Kamen Rider X
SET UP!!
Kamen Rider X was the third Kamen Rider series from Shotaro Ishinomori, there was also a manga at the same time.
Jin Keisuke is a guy living in Japan with his father and fiancee, his father is a famous inventor as well as a judo expert. His father has been working on a motor that could be revolutionary. However, the latest evil organization Government of Darkness(or GOD for short) wants the invention. Jin's fiancee is a spy for GOD and executes both Jin and his father, but not before Dr. Keitaro manages to SOMEHOW drag Jin Keisuke all the way into his lab and install the engine into him. Dr. Keitaro dies shortly after, but not before leaving his son the gear to become Kamen Rider X! X vows to destroy the Government of Darkness, and avenge his father!
- Badass Biker: Rider X of course.
- BFG: Apollo Geist has one that's attached to his right arm and boy it's friggin powerful.
- Black Knight: Apollo Geist fits this description, only in red armor.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Not quite to Amazon extent in terms of gore, but close, with enemies being sliced in half, decapitated, and impaled. And Jin Keisuke is bloodily executed via machinegun fire in Ep. 1. The manga of X however...is extremely gory at times.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to the two series before, X is much darker.
- Death by Origin Story: Jin Keisuke (sort of) and his father.
- Emergency Transformation
- Evil Twin: Government Of Darkness Rider (actually a camouflaged monster)
- Fake Shemp: Riderman in The Movie is played by a suit actor, stock footage from the tv show and an uncredited voice actor.
- Fun with Acronyms: Government Of Darkness
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: Let's just say the acronym GOD would not fly in many other countries...
- There are monsters themed after
- Humongous Mecha: King Dark
- Gorn- The manga is filled with it.
- Love Hurts: Literally.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Apollo Geist uses his shield as a weapon.
- The Man Behind the Curtain: Dr. Noroi, GOD's leader and also King Dark's pilot, isn't impressive by himself.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: After X is defeated by Spider-Napoleon, V3 upgrades him.
- Monster of the Week
- Names to Know in Anime: Both Ichiro Mizuki(MAZIN-GO!!!!) and Masato Shimon(Raideen!) sing songs for the series. Also, X is going to be voiced by Kenichi Suzumura when he appears in Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs Great Shocker.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Pretty much every kaijin in the second half is an example.
- To elaborate, the monsters in the second half are combinations of animals and historical figures. Hence you get Scorpion Geronimo, Ant Capone, and, of course, Starfish Hitler.
- Non-Serial Movie: 5 Riders vs King Dark. It's supposedly in continuity due to bringing back Riderman, but can't fit well into the series at any point. Rider X still hasn't been upgraded in the movie, but already knows the Riders, while in the tv show he only meets Rider 2 for the first time after getting his upgrade.
- Scarf of Asskicking: It even has an X on it!
- Stone Wall: X-Rider isn't any slower than the other Riders, but he's built to withstand the deepest ocean depths, and is therefore very sturdy. (The others mostly have stylized chest muscles protecting their torsos - X has body armor.)
- Comes to a head in SPIRITS, when a dude punches Keisuke in the face while untransformed... and breaks his hand, while Keisuke just gets a bloody nose which goes away in a few panels.
- Stuffed Into the Fridge: Both love interests of Jin's end up dead in ep 8.
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: STARFISH HITLER!!!
- Super Not-Drowning Skills: Subverted. X is made to swim, and has an edge in underwater combat.
- Swiss Army Weapon: The Ridol, combination staff/whip/rapier.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Starfish Hitler is a walking Nazi stereotype.
- Villain Song: GOD's March, sung by Koorogi '73. A small segment is heard at each title card.
- We Can Rebuild Him: X's origin, and slightly later in the series how Apollo Geist is resurrected.