User blog:Aldo The Fox/Kamen Rider 101

Hello, Aldo The Fox here and I would like to take the time to promote the Wiki I work on, Kamen Rider Wiki!

We are making this wiki so you can get all the information you want on armored belt powered heroes who ride motorcycles and fight terrorists and various things that go bump in the night (and day)!

Location: http://kamenrider.wikia.com

How I got to be a fan:

The first time I encountered these strange heroes was back in early 2008. I was bored one day randomly browsing YouTube when something caught my eye, an image of a strange Batman-like character with a utility belt. I investigated further by clicking the video and found it very weird, the belt was talking and there was a flying dragon castle and for some reason the guy was so strong he left a bat symbol on the ground when he kicked the weird stained glass monster. I had to know more...

I learned his name was Kiva, and he was the latest in a line of sort-of legacy heroes created by an afro-haired Japanese man who loved superheroes and who was responsible for Power Rangers very existence by creating its original source material. My life was never the same after that.. I dabbled in Den-O, was perplexed by Decade and went absolutely nuts for Double. I basically joined a secret cabal of western geeks who were observing one of the last pop culture frontiers: Japanese Superhero Tokusatsu.

Granted, how I watched them was in a grey area given Japan refuses to release them legally here in the US outside of V3 (due to a Hawaiian fanbase for that show). So I decided the only way to get around that was to try and spread the word and in 2013, I got my chance and gained Admin status for a tokusatsu wiki project. Thus, I have been a madman with a wiki ever since spreading the gospel as it were of men and women who kill evil with a glowing foot to the face!

What Is Kamen Rider? Good Question! Kamen Rider is a 45 year old franchise that spans TV, movies, crossovers, video games and lots and lots of Moichandising!  Created on April 3, 1971, this superhero series has entertained generations of Japanese children and is a mainstay of the nation's culture. The basic premise for the show is that an individual is bestowed a belt (or in rare cases sometimes another type of device) that gives them the power to become an armored superhero with fantastic abilities. They use this power to fight selflessly for the sake of others against a group of monsters. This premise would later be used in a variation in 1975 to create Super Sentai, Kamen Rider's sister series and the originator of what would become Power Rangers.

What are the highlights of this series? What Kamen Rider you end up liking is really up to personal tastes as the series has a sort of fluidity in tone. Some are goofy like Den-o