Line #20 Series/KamenRiderX


1	! Spoilers for all Showa ''Franchise/KamenRider'' entries preceding this one, including ''Series/KamenRiderV3'', will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
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3	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/krx_bd_vol1.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:350:''SET UP!!'']]
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6	->''Mortally wounded along with his father by the nefarious organization GOD, Keisuke Jin is revived as Kamen Rider X.\
7	His mission: To preserve peace and justice by fighting the mysterious agency known as GOD.''
8	-->'''OpeningNarration'''
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10	''Kamen Rider X'' was the third ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series from Shotaro Ishinomori, there was also a manga released around the same time.
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12	Keisuke Jin is a guy living in Japan with his father and fiancee, his father is a famous inventor as well as a judo expert. His father has been working on a motor that could be revolutionary. However, the latest evil organization Government of Darkness (or GOD for short) wants the invention. Jin's fiancee is a spy for GOD and executes both Jin and his father, but not before Dr. Keitaro manages to ''somehow'' drag Keisuke Jin all the way into his lab and install the engine into him. Dr. Keitaro dies shortly after, but not before leaving his son the gear to become Kamen Rider X. X vows to destroy the Government of Darkness, and avenge his father.
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14	''Kamen Rider X'' has had two theatrical releases: an movie version of episode 3 also titled ''Kamen Rider X'', and ''Film/FiveRidersVsKingDark'' where he teams up with his predecessors from [[Series/KamenRider the original series]] and ''Series/KamenRiderV3''.
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16	----
17	!!Recurring ''Kamen Rider'' tropes include:
18	* AutomobileOpening: As is the norm for Showa Riders, a good portion of the OpeningCredits is X-Rider riding the Cruiser.
19	* BadassBiker: Rider X of course.
20	* BigBad: The G.O.D. General Commander, an unseen individual who leads the Secret Society G.O.D. and gives orders through tapes carrying his voice recordings. In a franchise first, he's also a different entity from the [[HijackedByGanon Great Leader]], who apparently decided to sit this series and [[Series/KamenRiderAmazon the next one]] out.
21	* ByThePowerOfGrayskull: '''SET UP!!'''
22	** Following [[spoiler:X's upgrade surgery]], '''DAI HENSHIN!!'''
23	* CoolBike: The Cruiser.
24	* TheDragon: Apollo Geist, the "Chief of Security" for GOD, whose position mostly involves killing any dissenters, overseeing the EvilPlan every once in a while, and fighting X-Rider.
25	* FinishingMove: X-Rider has the X Kick to start. After his upgrade, he can perform the Vacuum Hell Wheel in which he grabs the monster, forms a wheel with it, hurling them into the air, and finally kicks them into the ground.
26	* HenshinHero: X-Rider, who transforms by withdrawing his Ridol stick from his belt.
27	* MonsterOfTheWeek: G.O.D. initially has the Shinwakaijin ("Myth Monsters"), who are based on figures from Greek mythology. Then King Dark's emergence brings in the Akuninkaijin ("Villain Monsters"), who are reincarnated historical figures blended with animals, most infamously Starfish Hitler.
28	* {{Mooks}}: G.O.D. Warfare Agents.
29	* NebulousEvilOrganisation: G.O.D., a secret society alluded to have their hand in numerous world affairs.
30	* TransformationTrinket: The Ridol.
31	* VillainsActHeroesReact: As is the norm for ''Kamen Rider'', G.O.D. generally sends forth a MOTW with an EvilPlan OnceAnEpisode, with X-Rider then arriving on the scene to stop them.
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33	!! ''Kamen Rider X'' provides examples of:
34	* BackFromTheDead
35	** Most notably, Apollo Geist's body is recovered and reconstructed after he is first slain by X-Rider.
36	** #21 has the return of Hercules, Medusa, Mach Achilles, Flaming Prometheus and Ulysses.
37	** #27 has the return of Neptune, Medusa and Chimera. It is explicitly noted that they have been revived by King Dark.
38	** TheMovie has Franken Bat leading an army of revived monsters.[[note]]Neptune, Pannic, Hercules, Medusa, Cyclops, Icarus, Atlas, Mach Achilles, Prometheus, Hydra, Chimera, Ulysses, Chronos, Cerberus, Alseides, Cadeus, Ghengis Khan-Condor, Toad-Goemon.[[/note]]
39	** #28 has Spider-Napoleon supported by Mach Achilles and Salamander-Gong.
40	* BadassBystander: The climax of episode 32 takes place inside a restaurant with an African theater group. When the fighting breaks out and the woman with the schematics is cornered, one performer powers through them and easily subdues the GOD mooks.
41	* {{BFG}}: Apollo Geist has one ''that's attached to his right arm'' and boy it's friggin powerful.
42	* BlackKnight: Apollo Geist fits this description, only in red armor.
43	* BloodierAndGorier: Not ''quite'' to Amazon extent in terms of gore, but close, with enemies being sliced in half, decapitated, and impaled. And Keisuke Jin is bloodily executed via machinegun fire in Ep. 1. The manga of X however...is extremely gory at times.
44	* BreatherEpisode: #27 takes a break from the RS Device blueprint hunt for a RecapEpisode, though it is somewhat important for reintroducing V3.
45	* CallBack: #5 reintroduces Tobei Tachibana and has him mention [[Series/KamenRiderV3 Destron]], the last villain organization, as well featuring the first four Riders through flashbacks.
46	** The first three Riders are additionally mentioned in #9 and #10.
47	* CanonWelding: ''X'' is tied to the previous series beginning with #5, which introduces Tobei Tachibana.
48	* ClipShow: Episode 27 has Tobei Tachibana recounting the events of ''Series/KamenRider'' and ''Series/KamenRiderV3''.
49	* {{Cyborg}}: The previous two ''Kamen Rider'' series referred to Riders as ''kaizo ningen'' ("modified human"), which has a wider meaning than the usual English rendering "cyborg". This series used the term ''Kaizorg''.
50	* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to the two series before, X is much darker. The number of on-screen deaths is noticeably higher and the overall tone is much more grimmer and depressing.
51	* DavidVsGoliath: X-Rider vs. [[HumongousMecha King Dark]].
52	* DeathByOriginStory: Keisuke Jin (sort of) and his father. His father uploads himself into a computer to help him in the fight against evil, but literally one episode later realizes this is actually holding X back and blows himself up.
53	* EarlyBirdCameo: In a franchise first, X-Rider made a pre-series appearance on a calendar in the ''Manga/{{Inazuman}}'' {{manga}} of all things, six months prior to his debut on television. One notable difference from the final version is that his belt does not have the Ridol buckle.
54	* EmergencyTransformation: Keisuke Jin was converted into X-Rider by his father after being critically injured, in order to save his life.
55	* EvilTwin: Government Of Darkness Rider (actually a camouflaged monster)
56	* FakeShemp: Riderman in TheMovie is played by a suit actor, stock footage from the tv show and an uncredited voice actor.
57	* ForgottenPhlebotinum: In Episode 2, Keisuke Jin suddenly uses a two-barrel blowdart gun. It takes out some attacking GOD minions and even saves the Kid Of The Week from being lynched. In spite of it looking like the coolest thing ever, it is never seen again.
58	* FunWithAcronyms: The '''G'''overnment '''O'''f '''D'''arkness.
59	* {{Gorn}}: The manga is filled with it.
60	* HistoricalDomainCrossover: The NebulousEvilOrganisation G.O.D. has the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villan Monsters]], made by combining animal DNA with the DNA of historical figures. However, their list is all over the place: while it includes a few recognized villains like Al Capone, Genghis Khan, and Adolf Hitler (who resulted in the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] Starfish Hitler), it also includes figures who were more ambiguous (UsefulNotes/IshikawaGoemon, Geronimo), completely unremarkable ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Ogle Benjamin Ogle]]), and some who were just straight-up fictional such as (Literature/ArseneLupin).
61	* HumongousMecha: King Dark, a towering robot who spends most of his time hunched over in a cave.
62	* LoveHurts: Literally. First Jin's girlfriend turns out to be a GOD spy, then [[spoiler:her identical twin sister gets killed, then she turns out to really be a spy for Interpol and gets killed as well.]]
63	* LoveIsAWeakness: In the first episode Jin's dad is killed, but uploads his brain into a computer to be able to keep advising him. This lasts literally one episode before he decides having his dead dad to moan to is actually making Jin weaker, and he blows himself up so Jin will have to toughen up enough to save the world.
64	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Apollo Geist uses his shield as a weapon.
65	* TheManBehindTheCurtain: [[spoiler:King Dark's pilot is Dr. Noroi, a decrepit scientist hooked up to a series of cables.]]
66	* MidSeasonUpgrade: After X is defeated by Spider-Napoleon, V3 upgrades him. He gains a new transformation pose ("Dai Henshin!") and a new finisher, the Vacuum Hell Wheel.
67	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Pretty much every kaijin in the second half is an example. The monsters in the second half are combinations of animals and historical figures. Hence you get Scorpion Geronimo, Ant Capone, and, of course, Starfish Hitler.
68	* NonSerialMovie: [[Film/FiveRidersVsKingDark 5 Riders vs King Dark]]. It's supposedly in continuity due to bringing back Riderman, but can't fit well into the series at any point. Rider X still hasn't been upgraded in the movie, but already knows the Riders, while in the tv show he only meets Rider 2 for the first time after getting his upgrade.
69	* PunnyName:
70	** ''Hitode'' is Japanese for starfish, so Starfish Hitler in the original Japanese would be pronounced "''Hito''de ''Hitto''ra".
71	** One that works in both Japanese and English is [[UsefulNotes/AlCapone Ant Capone]], or "''Ari'' Capone".
72	* PuttingOnTheReich: Starfish Hitler's GOD Mooks are all dressed in custom uniforms (being some of the few mooks with such radically different clothing) based on the SS uniforms.
73	* ScarfOfAsskicking: It even has an X on it!
74	* SmallRoleBigImpact: Professor Nambara is just another victim of GOD, a scientist captured and forced to construct an experiment. However before he's killed, he splits up his blueprints and sends them to his friends, setting up the Macguffin hunt that goes through most of the remaining episodes.
75	* StoneWall: X-Rider isn't any slower than the other Riders, but he's built to withstand the deepest ocean depths, and is therefore ''very'' sturdy. (The others mostly have stylized chest muscles protecting their torsos - X has body armor.)
76	** Early on in the series the villains try shooting him repeatedly with machine guns. They stop around the time he walks through a hail of gunfire like Superman.
77	** Comes to a head in SPIRITS, when a dude punches Keisuke in the face while ''untransformed''... and breaks his hand, while Keisuke just gets a bloody nose which goes away in a few panels.
78	* StoryArc: A rare example in ''Showa Rider''. The series starts with the mystery of Ryoko and Kiriko, which abruptly ends in episode 8. Then the last third of the show has the pursuit of the RS Device blueprints.
79	* StupidJetpackHitler: STARFISH HITLER!!!
80	* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Subverted. X is made to swim, and has an edge in underwater combat.
81	* SwissArmyWeapon: The Ridol, which is a combination staff/whip/[[RoyalRapier rapier]].
82	* ThoseWackyNazis: Starfish Hitler is a walking Nazi stereotype.
83	* VillainSong: GOD's March, sung by Koorogi '73. A small segment is heard at each title card.
84	* WeCanRebuildHim: X's origin, and slightly later in the series [[spoiler:how Apollo Geist is resurrected.]]

Context Series / KamenRiderX