Masked Rider - Il cavaliere mascherato

I've seen both seasons of Saban's Masked Rider. It was like watching an action packed version of "Full House." Anyway, the cut editing was so bad that could could see that Masked Rider was really Japanese...no pun intended. A couple of years later I would be introduced to Kamen Rider, even reading some of Ishinomori's manga works, specifically, the Kamen Rider Spirits manga.

All I have to say is that compared to this series, it was a full 180. Aside from the team up with the Power Rangers, there was nothing redeeming about the show. All the characters were annoying, the villains were stupid, the cut editing was so bad that you can actually see the face Dex's Japanese counterpart, Kotaro Minami, not to mention they were using other Kamen Rider variations, Kamen Rider ZO and Kamen Rider J; and the atmosphere itself is like a TGIF sitcom (Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step, etc). It's with this that I show a lot of animosity towards Saban. I would understand him adapting Super Sentai for Power Rangers because Sentai is usually comedy with a touch of melodrama. But for Kamen Rider, the tone of the story is dark...like in a Batman/Spiderman sort of way, pretty much turning a dark drama into slapstick comedy. If the crew from MST3K watched an episode of this, they would have a field day. It's stuff like this that tarnishes the reputation of tokusatsu; which isn't actually all Power Rangers, that's just one aspect of it. For you Tokusatsu Adapt/American Toku Fans, you're better off watching "Mystic Knights of Tir Ra Nog", "Los Luchadores," "Van-Pires", "Big Wolf on Campus", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-The Next Mutation", "Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad," "VR Troopers," or "Beetleborgs" because this show is right down there with "Tatooed Teenage Alien Fighter from Beverly Hills." This atrocity rivals the crimes 4Kids committed towards Ultraman Tiga.

If Disney finds it in their hearts to actually consider their interpretation of Kamen Rider (especially with the new generation riders), they should actually study in great detail of what Kamen Rider is all about instead of just editing Japanese footage onto American TV without any knowledge of its source. Maybe then, there will finally be a live action show that can rival Power Rangers since Beetleborgs, if not more.

When this show went on the air, I had become absolutely sick of power rangers and was looking for some kind of new Saturday morning cartoon to watch while I ate my giant bowl of cereal.

Masked Rider went on the air in 1995 and I absolutely was disappointed. I was a kid and I forgave the god awful production values, but the original pilot episode was decent. Afterwards, the show became even more annoying than (dare I say it) Power Rangers and ALL of its spin offs.

They introduced some retard pseudo-furby type character named "Ferbus" which was supposed to be funny. He would often get into "wacky" situations around the house where he'd try to cook when Dex was out fighting or something. It was plain awful. I never found him funny.

The villian, while had an actual purpose to destroy the hero (unlike the enemies in Power Rangers) looked awfully fake and really distracted from the plotlines.

(Some of you may think that I have put an unusual amount of effort into this review for a Saturday Cartoon, but I remember being really disappointed as a kid when I saw this show so that's why I'm here)

Back to the point. The stories were terrible. The effects were terrible. The characters were terrible. The show was terrible. Even when I was a kid I thought this was crap. Catch a real Saturday morning classic like X-Men or the newer Spider-Man. Do not lay your bare eyes on an episode of this groin grabbingly terrible show.

1.5/10.

I was subjected to this and other cheesy shows int he same genre thanks to having to be around younger kids at the time. I remember groaning and moaning and wishing for a quick, painless death when this was on. The dialog was cheesy, the plots were absurd, the villains looked as real as Pam Anderson's chest.

Granted, TJ Roberts was a skilled martial artist. Martial arts training DOES NOT equal thespian skills. If he ever decided to try acting again, I hope it is after some lessons.

Another Saban attack unleashed on an unsuspecting viewing audience. ICK!

Masked Rider was a good tv show. It was on FOX Kids Saturday mornings and later in syndication. The premise for the series was unique, which had an alien prince (Dex) coming to Earth to protect from invading forces. The series was a spin off to the first Power Rangers show, but this show was more serious and I liked that. Too bad it's gone now.

Dex, prince of the planet Edenoi, is part of a rebel group to free it from the evil rule of Count Dregon, his uncle who was banished for his misdeeds. The rebels are at the point of victory, however, King Lexian, the true ruler of Edenoi and Dex's grandfather, tells them that the evil Count plans to conquer Earth and enslave the planet's inhabitants to replenish his army. Dex is sent to Earth, and lands in the town of Leawood, where he is cared for by the Stewart family, who also know his secret as Masked Rider.

Yeah, this show is good, but I admit it did have its flaws. Created by Saban as another attempt to capitalize on the success they had Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (the one before it, VR Troopers, which mashed various series from the Metal Hero series, would be in its second and final season shortly before it premiered). Taking stock footage and elements from Kamen Rider Black RX, all well as movies Kamen Rider ZO and Kamen Rider J, this series takes the same formula MMPR and VR Troopers has done: use Japanese stock footage alongside American footage to create a entirely different show. In fact, Masked Rider would first appear in the three part Season 3 premiere of the former, however, when Masked Rider became a show, Saban decided to retcon the events of the series and have the hero based in his own universe. Another thing it copies is its use of comic relief characters. We have Patsy and Herbie, who serves as the show's Bulk and Skull, and then there's Ferbus, whom some fans call the worst character, as he is only there to cause most of the hijinks ( be it getting a trio of Maggots into a food fight or catching two burglars hired by Nefaria to kidnap him).

The episodes sometimes deal with issues like Power Rangers does. One episode involves Albie being bullied into a challenge at the arcade, which Dex accepts, with another episode having the kids start a clean up program, which echoes back to the MMPR episode Teamwork. While the episodes are neat, and have some original concepts, they still feel too silly due to Ferbus' antics. Also, Dex does spew some one-liners during battle, and they can be either funny or groan inducing. This series only got 40 episodes before being axed due to being a commercial flop (and it didn't help that the toys did not sell like MMPR's did), but this is an interesting adaptation that, despite its flaws, is a neat curiosity.