Thirty years have passed since 'Masked Rider' attempted to mimic 'Kamen Rider's' 'Power Rangers' pivotal moment.
Thirty years ago today, Saban Entertainment debuted a US version of the Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider, titled Masked Rider. This marked a significant milestone for the Kamen Rider franchise, as it was the first time a Kamen Rider series would air simultaneously in both Japan and the U.S.
Masked Rider was based on the 1988 Japanese series Kamen Rider Black RX, but it diverged significantly from its source material. The series followed the story of Kotaro Minami, who gained new powers to combat an alien invasion. Unlike its counterpart, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Masked Rider was a comedic series, different in tone.
Initially, Masked Rider was intended to have more connections to the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers universe, but these were later reduced. A three-part crossover story with Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers introduced Masked Rider to American audiences. However, the series ended after just over a year and 40 episodes due to its inability to support strong toy sales compared to Power Rangers at its height.
Masked Rider re-edited and blended Japanese footage with newly filmed footage to create an entirely different premise. The series was about an alien prince, Dex, who fled his homeworld and lived a dual life as an ordinary teenager while fighting off an alien invasion on Earth.
The debut of Masked Rider seemed to seal the fate of Kamen Rider in the U.S. for a while. It took over a decade after Masked Rider for someone to try again to bring Kamen Rider to American TV in the form of 2009's Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. However, Saban attempted to bring more Tokusatsu series outside of Super Sentai to American TV in Big Bad Beetleborgs in 1996.
In the past half-decade, Kamen Rider has slowly but surely made its way over to U.S. audiences in its original form. The person responsible for marketing Kamen Rider again to a U.S. audience 30 years after the debut of Masked Rider in the United States was Mark Dacascos, who also acted as Eubulon in Kamen Rider (2008–2009).
Toei finally began to acknowledge the potential for American audiences to officially support the Kamen Rider franchise directly alongside Japanese ones, outside of fansubbing efforts and waiting years for legal streams or physical media releases of older series. The first official streaming of older series in the Kamen Rider franchise has become available.
Spinoffs like Kamen Rider Black Sun (a modern, gritty reimagining of the original Kamen Rider Black and Black RX) and the Hideaki Anno movie reboot Shin Kamen Rider have arrived, expanding the Kamen Rider universe even further. Power Rangers rejuvenated itself as Power Rangers Zeo in 1996 after the conclusion of Mighty Morphin and the Alien Rangers miniseries, signalling a new era for both franchises.
As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Masked Rider, it is clear that the series paved the way for a new generation of Tokusatsu fans in the United States. The future of Kamen Rider in the U.S. looks brighter than ever, with more series becoming available for streaming and a growing interest in the genre.
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