japan as "Phase 2 Heisei Rider" (第２期平成ライダー) and in some English-speaking circles as "Neo-Heisei", set themselves apart from the prior run of shows by having a different production staff, a different tone, a different broadcast schedule (beginning in August or September rather than January), and a switch from using "MASKED RIDER" to "KAMEN RIDER" in the English portions of the logos.

[[AC:Reiwa Era (2019-present):]]
The '''Reiwa Era'''[[note]]Named after the reign of Naruhito as Emperor of Japan following the abdication of his father Akihito.[[/note]] is the current state of the franchise. After ''Zi-O'' was set to be another MilestoneCelebration it was also publicly advertised as the definitive end of the Heisei Era (not just because RealLife determined that a new Imperial Era would begin in early 2019).

** ''BLACK SUN'': Discrimination, Prejudice, and determination to fight evil

** ''Outsiders'': OrderVersusChaos, Free Will vs. Oppression

** ''Gotchard'' has the Malgams, humans merged with a [[GottaCatchEmAll Chemy.]] This can be in the form of one posessing an evil human, or one of the villains using it as a power-up.

** ''BLACK SUN'': Discrimination, Prejudice

** Going in the other direction, ''Televi-kun'' magazine regularly promotes ''Kamen Rider'', and ever since the Heisei era started they've distributed a "Hyper Battle" [[invoked]]BonusEpisode DVD each year (and for a few series they've released ''multiple'' Hyper Battles). These episodes in turn often reference ''Televi-Kun'', and many later series include promotional TransformationTrinket collectibles featured in the episodes and packaged with the magazine. In ''Saber'', said trinket is a toy version of ''Televi-Kun'' itself.

** For part of the Heisei era, the Rider Kick finishers have tended to become this. Every main Rider gets one just out of tradition, but they usually only get used once at the start of the series, and then are immediately forgotten in favor of finishers using the Rider's weapons until around the end of the series when you might get another use of them just to remind the viewers they exist. They do get used a bit more in team-ups or other situations with multiple Riders fighting on the same side, as it's really cool to have multiple Riders kicking the enemy at the same time. However, later Heisei Riders, especially the main ones, have a kick finisher in addition to their weapon based finishers, giving them multiple finishing moves that even occasionally get strung together. [[Series/KamenRiderZiO Grand Zi-O]]'s final finishing move is all 20 Heisei Riders performing their Rider Kicks together.

** Every Showa TV series use this trope.

Kamen Rider famously launched the "Second Monster Boom" or "Henshin Boom", a period in the 70's that saw the birth of many imitating superhero shows (specifically, that of the HenshinHero variety), moving tokusatsu from the film industry to television. The subsequent domino-effect made Kamen Rider's influences in the current Japanese media deep rooted. Shows such as its brother-show ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'', and to go even further, ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' (and the MagicalGirlWarrior genre as a whole) wouldn't be possible without Kamen Rider, just to name a few.

It typically has a smaller main cast than the relatively more well-known (in the West) ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' (the title of each series refers to a single main Rider instead of ''Super Sentai''[='=]s FiveManBand), but not always. Some series feature huge numbers of Riders, with the most extreme examples being ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' and its 13 Riders, ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' with 18, and ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'' with ''over 30'' (with dozens more implied offscreen, though many are short-term {{Red Shirt}}s).[[note]]Although ''Series/KamenRiderHibiki'' has far more if you count ones which were only mentioned, and technically ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'' has approximately 7 billion, as [[Film/KamenRiderWizardInMagicLand the summer movie]] is set in a place where everyone on Earth has Rider magic.[[/note]]

It typically has a smaller main cast than the relatively more well-known (in the West) ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' (the title of each series refers to a single main Rider instead of ''Super Sentai''[='=]s FiveManBand), but not always. Some series feature huge numbers of Riders, with the most extreme examples being ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' and its 13 Riders, ''Kamen Rider Gaim'' with 18, and ''Kamen Rider Geats'' with ''over 30'' (with dozens more implied offscreen, though many are short-term {{Red Shirt}}s).[[note]]Although ''Hibiki'' has far more if you count ones which were only mentioned, and technically ''Wizard'' has approximately 7 billion, as the summer movie is set in a place where everyone on Earth has Rider magic.[[/note]]