Kamen Rider, created by Shotaro Ishinomori, is a series of live action TV shows in the Japanese Special Effects sub genre known as Tokusatsu. It is a long running and beloved franchise equivalent to something like Doctor Who in the UK or James Bond in the US. Kamen in Japanese means masked. Kamen Rider = Masked Rider.

Each series lasts one year and every year we get a new season with a new lead Rider. In general, Kamen Rider is about a masked super hero who fights for justice. He typically rides a motorcycle (hence the Rider title) and fights using martial arts and special weaponry.

The series dates back to 1971 when the original Kamen Rider debuted in the Showa Era of Japanese television. In 1988, the series went on hiatus for ten years with the occasional movie until it returned to television in 2000 during the Heisei era. This is a tier list for the 20 series of the Heisei era.

Kamen Rider general themes include: Justice, ethical use of technology, vigilantism, heroism, friendship, and duty.

S TIER

Kamen Rider Build (2017) - In 2018, the Heisei era of Japan was coming to a close and the studio behind Kamen Rider, Toei, wanted to go out with a bang. They created one of the best series in the two decades of modern Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Build follows the story of an amnesiac genius physicist who rescues a criminally framed kick boxer. Together they try to piece together the mystery surrounding their crisscrossed lives.

Build is perhaps one of the darkest in the franchise history. With a villain who shows no remorse for human life and a plot surrounding the split of modern Japan into 3 regions, there is a lot of political intrigue and drama. What sets Build apart from its peers are the interesting side characters. The main character very conveniently seems to invent solutions to all his combat problems, but he’s unable to invent better relationships out of the same thin air. Best characters, strong plot, exciting choreography.

One of the main themes of Build is the idea that simply being there for someone, believing in them, and standing with them, can have the biggest impact on their life.

Kamen Rider Double (2009) - As a first for the franchise, Kamen Rider Double or “W” features two lead protagonists. They combine to form Kamen Rider W, a detective-esque hero who protects his city from crime. Double marks Toei’s attempt to return to Showa-era Kamen Rider. In fact, both main leads Shotaro and Philip are supposed to represent Showa and Heisei characters respectively- one a “hard boiled” crime fighter, the other a pretty boy problem solver.

Double keeps up series intrigue with a formulaic mystery approach. Though unlike a modern crime drama, the viewer is never really capable of figuring it out before the characters, because this is a sci-fi world we aren’t familiar with. Although the CGI has not aged well, Double is equal parts intriguing and entertaining.

The main theme of Double is that nobody is perfect.

Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006) - Tendou Soji is a mysterious man who frequently quotes his grandmother and is good at everything he does. He is Kamen Rider Kabuto and he makes the series noteworthy for being an absolute ace. Where other protagonists struggle to come to terms with being a hero, Tendou dives head first and never looks back. It’s kind of cool. Sure he sometimes fails and could work harder on being a friend, but he gets things done and that’s fun to watch. Arguably the secondary character in Kabuto sees much more growth. He is in fact our proxy as the audience and this dynamic works really well.

Kabuto’s choreography revolves around people moving really fast, and as such we are given clever special effects like a fight in the rain as characters push through raindrops frozen in time. The lead character absolutely steals the show in this one.

A major theme of Kabuto is the difference between natural talent and achievement.

Kamen Rider 555 (2003) - 555 or “Faiz” is one of the most popular series in Japan. It is very straight forward with an unlikely lead hero, and a motif that focuses on technology. There are a couple of rough spots in which problems between characters occur due to a lack of communication. Ironic, as the core piece of technology in the show is a cell phone! Also, that opening song is quite good! Faiz is a straight up classic, in many ways codifying the future of Kamen Rider.

Faiz has a distinct fighting style and classic special effects that hold up pretty well. A prominent theme in Faiz is following your instincts.

Kuuga (2000) - Kuuga was the grand return of the Kamen Rider series after being dormant for 20 years. It was a hell of a return. Kuuga was really dark for what was supposed to be a kids show. However, as a returning legacy franchise, many parts of Kuuga were made to appeal to the audiences who grew up with the Showa riders. Those same audiences were now adults with kids of their own. So Kuuga sometimes had conflicted values and themes. It is an optimistic show portraying a lead character who often works with police and law enforcement.

Kuuga was about being reborn and finding new meaning and purpose in life.

A Tier

Kamen Rider Den-O (2007) - Den-O is perhaps known as the most comedic of all the series. It is one of the most popular series in Japan. Den-O is very heavily character driven. Our lead rider is a down-on-his-luck loner who joins a team of vibrant characters known as Imagin. Together they travel through time in a time-travelling train. The actor who portrays the protagonist, Takeru Satoh, went on to become one the most famous actors in all of Japan. And this aspect really shows, as Satoh changes personalities every time he is possessed by an Imagin; and there are no less than 6 personalities. It’s a joy to watch him portray such a diverse set of characters all on his own. Den-O is the series you want for more light-hearted humor and fun.

Den-O reflects on teamwork, confidence, and trusting in others.

Kamen Rider OOO (2011) - The story of OOO follows Eiji Hino, a wanderer, as he uncovers the plot of corrupted god-like creatures who want to consume the world. Eiji ends up forming a close bond with one of these creatures and together they combat the others to save the world. The central rider of OOOs has a unique transformation whereby he combines the abilities of 3 different animals. These combos create unique suit designs and lead to terrific combat sequences- though the CGI struggles to keep up at times. OOO is a touching series and Eiji is an admirable everyman- much moreso than others in the franchise.

OOO shares a lot in common with Buddhist themes of shirking material wealth and the betterment of oneself through selflessness.

Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002) - Many parts of Ryuki have not aged well, while other parts hold up extremely well. The basic plot of Ryuki is that there is a battle royale among riders. 13 riders assemble to do battle with the last one standing getting any wish they want. Each Rider has a contract with a mystical beast which boosts their fighting abilities. Ryuki has good pacing, as with 13 Riders, there’s a lot of time to build up each character. Ryuki’s popularity in Japan not only spawned an American adaptation (Kamen Rider Dragon Knight), there were lots of post-series movies and episodes created to flesh out the story even more.

Ryuki’s themes include survival and fighting for what you believe in. There is an interesting meta element in Ryuki about violence and war.

Kamen Rider Gaim (2013) - For most people, Gaim is probably a lot higher on the tier list. It is true, Gaim has it all, great action, good storytelling, and even some humor. On the other hand, while Gaim is a fantastic tokusatsu show, it veers a little too far away from Kamen Rider as a series. Don’t get me wrong, Gaim’s samurai fruit theme is as beautiful as it is original- even the music is pumping. Still, Gaim often feels like a high school J-Drama with after school armored battles. So to list the things this series has: Alternate world, dance battles, a ton of other riders, and Sengoku references. Also a special shoutout must be made to the lead actor, Gaku Sano, who not only portrays the lead rider well, he sings the songs from the show, and does a lot of his own stunts. A real total package!

Gaim is often about the bigger picture; of things greater than an individual or even a group. It is also about performance and vulnerability.

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (2016) - The theme is video games, but the series is about doctors. The main characters of Ex-Aid are all doctors driven by their desire to save lives and protect people. This is one of the first Kamen Rider series to really go heavy into the team aspect. We give up the lone rider for more of a group dynamic. Ex-Aid is a fun series with high production. The lead writer of the series is a fan favorite and his style really comes through. The overall design and theme of the show can be love-it or leave-it but Ex-Aid has enough story and content even if you don’t love the idea of video game theme fighting.

Ex-Aid has a somewhat split theme in finding the beauty in darkness and never giving up.

B Tier

Kamen Rider Fourze (2011) - In 2011 Japan suffered one of the worst natural disasters in history. The Tohoku earthqake and tsunami changed everything. Kamen Rider Fourze is a reflection of the sense of hope and togetherness found in the wake of such tragedy. In no subtle terms, Fourze is a show about friendship and working together. The lead rider of the series, while mostly working alone, is supported by a large group of friends known collectively as the Kamen Rider Club. With its space theme, Fourze focuses on the future and how anything is possible.

Central to Fourze’s story is friendship, friendship, and friendship.

Kamen Rider Decade (2009) - Decade apparently had a lot of production issues. In fact, there is no real ending for the series. Nonetheless, the story is an interesting one. We follow the smug Tsukasa Kadoya as he becomes Kamen Rider Decade and travels to each of the Kamen Rider worlds that came before him. As you might have guessed from the title, Decade is an anniversary series that celebrates 10 years of Heisei Kamen Rider. Each of Decade’s 10 arcs revisits themes and characters from past seasons, so you might be lost if you’re unfamiliar with those series. The arrogant and stubborn Tsukasa is unlike any Rider we’ve had before and he’s very entertaining to watch. Due to troublesome ratings, Decade’s run was cut short to only 31 episodes.

Decade is a celebration of the past, and yet has themes covering destruction and betrayal.

Kamen Rider Drive (2014) - Where Kamen Rider Double was akin to a detective show, Drive presents us with the procedural cop drama very much in line with the American classic Knight Rider. The opening hook with talking toy cars is a little child-like, but the rest of the series is as mature as they come. Drive has some of the best action scenes and fights in the franchise. In addition, Drive has some of the better supporting characters. Drive is a little underrated because it followed the highly praised Gaim. If you really like cars, this will be a good show for you.

Drive is about going fast! Just kidding, it is about finding your own humanity in a hectic world. Traditional sense of justice is also very prominent.

Kamen Rider Blade (2004) - Blade had a lot of potential to be an all-time great. It leans heavily on the drama and character relationships. The writing is so.. unusual, that Blade has become responsible for a wealth of Kamen Rider memes. Blade is also one of the sadder stories, often being viewed as a tragedy.

There’s a lot of betrayal in Blade, but the overriding themes are about fate and sacrifice.

Kamen Rider Kiva (2008) - Despite the dark and medieval theme, I find this series to be on the funny side. The comedic side character probably has something to do with that. Kiva’s story is actually a split one that covers two timelines simultaneously. It can be confusing at times, but the effect has a solid pay off.

Kiva is about legacy and romance. Also music.

As we get into the C tier, let it be known that all Kamen Rider series are entertaining. C is not bad by any means, but there are one or two big elements that might hinder your enjoyment of the show.

C Tier

Kamen Rider Zi-O (2019) - Zi-O follows a boy who has always dreamed about being King. This dream is purposefully vague but it guides him to follow the path of Kamen Rider through time-travel antics. Zi-O is the second anniversary season following Decade. This time, the show celebrates 20 years of Heisei Kamen Rider and culminates the entire franchise before the Reiwa era. To start off, the wealth of Kamen Rider references in this show are very high. Though mostly self sufficient in plot, there’s a lot of callbacks to earlier series. Like Decade before it, we will visit the alternate worlds of Riders past.

This is the last Heisei era series and it shows with high production and huge returning cast of cameos and tributes. Worth noting is that the acting early in the series is a little rough. The main cast gets a lot better as the show continues but it moves at such a fast past that you’re almost always aware of it. Zi-O is a must watch for anyone who has managed to keep up with all the shows, as such it makes for a poor first entry.

Zi-O is about dreams, dedication, and the past.

Kamen Rider Wizard (2012) - I want to like Wizard more than I do. The suit design is very different and the theme had a lot of potential. The theme here is magic and wizardry- the powers of which are invoked through special magical rings. Kamen Rider Wizard himself actually only fights with kicks and weapons (to protect the rings). This leads to some spectacular fight choreography and special effects that would make the Sorcerer Supreme envious. And yet for all of this, the main character is a little one dimensional and the plot moves slow without much impact. Wizard relies on the old monster-of-the-week formula that was absent in series proceeding it. It’s hard to keep interested in the series and the ending is underwhelming.

The primary theme of Wizard is hope and facing despair.

Kamen Rider Hibiki (2005) - There’s much that can be said about the background of Hibiki. Was this originally a Kamen Rider series? Was the lead actor hard to work with? What is important to know is that Kamen Rider Hibiki had a massive production change halfway through the series. From episode 34 and onward, the tone of the show dramatically shifts. We go from a beautiful story of a kid and his mentor to a complicated introduction of a bunch of new characters who aimlessly antagonize each other. The first half of Hibiki is very unique, being shot in the mountains and following Riders who are essentially oni. Hibiki also has one of the best opening songs of all time. An epic taiko-inspired instrumental that sadly got replaced after episode 34. Hibiki is fantastic but the production change in the midpoint really makes this show hard to recommend.

Hibiki is about following your beat. Training supersedes natural talent. The power of music.

Kamen Rider Agito (2001) - Agito isn’t bad, but it is almost a direct sequel to Kuuga. Because of this it doesn’t get to stand on its own. Despite some strong characters, we are left thinking about the events of Kuuga. The juxtaposition of technology and mysticism is a fun element in the Kamen Rider universe, and works to explain why all the sudden Kuuga is a mystical warrior when the original Kamen Rider was a cyborg! Agito is also the first time we get the “team rider”, however short lived it was.

The major theme of Agito is moving on and finding your own path. The importance of transition.

D Tier

Kamen Rider Ghost (2015) - In Kamen Rider Ghost, the main character dies and gets resurrected. In a deal with a mysterious being, he must now find 15 “eyecons” based on fifteen historical figures or else perish forever. Ghost is a bit of a mess of a show. It is unintentionally funny and is never clear on what exactly our main hero is capable of. This leads us to have very little stake in the show or its characters. Perhaps worst of all is just how predictable the show’s plot structure is. But hey, the suit is kinda cool!

Ghost is about everything and nothing all at once. Not really recommended to watch unless you are a completionist.