Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen (2012)

Captain Marvellous, the leader of the pirate themed Gokaiger sentai team has seemingly gone bad and teamed up with the Dai Zangyak organisation which consists of the most memorable villains to ever face the sentai teams in order to wage war on the Kamen Riders. His fellow teammates doesn’t seem to understand this term of events. KR Decade meanwhile has also teamed up with the Dai Shocker group as it’s leader to destroy the Super Sentai teams. Past and present Riders and Super Sentai teams are caught up in the conflict amidst some confusion as to why this war has been started. Each leader insists that in order for their respective teams (super sentai/rider) to survive the other must be destroyed. Is there a hidden agenda used by both Marvelous and Decade which would explain why they’ve turned bad and could it be that they are being manipulated by Dai Shocker and Dai Zangyak for their own nefarious needs?

If you didn’t already know this, there are basically 2 superhero franchises over in Japan which has been entertaining kids for well over a quarter of a century – Super Sentai (better known in the West as the various Power Ranger teams) and Kamen Rider. There have been various crossover movies in the past featuring 2 super sentai or 2 riders teaming up to defeat evil but never before has there been a movie where both franchises come together in one movie to duke it out. Depending on whether you’re a serious fanboy/fangirl or just a person that occasionally dips in to both franchises there’s much to enjoy in this movie. It’s a lot of fun and I thought it was even better than the All Riders vs DaiShocker movie. You’d think that both sets of fans would lap this movie up and although it did extremely well at the Japanese box office there’s been a mixed reaction from them. A lot seem to be confused as to why Captain Marvellous (Red Gokai) would team up with his sworn enemies to take on the Riders. I completely understand with Tsukasa aka KR Decade as he’s a total badass and it’s something he’s done before. There’s also the fact that because there’s over 200 heroes filling the screen that it was hard to give the majority of them any decent screen time. Another complaint is why doesn’t any of the Super Sentai teams apart from the GoBusters use their mechas to take on the Big Machine at the movie’s climax. That’s a fair enough comment I thought. As I’m unfamiliar with what happens at the end of both Gokaiger and KR Decade series I can’t say anything on the plotholes that came with the story which made it a real mess in the fans’ eyes. It’s quite a simple story as such with 4 characters from various series trying to figure out why Marvellous and Decade have gone rogue. It didn’t really matter to me that apparently some roles were totally out-of-character from who they usually are. All I saw was an epic movie that delivered on cool cameos, some time travelling courtesy of the Den Liner and plenty of action/fight scenes. The acting by everybody including the camp villains was good. The big rumble which sees the heroes squaring off against the villains was a bit too short for my liking but I still came away feeling very satisfied and happy after the movie finished. Hell, I even thought KR Fourze was less annoying than usual in this movie!

If you’re prepared to ignore the so-called apparent flaws in the storyline as pointed out by hardcore fans and take the movie on face value alone there’s plenty of fanservice here to really entertain you. I loved it and thought it was one of the best tokusatsu movies I’ve seen in a while. Recommended.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core (2010)

This movie is split into 3 segments:

Message For W – Preparing for her wedding with Ryu Terui, Akiko Narumi becomes depressed. She becomes involved in a fight with Shotaro Hidari and Phillip as they battle a Pteranodon Yummy. Akiko isn’t happy that Terui is thinking of changing into KR Accel on their wedding day so she takes his Gaia memory and driver so he can’t transform. With the power of the Gaia memory, Pteranodon Yummy has Akiko watch the past of her father Sokichi Narumi. The mystery of why Sokichi came to become Kamen Rider Skull is revealed.

Nobunaga’s Desire – The mummified remains of the samurai warrior Oda Nobunaga dressed in armour is discovered with Kousei Kougami starting a revival experiment. However things go wrong and gets worse when Dr Maki gives Nobunaga the power of 3 dark core medals to change into a mindless Greeed and go on the rampage. Eiji witnesses the samurai attacking a man and transforms into OOO to fight the creature however it manages to escape. Eiji comes across an injured young man who is injured and seems lost. He discovers the man has amnesia but somehow he knows his name is Nobunaga. He tries to take care of him not knowing that he’s the creature he fought before. Pretty soon Nobunaga’s true purpose is discovered and Eiji must transform into OOO to battle the creature once and for all.

Movie War Core – Using the past memories of Kamen Riders, an evil energy-based giant appears. The evil entity identifies itself as Kamen Rider Core and demonstrates its devastating powers. In order to stop Kamen Rider Core, Kamen Rider W & 000 head to the subterranean core of the Earth to destroy the source of it’s power and engage in an epic battle against Kamen Rider Core. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Having not seen that much of Kamen Rider W or OOO (I’ve probably seen more of OOO than W), I came into watching this movie thinking I’d be lost with the plot if it connected back to an arc from both series but this was more of a standalone movie than anything else so my fears were unfouded. Out of all the three stories it’s possibly the first one with the origins of KR Skull that’s the best. The story doesn’t really link to the overall plot of the movie but it was an interesting story and KR Skull is such a cool looking character. A rider wearing a white fedora hat! His segment which is like a tribute to the film noir detective genre is about a Spider Dopant infecting people in a city with spider bombs which can transfer over to another person if they touch them and then explode. It also gives the viewer more background information on Sokichi before Shoutaro joined him as his assistant. The OOO part of the movie also doesn’t really link with the last segment but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. The story introduces us to the black core medals but doesn’t really explain why or how they were created by the creepy Dr Maki who carries a strange puppet of a child called Kiyo-chan on his arm. Another regular character in the OOO series in Ankh doesn’t have that much of a role in this movie which I thought was rather odd. He pops up at certain times but adds nothing of any significance to the plot. Knowing that he’s quite a popular character, I thought the scriptwriters might have given him more screentime. And then we have the actual crossover itself as W and OOO battle KR Core which is a rather short segment indeed. It only runs for 15 mins and I was disappointed it was so short. KR Core is a great looking fiery monster having been created using a combination of the Pteranodon Yummy’s Gaia Memory and the 3 black core medals that flew off into the sky after Greeed Nobunaga had been defeated but for such a fearsome creature he’s defeated too easily. What we have in this segment is a big battle with W and OOO taking on KR Core while Birth and Accel fight the Pteranodon Yummy. I laughed when they showed a scene with Shoutaro and Eiji going underground and Ankh mysteriously turns up. Shoutaro’s face and surprise when he sees Ankh’s floating disembodied hand is very funny. It’s just a shame there isn’t a lot of character interaction between W and OOO. The ending to the movie is a little bit stupid. After KR Core’s defeat and everybody has gone back to normality, Eiji climbs out of a manhole cover to discover he’s in Rio De Janeiro and comes face to face with a Japanese samba dancer! How the hell does that happen? It’s a funny scene I’ll say that but there’s no explanation as how he manages to turn up in Brazil of all places.

Fans have commented that this movie contradicts many things from both series but not having watched W and OOO to it’s conclusion yet I can’t really say anything about that. The action and special effects are fantastic as they always are in the KR movies. All in all, Movie War Core has plenty of action and excitement to satisfy KR fans and keep them happy.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie Wars Ultimatum (2012)

Split into 3 segments as per usual for the Movie Wars series.

Set 5 years on after the end of the series, the movie follows the KR Fourze characters after they’ve left high school and begun their careers. Gentaro Kisaragi is now part of the teaching staff at Amanogawa High School and his sidekick Kengo is a researcher at Kyoto University where he is studying the cosmic energy that powered most of KR Fourze’s gadgets and that of the Zodiarts who were the bad guys in the series. A foursome group of Amanogawa students form the ‘Monster Alliance”. Led by Saburo Kazeta and possessing psychic powers, they threaten the peace of the school. The group doesn’t realise they are being manipulated by a man called Kagehito Banba who holds a Zodiart Switch. It’s up to Gentaro as KR Fourze to sort them out. In the KR Wizard portion of the movie, Haruto enters the Underworld through an unknown gate after many sightings of monsters in the real world. He runs into a young woman named Yu Kamimura who can transform into Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine and use magic like him. Although they have a duel they eventually team up to become allies and investigate where the monsters are coming from. Finally in the last section of the movie, the three Akumaizer from the Underworld plan to invade the land of the living by using a Monster Army. Kamen Riders Wizard and Fourze must join forces with their allies and fight to stop the Akumaizer and their Monster Army.

This is the 4th in the annual Movie Wars series and this time there are 3 other Japanese tokusatsu superheroes added to the story in the form of Inazuman, Poitrine and Akumaizer-3. I wasn’t familiar with any of them but it was nice to have a crossover with 3 unfamiliar shows. Inazuman was a superhero who had his own TV show in 1973 and was similar in look to Kamen Rider in that Goro Watari the human transformed into a blue moth-like hero who attacked the villains with his long yellow scarf! When I first saw him come on screen I thought it was Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen. Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine on the other hand was an attractive female magical superhero that was specifically targeted towards younger viewers during the early 1990’s. For the final segment of the movie a trio of characters from the 1975 show Azumaizer-3 make an appearance. The trio in the TV show were demons that chose to help out the human race though in this movie they seemed to have turned to the dark side. All 3 shows didn’t have the longevity of Kamen Rider and only lasted for 1 season but that’s not to say they weren’t popular. There has been many crossover movies in the past between various Kamen Riders and Super Sentai shows but not with other tokusatsu shows. It seems these tokusatsu crossovers won’t end with this movie either as during the Spring of 2013 we’ll have KR Wizard, the super sentai heroes of the upcoming new series Kyoryuger and Space Sheriff Gavan coming together to face off against The Space Ironmen Kyodain (the villains from the KR Fourze feature) in the movie Super Hero Taisen 2.

I’ve made my feelings on KR Fourze well known in some of my reviews and that hasn’t changed after watching this movie. I found the Fourze segment tedious, boring and full of cringeworthy comedy. Thankfully the action more than made up for the awful acting that was on display plus there was an appearance in the opening scene by the beautiful mysterious female agent in black called Inga Blink who can handle herself pretty well in combat. She made her debut in the KR Fourze movie that came out in August. I wonder if that is why there was so many men in the audience for the screening I went to as she does show quite a lot of cleavage in her tight costume!! The first female Kamen Rider in KR Nadeshiko also makes a return to help out Fourze. Thankfully things pick up for the better in the KR Wizard segment. KR Wizard has been doing very well in the ratings in Japan. The characters are interesting and it seems like the people behind the show have gone back to the core principle of what made the KR series so popular. Out goes the OTT slapstick comedy which blighted Fourze so much. I did like the character of Poitrine who has quite a flirtatious personality. It was great to see a couple of past KR Riders such as OOO, Decade and W amongst others turning up to help Wizard and Fourze in the big battle at the end against the evil Azumaizer-3 trio in their armoured truck. The usual quota of pyrotechnics is on display in this movie, no KR movie is complete without an array of explosions going off at some point!

It’s probably not the best KR movie I’ve seen over the past couple of years but there is plenty on offer to entertain the kids with a lot of action and excitement to make sure after watching they’ll have a smile on their faces.

Sadako’s Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max (2011)

This movie is split into 5 parts:

1. Meteors start falling from the skies and the legendary 7 Riders (basically the first 7 incarnations of KR) try to stop the evil Foundation X from taking core medals and developing astro switches.
2. The 000 section of the movie sees our first 2 exclusive movie only KR – Kamen Rider Aqua who has come from the future through a wormhole in the sky and has been taken over by an evil force KR Poseidon. Eiji tries to take him on but is defeated but KR Aqua isn’t the only thing that’s come through the wormhole. Future Ankh also appears and together with Eiji they manage to free KR Aqua from the nasty KR Poseidon. All 3 combine to defeat KR Poseidon. KR Aqua returns to his own time after their victory.
3. Onto to the very brief KR W part of the movie as Shotaro is seen chasing a Foundation X convoy and attacked by two creatures from 000’s universe. With Philiip preoccupied, Shotaro transforms and takes them out by himself but in the process a silver sludge called SOLU (Seeds of Life from the Universe) is released accidentally down the sewers.
4. The silver sludge turns up in Fourze’s section of the movie as Gentaro catches a girl falling from the sky. The girl’s name is Nadeshiko and when the forces of evil turn up she transforms into KR Nadeshiko. She and Fourze team up to beat the baddies. He starts falling for her until he finds out she’s not human. Foundation X attacks once more and Nadeshiko is killed and turned into an astro switch. Enter Eiji who asks Gentaro and the Rider Club for their help. Gentaro and Eiji move across time to……
5. A random parking garage where Shotaro and Phillip await the two. The four of them along with the legendary 7 riders combine together to defeat Foundation X.

Some fans are saying that this is the best Kamen Rider movie ever. All I can say is it’s not by a long shot, it’s probably one of the worst KR movies over the past few years. It started out quite well with a nice appearance by the first 7 riders and the 000/W part was good but then it just fell apart during the Fourze section. Talk about being awful and cringeworthy. The acting by the cast is incredibly hammy with some embarassing slapstick comedy by the guy who plays Fourze. I knew I’d made a great choice in not following the KR Fourze series. It’s way too silly and immature and I just couldn’t take it seriously. I was surprised to see Hello!Project idol Mano Erina turn up as KR Nadeshiko but her acting was quite wooden. Maybe it’s just me but take away the Fourze scenes and the movie might have been decent. I’ll probably get some heat for saying that. If anyone out there can say that KR Fourze improves over the course of the series please tell me. I’m only judging it by the few of the early episodes that I saw. I have to take into consideration that this is a kids series after all and not targeted for adults.

There’s tons of energetic action to enjoy and there’s a very painful scene where the actor who plays Eiji is thrown into the air by an explosion and lands on his head on the ground. I wondered if the actor or the stuntman who took that fall was injured as it looked like a nasty bump. The exclusive movie riders apart from Nadeshiko were interesting and played an important role in this storyline. On saying that, KR Nadeshiko does get to kick some major ass and that’s the only positive thing I can say about the character. The legendary 7 riders although in small supporting roles gets to showcase their signature moves on Foundation X’s goons as well.

I was disappointed unfortunately with this movie and apart from the the first 3 sections, it went downhill after that. A shame really as I always look forward to seeing these annual KR movies but this movie didn’t really impress me at all.

Sadako’s Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010 (2010)

This movie has been split into 3 parts. The first part named Kamen Rider Decade: Final Chapter follows the series cliffhanger ending at the climax of the Rider War in which Decade accepts his place as the Destroyer of Worlds and Tsubasa is running amok taking on all the other riders in order to claim their cards. Can any of the Riders left alive stop Decade? The second part of the movie Kamen Rider Double: Begins Night investigates the origins of Kamen Rider Double as briefly shown in the opening of the series’ first episode, referred to in the series as the “Begins Night” and how Phillip and Shotarou’s boss Shokichi met his end. The Movie Wars 2010 is the third and final part of the movie, a convergence of the two parts that brings the casts and characters of Decade and Double to finish the fight with Super Shocker together.

Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W Decade Movie War 2010 was a fun movie. Having not watched a lot of Decade or W I wasn’t sure if I’d be lost with the movie’s plot but fear not because it didn’t really matter. The action’s great as usual with these Kamen Rider movies. However it’s a little uncomfortable especially in the first part because it’s largely Rider-on-Rider violence, and the deaths are fairly graphic, with Riders really exploding, chunks and all. You won’t see any blood or anything as this is a kids movie after all but I never thought I’d see the day when Kabuto’s head horn would be blown off! The character of Tsukasa as Decade is a nasty bastard make no mistake about it. He’s ruthless and seems to enjoy destroying the other riders. For him to get killed by Natsumi in her KR Kivaata form was a bit lame in my opinion. He’s gotten past all the other tough riders and it’s left to her to finally make the breakthrough to finish him off. Sorry I didn’t buy it. Just a minor gripe though and a great opening part to the movie.

As for the KR Double segment of the movie, I also really enjoyed this as well. Unlike Decade where I did manage to catch a third of the series, with Double I switched off after 2 episodes as I thought it had too many young characters for my liking. Now after watching this movie I might actually go back and watch the entire series. This part of the movie gives a good backstory to the series which builds up to a satisfying conclusion. It’s the characters that actually make this part work so well even the annoying Akiko which was one of the main reasons I disliked the series so much. We also get to see the appearance of KR Skull who looks cool with his hat. The action is top notch.

So now onto the final part where Decade and W team up to defeat Super Shocker but Decade also brings along a few other friends along to counter the threat – 9 Heisei Riders. This sequence might not have the grand scale feel of All Riders vs Dai Shocker but it’s still amazing to see. The only problem is what semblance of plot and logic you had going in the first 2 parts is thrown out of the window in the final segment. It didn’t really matter because the action is so good you don’t really care about it.

Overall, this movie was fantastic and it was a great way to end Decade’s story although he would appear in other KR movies after this. Definitely recommended for KR fans.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let’s Go Kamen Riders (2011)

The movie begins with OOO fighting a monster wondering why it’s not bleeding medals after each attack. As the creature possesses a young boy, Den-Liner appears from the sky and out comes Koutarou (KR New Den-O) to explain that the boy has been taken over by a Mole Imajin. OOO and Ankh board the Den-Liner as they head back in time to 1971 where the Mole Imajin has gone. They are warned not to go outside the train and interfere in the timeline but they do. In the resulting fight with the Imajin, Ankh drops a cell medal which is picked up by a Shocker goon who hands it over to the Shocker General. He then presents it to the Great Leader. It is only when Eiji and Ankh return back to the present time that they realise that something is amiss. Shocker is now in control of the world having used the cell medal 40 years ago for their evil purposes. Kamen Rider 1 and 2 were totally defeated, brainwashed and have been working for Shocker ever since. The change in the timeline has meant that no new Riders appeared after them. Den-O and OOO head back to the past once again to undo the damage but things only get worse for them. Can they defeat Shocker and it’s allies and reverse the damage already done to the timeline?

This was a fun movie to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Kamen Rider and unlike the 2009 movie All Riders Vs. Dai-Shocker where only the main riders teamed up to defeat Shocker, this one has the main riders and the secondary riders appearing together at the climax. Not only that but other tokusatsu heroes also have a small cameo – Kikaider, Kikaider 01, Inazuman and Zubat. I’ve heard and read about those 4 heroes but I’ve never seen their series so it was a nice touch despite the short time you see them onscreen. The reason for their appearance is it was also the 60th anniversary of the Toei Company. The movie focuses on 000, New Den-O and Kamen Riders 1 & 2. You don’t need to have seen any of the series in which they appear to enjoy this movie but it helps a little bit. The plot is good and there’s plenty of thrills and spills to keep you interested especially with the high quota of pyrotechnics on show. It all comes together in the brilliant climax where all the old riders appear to take on Shocker and it’s Great Leader. This is a movie that young kids and their parents who liked watching the original KR series back in the early 70’s can enjoy and reminisce. I loved this movie and if you’re a fan of any of the past KR series I’m sure you will too.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider X (1974)

A little girl named Sayoko witnesses the murder of an Interpol agent by the G.O.D monster Hercules at Haneda Airport. Jin Keisuke saves the girl before Hercules tries to kill her. In the hospital recovering from her ordeal, Sayoko tells Keisuke that G.O.D is targeting an important official called Kibara. Kamen Rider X has his hands full when G.O.D abducts Kibara and takes Sayoko and her mother hostage in a junk yard with their intention to kill both by crushing them inside a car. Can Kamen Rider X save the day?

The 3rd incarnation of Kamen Rider appeared on Japanese screens in 1974. This is the re-edited theatrical version of Episode 3 from the series and is quite short running at only 31 minutes. Apart from the obvious difference in the quality of the action from modern day KR movies, this is still an enjoyable and entertaining blast from the past. The action comes thick and fast beginning with G.O.D’s lackeys launching a surprise attack on our hero in a deserted warehouse and doesn’t let up for the rest of the movie. There’s no time for any character development as it is assumed the viewer is already familiar with our hero. Whilst the old KR movies may seem to be somewhat cheesy to some people, there’s definitely a certain charm attached to them which I find rather appealing so I can recommend this to those that like Kamen Rider.

No trailer but I found the subbed opening to the series.

Sadako’s Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace (2004)

Set in an alternate future 4 years after the end of the series in which KR Blade sealed the enemy Joker, the characters have gone into retirement and moved on with their lives. Suddenly the Undead return and a band of new Kamen Riders (Glaive, Larc and Lance) appear on the scene to tackle the threat. But why have the Undead been rereleased? It appears there’s a new albino Joker on the scene but the old Kamen Rider heroes cannot transform to help their new counterparts. When Amane, the niece of one of the old Riders (Kotaro) is kidnapped and deemed to be the key to releasing the ultimate Undead power, the old Riders and the new Riders team up to destroy the threat that is facing not only them but humanity itself. However not all is at it seems with the new Riders.

Perhaps I made a mistake in not watching the series first as I was unfamiliar with the characters and their dynamics whilst viewing the movie. It’s the first time for me to see a KR series which features a female Rider. That was quite a nice touch to see. Despite not knowing the overall story arc of the series, I really enjoyed this movie. It’s full of action and pyrotechnics that we’ve come to expect of the new Heisei KR franchise and I found the storyline to be exciting. I loved seeing the reaction of the old KR characters to their new counterparts and the tension that developed between them. Having watched the movie it’s definitely made me have the urge to watch the series from scratch.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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5 Riders vs King Dark (1974)

The evil G.O.D (Government of Darkness) creates a bat winged frankenstein monster to combat and delay 5 Kamen Riders as it tries to dry Tokyo of its water and kidnap women to drain and drink blood from them in order to gain energy. G.O.D’s army seem to be monsters all named after the Greek gods.

For a kids movie this is a little bit R-rated. One of G.O.D’s monsters is stabbed in the eye and blood can be seen pouring out plus there’s a scene of a woman strapped down to a table with vials behind her full of blood being drained from her body. This is only a short movie running shy of 30 mins but it’s full of action which never lets up from the start. I enjoyed it for the nostalgia more than anything. Great stuff.

It’s very difficult to find anything on Youtube for the first couple of KR movies from the 70’s so here’s a Thai dubbed clip from the 70’s Kamen Rider X series.

Sadako’s Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider vs Hell’s Ambassador (1972)

The 3rd KR movie once more pits Taki and Hongo against Shocker who have made a base inside Mount Fuji and created a powerful laser to destroy Tokyo Tower. Can they stop this latest Shocker plan?

I thought this movie was definitely an improvement on the 2nd movie. Lots of great action with plenty of pyrotechnics going off. There’s a rather strange motocross chase across land which sees Shocker’s goons fall off their bikes without the slightest touch and explode. Quite a stupid segment in an otherwise solid KR movie. One more slightly weird thing about this movie is Shocker’s minions going about communicating with each other not with human words but like mice (high pitched squeaks). Very bizarre! Recommended for KR fans.

No trailer or a clip from the movie I’m afraid.

Sadako’s Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider vs Shocker (1972)

I’m sure in it’s time the 2nd KR movie was fantastic for Japanese families watching it but now it looks horribly dated and rather camp but it’s still a good nostalgic movie to have a look. The story revolves around a scientist that’s developed a gravity machine called the GX Device and it’s only time before the nefarious Shocker organisation led by Dr Death (who looks like Dracula with his black cape) and his skeleton costumed/lucha libre masked goons try to steal the equation for the machine but luckily for the scientist, Kamen Rider 1 and 2 come to his rescue. What follows is a series of skirmishes between the 2 heroes and Shocker’s weird and wonderful creations. This movie only lasts for 32 mins so the action comes thick and fast. The actors portraying the 2 Riders do a great job in their role. For those that want to see the origins of the modern KR by all means take a look at these early movies but I’m sure you’ll be disappointed. It’s true that they’re not as slick as the KR movies that’s released these days but it’s great campy fun for everybody to enjoy.

No trailer I’m afraid.

Sadako’s Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider Black: Terror Of Demon Pass (1988)

Taking place between episode 38 and 39 in the series, Kotaro heads to Yubari in Hokkaido where Shadow Moon and the evil Golgom empire have taken over a city.

Another great KR Black movie which typifies why this character was so popular in the late 80’s. This is pure escapist fun with a rocking ’80s soundtrack, great costume design and exciting battle scenes which doesn’t rely on heavy CGI. Tetsuo Kurata makes a great Kamen Rider, and his undying will to defeat Golgom shines in every scene in which he’s is in action. Very enjoyable.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider Black:Hurry To Evil Island (1988)

The first KR Black movie has our hero Kotaro hitching a ride to an island that Golgom is using as a base in which they’ve kidnapped children and are threatening to transform them into mutants.

Kamen Rider Black is definitely my favorite KR series from the Showa era. This movie is brilliant, inventive and full of thrills, spills and explosions that we’ve come to expect from this genre. In the era that had no CGI, the movie tries to create wonderful SFX with the technology they possessed during that time, giving us a great superhero movie that we can enjoy. If you’re a fan of the series, or an adult who watched this series back when you were a child, you will really enjoy this movie.

No trailer but here’s the intro to the series

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider J (1994)

The alien parasite Fog Mother begins its millennial hatching of its brood to infest the planet Earth. However, a sacrifice is required for Fog Mother to fulfill its ritual. Environmental photographer Kouji Segawa’s sister is abducted and he is left for dead by Fog Mother’s underlings, but mysterious beings known as “Earth Spirits” resurrect him into the warrior Kamen Rider J. Fog Mother’s battleship goes on an orgy of destruction. Can Kamen Rider J save the day?

Kamen Rider J isn’t a favorite amongst fans though I don’t understand why as this movie is very enjoyable with an environmental theme running throughout it. Plenty of action with tons of explosions and pyrotechnics going off. There’s even a rip-off from Alien as Fog Mother’s eggs hatch with ‘face hugger’ like creatures emerging. But even then the filmmakers weren’t content with copying one franchise, they even copy Ultraman as Kamen Rider J transforms into a 50 foot giant to fight Fog Mother’s battleship.

The story is simple and the action is relentless from the start. The suits and FX are good quality, and the miniatures for the giant bits are cool. Although the running time is just over two episodes’ worth of regular TV, the plot comes across well and the finale is very satisfying. I would certainly recommend this for Kamen Rider fans.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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Kamen Rider The Next (2007)

More mature, darker and violent, the sequel to KR The First follows 2 years later with Hongo now a science teacher at a high school and a bit of a laughing stock for the pupils. The terrorist organisation Shocker is planning to kill humans using nano virus technology. Those that are immune to the virus get to be soldiers for Shocker. Also a pop idol Chiharu seems to be involved too. This movie introduces us to Kamen Rider V3 and the 2 original riders team up to wipe out Shocker once and for all. It’s got a lot more action than KR The First and has quite a fair share of blood which is unusual for KR movies. The plot is a bit of a mess but the action more than makes up for that.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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