Toku Review: Saban's Masked Rider- "I AM AMAZON!!!!" (No you're not, you're Skyrider)

What can I say about Saban's Masked Rider??? Though I grew up as a child of the late 90's and early 2000's in Japan and didn't see this abomination when it first aired, I was cursed with sitting through a marathon of the entire season when I was living in America for a short time at the beginning of this year.

The three episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that he first premiered in weren't that bad, but I wish I could say the same thing for the show as a whole. The show is an embarrassment the Kamen Rider Franchise as a whole, not only its original counterpart Kamen Rider Black RX. It was so bad that Ishinomori-san (Kamen Rider's creator) had nothing but bad things to say about the show and quite frankly I don't blame him.

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This is a plot synopsis of the show from the Kamen Rider Wiki:

The series began with the main character, Dex, escaping the Plague Patrol with a small group of Edenoites rebels, before leaving for Earth, the next target of his sinister uncle Count Dregon, who ruled Edenoi with an iron fist after displacing Dex's grandfather, King Lexian, who also gave Dex the Masked Rider powers (where the powers came from is a mystery, although apparently they have been in use for some time by Edenoi's champions). Arriving on Earth in a massive crater, Dex finds himself in the care of the Stewarts, a multiracial family consisting of a white father and daughter (named Hal and Molly respectively), an Asian wife (Barbara), and an African-American son (Albee). The addition of an extra Stewart was not noticed by anyone (as, according to Albee, he and Molly are adopted) in Leawood, the town in which the series took place. Dex defends the town as Masked Rider from Count Dregon and his vicious Insectovores.

Saban's Masked Rider, Dex

Here is a clip from Masked Rider....the most famous scene of the series....for the wrong reasons.

Saban's Masked Rider is probably the worst tokusatsu adaptation and was never distributed outside the Americas and Europe,  it does have a cult following, but the show does not have a big fanbase as other Saban adaptations in the 1990's like Power Rangers, VR Troopers, and Beetleborgs. By watching it I saw why. The show's editing was crappy at best and the story, well, it was so-so at best. I think that the best part of the show is probably its theme. Very simple and it draws you in....sadly you have to hear that narrator first (see above video). Oh and please don't get me started on Ferbus. -__-'



Would I recommend Saban's Masked Rider to anyone? Simply put, no.
If you want to see this series you are better off watching Kamen Rider Black RX, the story flows better and makes more sense. If you want to experience a good rider series watch Black RX...and this coming from a person who's only experience with Black RX was in Kamen Rider Decade.....

That's saying something.

So ends my look into Saban's Masked Rider. What are your thoughts on the show? Comment below.

When naming the Masked Rider Warriors, they screwed up the naming for every rider except ZX. The most famous being Skyrider being renamed Masked Rider Warrior Amazon and the famous line "I AM AMAZON!!!" which apparently is a very popular internet meme.