The Kamen Rider Series (Japanese: 仮面ライダーシリーズ, Hepburn: Kamen Raidā Shirīzu), also known as Masked Rider Series (until Decade and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori.

Kamen Rider media usually revolves around the titular defined group of motorcycle-riding superheroes with an insect motif who fights supervillains, often known as kaijin (怪人, lit.

[a] The franchise began in 1971 with the Kamen Rider television series, which followed college student Takeshi Hongo and his quest to defeat the world-conquering Shocker organization.

This became Kamen Rider, which premiered on April 3, 1971 initially intended as an adaptation of Ishinomori's Skull Man manga.

The hero Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider, played by actor and stuntman Hiroshi Fujioka, was described as a transformed human (改造人間, kaizō ningen) (cyborg).

"[3] His character was thus temporarily phased out until the introduction of another transformed human, Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider 2 (played by Takeshi Sasaki) in episode 14.

This was initiated by Hirayama studying the recent trend in science fiction productions and discussing ideas with fans.

Kamen Rider Black RX was the final show produced during the Shōwa era, with the franchise resuming production by the end of the 20th century.

Absent from television during the 1990s, the franchise was kept alive by stage shows, musical CDs, and the Shin, ZO, and J films.

Kuuga was part of Ishinomori's 1997 Kamen Rider revival in preparation for its 30th anniversary, but he died before the shows materialized.

It differed from past Kamen Rider series with the main protagonist being unsure of himself and uses a large vehicle, the DenLiner: a time traveling bullet train.

Although the series has only two riders (Den-O and Zeronos), they have multiple forms similar to Black RX, Kuuga, and Agito.

Due to Den-O's popularity, a second film crossover with the 2008 series Kamen Rider Kiva was released on April 12, 2008.

[6] According to Takeru Satoh, who played the titular protagonist in the television series and first three films, Den-O was successful because of its humor.

[7] The 2009 series, Kamen Rider Decade, commemorated the Heisei run's 10th anniversary with its protagonist able to assume the forms of his predecessors.

In the March 2009 issue of Kindai magazine, Decade star Masahiro Inoue said that the series was scheduled for only 30 episodes.

[14] Late 2010 brought the series Kamen Rider OOO to television after W's finale, and 2011 observed the 40th anniversary of the franchise.

A Movie War film known as Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider was announced for December 10, 2016, featuring Bandai Namco Entertainment's original character created by Namco prior to merging with Bandai in 2006, Pac-Man.

In 1975–1976, Tong Hsing Film Co., Ltd. in Taiwan produced a Super Riders series based on the Japanese version.

As of March 2021[update], Bandai Namco has sold 14.50 million Kamen Rider transformation belts since February 2000.

In anime, examples include Fair, then Partly Piggy, My-HiME (and its sequel, My Otome), Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, and Franken Fran.