Spoilers for Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider Ghost: Legendary! Riders' Souls!, as well all preceding Kamen Rider entries will be left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
For Life, Love, and Future.
Kamen Rider 1 is the 2016 Kamen Rider spring crossover movie. It features the return of Hiroshi Fujioka as Takeshi Hongo, this time in a main character capacity unlike his last appearance in Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai.
After many years fighting Shocker around the world, Hongo returns to Japan to recruit Takeru Tenkuji and Makoto Fukami, Kamen Riders Ghost and Specter, after Shocker's newest incarnation goes after Mayu Tachibana, Tobei Tachibana's granddaughter, who seems to be connected to their plans to resurrect Ambassador Hell. However, the years have not been kind to Hongo, whose cyborg body is starting to become weaker. There is also a new group known as Nova Shocker, an organization splintered from Shocker and causing an internal power struggle with the Kamen Riders caught in the crossfire.
Interestingly, while this will be released at the same time the usual Super Hero Taisen films were released (two weeks after the newest installment of Pretty Cure All Stars), this film marks the first time that there are no signs of any of the other Kamen Riders from either era, nor is there an appearance from the contemporary Super Sentai, Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger.
Kamen Rider 1 has examples of the tropes:
- 11th-Hour Superpower: The Rider Damashii from the Youtube Kamen Rider Ghost shorts return as well as a new Damashii based off of Rider 1.
- Animal Reaction Shot: A tankful of fish are seen darting away as if going into hiding when an old and a Nova Shocker mook fight each other in a bar.
- Archenemy: Ambassador Hell clearly sees Hongo as this. He decidedly doesn't take it well when Hongo doesn't reciprocate enough to grant his request for a Last Dance.
- Back from the Dead:
- Ambassador Hell is resurrected and resumes control of Shocker's remnants.
- Hongo himself. A funeral is even held in his honor. He is revived after Mayu calls out for him.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Wolga leading Nova Shocker and Ambassador Hell leading Shocker classic are this. After going completely berserk due to the Alexander Eyecon's power, Wolga becomes the sole Big Bad, and Ambassador Hell forms an Enemy Mine with the Riders.
- Big Blackout: Caused by Nova Shocker. All of Japan loses power in an attempt to strong-arm the Japanese government into funding the organization. They succeed.
- Breaking Old Trends: A number of traditions for Kamen Rider spring movies are cast aside here; Kamen Rider 1 scales down from its predecessors by being the first spring movie to:
- Not be written by Shoji Yonemura nor feature a previous Heisei Rider since Kamen Rider Den-O Episodes Red and Blue in 2010. And with Let's You and Him Fight being one of his signature tropes for spring movies, suffice to say you won't find that in this movie either; the Ghost cast and Hongo immediately get on an amicable level.
- Feature a crossover between only two Kamen Rider series, have a number of returning performers that can be counted on only one handnote and not have Fake Shemp Riders since Den-O Episode Yellow (which crossed over with Kamen Rider Decade by featuring only Kaito from that series) in 2010.
- Not feature the incumbent Super Sentai, let alone any Sentai, and by proxy not feature a giant foe in the final battle due to a lack of Sentai mecha since Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen in 2012.
- Actively involve the incumbent Rider's enemies in the plot, though the Ganma responsible for kickstarting the movie's plot is merely a Greater-Scope Villain seen in a flashback within the context of the movie alone, only making himself known to the Ghost cast in a YouTube short set after the movie. The closest this has happened in a prior spring movie was Chaser making a plot-insignificant cameo in Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider #3.
- Character Aged with the Actor: Takeshi Hongo is seventy in this film, much like how his actor is.
- Character Title
- Continuity Snarl:
- Shocker still exists as a global organization, whereas the original series and other sequels showed it to have reformed into Gel-Shocker and beyond.
- External materials explained that Tachibana's family died in a racing accident before the original series started. Here, he has a grandchild by the name of Mayu.
- Ganikoumoru somehow exists as a member of Shocker, when he was a member of Geldam in the original series.
- Cool Bike: Neo Cyclone, based on the Honda GoldWing F6C.
- Cool Old Guy: Hongo is 70 by this point, his cyborg body is becoming weaker, and yet he still kicks so much ass.
- Costume Evolution:
- Kamen Rider 1 goes from the lighter and slimmer original design to a bulkier and darker one.
- Nova Shocker Combatmen have a much more detailed and menacing variant of the usual Combatman costumes that don't look cheap.
- Demoted to Extra: The Ghost cast is this. While they're still part of the movie, the focus is more on Hongo and fighting Shocker.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Instead of the Great Leader, the one calling the shots on Shocker Classic is one of his generals, Ambassador Hell.
- Enemy Mine: When the Alexander the Great Eyecon proves to be too dangerous for Wolga to control, Ambassador Hell forms an uneasy alliance with the Kamen Riders to stop him. After all, if Wolga takes over/destroys the world, he can't. After Wolga's defeat, he destroys the Alexander Eyecon himself, stating that there is no point in using its power if he loses his sense of self in the process.
- Evil Versus Evil: Shocker vs Nova Shocker, both evil terrorist groups who want to Take Over the World, but loathe each other.
- Final Battle: Kamen Riders 1, Ghost and Specter along with Ambassador Hell against Wolga and Buffal.
- The Hero Doesn't Kill the Villainess: Eagla, the sole female commander of Nova Shocker and the only not seen with a monster form, is killed by Wolga when the Alexander Eyecon sends him into an Unstoppable Rage.
- I Will Fight No More Forever: Hongo, after finally meeting Mayu, promises to stop fighting, especially in his weakened state. He wanted to have his final days living a more peaceful life, making it up to Mayu by celebrating three years' worth of birthdays.
- Ends up becoming a 10-Minute Retirement as Shocker kidnaps Mayu in order to extract the Alexander the Great Eyecon from her.
- Lady of War: Eagla. She is a Shocker mutant, but she mainly fights in her human form for the entirety of the film.
- Mêlée à Trois: The main conflict of the film is Kamen Riders vs Shocker vs Nova Shocker, and on several occasions things devolve into an all out war between the three factions.
- The Mole: Ganikoumoru betrays Shocker to join Nova Shocker, alerting the latter of the plans to extract the Alexander Eyecon from Mayu.
- Mysterious Waif: Mayu Tachibana. Within her grows the Alexander the Great Eyecon, unknowingly implanted by Ambassador Hell some time before the events of the story. The reason behind why she has it is due to her being a direct descendant of the mentor of the Kamen Riders...Tachibana Tobei himself.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Hongo versus the splintered Shocker organization Nova Shocker, who is led by a younger man.
- Old Superhero: Hongo's cyborg body is starting to fail on him. The main theme is him fighting in spite of his body slowly breaking down. His resurrection seems to have fixed that.
- Parental Abandonment: Although Mayu isn't his granddaughter by blood, she still isn't all too happy to see Takeshi when he returns, although he had a good reason why: the nature of his work, plus the promise he made to her grandfather.
- Recycled Soundtrack: When Takeru and Makoto use the Legend Rider Eyecons, the battle themes of the respective Riders play.
- Renegade Splinter Faction: Wolga defects from Shocker and decides to form Nova Shocker with Buffal and Eagla as one of his associates after he was disappointed with Shocker for their previous failed attempt to revive Ambassador Hell due to Yamaarashi-Roid's destruction at the hands of Kamen Rider Ghost and Zyuoh Eagle.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: What Nova Shocker's true goal is: conquer the world via the global economy.
- Shout-Out: An aging hero is forced to take on a more armored, bulkier form compared to his formerly lithe and agile younger days.
- Took a Level in Badass: To keep up with the new forces, Hongo upgrades his body to a bulkier, almost Heisei-level look.
- Transformation Sequence: Hongo's once again became more detailed, showing a green wind burst coming out of his belt and blowing onto him while his armor forms.
- Unstoppable Rage: What ultimately happens when the Alexander the Great Eyecon's power proves too much for Wolga to control. He inadvertently kills Eagla as the possession takes over.
- Walking the Earth: What Hongo was doing all this time, fighting Shocker.
"Riders will always be by your side.
They'll always be with you no matter what
Live,Live,Live till the end
Riders will still be there for you."
