History Series / Kikaider

* KillEmAll: In the OVA, [[spoiler: Every single android, good or evil, is annihilated by Jiro's hands, as the city lies in complete destruction with only a handful of survivors.]]
** Averted in the live action Kikaider 01's finale.

The tokusatsu series was followed by ''Series/Kikaider01'', which focuses on a new Kikaider model of the same name who goes under the civilian identity of Ichiro. An [[Anime/AndroidKikaiderTheAnimation animated version]] was produced in 2001 in a rather retro art style quite similar to that of the manga. The overall plot of the animation was also much closer to that of the manga than the plot of the live-action series was, which took many liberties with the story and was slightly more MonsterOfTheWeek type story. An {{OVA}} version of ''Kikaider 01'' was also produced which serves as a sequel to the first anime series, but despite the title, focuses more on Jiro than Ichiro. A spinoff movie titled ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider'' was made, which recasts Kikaider's rival as an AntiHero. The DarkerAndEdgier ''Kikaider Code 02'' manga began publishing in 2000.

* DualityMotif: The Kikaider series of androids had sports of blue (which signifies their altruistic impulses) and red (which signifies their capacity to do evil and harm that lies underneath) on their body designs. Notably, the "red" side is also the side that has [[CyberneticsEatYour Soul part of Kikaider's robot brain exposed]].

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kikaider_anime_0_2141.jpg]] [[caption-width-right:250:2000 Anime series]]

* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Bijinder and Rieko's emotions are connected, and Bijinder can feel what she's feeling if intense enough. [[spoiler:This is because Rieko's actually a[[TomatoInTheMirror similar-model android]], making the two akin to twins and playing off of the myth of twins having ESP... only with robots.]] [[MST3KMantra Best not to think too hard about it.]]
* MysteriousParent: Apparently Mitsuko and Masaru had no idea what their father was up to in his free time in their backyard castle. It turns out he is involved in a complex conspiracy. And lets not even ''start'' with their mother.

->''"I was right. You're nothing more than some mad machine."''
-->--'''Mitsuko Komyoji''', ''Android Kikaider: The Animation''

''Series/AndroidKikaider'' (人造人間キカイダー, ''Jinzō Ningen Kikaider'') was originally a 1972 Japanese {{tokusatsu}} live-action series that aired alongside a tie-in manga version, both created by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori. The tokusatsu was a huge hit and a classic among superhero media. An [[Anime/AndroidKikaiderTheAnimation animated version]] was produced in 2001 in a rather retro art style quite similar to that of the manga. The overall plot of the animation was also much closer to that of the manga than the plot of the live-action series was, which took many liberties with the story and was slightly more MonsterOfTheWeek type story.

The tokusatsu series was followed by ''Series/Kikaider01'', which focuses on a new Kikaider model of the same name who goes under the civilian identity of Ichiro. An {{OVA}} version of ''Kikaider 01'' was also produced which serves as a sequel to the first anime series, but despite the title, focuses more on Jiro than Ichiro. A spinoff movie titled ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider'' was made, which recasts Kikaider's rival as an AntiHero. The DarkerAndEdgier ''Kikaider Code 02'' manga began publishing in 2000.

A film adaptation, ''Film/KikaiderREBOOT'', was released in May 2014. Like [[Series/SpaceSheriffGavan Gavan]] and [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters Go-Busters]], Kikaider had a crossover with [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Gaim]] to promote the movie.

* TheAbridgedSeries: Two, one by [[https://www.youtube.com/user/chickenmonkeystudios Chicken monkey studios]], and one version by [[https://www.youtube.com/user/blackbugbrutha Black bug brutha]].
* AdaptedOut: Big Shadow and Waruder doesn't appear in the anime.

* TheAllegedCar: Hattori's car.

* AfterTheEnd: The ''Hakaider'' spin-off movie.

* BackForTheFinale: The little girl who lost her cat in the beginning of the series shows up again in one of the last scenes of the OVA finale. Along with Hattori and Etsuko, though you'd have to keep an eye out for them in the background to spot them.
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Despite frequent nudity, the DarkerAndEdgier ''Kikaider Code 02'' manga had no genitals or nipples. Except for [[FanDisservice a blacked-out outline of Professor Gil's penis.]]
* BatmanGambit: Professor Gil [[spoiler:arranged the death of Dr. Komyoji's older son, and later second marriage to convince him to make his robots]].
* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler: Mitsuko's mother, who was just a mole doing her job. She claimed to Mitsuko that she never ''wasn't'' the mask, but reveals that she really does love her children.]]

** Though in the live action show, he gets DemotedToDragon by another villain called Big Shadow.
* BittersweetEnding: Both anime series, although ''Kikaider 01'' ends on a ''far'' less optimistic note than its predecessor.
** The closing narration in the OVA sums it up well: [[spoiler: "And yet I wonder... in becoming human, did Pinocchio truly find happiness?"]]
* BookEnds: The first episode opens with the [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio story of Pinocchio]], and the last scene of the OVA episodes reads the ending to it.
** One episode begins and ends with a shot of a flower vase as a woman says "I will wait for you."
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Hattori is cheap, and slightly stupid, but he and Etsuko managed to find Jiro well enough when hired to locate him.
* BrainInAJar: Hakaider carries the brain of [[spoiler:Dr. Komyoji]] in his head; it usually doesn't have any role in Hakaider's personality or actions. [[spoiler:Professor Gill later undergoes an EmergencyTransformation into a Hakaider-style body.]]
* BreakingSpeech: Mitsuko gets one during the anime, with the MonsterOfTheWeek asking her if she's thought out her feelings for Jiro and how she'd react if Jiro fell in love with her. Jiro gets the "you'll never be human" one throughout the anime. In the OVA he turns this on [[spoiler:Gill, explaining that with the newly implanted submission circuit, Jiro now has the evil heart that Gill wanted him to have. Jiro utilizes this new ability to kill him, saying that Gill gave him the means to finally become human.]]
* BrownNote: Gill's flute, which controls all of DARK's robots and can drive Jiro BrainwashedAndCrazy. As the page quote indicates, this didn't make a good impression on Mitsuko in the anime.

* CompositeCharacter: Professor Gill's twin children, Akira and Rumi, were reduced to just one character in the OVA.
** [[spoiler:Hakaider]] in the {{crossover}} with ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' [[spoiler:is Hakaider's body with Sengoku Ryoma's brain.]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The Hakaider Force, both in the OVA and the live action series.
* CorruptTheCutie: As the OVA shows, to become ''truly'' human, you have to learn the good and the [[HumansAreBastards bad parts of humanity.]] If he only learned about [[IncorruptiblePurePureness love and peace and forgiveness he wouldn't be a real man]], he'd be a ''saint''. To become truly human he has to give in to darkness too.
* CreditsMontage: Creator/AdultSwim cut out the opening credits when they aired the show, but instead of showing the normal closing credits, they instead played a series of video clips from throughout the series to the tune of the opening credits theme, probably because they really wanted to use that song.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The manga and anime was one to the original live action series. The live action series was more of a straight up HenshinHero vs the bad guys affair with Jiro acting more like TheCape and everything being lighthearted in spite of the darker implications of certain aspects of the show. The manga and anime [[AscendedFridgeHorror use some of these implications]] to present a more realistic take on Kikaider. To wit:
** Even with a conscience circuit, Jiro is literally only days old, and months old at best by the end of the first series. Computer brain, accelerated learning, and conscience circuit or not, there is no way he could get a handle on being human in such a short time, considering some people spend their entire lives trying to get a handle on being human and still haven't gotten the hang of it, which often leaves him confused, stressed, shaken, angry, and generally at a loss when it comes to handling his situation or dealing with other people. The anime shows how someone only a short time into their existence yet possessing an adult's ability to learn and understand would deal with the situation. Hint: not well.
** With Dark and Professor Gill, it shows just how evil and depraved a secret underworld organization with super-tech would be if world conquest was their goal. While the silliness of the robot's designs and abilities remains, along with Gill's silly robes and robot-controlling flute, there is absolutely no humor in what Gill and his minions are doing: murder, destruction, extortion, and terrorism. Sure, the giant robot praying mantis seems funny, until it charges up vibro-blade arms and bisects someone.
** The end of the series shows just what it means to be human and it's a stark commentary on the human condition. While Jiro wanted to be human, being human isn't all about love, compassion, honor, and bravery, because if it were, then evil wouldn't exist. Jiro learns with his act of [[spoiler:killing Gill with his own hands]] that being human is about having flaws and limitations, and being able to rise above them, which also means that [[IDidWhatIHadToDo sometimes men must do terrible things]] in order to help a greater good or prevent a terrible evil. To be truly human is to have flaws and make mistakes.
* DeepCoverAgent: In the anime, Mitsuko -- Dr. Komyoji's daughter -- learns that her mother was actually an agent of Professor Gill sent to keep the Doctor "in line".
* DefeatMeansFriendship: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. Bijinder decides to join Kikaider 01 after ''her'' side pummels ''them''.
* DidTheyOrDidntThey: The infamous "arm repair" scene from "The Machine That Dreams" is close to the type 4 variety.
* DownerEnding: The ''Kikaider 01'' OVA ends on a very bleak note, with every android dead and Gil finally defeated, but the events have emotionally scarred Jiro, [[AndTheAdventureContinues and he's still suffering from the submission chip's effects that, even after Gil's demise, are still active]]. [[spoiler:The crossover with ''Series/{{Inazuman}}'' fixes this somehow]].
* DualityMotif: The Kikaider series of androids had sports of blue (which signifies good) and red (which signifies evil) on their body designs.

* DrivenToSuicide: Soon after the characters meet [[spoiler: Mitsuko's mother]], [[spoiler: she]] commits suicide, right in front of them.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: The bat android, he fancies himself a gentleman and shows a degree of compassion. Justified because [[spoiler:he has a prototype Gemini circuit]].
** Saburo in the live action. While his animated counterpart is a total JerkAss, he avoids killing innocent people and he revolted against Gill when he [[DisneyDeath momentaneously destroyed]] Kikaider with dirty methods.

* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: Discussed by Golden Bat in the anime series. One of the ongoing themes is that robots obey orders without question, no matter what -- except for Jiro. Golden Bat explains to Mitsuko that Professor Gill was angered by the mere concept of the Gemini circuit allowing robots to choose whether or not to obey. He goes on to mention that Kikaider's existence is a tragedy because his conscience forces him to fight his robotic 'family' serving DARK, while he can never fit in with humanity.
* FairytaleMotifs: The story of Literature/{{Pinocchio}} is referenced throughout the series numerous times. The plot parallels are fairly obvious.
* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Rieko]], in the 4-part OVA.

** TheDragon: Shadow Knight and later Zadam.
** EvilGenius: Gill-Hakaider.

* HenshinHero: One of the pioneers of the genre.
* TheHeroDies: The trope is pointed out in one episode by a man who saves an entire city, only to be fatally wounded shortly after. "I thought the good guys always lived..."
* HighHeelFaceTurn: Bijinder.
* HumanityIsInfectious: In the beginning of the OVA series, Bijinder is just another robot goon working for the BigBad. But after encountering Jiro and the others, she starts to grow empathy and feelings for other people. When she asks Kikaider 00 about this, he simply rejects the notion that they can possibly have feelings, and tells her it is nothing more than simple malfunctions, not love.

* HumongousMecha: The Doomsday Device.
* IAmAMonster: Jiro spends a few episodes hating himself because people think he's a monster, and Gill makes him do terrible things. For a while he even refused to willingly transform in front of Mitsuko because he didn't want her to think he was ugly.
* IdiotBall: One of the reasons why the anime has so many problems with it's story is how it's characters constantly hold the ball for the most idiotic of reasons, or none at all.
** Kikaider himself claims to have no knowledge of basic concepts like a "guitar" or a "story" and yet for some reason knows what a reflection is. It's like the anime picks and chooses what things he knows and what he doesn't.
** Professor Gill has a flute which can be used to cause Kikaider to go crazy. He uses it sometimes, but he eventually just stops using it for no reason whatsoever. It's a clear weakness Kikaider has and... he just doesn't use it.
** Mitsuko is told ''to her face'' that her mother was working for Professfor Gill just to use her dad and didn't care about them one bit. And Mitsuko STILL insists on wanting to talk to her more. It ends up coming off like the anime needed to deliberately waste time to fill in the full episode.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: Played straight, but not the way you think. Mitsuko hates all robots. All except Jiro.
* InstrumentOfMurder: Jiro in the OVA "The Boy Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider Vs. Inazuman" has a guitar that acts as a machine gun. He can also play it as an instrument and incapacitate people.
* IWillWaitForYou: Mitsuko [[spoiler: after Jiro runs away at the end of the anime. Jiro does eventually try to return to her in the [=OVAs=], only for her and her family to have left the country by then.]]
** The woman in one episode who is waiting for the man she cared for to return to her. [[spoiler: Not realizing he died that night to save the entire city.]]

* JustAMachine: Mitsuko lays it all out by bluntly stating the page's quote up there. And then again, and again. And then they play flashbacks of that quote a ''lot'' of times in the show. If you don't learn to laugh about it, it'd drive you insane.
** Most of the robots built by DARK tell Jiro that they do not have sympathy or goodness or even evil in their hearts, because they are just machines fulfilling what they were programmed to do.
** Kikaider 00 fully believes that he is nothing more than metal and wires, and that any notion that robots can feel emotions is completely ridiculous.
* InstantExpert: Jiro knows how to operate The Sidemachine (his motorcycle) immediately after finding it, and can play his guitar at a virtuoso level after watching a guy play scales a single time.

* LargeHam: The golden bat robot guy, who seems to be as melodramatic as it gets. It helps that he's voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the japanese dub.
** All the villains in the 1970's version.
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: Hakaider
* LawOfInverseRecoil: in the spin-off movie "Mechanical Violator Hakaider".
* LighterAndSofter: The 1970's toku compared to the first Kamen Rider series due to a more comedic tone and the Destructoids having a more cartoony design compared to Shocker's kaijin.

* MagicPants: Jiro transforms into a his robot form by his hair, skin and clothes literally being ripped off of him. Somehow when he's done fighting he's back to normal.

* MilkingTheGiantCow: Kikaider, Kikaider 01 and the various monsters of the week does this in the 70's shows since they are actors wearing expressionless masks.
* MsFanService: Ofcourse ''every'' girl wears a mini skirt in the show, but Bijinder seems to be the only character explicitly meant to be sexy.
* TheMole: Ichiro/01 accuses Bijinder of being a spy when she decides to go with them. But it turns out the ''real'' mole was [[spoiler: Rieko, who helped Gill track them down. Though she herself didn't know it.]]
* MonsterOfTheWeek

* NobleDemon: The Golden Bat robot, who has a prototype version of the GEMINI circuit.
** Also Saburo has shades of this in the 1970's show.

* NoNameGiven: A lot of the monsters of the week weren't given real names, or at least weren't clear about them. Such as giant mantis, robot black ant guy, golden bat vampire dude, and that one leopard robot, and the flying turtle that shoots rocks.
** They do have names which pretty much boil down to what color they are and the animal they're based on.
** I'm not sure if it's ever mentioned more than once at most in the anime, but Hattori's assistant is apparently named Etsuko.
* NotWorthKilling
* OhCrap: A few with Dr.Gill, one in particular is when Jiro sheds a tear despite being impossible for a robot to do. Gill Literally recoils back from the screen questioning what the Gemini Circuit is doing to him.
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: Mitsuko's mom holds a gun up against her head and threatens to kill Mitsuko. But ultimately can't go through with it.]]
* OncePerEpisode: In the 1970's series, after Jiro destroys a Destructoid the scene always cuts to a bunch of metal junk being thrown into the ground.
* OnlySixFaces: Bijinder seems to be Mitsuko in a different outfit, and Rieko looks and dresses exactly like Mitsuko only with long hair.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Which explains quite well Jiro's desire to protect her]]
* PantyShot: A very blatant one during Bijinder's transformation
* PeopleInRubberSuits:The 1970's series.
* PhlebotinumRebel
* PinocchioSyndrome

* ReplacementGoldfish: Jiro (literally "next son") was modeled after the likeness of his creator's dead son Ichiro ("first son"). Hakaider's human name, Saburo ("third son") continues the theme.

* RoboFamily: All androids refer to each other as siblings.
* RobotGirl: Bijinder, and as it turns out, [[spoiler: Rieko is one too.]]
* RoboticReveal: Used a few times for dramatic affect, usually getting the same reaction of terror from everyone.
* RoboSexual: Mitsuko had quite a hard time dealing with the fact that she was in love with her robot brother.
** Literally [[IncrediblyLamePun technical incest]].
* SayMyName: Mitsuko, after the DARK headquarters ignites with Jiro still in there.
* SixthRanger: Kikaiders 00 and 01.

* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: DARK, a very vague eeeevil shadowy organization that wants to do... bad things, it's not always very clear, but [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] is involved, but seems mostly focused on just beating the tar out of Jiro.
** As stated above, the OVA series has SHADOW. A vaguely different organization ran by the same people. But they seem to be confused about themselves too because now and then they refer to themselves as DARK.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Saburo/Hakaider
* TearsFromAStone: In one episode, Jiro sheds a tear, and everyone around him is astounded at how impossible that is, Gill in particular is terrified at the implications of what Jiro's conscience circuit could be evolving into. Does it actually make that much sense? Well, no, but it's just so ''dramatic'' we let it slide.

* {{Toku}}

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After [[spoiler: Dr. Komiyoji takes over his body]], we never see Saburo/Hakaider again for the rest of the series, and was never given a suitable defeat as once he returns he is then immediately killed by Gill and thus never got a proper final fight with Kikaider. In the OVA Gill returns in a Hakaider-style body, but that's not quite the same.
** Also in the 1970's series there are victims of the week.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: In the OVA series Akira is used as the important component of a weapon of mass destruction.
** To say nothing of Jiro, [[spoiler: who is forced to KillEmAll]]
* YamatoNadeshiko: Mitsuko and Reiko both fit this trope very well. Mitsuko sort of subverts it initially with her hatred of machines and therefore temporary hatred of Jiro, but she eventually breaks out of that and plays the trope quite straight.

** Professor Gill has a flue which can be used to cause Kikaider to go crazy. He uses it sometimes, but he eventually just stops using it for no reason whatsoever. It's a clear weakness Kikaider has and... he just doesn't use it.

''Android Kikaider'' (人造人間キカイダー, ''Jinzō Ningen Kikaider'') was originally a 1972 Japanese {{tokusatsu}} live-action series that aired alongside a tie-in manga version, both created by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori. The tokusatsu was a huge hit and a classic among superhero media. An [[Anime/AndroidKikaiderTheAnimation animated version]] was produced in 2001 in a rather retro art style quite similar to that of the manga. The overall plot of the animation was also much closer to that of the manga than the plot of the live-action series was, which took many liberties with the story and was slightly more MonsterOfTheWeek type story.

The tokusatsu series was followed by ''Kikaider 01'', which focuses on a new Kikaider model of the same name who goes under the civilian identity of Ichiro. An {{OVA}} version of ''Kikaider 01'' was also produced which serves as a sequel to the first anime series, but despite the title, focuses more on Jiro than Ichiro. A spinoff movie titled ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider'' was made, which recasts Kikaider's rival as an AntiHero. The DarkerAndEdgier ''Kikaider Code 02'' manga began publishing in 2000.

''Android Kikaider'' (人造人間キカイダー, ''Jinzō Ningen Kikaider'') was originally a 1972 Japanese {{tokusatsu}} live-action series that aired alongside a tie-in manga version, both created by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori. The tokusatsu was a huge hit and a classic among superhero media. An animated version was produced in 2001 in a rather retro art style quite similar to that of the manga. The overall plot of the animation was also much closer to that of the manga than the plot of the live-action series was, which took many liberties with the story and was slightly more MonsterOfTheWeek type story.

** The end of the series shows just what it means to be human and it's a stark commentary on the human condition. While Jiro wanted to be human, being human isn't all about love, compassion, honor, and bravery, because if it were, then evil wouldn't exist. Jiro learns with his act of [[spoiler:killing Gill with his own hands]] that being human is about having flaws and limitations, and being able to rise above them, which also means that [[IDidWhatIHadTo sometimes men must do terrible things]] in order to help a greater good or prevent a terrible evil. To be truly human is to have flaws and make mistakes.

* AlternateContinuity: The original toku series, the manga/anime adaptations, the ''Mechanical Violator Hakaider'' movie, and the ''Film/KikaiderREBOOT'' movie takes place in their own continiuties.

* AlternateContinuity: The original toku series, the manga/anime adaptations, the ''Mechanical Violator Hakaider'' movie, and the ''Film/KikaiderReboot'' movie takes place in their own continiuties.

* AlternateContinuity: ''Mechanical Violator Hakaider''

* {{Deconstruction}}: The manga and anime was one to the original live action series. The live action series was more of a straight up HenshinHero vs the bad guys affair with Jiro acting more like TheCape and everything being lighthearted in spite of the darker implications of certain aspects of the show. The manga and anime [[AscendedFridgeHorror uses some of these implications]] to present a more realistic take on Kikaider. To wit:
** Even with a conscience circuit, Jiro is literally only days old and only months old at best by the end of the first series. Computer brain, accelerated learning, and conscience circuit or not there is no way he could get a handle on being human in such a short time especially considering some people spend their entire lives trying to get a handle on being human and still haven't gotten the hang of it which often leaves him confused, stressed, shaken, angry, and generally at a loss when it comes to handling his situation or dealing with other people. The anime shows how someone only a short time into their existence yet possessing an adult's ability to learn and understand would deal with the situation. Hint: not well.
** With Dark and Professor Gill, it shows just how evil and depraved a secret underworld organization with super-tech would be if world conquest was their goal. While the silliness of the robot's designs and abilities remains along with Gill's silly robes and robot controlling flute is used, there is absolutely no humor in what Gill and his minions are doing: murder, destruction, extortion, and terrorism. Sure the giant robot praying mantis seems funny until it charges of up vibro-blade arms and bisects someone.
** The end of the series shows just what it means to be human and it's a stark commentary on the human condition. While Jiro wanted to be human, being human isn't all about love, compassion, honor, and bravery, because if it were, then evil wouldn't exist. Jiro learns with his act of [[spoiler:killing Gill with his own hands]] that being human is about having flaws and limitations and being able to rise above them which also means that sometimes men must do terrible things in order to help a greater good or prevent a terrible evil. To be truly human is to have flaws and make mistakes.

* DownerEnding: The Kikaider 01 OVA ends on a very bleak note, with every android dead and Gil finally defeated, but the events have emotionally scarred Jiro, [[AndTheAdventureContinues And Even then he's still suffering from the submission chip's effects that even after Gil's demise is still active]].
** [[spoiler:The crossover with Inazuman fixes this somehow]].

* TheDulcineaEffect: When asked in the OVA why Jiro is bent on protecting Rieko, who's backstory is pretty suspiciously vague, Jiro just says it's the right thing to do.

* EvilCounterpart: Hakaider/Saburo

-->--'''Mitsuko Komyoji''', in ''Android Kikaider: The Animation'' in ''every single episode''.

The tokusatsu series was followed by ''Kikaider 01'', which focuses on a new Kikaider model of the same name who goes under the civilian identity of Ichiro. An {{OVA}} version of ''Kikaider 01'' was also produced which serves as a sequel to the first anime series, but despite the title, focuses more on Jiro than Ichiro. A spinoff movie titled ''Mechanical Violator Hakaider'' was made, which recasts Kikaider's rival as an AntiHero. The DarkerAndEdgier ''Kikaider Code 02'' manga began publishing in 2000.

A film adaptation, ''Kikaider Reboot'', was released in May 2014. Like [[Series/SpaceSheriffGavan Gavan]] and [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters Go-Busters]], Kikaider had a crossover with [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Gaim]] to promote the movie.

* BittersweetEnding: Both anime series, although Kikaider01 ends on a ''far'' less optimistic note than its predecessor.

* WorldMadeOfCardboardSpeech: In the end when Jiro is partially corrupted by Gill (he still has good inside but now has evil inside to). Gill, throughout the series tells Kikaider that he isn't human and will never be human. Ironically, because of Gill, Kikaider is now capable of cruelty, anger, and deceit. This culminates with Jiro stating to Gill that he is at last human [[spoiler: and then holding Gill's brain jar in his hands and crushing it saying "with this act I am at last human".]]

See also the movie version, ''Film/KikaiderReboot'', released in May 2014. Like [[Series/SpaceSheriffGavan Gavan]] and [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters Go-Busters]], Kikaider had a crossover with [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Gaim]] to promote the movie.

* {{Adorkable}}: played UpToEleven with Hattori Hanpei in the 70's show, especially when he tries to repair his car with ninja techniques or by ''licking the steering wheel''.

* ARealManIsAKiller

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kikaider_anime_0_2141.jpg]] [[caption-width-right:350:2000 Anime series]]

* {{Deconstruction}}: The Anime was one of the original live action series. The live action series was more of a straight up Franchise/SuperSentai hero vs the bad guys affair with Jiro acting more like TheCape and everything being light hearted in spite of the darker implications of certain aspects of the show. The anime [[AscendedFridgeHorror uses some of these implications]] to present a more realistic take on Kikaider. To wit:

* CulturalCrossReference: The fact that the conscience circuit has a name resembling that of [[Disney/{{Pinocchio}} a certain cricket]] is not a coincidence.

* Deconstruction: The Anime was one of the original live action series. The live action series was more of a straight up Franchise/SuperSentai hero vs the bad guys affair with Jiro acting more like TheCape and everything being light hearted in spite of the darker implications of certain aspects of the show. The anime [[AscendedFridgeHorror uses some of these implications]] to present a more realistic take on Kikaider. To wit:

* Deconstruction: The Anime was one of the original live action series. The live action series was more of a straight up SuperSentai hero vs the bad guys affair with Jiro acting more like TheCape and everything being light hearted in spite of the darker implications of certain aspects of the show. The anime [[AscendedFridgeHorror uses some of these implications]] to present a more realistic take on Kikaider. To wit: