| abstract | - Kamen Rider Amazon (仮面ライダーアマゾン Kamen Raidā Amazon, "Masked Rider Amazon" in English) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The fourth installment to be produced as part of the Kamen Rider Series, the series aired in Japan from late 1974 to early 1975 on NET and the Mainichi Broadcasting System. It was the shortest Kamen Rider series ever, lasting only 24 episodes, and starred Tōru Okazaki as the title character. The series was very distinct because of its fight scenes which were more violent compared to other seasons. While it was cut short due to its violence, today it is praised as unique and beloved by the Kamen Rider fandom.
- Daisuke Yamamoto was raised in the Amazon after his parents were killed in a plane crash. His life is changed when the Ten-Faced Demon attacked and destroyed his adopted home village. A witch doctor inserts the mystical Gigi Bracelet into him, which allows him to transform into the warrior Amazon. He goes to Japan to meet a professor who knew his father, battles Gorgos's minions after the professor is killed, and becomes the new Champion of Justice. Unrelated to the mythological Greek tribe of warrior women.
* Absurdly Sharp Blade: Amazon's blades, on the forearms of his gloves. They're very sharp, and more to the point, he's strong enough to do the cutting. Before he learned how to do a proper Rider Kick, Amazon's finisher was the Daisetsudan ("Great Cleave") which was responsible for the High-Pressure Blood below.
* SPIRITS takes this to new levels - he can easily cut arms in two (right down the middle), and that picture up at the top? That's Salamander/Tokage-Roid learning the hard way that Amazon can cut heads in two as well. His Super Daisetsudan (available when Amazon combines the Gaga Armlet with the Gigi Armlet on his right arm for extra power) can cleave something the size of a T-Rex.
* Badass Biker: Subverted at first. Amazon was very reluctant to ride a motorcycle (his first exposure to them was a motorcross race, and they're rather loud besides), so it took a lot of convincing by Tachibana (and the Jungler).
* Batman Gambit: He may be a Hulk Speaking Wild Child, but don't confuse that for stupidity. He once used a complicated plan based on his knowledge of all involved, depending on everyone acting precisely as they did, including getting the villains to think that they were the ones who knew his plans and were gambitting him. Yes, Amazon pulled off an I Know You Know I Know, level three or four!
* Beware the Nice Ones: Amazon may be the most violent Rider, but his rage is restrained to actual bad guys. He's a Friend to All Living Things besides, and when misunderstanding humans begin attacking him, he will always flee rather than harm them. There's really no reason to fear him if you're not a monster trying to harm innocents. If you are, though, there will be High-Pressure Blood, eye-gouging, limbs severed via teeth, and so forth.
* The Berserker: Amazon's preferred fighting style, at least in human form. His Rider form is somewhat more refined...
* Daisuke is pretty much a straight-up Berserker, although Amazon seems to combine it with bits of Confusion Fu.
* Bloodier and Gorier: Pretty much every episode, a monster was decapitated or otherwise dismembered. Mortal Kombat, eat your heart out!
* By the Power of Greyskull/This Is Sparta: AAAAAAA-MAAAAAA-ZOOOONNNN!
* Cool Bike: Jungler. One frame in SPIRITS implies that it has some degree of sentience, though this might just be a joke.
* Curb Stomp Battle: The final battle with Emperor Zero mainly consists of Amazon walking up to him and taking him apart like a roast chicken.
* Kinda justified as Amazon had both the Gigi Armlet and the Gaga Armlet at the time, which are supposed to grant their wielder great power. Still, it's not the grand final battle people wanted.
* Defector From Decadence: The Mole Beastman turns to Amazon's side after Amazon saved him from execution. Considering the Big Bad's opinion was "die in battle or I'll kill you myself", getting shown mercy by his former enemy convinced him to perform a Heel Face Turn.
* Disk One Final Boss: Ten-Faced Demon Gorgos was the Big Bad of Geddon, Amazon's first enemy group. Amazon finally killed him in episode 14, only for Geddon to be replaced by the Garanda Empire lead by Great Emperor Zero.
* Distressed Damsel: Ritsuko, to the point that even her little brother Masahiko once basically says something to the effect of "Don't worry, she gets kidnapped all the time!"
* Eccentric Mentor: Tobei Tachibana, even gives Amazon his trademark bike the Jungler.
* Heel Face Turn/Mook Face Turn - the Mole Beastman.
* Finishing Move: At first he didn't have one; it was just hack and slash until the Monster of the Week stopped moving. Eventually came his trademark Great Slice, a dramatic leap-and-slash move that results in High-Pressure Blood and a dramatic fall (but still no 'boom,' the monster was just left in its own juices.) Last and least-used was the Amazon Kick, your standard Rider Kick ending in your standard Toku monster kaboom. The Super Great Slice is the Great Slice when he's got both armlets, as seen once in Amazon and once in Decade. It's no different visually, but presumably its victims were tough enough to require it as opposed to lesser attacks.
* Fish Out of Water: Yep!
* Friend to All Children: Amazon himself being a Wild Child, this is no surprise. And GOD (yes, the organization; yes, the whole organization) help you if you bring harm to one he knows personally.
* Healing Factor: It wasn't used too overtly in the TV show (likely related to the level of 70's special effects they were budgeted for), but Amazon heals much faster than a normal human, such that he can get into fistfights with clawed Beastmen without transforming.
* Henshin Hero: Although unlike the other Riders, his body is mystically augmented rather than mechanically - Amazon is actually biological, compared to his technological Rider brethren. (This brings up an interesting point about the word "Kaizou-Ningen", usually translated as "Cyborg" in English. "Kaizou" means to modify, in the sense of remodeling and improvement, and does not necessarily indicate doing so with artificial enhancements. Thus Amazon is in fact a "Kaizou-Ningen" like the other Riders, just not in a way that translates smoothly.)
* Hero with Bad Publicity: Whenever bad things happen, the actual villains pull a Villain Exit Stage Left, and a wild, scantily-clad Hulk Speaker is the only person remaining at the scene, it sometimes doesn't go well for our hero. His good name is usually restored by the end of the episode... for the time being.
* High-Pressure Blood: Most monsters end up cut open by Amazon and it normally results in a massive amount of blood spurting from their wounds.
* Hulk Speak: For the first dozen episodes or so before he gradually learns Japanese. This led to much communication problems during certain episodes.
* Image Song: I Am Tobe Tachibana
* I'm a Humanitarian - Snake Beastman in episode 7.
* Keet: Amazon appears to be this outside of battle, at least by the time of Kamen Rider Spirits.
* Kid with the Leash: Masahiko, to an extent.
* Large Ham: The Narrator for the first several episodes to explain Amazon's moods and mindset before he learned Japanese.
* Amazon himself also qualifies.
* Man Bites Man: One of the most preferred methods of Amazon. Parents actually complained about this, since it was easier for kids to imitate than the franchise's traditional Rider Kick
* Memetic Hand Gesture: Amazon's hand signal of friendship
* Nature Hero: Being raised in the jungle certainly helps.
* People Puppets - After eating a person alive, the Snake Beastman somehow uses their body to move about/manipulate humans as one of them.
* Raised by Natives
* Theme Music Power-Up
* The Mole: The Mole Beastman, though he is on Amazon's side.
* Transformation Trauma: The first KR series to invoke this.
* Transformation Trinket: Amazon is unique amongst Riders in that his belt has nothing to do with his transformation - it's actually a survival multi-tool he can use in human form.
* Unusually Uninteresting Sight - Amazon running around modern Tokyo in a loincloth doesn't attract nearly as much attention as you'd think.
* Walking Shirtless Scene - Amazon.
* Wild Child: Take a wild guess.
* You Have Failed Me: The villains love to do this. In fact, Amazon rescues one monster from this, and becomes The Mole for him.
- Kamen Rider Amazon is the fourth series of the American Kamen Rider remake.
|
