Earliest Memories #06: Kamen Rider Black

Kamen Rider Black. I remember it like it was yesterday. And I'm not talking about a distant memory that's only 5 years old. Not even 10 years old. Probably around 15 or more so years have passed when I was only a kid who went to primary school, played with friends on the streets and had nothing else to worry about in his life. They were good times. I had a good childhood. It wasn't the most amazing nor adventurous of them all. But I'd like to think that I have gone down my own path that was very well appreciated and I can honestly brag about experiencing some things that a lot of people would never ever even go through in their lives. And I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the things that made my childhood an amazing experience to always remember and never forget.

One thing, a big part of my childhood, that I would never ever forget is, yes, Kamen Rider Black. If you don't know what it is, then click right HERE to be redirected to WikiPedia so you can learn a bit about this TV show I'm about to talk about. Everything I am about to mention from here on in are essentially just my own opinions and thoughts of the Kamen Rider installment and I have not done any research of some sort to aid me in writing a better and well formed blog entry. I'm essentially just... 'winging' it.

(Kamen Rider Black starred Tetsuo Kurata.)

This show fascinated me so much when I was a kid. Regardless of wherever I was, whether I was playing with children on the streets or in a relative's house, I'd know that I had to go home. I needed to go home because I knew this show was soon going to be on and I did not want to miss it! Kamen Rider Black appealed to me so much and I loved following it. My cousin and I would imitate the way he would change into his Rider form. It was silly, looking back now. But there could only be one Kamen Rider Black, and I was the older one. Hahaha. Guess who was the Kamen Rider Black? Yes, me. So my cousin would play as Shadow Moon, his brother. Shadow Moon and Black Sun. The creators were a tad brilliant with that one, I gotta admit. Well, it's kinda corny. But it's an 80's show and it was created for kids, after all. Nonetheless, it still is amazing up to this day and if I could get my hands on all the episodes on DVD, I'd definitely break my wallet for it if necessary! Up to this day, I still know how to do his henshin sequence. It's quite a sight to see. But I don't see myself doing it in front of anyone anytime soon.

I suppose to a child, the character proved to be effective in being an established icon or role model. A character with a sense of humor, strong, passionate for justice and righteousness. All traits of the typical good guy, of course. Not to mention, he rode motorcycles as well. And to a child, that was just awesome. On top of that, he changed into this superhuman one-man army of justice and world peace. What more can you ask for?!! Looking at the show now, of course I will find a lot of aspects about the show to be quite silly and ridiculous. But that's how it is all the time whenever we look back and rewatch the shows that were amazing to us when we were kids. But the fact still remains that the story, the characters and the lessons learned in Kamen Rider Black are still there and will always be there.

(When he does this pose, you know shit's about to go down.)

The mere opening of this TV show always got me so pumped as well. Even today, I still play it from time to time. I don't even find his singing that impressive. But still, the song remains a powerful tune to listen to up to this day. I have it on my phone to listen to whenever I want to! I also have the ending theme which is just heavenly. Though, it wasn't him that sang on the track. These two songs I still tend to listen to from time to time even after all those years that passed.
Kotaro Minami wears fucking white as well! Another thing I sort of took from the show. A change was necessary. And I figured going towards inversion from what I used to wear, which was black, would make perfect sense if I wanted to let go of the ugliness and bitterness my past was basically consisted of. I still wear black, but I did start wearing more white in an attempt to push the initiative of change.

I saw a few YouTube videos of the older Kamen Riders prior to Tetsuo Kurata's Kamen Rider Black. And I gotta say that compared to the older ones, it's simply Kamen Rider Black that looked like the best one. Though, I cannot criticize them since I have not seen any of them. But of course, respect is there because if it wasn't for the first Kamen Rider, there wouldn't be Kamen Rider Black. I don't even want to tackle the new ones. They just look so lame and flashy. Another thing I like about this show is that it had sort of dark feel to it. Damn, the fucking protagonist is pure black. The flashiest he can get are the yellow lines he has in some parts of his body! He rode motorcycles and wore black or white. Or gray! Wore denim pants like a normal person. And he wasn't a Goddamn pretty boy either! For a role of a saviour, it makes more sense to choose an actor that didn't look like he was chosen from a line of Bishounen pretty boys. Just look at Ultraman Tiga and Dyna. They kicked major ass but they appeared to be regular dudes, not guys that were put in a show to attract chicks.

I have tons more to say, but I gotta go. Overall, Kamen Rider Black kicks ass and if you don't think so, then fuck you. I'll Rider Kick your ass. :p