This year, an icon of Japanese superheroism turns 50: the masked hero of justice, Kamen Rider, first debuted in 1971. But the Kamen Rider franchise not only is it celebrating its original iteration in 2021, and it’s not just being held in Japan.
Early last year, Toei did the welcome, unprecedented step to start streaming some of their most popular classic Tokusatsu series on YouTube around the world for free, with subtitled versions of icons such as Super Sentai, Juspion, i The space sheriff Gavan to the international public, in some cases for the first time on an official basis.
Much of Kamen Rider he was absent, but perhaps for good reason: at the same time, Toei partnered with Shout Factory to officially bring the original Kamen Rider to a new linear transmission channel in the United States, which makes the program’s first arrival in the country (well, outside of Westernized adaptations like Saban’s Masked rider i Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, this is).
But now, that is about to change. To celebrate the new year and Kamen Rider50th anniversary, Toei announced that his official Tokusatsu World YouTube account will begin posting regular English subtitled episodes starting this month. The shows, which will be available internationally in an unconfirmed number of countries, will come not only from the original show, but from five decades of Kamen Rider history.
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No calendar has been officially confirmed yet, but Toei is planning weekly “Every Saturday and / or Sunday” updates. He also hopes to have 1-2 episodes of each Kamen Rider series available on the platform throughout the year, from its beginnings in Shōwa, to its rebirth and the Heisei boom in the 21st century, to modern iterations, including those of 2019 Kamen Rider Zero-One (It is not known if we will get anything from the iteration currently being broadcast from the program, the second of the Reiwa era, Came Rider Saber).
It is a big step forward Kamen Rideraccessibility outside their home country. Last year was a big step for the franchise with its big debuts in the two classics of the United States and more recent Kamen Rider offers through Shout Factory, but that push brings Kamen Rider, one of Toei’s most successful and successful Tokustatsu series, for an even larger audience, which had so far had to fuel its support for the franchise through legally dubious avenues such as fansubs. This is a big leap forward to see more official releases from Kamen Rider all over the world, and a way to experience one of Japan’s most iconic superhero series.
Introducing Toei Tokusatsu World Official from Kamen Rider the episodes will begin on January 16th.
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