I’ve talked about Ultraman plenty. I love that show. I also wrote about my history with Tokusatsu thanks to the series Power Rangers, which was drawn from the Tokusatsu series Super Sentai. But there is a third all time classic and quintessential Tokusatsu series, one that is currently in Japan the top of the 3. I’ve reviewed Kamen Rider before but let’s look to the very first episode of the very first series and see where it all began.

The Eerie Man Spider is both the first episode of all of Kamen Rider, and also the first monster a Kamen Rider faced. Airing in April 3rd 1971 it stars Takeshi Hongo played by Kunihiro Fujioka who in the 90s would play the memetastic character Segata Sanshiro for adverts advertising the Sega Saturn, but that’s a bit of a tangent for now.

While practicing for a race on his motorcycle, Hongo is attacked and captured by agents of the evil organization Shocker who convert him into a cyborg. Before they can alter his mind the procedure is interrupted by captured scientist Hiroshi Midorikawa and the two escape. While pursued Hongo gets knocked down only to later show back up now sporting his iconic Kamen Rider helmet for which is given absolutely no explanation where he got it, and beats up his pursuers.

Tragedy strikes though as when Hiroshi’s daughter Ruriko arrives where they were hiding just in time to see her father die by the workings of the Man Spider (let’s keep calling it that as put the other way round conflicts with a very well known character, that in Japan also had his own series… go on look up Japanese Spiderman, you won’t be disappointed) and since she sees Hongo and not the Spider, she comes to the conclusion Hongo killed her father (this is sorted out in the next episode so don’t expect a long multi episode story line for that).

Following that is the fight against the Man Spider and end of the episode with Hongo lamenting the death of the professor and how his daughter thinks him a murderer, while vowing to fight the evil Shocker organization.

It’s an ok start to the series. Action is good. We get a little bit about our motorcycle racing scientist lead (yes he is a scientist) and a bit about the evil machinations of the organization he’s fighting. I couldn’t help in the origin but think this was essentially the 6 million dollar man, but if done by the bad guys who he then turns on. You can see that the outfits get better later on and these are very early designs. They don’t really compare to those of Ultraman and Ultraseven foes, and to be fair I’m comparing them to things like the Baltens and other aliens, not to the Kaiju that would repurpose suits from Godzilla movies. Also the henchman just being guys with in outfits and face makeup.. it’s a beginning but more impressive works would come from this.

Rating: 📺📺📺