Kamen Rider

 aka "Masked Rider"

Updated 03/17/2002

Introduction:

Kamen Rider has been a staple of Japanese television since it first aired in the mid-1970s. Nearly every year since that time, a new KR series with a new hero debuts. The Kamen Rider series' are all about action. The KR's are motorcycle riding cyborgs who use their karate skills to keep the world safe from evil forces. Similar to the Ultraman series' with rubber suited monsters, although in the KR series', the heroes and villains are human sized.

Like many other Japanese shows, the influence of merchandising is evident. Since the late '90s, each new Kamen Rider transforms into different forms to use specific powers, and each form has a different color armor. So if you're shopping for Kamen Rider toys, you'll notice that there are often 3 or more versions of each Kamen Rider. (The same trick has been used in the Ultraman series' as well.)

Banpresto has released new Kamen Rider catcher toy items every year since the early '90s. I'm starting this page with some of the latest, and will be adding more of the older toys. All of the following toys were made by Banpresto. 

** The following toys are here for display purposes, and are not for sale. **

Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger image.

 

Kamen Rider Plush Set - 2001
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Kamen Rider 1 Kamen Rider Ver. 2 Kamen Rider V3 Kuuga
71610e.jpg (23521 bytes) This retrospective set features the latest Kamen Riders as well as the three earliest Riders. These are in action poses. Kamen Rider 1 is in a jump kick pose.
Kuuga
Kamen Rider Agito Plush Set - 2001
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Grand Form Storm Form Flame Form G3

This Kamen Rider TV series debuted in January of 2001. Kamen Rider Agito has three forms, pictured above. Kamen Rider G3 is a policeman in an armored suit, who helps Agito. In the beginning of the series, Gilos' intentions are unclear. Is he friend or foe? This is the complete set of 5. The bodies are about 6" tall. Add another inch for the "horns."

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Gilos
Kamen Rider Agito DX Set - 2001
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At 13" tall, these are the largest Kamen Rider catcher toy plushes made so far. There were 3 in the series, including G3, who I haven't photographed yet. These did not come with the usual card hang tags. Instead, each was packaged in a plastic bag with a header card. They were likely packaged this way due to the type of catcher machine they were in. The all have the small paper "tush tags" and cloth DX tags. Agito has 3 layers of spiked horns on his helmet, and the two back layers have velcro fasteners and can be removed. 

 

 

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The words and scans are © Kane, aka spooky@voicenet.com, who freely admits he spends way too much time thinking about toys. The toys shown are © Banpresto, Inc., a subsidiary of Bandai, Inc. This site is not endorsed or affiliated with Banpresto, it is just a hobby that I enjoy working on. The toys on this site are part of a personal collection, and are NOT FOR SALE. Thanks for visiting. Cheers.