Kamen Rider is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero series that has enjoyed amazing popularity over the course of its more than 40 year run! It has seen this success spread to countries outside of Japan as well, so nowadays you will find fans worldwide who know a lot about the famous Kamen Rider series. But what are the reasons for this long success? Read on to learn more!
The Stories are Easy to Follow
The Kamen Rider series actually has a lot of complex stories, including elements that even adults can enjoy. However, the most important story element that every narrative is built around is that the Kamen Rider hero will transform and fight strange and powerful monsters. This clear, easy-to-understand part of the series is a big reason for its popularity.
New Series Techniques That Follow The Current Trends
As card battles became a big part of popular culture, the Kamen Rider series made sure to incorporate card battle elements into many of its series as well, such as Kamen Rider Ryuki, Sword, and Decade. When cellphone usage grew in Japan, Kamen Rider 555 introduced a hero who transformed using a cellphone. Kamen Riders that incorporate what is popular at that time in this sense allow the series to keep a strong relevance.
The meaning of the ‘Rider’ part of the name can change as well – while Kamen Rider is mainly considered to ride bikes, there have been vehicle types as various as the car of Kamen Rider Drive, the bike that connected to and controlled the DenLiner train in the Den-O series, and the rocket-like bike of the Fourze series.
The above examples show just some of the ways in which the changing themes of Kamen Rider in response to changes in the times keep it interesting and fun for new generations of fans worldwide!
Handsome Leading Men!
This next factor is also important but a little different! Usually while children are absorbed in watching Kamen Rider on TV, their mothers also get caught up in the action, but for another reason! That is due to the handsome actors that are chosen to play the heroes!
| Ryoma Takeuchi (Kamen Rider Drive) | Hayato Isomura (Kamen Rider Ghost) |
| Gaku Sano (Kamen Rider Gaim) | Ryosuke Yamamoto (Kamen Rider Ghost) |
| Sota Fukushi (Kamen Rider Fourze) | Eiji Akaso (Kamen Rider Build) |
| Ryo Yoshizawa (Kamen Rider Fourze) | Atsuhiro Inukai (Kamen Rider Build) |
| Koji Seto (Kamen Rider Kiva) | Jun Kaname (Kamen Rider Agito) |
| Joe Odagiri (Kamen Rider Kuuga) | Go Ayano (Kamen Rider 555) |
| Hiro Mizushima (Kamen Rider Kabuto) |
A Huge Amount of Collectible Merch
Toys and other collectible merch have been an important part of the Kamen Rider series since its inception. The more series goods you collect, the more you will grow attached to Kamen Rider, and then start to care more about how the next installments in the story. This great abundance of items has made children enthusiastic series fans for years.
Collectible items are developed in coordination with each new series, such as the Fullbottles from Kamen Rider Build, The Kamen Rider OOO medals that the hero uses to transform, and the powerful lockseeds from Kamen Rider Gaim. Recently, versions of Kamen Rider’s famous Henshin Belts have been released in adult sizes as well!
Kamen Rider Adult Henshin Belt
Kamen Rider Saber Kids Toy Sword
Kamen Rider Build Fullbottles
The two Buyee stores below contain a great amount of Kamen Rider series merch that can be easily purchased, even from outside Japan.
Check out our Kamen Rider special feature through the link below for a guide on the latest and greatest in Kamen Rider series merchandise!
