This review may contain spoilers
Flawed but iconic
The original 1971 Kamen Rider has been dear to me for some time, but I only finished it completely as of today.
The series arcs all have different flavor, and different strengths. It feels like several different pilot projects put together, while they got their footing. A lot of the imagery we know as gospel today does not appear til later. The original Hongo arc has a horror vibe to it, while the Ichimonji arc is more properly a super hero show. Before that we have iconic moments like "Hitlers Treasure" and the first two part training episode, which paved the way for future training arcs to come in other anime and toku. Ichimonji was charming, but the show settled into a repetitive rhythm that was only broken up once Hongo briefly returned, sporting his Sakurajima outfit, real ones know.
Many companions appear and disappear as the series goes on, featuring many sword wielding vixens and surprisingly helpful children, but no temporary companion was more endearing than the trio of Emi, Mika, and Goro, who routinely showed bravery and character throughout the series. Replacing them later on with Yoko and Chokko fell extremely flat, but it is true that the iconic Kamen Rider Shounen Club was introduced a long with them, so I give them some credit for helping with that.
Each general had their own iconic way of dealing with Kamen Rider. Colonel Zol was nothing too special, perhaps using the most repetitive monster of the week strategies, but Dr. Shinigami had a few surprises. Things kick into high gear with Jigoku Taishi, who seemed to have a thing for harming children which made him particularly terrifying.
Gel Shockers introduction to the show is extremely exciting, and many of the series most iconic elements actually come from this era, despite their combatmen and name not surviving the test of time in our memories. The double riders, shocker riders, and aforementioned kids club all appear in this section of the series, where it begins to know what it is has, know what works, and doesn't fumble the pacing. Black Shogun's fused monsters, featuring the abilities of two animals combined, were also notable.
I do think the ending had good and bad moments. It was exciting with an incredibly unique fight location all the way until the actual unmasking of Shockers Leader. I feel like he kind of just collapses after being roughed up a tiny bit, and I feel like there is no sense of dramatic pacing going from him firing psychic explosions at them and nearly killing the riders one moment and them being fine the next. I feel like V3 somewhat legitimizes this by having Shocker continue in a new form as Destron. Maybe because the leader knew it was his time, with what I assume was a fake body, he tried to blow up himself and his base in one hail mary. But on its own, it doesnt work and feels somewhat weak after 98 episodes and no guarantee at the time of a sequel. But Kamen Riders success was undeniable, and the series was followed up immediately with V3. All I'm saying is, is that how you would have wrapped it up if you didnt know you were continuing again right away with a new rider? The series ends on Taki going home, leading to the last time the characters we ended off on would be seen together for this particular series. The narrator, who normally has a harrowing explanation of the Riders continuous fight against evil, is finally able to tell us that the world is at peace, which I find satisfying. That peace would only seemingly last a week however, as the Kamen Riders would continuously fight every single week until a brief break in the 90s, only to resume indefinitely in the year 2000. Fight on, Kamen Rider, protect the peace of the world.
The series arcs all have different flavor, and different strengths. It feels like several different pilot projects put together, while they got their footing. A lot of the imagery we know as gospel today does not appear til later. The original Hongo arc has a horror vibe to it, while the Ichimonji arc is more properly a super hero show. Before that we have iconic moments like "Hitlers Treasure" and the first two part training episode, which paved the way for future training arcs to come in other anime and toku. Ichimonji was charming, but the show settled into a repetitive rhythm that was only broken up once Hongo briefly returned, sporting his Sakurajima outfit, real ones know.
Many companions appear and disappear as the series goes on, featuring many sword wielding vixens and surprisingly helpful children, but no temporary companion was more endearing than the trio of Emi, Mika, and Goro, who routinely showed bravery and character throughout the series. Replacing them later on with Yoko and Chokko fell extremely flat, but it is true that the iconic Kamen Rider Shounen Club was introduced a long with them, so I give them some credit for helping with that.
Each general had their own iconic way of dealing with Kamen Rider. Colonel Zol was nothing too special, perhaps using the most repetitive monster of the week strategies, but Dr. Shinigami had a few surprises. Things kick into high gear with Jigoku Taishi, who seemed to have a thing for harming children which made him particularly terrifying.
Gel Shockers introduction to the show is extremely exciting, and many of the series most iconic elements actually come from this era, despite their combatmen and name not surviving the test of time in our memories. The double riders, shocker riders, and aforementioned kids club all appear in this section of the series, where it begins to know what it is has, know what works, and doesn't fumble the pacing. Black Shogun's fused monsters, featuring the abilities of two animals combined, were also notable.
I do think the ending had good and bad moments. It was exciting with an incredibly unique fight location all the way until the actual unmasking of Shockers Leader. I feel like he kind of just collapses after being roughed up a tiny bit, and I feel like there is no sense of dramatic pacing going from him firing psychic explosions at them and nearly killing the riders one moment and them being fine the next. I feel like V3 somewhat legitimizes this by having Shocker continue in a new form as Destron. Maybe because the leader knew it was his time, with what I assume was a fake body, he tried to blow up himself and his base in one hail mary. But on its own, it doesnt work and feels somewhat weak after 98 episodes and no guarantee at the time of a sequel. But Kamen Riders success was undeniable, and the series was followed up immediately with V3. All I'm saying is, is that how you would have wrapped it up if you didnt know you were continuing again right away with a new rider? The series ends on Taki going home, leading to the last time the characters we ended off on would be seen together for this particular series. The narrator, who normally has a harrowing explanation of the Riders continuous fight against evil, is finally able to tell us that the world is at peace, which I find satisfying. That peace would only seemingly last a week however, as the Kamen Riders would continuously fight every single week until a brief break in the 90s, only to resume indefinitely in the year 2000. Fight on, Kamen Rider, protect the peace of the world.
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