Of Kamen Riders and legacies...

Before I start this post, I KNOW I'll get a lot of heat for it. But let me start by saying I love Kamen Rider.

I love Kamen Rider, the original Champions of Justice created by Shotaro Ishinomori, that lasted 30 years (Rider 1- Kuuga).

I have mixed feelings on the ones post-Kuuga from awesome(Agito and W) to mediocre(OOO and Blade) to completely unlikeable(Kabuto, Ryuki) to WHY WON'T IT GO AWAY(Den-O).

A lot of Heisei Kamen Rider fans attacked me last time I presented this opinion over a year ago and I will now attempt to make rebuttals to their attacks.

1) "The Showa Kamen Riders are repetitive."

What series doesn't follow a formula? To me, the Heisei Riders come off as a bunch of abstract ideas for heroes trying to follow a VERY LOOSE formula and putting it under a brand name. This probably isn't the series itself's fault, as Ishinomori is long dead. But to continue his series long after no one knows what it is anymore is just absurd. Thus, formulas are usually necessary for series to be well-loved.

2) "They just like what they like, why are you bashing them for it?"

That goes for anyone who DARES to criticize something. How dare you! This is pathetic, people... see many people bash Ultraman and never get criticized for it so now I must speak up...Bottom line,I have the right to complain.

3) "They're still heroic!"

This all depends on your point of view. For me, most of the "Kamen Riders" Toei have produced throughout the decade have been anti-heroes to me. Either they act more like Hakaider and only want to destroy the main protagonist, or they're incredibly selfish. Both seem more anti-heroic to me. One aspect I like about Den-O, Ryotaro is actually a nice guy, as is Eiji Hino and Shotaro. Furthermore, I feel the modern Kamen Riders have become whiny J-Dramas that are merely a shadow of their former self. I haven't seen enough of Fourze to form a solid opinion...

The Showa Kamen Riders all had varying personalities, but they were all heroic.

1970s: The Golden Era of Tokusatsu

Why do I consider the 1970s the Golden Era of Tokusatsu, as opposed to all the other periods in the history of toku?

1. The amount of programs being put out by different companies is STAGGERING. We have Toei, putting out gems such as the Kamen Rider franchise and Kikaider, Tsuburaya, putting out the excellent Mirrorman and Ultra series of the 70s, we have P Productions, coming up with Spectreman and the various animal based heroes as well as Denjin Zaborga. And there's also Toho, who put out Rainbowman, Zone Fighter, Godman and Red Tiger.

2. The ratings during the 70s were much higher for your average episode of Goranger or Ultraman Taro than most Heisei shows(for instance)...

3. The amount of concepts introduced during this period were numerous. Things that many modern series take for granted, such as muli-form heroes were pioneered with toku such as Rainbowman. Giant Mecha were introduced with Spiderman in 1978.

No other decade in toku had quite the dynamics and events that occured here...