Real Heroes Wear Belts: Kamen Rider Belts

Without a doubt, Kamen Rider is one of Japan's most iconic hero vs. villain shows ever, alongside Godzilla and Ultraman.

Anno Hideaki, director of Neon Genesis Evangelion is here to back this statement up, as he has created Shin Godzilla, and is set to release Shin Ultraman & Shin Kamen Rider in the near Future.

Kamen Rider, which started in 1971, is a Japanese "Tokusatsu" series, which are live action hero shows like the Power Rangers series or Ultraman series. Kamen Rider is in fact one of the first Tokusatsu series, and undoubtedly one made the genre largely popular in Japan. "Kamen", meaning mask, the series is often called Masked Rider in western countries.

Kamen Rider reached its 50th anniversary this year, and is still adding to its long history, adding new heroes year after year. After the very first "Kamen Rider 1", there have been literally hundreds of iconic Riders introduced in their respectable series. Some of the older Riders, to name a few, are V3, Amazon, ZX, and Black, and newer Den-O, Decade, W, and Zero-One.

Many Japanese Tokusatsu series have their own unique features, like Ultraman's Color Timer, or Power Ranger Henshin [transform] poses. Without a question, Kamen Rider's feature is their Henshin Belts. Each Kamen Rider is equipped with a belt, which is used by the Rider to transform into their Kamen Rider form. The belts are 100% unique to each Kamen Rider, often incorporating the theme of the series, like you can see with the horned beetle on Kabuto's belt [kabutomushi is a Japanese horned beetle], or with Gaim's katana & armor themed belt. Needless to say, each belt is completely original, and totally differs from one another.

These belts have been released in Japan as toys, and are one of the most sought after items among young boys. Check out some of our favorite Rider Belts, from all generations of Kamen Rider. Videos courtesy of Japanese hobby YouTuber k2eizo.

Video Credits: k2eizo