Y’all thought you were so smart figuring out that Inazuman’s Raijingo was an Isuzu Bellett based on the shape of the windshield frame? Good luck guessing what car lies beneath the Ridoron, the vehicle from 1988’s 47-episode Kamen Rider Black RX. It’s high time we visited Japan’s most popular tokusatsu series of all time.
You think there’s a lot of Marvel movies? The Kamen Rider expanded universe began in 1971 and is still going strong today. At last count there’ve been 33 Kamen Rider television series, 71 theatrical releases, 12 made-for-TV movies, 12 direct-to-video movies, multiple web series, and manga. There’s a new TV series launching later this year and another one already planned for 2024.
Each chapter of Kamen Rider follows a similar theme. A vaguely insectoid superhero must save the planet from evil, and has an arsenal of weapons, powers, and vehicles at his disposal. Most installments have different heroes, but all of them are set in the same universe. Occasionally, multiple Kamen Riders will appear together, as they did in 1988 in the aptly titled Kamen Rider 1 through RX: Big Gathering.
Usually the Kamen Rider’s vehicle of choice is a motorcycle, but the Ridoron is one of the rare occasions where the hero is a Kamen Driver. In the show’s lore, the Ridoron was built by the Kamen Rider based on plans given to him by a rogue scientist in the evil Crisis Empire. It wouldn’t start on its own, so Kamen Rider brought it to a magical sea cave where was given sentience.
Not only can hold a conversation, but the Ridoron can travel up to 1500 kph (932 mph). It can also drive on water, underwater, underground and, if traffic sucks, into the Demon World dimension. The giant saw teeth along the top can cut through obstacles, but it also has a set of mandibles that can be deployed to crush impediments.
One of the notable points about this particular Kamen Rider installment was that it was actually given the Power Rangers treatment and ported to English. Saban, the same production company that made Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, used Japanese footage intercut with new material featuring English-speaking actors to create Masked Rider. It aired in the US from September 1995 to August 1996 on the Fox Kids afternoon block.
Think you can figure out what the Ridoran is? Put your best guess in the comments. We’ll post the correct answer after you’ve had a chance to guess.
SA22C RX7? The wheels look very familiar
SA22C RX-7
The wheels on the first two photos look like gen-1 RX-7.
It is indeed an SA22C RX7. And by the way, Karen Rider Black RX had the best opening theme of the whole franchise 燃え上がれえええええ！
Y’all are too good! The correct answer is indeed SA22C Mazda RX-7. The wheels were unfortunately a bit of a giveaway. So was the “RX” in the name, though it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the car. There was also a Kamen Rider ZX, which didn’t have a 280ZX in it at all.
I used to have a toy of this that popped in half and the motorycle was inside. I really have no idea where I got that because it was probably in the early 90s and I bet I still have it somewhere.