is a

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series. It is the eighth installment in the '' Kamen Rider '' series and a co-production between

Ishimori Productions is a Japanese production company that develops works created by, and also serves as the literary estate of manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, headquartered in Yoyogi, Tokyo. Such works include '' 009-1'', ''Kikaider'', ''Inazuman'', '' Ganbare!! R ...

and Toei. The series aired on the

Mainichi Broadcasting System , or MBS, is a radio and television broadcasting company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network (JRN), National Radio Network (NRN), Japan News Network (JNN) and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. It i ...

and the

Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...

from October 4, 1987, to October 9, 1988. For distribution purposes, Toei refers to this television series as ''Black Kamen Rider''. The series has spawned a

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation that ran in '' Shōnen Sunday'' during its broadcast; a direct sequel, ''

Kamen Rider Black RX is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series produced as part of the ''Kamen Rider'' series. The ninth show in the franchise, it is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei Company, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting ...

'', in 1988; and a remake, ''

Kamen Rider Black Sun is a Japanese tokusatsu web drama that is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of the 1987 television series ''Kamen Rider Black''. A co-production between Ishimori Productions and Toei Company, Toei, the series is directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and was ...

'', in 2022.

Synopsis

The Creation King, the pinnacle of the cult Gorgom. As his life begins to extinguish, the elected Creation King will inherit his power. On the night of their 19th birthday, stepbrothers Kotaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki were kidnapped by Gorgom and submitted to a mutant

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

surgery to become the candidates for the next Gorgom Creation King. Both of them are called Century Kings and are destined to best each other in a final battle - whoever wins will become the next Creation King. Kotaro escaped before getting brainwashed (which is the final step in the surgery), with help from his

foster father Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family me ...

, and turned against Gorgom. He soon finds out the horrific truth from his stepfather: Gorgom originally killed his true parents and, since both Kotaro and Nobuhiko were born on the day of a solar eclipse, are referred to as "Black Sun" and "Shadow Moon". Kotaro, taking on the name of Kamen Rider Black, was determined to rescue his stepbrother from Gorgom while protecting Japan. However, later in the series, Nobuhiko emerged as Shadow Moon to fight Kotaro with the survivor becoming the next Creation King.

Episodes

# (Original Airdate: October 4, 1987) # (Original Airdate: October 11, 1987) # (Original Airdate: October 18, 1987) # (Original Airdate: October 25, 1987) # (Original Airdate: November 1, 1987) # (Original Airdate: November 8, 1987) # (Original Airdate: November 15, 1987) # (Original Airdate: November 22, 1987) # (Original Airdate: November 29, 1987) # (Original Airdate: December 6, 1987) # (Original Airdate: December 13, 1987) # (Original Airdate: December 20, 1987) # (Original Airdate: December 27, 1987) # (Original Airdate: January 10, 1988) # (Original Airdate: January 17, 1988) # (Original Airdate: January 24, 1988) # (Original Airdate: January 31, 1988) # (Original Airdate: February 7, 1988) # (Original Airdate: February 14, 1988) # (Original Airdate: February 21, 1988) # (Original Airdate: February 28, 1988) # (Original Airdate: March 6, 1988) # (Original Airdate: March 13, 1988) # (Original Airdate: March 20, 1988) # (Original Airdate: April 3, 1988) # (Original Airdate: April 10, 1988) # (Original Airdate: April 17, 1988) # (Original Airdate: April 24, 1988) # (Original Airdate: May 1, 1988) # (Original Airdate: May 8, 1988) # (Original Airdate: May 15, 1988) # (Original Airdate: May 22, 1988) # (Original Airdate: May 29, 1988) # (Original Airdate: June 5, 1988) # (Original Airdate: June 12, 1988) # (Original Airdate: June 19, 1988) # (Original Airdate: June 26, 1988) # (Original Airdate: July 3, 1988) # (Original Airdate: July 10, 1988) # (Original Airdate: July 17, 1988) # (Original Airdate: July 24, 1988) # (Original Airdate: July 31, 1988) # (Original Airdate: August 7, 1988) # (Original Airdate: August 14, 1988) # (Original Airdate: August 21, 1988) # (Original Airdate: August 28, 1988) # (Original Airdate: September 4, 1988) # (Original Airdate: September 11, 1988) # (Original Airdate: September 18, 1988) # (Original Airdate: October 2, 1988) # (Original Airdate: October 9, 1988)

Related media

TV specials

*1987: - It was broadcast one week before the first episode, and introduces the character Kamen Rider Black. *1988: - It covers all the heroes, from

Kamen Rider 1 is a tokusatsu superhero television series and weekly science fiction manga created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. The original airing consisted of a total of 98 episodes and were broadcast from April 3, 1971, to February 10, 1973, on ...

until ZX, and introduces

Theatrical films

* : Released on March 12, 1988 (between episodes 22 and 23) as part of the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival. Originally known simply as ''Kamen Rider Black'' during its theatrical release. Children all over Tokyo mysteriously disappear without warning. Kotaro suspects that the Gorgom are behind the abductions and follows a suspicious-looking tour bus with children on it, only to lose its trail off a cliff. With the help of a fisherman (played by Ishinomori himself), Kotaro travels to a remote island and uses his abilities as Kamen Rider Black to save the kids and foil Gorgom's latest evil scheme. * : Released on July 9, 1988 (between episodes 38 and 39) as part of the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival. The city of Yūbari, Hokkaidō has become a ghost town following the presence of Shadow Moon and his minions of Gorgom. Makino, a scientist working on Gorgom's top-secret robot experiment, escapes from the evil organization and returns to Tokyo, only to find out that his wife and daughter have been abducted. As Kamen Rider Black, Kotaro travels to Yubari to save Makino's family and liberate the town from Shadow Moon's evil grasp. * :

Tetsuo Kurata (born September 11, 1968) is a Japanese television, stage and film actor and restaurateur, best known for portraying Kotaro Minami, the main character in the tokusatsu television series ''Kamen Rider Black'' and its sequel, ''Kamen Rider Black RX ...

reprised his role as Kotaro Minami in 2009's ''

Kamen Rider Decade is the title of the first installment of the 2009 editions of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. ''Decade'', as its title suggests, is the tenth of the Heisei Rider special anniversary Series, having begun with ''Kamen Rider ...

The Movie: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker''. * : Kurata also returned as Kotaro Minami in 2015's ''Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3''.

Video games

* :A side-scrolling action game released by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

for the

Family Computer Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary floppy disks called "Disk Cards" f ...

on April 15, 1988. The player takes control of Kamen Rider Black, who must defeat numerous Gorgom mutants. The player got to ride Battle Hopper in addition to controlling Black on foot. * :Kamen Rider Black appears as the main character of the 1988 storyline in this 3D action game for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

. Lead to an old Shocker hideout believing it to be Gorgom, Kotaro is forced to fight various kaijin and Gel-Shocker soldiers, only to learn the game's true villain is after the King Stone inside of him. Eventually,

Kamen Rider V3 is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original '' Kamen Rider''. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was shown ...

and

Kamen Rider Agito , is the eleventh installment in the popular Kamen Rider tokusatsu franchise. The series represented the 30th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series. The series was also a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei and was shown o ...

travel to 1988 to assist him in the game's final battle. Tetsuo Kurata returns to voice the character. Shadow Moon makes a brief cameo as a non-playable character as well.

''Kamen Rider Black Sun''

is an upcoming

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

of ''Kamen Rider Black'', to be broadcast as part of the ''Kamen Rider'' 50th Anniversary Project. The reboot was announced at a press conference on April 3, 2021, with

Kazuya Shiraishi is a Japanese filmmaker. Works Film TV series References External links * Japanese film directors Japanese television directors Living people 1974 births People from Hokkaido People from Asahikawa {{Japan-film-director-st ...

heading the project as director. The series was announced to release in spring 2022, with a worldwide release being considered. The show's staff was confirmed in October 2021, with Izumi Takahashi as a screenwriter,

Shinji Higuchi is a Japanese filmmaker and storyboard artist. He is one of the most successful Japanese filmmakers and the top ''tokusatsu'' film director. Higuchi became known for his work on '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'', for which he won the Specia ...

as a concept designer, and Kiyotaka Taguchi as special effects director. The first visual of the show was slated to be revealed the following month. The show's two leading actors were confirmed in November 2021, with Hidetoshi Nishijima as Kotaro Minami/Kamen Rider Black Sun and

Tomoya Nakamura is a Japanese actor. He is known for the Japanese voice of Aladdin in the 2019 live action remake Career Nakamura made his debut in the film '' The Innocent Seven'' in 2005. Filmography Film Television Japanese dub Awards References ...

as Nobuhiko Akizuki/Kamen Rider Shadow Moon.

In other media

*Kamen Rider Black is pictured on the cover art of Powerman 5000's 1994 EP, ''

True Force Powerman 5000 (also known as PM5K) is an American rock band formed in 1991. The group has released ten albums, gaining its highest level of commercial success with 1999's '' Tonight the Stars Revolt!'', which reached number 29 on the ''Billboa ...

''.

Cast

as *

Jiro Okamoto (born January 5, 1965) is a Japanese veteran suit actor. He did some stunt work for Kamen Rider Series, Super Sentai and Metal Hero. Stunt/suit actor roles ''Super Sentai'' series * ''Dengeki Sentai Changeman'' (1985-1986) - Hidrer Soldiers * ...

as Kamen Rider Black (actor suit) *

Takahito Horiuchi Takahito is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * Takahito, Prince Mikasa (1915-2016), fourth and youngest son of Emperor Taishō of Japan * Prince Takahito (尊仁) (1034-1073), later Emperor Go-Sanjō (後三� ...

as * Tokio Iwata as Century King Shadow Moon (actor suit) *

Masaki Terasoma is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is affiliated with Mausu Promotion. Biography After graduating from Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music, Terasoma joined Haiyuza Theatre Company. In 1984, he made his film debut in ''W's Tragedy''. Afte ...

as *

Akemi Inoue Akemi is a unisex Japanese given name. Possible writings Akemi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "bright, beauty" *, "bright, fruit" *, "bright, sea" *, "bright, sign of the snake (Chinese zodiac)" *, "vermilion, ...

as *

Ayumi Taguchi is a feminine Japanese given name. It is rarely used as a surname. Possible writings Ayumi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *歩み, "course" "walking" "progress" ;as a given name *歩, "progress", "walking", "a step" ...

as *

Hitomi Yoshii Hitomi may refer to:. People * Hitomi (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * Hitomi (voice actress) (born 1967), Japanese voice actress * Hitomi (singer) (born 1976, as Hitomi Furuya), Japanese singer and songwriter * Hitomi Nabatame (b ...

as *

Susumu Kurobe (born ; 22 October 1939) is a television, film and stage actor from Kurobe, Toyama, Japan, widely known for his portrayal of Shin Hayata, the first Ultraman in the '' titular character series'', a role he has played since the original series in ...

as *

Jun Yoshida Jun or JUN may refer to: People and anthroponymy * Jun (given name), a common Japanese given name * Jun (singer), a member of South Korean boy band U-KISS * Tomáš Jun, Czech footballer * A spelling of common Korean family name Jeon (Korean surn ...

as *

Takeshi Watabe was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was born in Kōchi Prefecture. He usually played villains and performed the voices for many ''anime'' characters and ''tokusatsu'' villains. He is most famous for voicing Kaminari in ''Doraemon''. He took ...

as *

Shōzō Iizuka is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Fukushima Prefecture. He graduated from the fine arts department of Nihon University. He is most known for the roles of Hakaider (''Android Kikaider''), Doctor Neo Cortex ( ''Crash Bandicoot'' s ...

as *

Toshimichi Takahashi Toshimichi is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toshimichi can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *敏道, "agile, way" *敏路, "agile, route" *敏通, "agile, pass through" *俊道, "ta ...

as *

Kiyoshi Kobayashi Kiyoshi, (きよし or キヨシ), is a Japanese given name, also spelled Kyoshi. Possible meanings *'' Kyōshi'', a form of Japanese poetry *Kyōshi, a Japanese honorific Possible writings *清, "cleanse" *淳, "pure" *潔, "undefiled" *清志, ...

(1-39) and Issei Masamune (40-51) as the Narrator

Guest actors

Kantarō Suga was a leading Japanese actor. His film credits span three decades, from 1960 to 1990.
(Suga Kantarō) at Sent Hoshi Sent is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol.

as *

Yutaka Hirose is a Japanese actor and voice actor, widely known to international audiences for his work in the tokusatsu genre of television series, usually portraying villainous characters. His real name is , which was the name he was credited during his debu ...

as Hayami * Ryōsuke Sakamoto as Morita *

Miyuki Nagato Miyuki is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Miyuki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "beautiful fortune" or "beautiful happiness" *, "deep snow" *, "beautiful snow" *, "beautiful reason for history" ...

as Gorgom Henchwoman *

Jōji Nakata is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator who is affiliated with the Office Osawa agency. His major voice roles include Alucard in ''Hellsing'', Hijikata Toshizo in Golden Kamuy, Roy Revant in '' Solty Rei'', Giroro in ''Sgt. Frog'', K ...

as Shigeru Sugiyama *

Masaki Kyomoto is a Japanese actor, singer song writer, and guitarist. He is famous for playing the role of Ryu on the television jidaigeki Hissatsu series. He has appeared in films and television series including ''Legend of the Eight Samurai'', '' Sukeban ...

as *

Kouji Unogi ''Kouji'' ({{zh, c= 口技), which can be translated literally as "mouth skill" or "skill of mouth" is a Chinese vocal mimicry performance art which utilizes the human speech organs to mimic the sounds of everyday life. When this vocal mimicry i ...

as Buffalo Mutant (Human Form) *

Hiroko Nishimoto is a common feminine Japanese given name. Name meanings Hiroko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *裕子, "kind child" *弘子, "Beautiful child" *寛子, " small child" *浩子, "large child" *博子, "wise child" *� ...

as Kimie Tadokoro *

Mayumi Yoshida is a Japanese voice actress. She is also known as . Filmography Video games ''Eroge'' :''As Misono Moriya'' *'' Akane iro Ni Somaru Saka'', Mitsuki Shiina *'' ef - the letter tale'', Mizuki Hayama / Akane Himura **''Tenshi no Nichiyoubi'' ...

Masashi Ishibashi Masashi Ishibashi (Japanese: 石橋政嗣 ''Ishibashi Masashi'', October 6, 1924 – December 9, 2019) was a Japanese politician who served as chairman of the Japan Socialist Party from 1983 to 1986. Biography Early life Born in colonia ...

as Saburo Takasugi *

Shun Ueda Shun may refer to one of the following: *To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group *Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name * Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬) Emperor Shun * Emperor Shun (舜; ...

as Kuwagata Mutant (Human Form) *

Eisuke Yoda Eisuke (written: 永輔, 英輔, 英介, 栄介, 英助 or エイスケ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese politician *, Japanese politician *, Japanese footba ...

Songs

;Opening theme * **Lyrics: **Composition: **Arrangement: **Artist:

;Ending theme *"Long Long Ago, 20th Century" **Lyrics: Yoko Aki **Composition: Ryudo Uzaki **Arrangement: Eiji Kawamura **Artist:

Norio Sakai Norio (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese rower *Norio Hayakawa , is an American activist who lives in Albuquerque, New M ...

International broadcast

*It aired in Thailand in 1990 on Saturday before noon on Channel 3, dubbed as ''weera burut nakak dam''. ("วีรบุรุษหน้ากากดำ", literally: ''Black Mask Hero''). *It was broadcast in the Philippines every Sunday from 1993 to 1998 via

IBC-13 DZTV-TV, Channel 13 (analog) and Channel 17 (digital), is the flagship VHF station of Philippine television network, IBC. The station is owned and operated by Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation with its studios and broadcast facilit ...

and was one of the highest-rated TV shows of that time, translated to Filipino. *The series aired in Indonesia from 1993 to 1994 on

RCTI RCTI (''Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia'') is a West Jakarta-based Indonesian free-to-air television network. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity bulletins, news, and sports programmes. It was first launched in 1989, origina ...

and from 2004 to 2006 on

Indosiar PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri, commonly known as Indosiar, is an Indonesian over-the-air television network. It broadcasts nationwide on UHF and can be received throughout the Indonesian archipelago on analog PAL television sets, established on ...

. It was known as ''Ksatria Baja Hitam'' which means ''The Black Steel Knight'' and has received a cult following since. The series was return to air in 2020 on RTV under the title ''Masked Rider Black'' (which is the title used by Toei for international distribution as well). *It was the first of the two series of the Kamen Rider franchise to be broadcast in Brazil (the other being ''

''), by the now-extinct network

Rede Manchete Rede Manchete (; lit.: Headline Network; also known as TV Manchete or only Manchete) was a Brazilian television network that was founded in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1983 by the Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and businessman Adolpho Bloch. The ne ...

from April 1991 to July 1994, and was also released on

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

. The last episode (51 - Gorgom's Last Day) was never shown. Even with the title of ''Black Kamen Rider'' adopted by the dubbing and early TV promos, the series was announced later as ''Blackman'', which was also used for the toy line and the Brazilian soundtrack album. Rerun in the year 2010 on the channel Ulbra TV. Returns briefly on August 30, 2020, on

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

network, with the broadcasting of the first two episodes only. After a dispute over dubbing rights, the series was canceled in the following week. *The series was licensed by

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

for Blu-Ray in the US It was announced during the Spooktacular” Discotek Day stream on October 25, 2022 and is set for a 2023 release.https://www.siliconera.com/discotek-picks-up-kamen-rider-black-and-sonic-x-anime/

References

External links

仮面ライダーBLACK , 仮面ライダーWEB【公式】｜東映
(Kamen Rider Black page on official website) {{Kamen Rider

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Dark fantasy television series Japanese fantasy television series 1987 Japanese television series debuts 1988 Japanese television series endings Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming Japanese drama television series 1980s Japanese television series