Kamen Rider 1

Kamen Rider 1 (仮面ライダー１号 Kamen Raidā Ichigō) is a fictional henshin (transforming) superhero character featured in Japanese tokusatsu. He first appeared in the television series Kamen Rider, the first in the famous Kamen Rider franchise of tokusatsu programmes. The primary protagonist of the series, Kamen Rider 1 is a motorcycle-riding superhero modeled upon a grasshopper. One of the most recognizable and iconic characters in Japanese entertainment, Kamen Rider 1 is as easily distinguished as the series itself.

In the original series, he was portrayed by Hiroshi Fujioka, who also performed most of his own stunts. He was briefly replaced by Rokuro Naya in episodes 9 and 10, due to Fujioka's motorcycle accident during a stunt. Later, he was portrayed by Masaya Kikawada in the film Kamen Rider The First and its sequel, Kamen Rider The Next, as well as making a cameo of the character on the Cyclone in an episode of Kamen Rider Kabuto. In the movie, Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker, Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max, Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen and Kamen Rider × Super Sentai × Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z, Rider 1 is voiced by Tetsu Inada. Kamen Rider 1 appeared again as a main character, alongside Kamen Riders Den-O, New Den-O and OOO, in the 40th anniversary film OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders, Fujioka reprised his role as the voice of Kamen Rider 1.^[1]

Takeshi Hongo

The character, before being transformed into a powerful hero, Takeshi Hongo (本郷 猛 Hongō Takeshi) was a college biochemistry student. Born on 15 August 1948, he is an extremely intelligent young man with an IQ of 600 who attended Jounan University and enjoyed riding motorcycles.

Fictional character biography

TV series

While practicing for the grand prix, Hongo followed a group of bikers who were calling him out, only to fall into a trap sent up by terrorist organization Shocker as they convert him into a super-powered cyborg before he woke up a week later as they are about to complete the process with brain washing. However, Hongo manages to escape Shocker's base by chance due to his college professor Midorikawa, who has been working for Shocker and was the man who selected Hongo to join the organization. The two are pursued by the Shocker Inhumanoid Spider Man and his forces as they hide out at warehouse 55 at the harbor. Unfortunately, Spider Man managed to track Ruriko to their location and kills the Professor as Ruriko arrives, blaming Hongo for her father's death before Spider Man takes her. Pursuing them, Rider 1 fights through Spider Man's minions before battling the Inhumanoid, killing him with a Rider Kick.

After this initial introduction, the series becomes, as with most tokusatsu programmes of the era, fairly formulaic. Each episode sees Hongo meeting another of Shocker's mutants, interacting briefly with supporting characters, such as his mentor Tachibana Tobei, and ultimately defeating the enemy, often with trademark "Rider Kick" or "Rider Punch" attacks.

As the Kamen Rider, Hongo battles Shocker's monsters before learning that Shocker recreated the original Kamen Rider cyborg design on Ichimonji Hayato in an effort to combat the threat that Hongo posed to their organization. Hongo helped Ichimonji escape from Shocker, leaving him to fight Shocker as Kamen Rider 2 while he left the country to fight Shocker's other branches around the world. Eventually, Hongo returns to Japan and, as Kamen Rider 1, joins forces with Ichimonji as the "Double Riders" to finish Shocker and then destroy the Gel-Shocker organization that formed soon after.

Kamen Riders 1 and 2 next appeared in the sequel Kamen Rider V3. The titular V3 was Kazami Shirou, a junior of Hongo's, and begged them to turn him into a Kamen Rider after the murder of his family by the Destron organisation. Despite initially refusing, when the young man was mortally wounded assisting them, the two Riders transformed him into Kamen Rider V3, possessing both Kamen Rider 1's "skill" and Rider 2's "strength". The Double Riders were apparently killed detonating an atomic bomb, but reappeared alive and well later on in the series.

The Double Riders would make appearances in most succeeding Kamen Rider TV series, with the exception of Kamen Rider Amazon, Kamen Rider Super-1 (although they show up in Super-1's movie) and Kamen Rider Black. Kamen Rider 1 would lead the senior Riders once again in the final episodes of Kamen Rider Black RX.

Between Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Kiva, no past Riders appeared in the new live action productions of the franchise. However, in 2009, Kamen Rider 1 reappeared alongside the other Showa Riders to assist Decade in the movie Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker. Kamen Rider 1 led the Riders from the Showa and Heisei periods in the final battle against Dai-Shocker and, alongside Kamen Rider 2, defeated Dai-Shocker's Ambassador Hell, with help from Kabuto and Black RX. Rider 1 went on to help defeat Shadow Moon and King Dark.

During the events of OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders, the Greeed Ankh unintentionally altered the timeline that enables Shocker to utilize the Core Medal to create the Shocker Greeed. Though Kamen Rider New Den-O attempted to avert the process, the result of the Double Riders' defeat by the Shocker Greeed was not negated. However, a boy trapped in the past Naoki, ensured that Rider 1 and Rider 2 never had their mind-altering surgery completed and played the role of Shocker agents until they have no more need for the charade and destroy the Shocker Greeed before helping Kamen Rider OOO put an end to the Great Leader.

Manga version

Similar to its TV series counterpart, after a bike accident during his race course with his mentor Tobei Tachibana, Hongo awoke during the procedure that turns him into a super-powered cyborg, but escapes before he can be brainwashed to do Shocker's bidding. Then he battled some Shocker Kaijin, but until he fights 12 Shocker Riders, then he was subsequently killed but 1 of the 12 named Hayato Ichimonji had received a head injury and then he regain his good consciousness, then he comes to destroy all 11 Shocker Riders and becomes Kamen Rider 2 by reprising Hongo's role during his recovery. At the mid-end of the manga story, Hongo was resurrected and returned to battle along with Kamen Rider 2 to confront Big Machine, a Shocker's Commander, and destroy his super computer he wanted to use to brainwash the citizens of Japan.

Kamen Rider: Seigi No Keifu

Takeshi Hongo stars as the main character to the 1972 Timeline in this crossover game. (Although for a time, he is replaced as the playable character by Ichimonji.) Hongo must fight off Shocker and General Zol, who is slowly turning human beings into werewolf kajin as part of a much larger part in the not-so-distant future. Eventually, he travels to 1988 along with Kamen Rider V3 and Kamen Rider Agito to aid Kamen Rider Black in the final battle against a 50.000 year-old century king. Hiroshi Fujioka returns to voice the role. Kamen Rider 1 appears in his second outfit (although the green version of his classic outfit is available as an unlockable).

Kamen Rider The First movie series

Much like the series, Hongo was a college biochemistry student, but he was captured by the Shocker's agent Bat due to being a "ideal" candidate for their experiment, forced to undergo a procedure that turns him into a super-powered Inhumanoid cyborg code-named Hopper, whose purpose was to eliminate any witnesses to Shocker's actions. Hopper later proves to be Shocker's finest work as he lacks the need for transfusion to survive like other Shocker Inhumanoids. 'Hopper's' first mission was to assassinate two witnesses who coincidentally were the journalist who had interviewed him prior to his kidnapping, Asuka Midorikawa, and her fiancé Katsuhiko Yano. It was during the assault that Hongo reclaimed his sense of humanity, though too late to save Katsuhiko as Asuka finds Hongo next to Katsuhiko's lifeless body, believing he was the murderer as she attempts to uncover how a seemingly normal college student could become a murderer. The incident left Hongo with an epiphany, deciding to use his newfound power to stop Shocker's evil and protect all that he holds dear from them. Meanwhile, Shocker uses the body of Katsuhiko to create a second Hopper known as Ichimonji Hayato to destroy the traitorous "Hopper I". The two Riders eventually team up to save Asuka, when she uncovered the existence of Shocker itself. In the end, Hongo and Asuka confessed their love for each other.

Hongo returned in the movie's sequel, Kamen Rider The Next, taking place two years after the original film. Hongo has severed ties with Asuka, and is now a science teacher at a Japanese high school, to which he is severely disrespected and mocked by his rowdy students until a public display of his abilities as a reconstructed human scare the student body into fearing him. During this time, helping his student Kotomi in the mystery behind Chiharu, Hongo becomes involved with Shocker's latest plot to use nanomachines to remodel all of Japan instantaneously, forcing him to resume his fight against them. Reuniting with an ailing Ichimonji and later making an ally of Shocker's newest soldier, Hopper Version 3, Hongo puts an end to Shocker's plot once again. In the end, due to the various complaints received by the parents of his frightened students, Hongo is forced to quit his position as a teacher, but gains a friend in Kotomi.

Kamen Rider 1

Kamen Rider 1 uses the power of the wind to fight. To transform Rider speeds on his Cyclone and leaps into the air, creating wind-pressure against his Typhoon belt. The pressure spins the turbine in the center of his belt which then activates the micro-nuclear engine and allows him to transform. In early episodes, Kamen Rider 1 does not adapt a pose before transforming; it would not be until episode 53 when he uses the following actions to transform.

Rider Henshin Pose

While slowly incanting "Rider Henshin!" (ライダー変身！ Raidā Henshin), Hongo thrusts his right arm at a diagonal to his left, rotates clockwise until the arm is fully extended to his right, then quickly pulls his right arm into his waist while extending his left arm at a diagonal to his right. Hongo then leaps into the air, where the wind-pressure activates his transformation.

The First Movie Version

Hongo simply opens up his leather jackets (or polo shirt), revealing the Typhoon belt (and his body armor), then puts on his helmet and snaps his faceplate to it to transform. However, during his final battle with the Shocker forces he performs the TV series' "Rider Henshin" pose (albeit reversed) as part of his battle stance.

Though his suit is redesigned, Rider 1's outfit aged poorly by the events of the 2nd movie, going from blue to a darker shade of dull green (in conjunction with the events of the original TV series costume) as well as sporting numerous scars and dents.

Equipment

Typhoon

The Typhoon (タイフーン Taifun) is Kamen Rider 1's transformation belt which is powered by wind. His first belt has a white strap until he receives an upgrade (along with a new costume) with a red strap similar to Kamen Rider 2's belt. Furthermore, the Typhoon is also present on Shocker Inhumanoids as well, though concealed with the Shocker emblem buckle.

Cyclone

The Cyclone (サイクロン号 Saikuron-gō) is a machine given to Kamen Rider by Professor Midorikawa. Cyclone takes the form of an off-road bike and can be ridden by people other than Hongo. When Hongo transforms into Kamen Rider the switch for the bike is also activated and the bike becomes an on-road bike. In episode 40 when Rider 1 goes to save Rider 2 the Cyclone has a similar form to Rider 2’s Cyclone. It’s assumed that the Cyclone was upgraded while he was overseas. In Kamen Rider The First, Cyclone's based design is the Honda CBR1000RR, and modified by his mentor Tōbei Tachibana. He rides the Cyclone even in human form or rider form.

New Cyclone

The New Cyclone (新サイクロン号 Shin Saikuron-gō) is a new machine designed by Hongo, Taki and Tachibana. New Cyclone transforms automatically when Hongo does. New Cyclone's attack is the Cyclone Attack (サイクロンアタック Saikuron Attaku) where Rider 2 rams an enemy while riding the Cyclone while the Cyclone Cutters are exposed.

Neo Cylone

The Neo Cyclone (ネオサイクロン号 Neo Saikuron-gō) is the successor of the Cyclone series of motorcycles based on the Honda GoldWing F6C, it was used by Hongo during the events of Kamen Rider 1.

References

1. "初代・藤岡弘、も出演！仮面ライダーそろい踏み ― スポニチ Sponichi Annex ニュース". January 29, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-29.

See also