Japanese Businessman Dressed Up as Kamen Rider 1 to Give Toys to Kids

Japanese businessman Akihiro Tomikawa likes to distribute toys to underpriviledged children in Thailand and in one of his trips, he dressed up as Kamen Rider 1 complete with the Cyclone motorcycle.

He is doing this toy distribution thing ever 2 months. The Kamen Rider franchise is running for 4 decades now and it's quite cool seeing one guy dressed up as Kamen Rider to cheer up the kids.

[Source: Firestarter's Blog]

Kamen Rider, Goranger Producer Tohru Hirayama Passed Away

Former Toei producer Tohru Hirayama passed away last Wednesday. He is best known as the producer of Kamen Rider and Himitsu Sentai Goranger.

The 84-year-old former producer died due to heart failure. A private funeral service for close relatives will be held in the next few days. The chief mourner will be Mitsuru, his eldest son.

Aside from Kamen Rider and Goranger, he also produced later Kamen Rider titles such as Kamen Rider V3, X, Amazon and Stronger. He also produced most of the Shotaro Ishinomori tokusatsu shows in the 70's and the Fushigi Comedies in the 80's.

From all of us here, thank you for your contribution in the tokusatsu genre.

Source: Anime News Network, Them's Fightin' Words (for the list of his works)

S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider 2 (Original Suit Ver.) Official Images

Bandai Tamashii Nations posted the official images of S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider 2 (Original Suit Ver.). The figure represents Hayato Ichimonji's first transformed appearance in the 1971 Kamen Rider TV series.


The figure stands 150mm tall and comes with a set of interchangeable hands and 2 extra scarves. This Tamashii Web Shop Exclusive figure costs 2,940 yen and is set for a December release.

S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider ZX, Rider 2 (Original Ver.) Revealed

This year's S.H. FiguArts Collector's Mook revealed the future release of S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider ZX! This figure represents the transformed form of Ryo Murasame in the Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! TV special.

The figure comes with the following accessories: Cross Shuriken, Focus Bomb, Micro Chain and a set of interchangeable hands. This figure costs 3,600 yen and is set to be released this November.

Lastly, above is the image of S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider 2 in its original form. This form was first seen in the original 1971 Kamen Rider series' 14th episode entitled, "Raid of the Demon Sabotegron". This figure costs 2,940 yen and is set to be released this December.

Source: Herotaku

Shocker Wants You to Join their Organization!

Toei announced that they are recruiting people who will join Shocker, the enemy organization of the first Kamen Rider TV series!

The Shocker Project official website opened to invite Shocker's quest for world domination. In the original TV series, the organization is looking for those with high amounts of intelligence and physical strength.


A public event will be held this May 26 at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo, with tickets costing 1,000 yen (about US$10), and free for children 2 and under. The event will last between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m, and all attendees will receive a proof of the Shockers with their name on it as a present.

Details of the audition itself will be a secret until the event begins, but the organizers suggest attendees to wear easy-to-move-in clothes, although there will be no actual combat.

Lastly, the organization is looking for 3 different type of Shocker combatants:

Shocker Fighter A: an average guy with no abilities or disabilities. His daily routine includes collecting information from Internet news.

Shocker Fighter B: a tall and skinny guy who had the nickname "bean sprout" in the past. He needs the internet to live, and if he is in an area without service, it is difficult for him to carry on. He deeply respects Bill Gates.

Shocker Fighter C: a short and pudgy guy who is a self-proclaimed "Gourmet hunter." However, lately he has been thinking about dieting, and does not go a day without checking his calories. He enjoys making terrible puns.

Source: Anime News Network

Rare Kamen Rider (1971) Philippine English Dub Footage

While lurking on a thread in the HJU board, I came across in one topic about English dubbed toku in the 80's. According to one poster, the original Kamen Rider TV series and Kamen Rider X aired in the Philippines!

I didn't believe it at first since most of us grew up watching Kamen Rider BLACK, that is until someone posted this clip found below.


According to the video's description, it is clip coming from the episode of Kamen Rider that aired in the Philippines during the early 80's. Sadly, compared to the English Choudenshi Bioman dub, only a handful of these episodes were recorded by fans.

S.H. FiguArts Cyclone (Original) Official Images

Bandai Tamashii Nations posted the official images of S.H. FiguArts Cyclone (Original). This figure represents the first bike Kamen Rider 1 used in the 1971 Kamen Rider TV series.


This figure is 160mm in width and costs 4,200 yen. This figure is set for an August release. To those who are wondering, S.H. FiguArts Classic Kamen Rider 1 is sold separately.

S.H. FiguArts Cyclone (Original) Set to Be Released this August

The 183rd issue of Figure-Oh magazine revealed the release date of S.H. FiguArts Cyclone (Original)! First seen in the Tamashii Nations 2012 event, this figure represents the first bike Kamen Rider 1 used in the 1971 Kamen Rider series.

This figure costs 4,200 yen and is set for an August release. Also seen in the scan above is S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider 1 (Sakurajima Version) riding on the Cyclone.

Tokusatsu Director Takao Nagaishi Passed Away

Tokusatsu director Takao Nagaishi passed away last March 31 as his body succumbed to progressive supranuclear palsy at the age of 68. He is best known for directing a lot of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai episodes.

Most of the Super Sentai episodes he directed are: Hikari Sentai Maskman (24), Choujuu Sentai Liveman (24), Kousoku Sentai Turboranger (21 episodes) and Denji Sentai Megaranger (19 episodes). Outside the main series, he also directed the Hikari Sentai Maskman and Kousoku Sentai Turboranger movies.

When it comes to Kamen Rider, he once worked as an assistant director in the orignal 1971 Kamen Rider series. He also did a lot of work for the Heisei Kamen Rider series, most notably are Kamen Rider THE FIRST and Kamen Rider Den-O the Movie: I'm Born! His last work for Toei was the Goseiger V-Cinema entitled, "Tensou Sentai Goseiger Returns: Last Epic - The Gosei Angels are National Idols!?"

From all of us here, thank you for the memories you gave us from the movies and TV shows you directed.

Source: Oricon

S.H. FiguArts Classic Kamen Rider 1 & Shocker Combatant Official Images

Bandai Tamashii Nations has just posted the official images of S.H. FiguArts Classic Kamen Rider 1 and Shocker Combatant!

Classic Kamen Rider 1 represents Takeshi Hongo's Rider form from episodes 1-13 of the 1971 Kamen Rider series. The figure comes with a special Rider Kick effect part, a staff and a set of interchangeable hands. It will retail for 2,940 yen and will be released this July.



Shocker Combatant represents the iconic form of the foot soldiers that the Riders fought. It comes with a combat knife and a set of interchangeable hands. It will retail for 2,675 yen and will be released this August.

Details about the figures from Henshin Justice.

Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu PS2 Game - Why is This Game Canon?

4chan's /m/ board is sometimes (more like most of the time) is a gold mine when it comes to Kamen Rider or Super Sentai related production stuff. This time around, we have stuff that has something to do with Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu, a crossover game for the PS2.

This crossover game features Kamen Riders #1 & #2, V3, BLACK and Agito. The premise of the game is simple, it takes place after the end of Kamen Rider Agito and Shouichi ends up meeting the past Riders who were voiced by the original actors via a plot device known as time travel.


Fans have debated if the game is part of the Kamen Rider mythos. 2ch agrees that the game is canon mainly because most of the original actors consider it canon, Toshiki Inoue considers it canon, and the Agito website listed it within the Agito timeline before the site was taken down.

The game was also one of the external materials that brought up the fact that Agito is based on a golden Chinese dragon. It is also one of the rare times Agito is being referred to as a Kamen Rider.

Special thanks to 4chan's /m/ board for the info and Kamen Rider Wikia for the info about the game.

Kamen Rider Producer Seiji Abe Passed Away

While we are busy for the holidays, one of the original producers of the first Kamen Rider series that aired back in 1971, Seiji Abe passed away last December 29, 2012. He was 75 years old.

The reason of his passing was because of dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently.

He joined Toei Company, Ltd. in 1960 after graduating from Waseda University. One of the original producers of Kamen Rider along with Tooru Hirayama. He also ghost-wrote a lot of cool info from the Calbee Rider Snack cards.

From all of us here, your contributes to the Kamen Rider franchise will never be forgotten.

Special thanks to @Igadevil for the posting the Yahoo! Japan news article. Wikipedia for the quick info about the cause of his passing.

S.H. FiguArts Shocker Combatant Revealed

First seen in the Tamashii Nations 2012 event, the popular incarnation of the Shocker Combatant finally has its own S.H. FiguArts! The S.H. FiguArts Shocker Combatant represents the loyal foot soldiers of the Shocker organization from the original Kamen Rider series.

This seriously articulate figure can perform the famous Shocker salute and has a really detailed belt similar from the original TV series and its later spin-offs that features this foot soldier.

Release dates for these figures are still unknown as of this writing.

Five New Kamen Rider Bikes for the S.H. FiguArts Revealed

The Tamashii Nations 2012 event has just revealed four new bikes for the S.H. FiguArts toyline! These bikes are the Original Cyclone, Ride Shooter, Blue Spader and the Zero Horn.

The S.H. FiguArts Original Cyclone was Kamen Rider 1's default bike in the original Kamen Rider series before he upgraded to the New Cyclone after he had some upgrades in his body.

The S.H. FiguArts Ride Shooter is the default bike used by the Kamen Riders in the 2002 Kamen Rider series, Kamen Rider Ryuki in entering the alternate dimension behind the mirrors called Mirror World.

The S.H. FiguArts Blue Spader is Kazuma Kenzaki's personal bike that he used both as Kamen Rider Blade and as a civilian. Aside that he uses it for personal transport, he can Rouse some Undead Cards to add up attributes to the bike such as Thunder or Mach.

The S.H. FiguArts DenBird represents Kamen Rider Den-O's personal bike that he can use to steer the DenLiner.

Lastly, the Zero Horn, Kamen Rider Zeronos' personal bike that he can use to steer the ZeroLiner, his personal train of time.

Release dates for these new Kamen Rider bikes for the S.H.FiguArts toyline is still unknown as of this writing.

More Showa & 555 S.H. FiguArts in the Future!

The official AmiAmi Twitter account posted pictures coming from the on-going Tamashii Nations 2012 event that revealed a lot of future S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider figures!

First up are the upcoming S.H. FiguArts from the Showa Era! From top to bottom, we have Apollo Geist, Shocker Combatant, Kamen Rider Stronger Charged Up Form, Electrowave Human Tackle, Kamen Rider 1 Sakurajima Ver., Riderman, Kamen Rider X and Kamen Rider Super-1.

Next up are the upcoming S.H. FiguArts from Kamen Rider 555! The Faiz and Kaixa figures were previously released so let's focus on the figures found below them. Future Kamen Rider 555 FiguArts are: Horse Orphenoch, Wolf Orphenoch, Kamen Rider Delta, Kamen Rider Orga and Kamen Rider Psyga.

Release dates of the following figures are still unknown as of this writing.