Kamen Rider Stronger

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The fifth programme to be created as part of the Kamen Rider, the series was broadcast on TBS and MBS from April 5, 1975 to December 27, 1975, lasting 39 episodes, and aired every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Stronger was a co-production between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, and was created by Shōtarō Ishinomori.

While the series is relatively popular amongst tokusatsu fans, it has not garnered much mainstream attention. However, the series is unique in several respects, and has influenced other series in the franchise in many ways. See Themes, below.

Overview
Shigeru Jō, played by Shigeru Araki, joins the evil organisation Black Satan after the death of a close friend, one whom he considered his mentor. Promised power, and fueled by a desire for revenge, he undergoes surgery to become one of Black Satan's super warriors. However, Shigeru knows that Black Satan were in fact the murderers of his friend; he was using Black Satan in order to gain new powers. The newly powered up Shigeru escapes from the Black Satan headquarters before they can brainwash him into following their campaign of evil.

Frustrated, Black Satan scientists devise a plan to capture and kill the warrior they have just created, along with continuing the goal they've had all along&mdash;world domination. Shigeru plans on fighting back in his new form, called Kamen Rider. While escaping from Black Satan, Stronger meets Yuriko Misaki (played by Kyōko Okada) another cyborg warrior created by Black Satan. They team up, with Yuriko now becoming Electro Wave Human Tackle. The two eventually meet Tōbei Tachibana as well.

Stronger, Tackle, and Tōbei fight valiantly against the evil cyborg forces of Black Satan, continually meeting the head agents General Shadow, and the One-Eyed Titan. The Titan is defeated in episode 13, but manages to return in episode 17 as the One-Hundred Eyed Titan, posing an even greater threat than before. Despite sharing the similar goals of defeating Stronger and conquering the world, General Shadow and the Titan cannot seem to agree on a few other issues&mdash;for instance, which one of them gets to kill Stronger. Often, their bickering inadvertently allows him to escape their wrath.

In episode 26, Stronger is able to topple Black Satan once and for all. With his former organization in ruins, General Shadow forms the "Delza Army" to continue his malicious goals. There were two further defining moments for the series: first, in episode 30, Tackle sacrifices herself to save Stronger from Doctor Kate, a Delza Army general. Her death affects Stronger greatly, and he vows to keep fighting until evil is defeated. Tackles' death is sometimes compared to Riderman's sacrifice in Kamen Rider. In the following episode, Stronger's fight against evil is greatly assisted when he undergoes surgery and gains a devastating new power&mdash;the ability to power up into a new, stronger, form&mdash;"Charge Up!".

Ultimately, all the former Riders, Kamen Riders Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider from the original Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider from Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider from Kamen Rider, and Kamen Rider from Kamen Rider, all appear in the final few episodes to help Stronger finally defeat the Delza Army and General Shadow. This sequence of episodes has attracted some praise from fans.

Themes
Stronger's primary motif was that of Electricity. All his attacks were based on electricity, and the cyborg aspect of his body is much more prominent than in the previous series; for instance, his hands were metal coils that had to be covered when he was not transformed. Stronger was not based on a Grasshopper or grasshopper-like insect as with the previous Riders; he is based on the Kabutomushi, or Japan.

The other primary characteristic of the series is Shigeru's bravado and eccentric personality. For instance, in the first episode, he instructs some Black Satan henchmen he encounters to call him Jō-san or Shigeru-san, the informal forms of his name, due to the fact that he'd already introduced himself. He wears various t-shirts emblazoned with the letter "S", along with numerous other items of clothing, including a Denim jacket with a rose emblem. Stronger's entrance is also a hallmark of the series, with his opening serifu and accompanying whistle a particular highlight. :

"The heavens call... The earth cries out... The crowds roar... All calling on me to strike back against evil. Now listen up, villains! I am the warrior of justice, The Kamen Rider Stronger!" This recurring sequence has been compared to a similar one in Kikaider.

Additionally, the "form changer" motif makes its first appearance in Stronger. Stronger's "Charge-Up!" mode predates Kamen Rider of Kamen Rider, and the primary themes of Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider were the main characters' ability to change forms. Kamen Rider, where each Rider character can shift between a bulky armoured form and a lightly covered, fast form, also features this concept prominently.

Indeed, Kabuto was greatly influenced by Stronger. Not only are both Stronger and Kabuto based on the same type of beetle, Stronger's Rider Machine is named "Kabutoroh". Beyond these superficial similarities, Kabuto and Stronger, or, more accurately, Shigeru and Tendō Souji, the title character of Kabuto, share a similar philosophical outlook and eccentric attitudes toward life and others, often commenting wrly on combat as it occurs.

Earlier Kamen Riders had "charge up" modes but without a change in appearance. Riders 1, 2 and V3 simply had a charge up sound effect. Kamen Rider X had smoke pour out of his body.

List of episodes


Movie:


 * Kamen Rider Stronger

An alligator kaijin from Black Satan attacks a young boy and long-time Kamen Rider ally Tobei Tachibana, but Kamen Rider Stronger and Denpa Ningen Tackle run in to make the save. However, Shigeru and Yuriko fall into separate traps and are captured by Black Satan. Yuriko fights for her life as Shigeru is brainwashed by the organization.

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * Lyrics: Saburō Yatsude
 * Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artist: Ichirou Mizuki
 * Artist: Ichirou Mizuki


 * Ending theme
 * Lyrics: Saburō Yatsude
 * Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artists: Masato Shimon & Mitsuko Horie
 * Episodes: 1-2
 * Lyrics: Saburō Yatsude
 * Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artists: Ichirou Mizuki & Mitsuko Horie
 * Episodes: 2-31
 * Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
 * Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artists: Ichirou Mizuki & Mitsuko Horie
 * Episodes 32-38
 * Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
 * Artists: Ichirou Mizuki & Mitsuko Horie
 * Episodes 32-38