Masked Rider Black | Kamen Rider Black | An IBC - 90s Tokusatsu Series Retrospective

Masked Rider Black was a Filipino dubbed super hero kids show that aired in Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation or IBC back in the 90s. Masked Rider Black has an original title of Kamen Rider Black (仮面ライダーBLACK Kamen Raidā Burakku), a Japanese tokusatsu television series and the 11th Kamen Rider series title which originally aired on Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 4, 1987 to October 9, 1988. Besides its popularity on its 80's run in Japan, it is highly probable that IBC picked this series up because it is the only Kamen Rider series in that time (Showa Era)that didn't feature its predecessors in any of the series 51 episodes. Masked Rider Black was a perfect Tagalized super hero series from Japan that appealed to both children and adults alike. The show's weekly super hero versus monster formula appealed to kids, while the shows characters brooding background and character progression appealed more to the adult market during its Philippine run.

Masked Rider Black - The Story
Kamen Rider Black Plot

Every 50,000 years, the life of a Century King who ruled the entire universe will come to an end. Before that happens, a new Century King must be decided upon. The job to do so lies in the hands of Gorgom, a dark and evil organization.

19 years ago, on a day of a solar eclipse, Minami Kotaro (known in the Philippines as Robert Akizuki) and Akizuki Nobuhiko (Stephen) were born. 3 years later after the solar eclipse, Kotaro's parents were murdered by Gorgom. The Akizuki family took Kotaro in and treated him like their own family member. Kotaro and Nobuhiko grew up together like brothers.

On their 19th birthday, Gorgom made an appearance once again and abducted Minami Kotaro and Akizuki Nobuhiko. Both of them were brought to Gorgom's Secret Lair. Little did they know that they were going to be transformed into Cyborgs for Gorgom to choose a new Century King between the 2 of them. In order to do so, Gorgom had to operate on both Kotaro and Nobuhiko to erase their memories. The present Century King gave Gorgom 2 Holy Kingstones. Both Kingstones were to be operated into Kotaro and Nobuhiko to fully changed them into Cyborgs. Since both Kotaro and Nobuhiko were born on the day of a solar eclipse, Gorgom referred to Minami Kotaro as "Black Sun" while Nobuhiko as "Shadow Moon".

Professor Akizuki, Nobuhiko's father, who also happened to be one of Gorgom's scientists, arrived at Gorgom's lair. He did not want Gorgom to erase away his children's memories of him. The operations still continued. Professor Akizuki interfered in the operations, giving the perfect opportunity for both Kotaro and Nobuhiko to escape. Kotaro managed to escape but not Nobuhiko, who suffered some injuries during the interference during the operations.

Kotaro had to escape, leaving his foster father and Nobuhiko behind. A Holy Kingstone had already been fitted into Kotaro's body.

The entire story was about the evil Gorgom trying to get back the Kingstone from Minami Kotaro. However, Kotaro soon realized that the Kingstone in his body had special and unique powers. Using the name of Kamen Rider Black (Masked Rider Black), Kotaro (Robert) made full use of the Kingstone's powers to transform himself into a Masked Cyborg. With that power, he battled Gorgom and its Monsters and hoped that one day, he could rescue his brother, Nobuhiko. However, later in the series, Nobuhiko emerged as Shadow Moon to fight Kotaro with the survivor becoming the next Creation King.

Masked Rider Black Opening Theme
Kamen Rider Black Intro



"Kamen Rider Black"

Lyrics by Yoko Aki.
Composition by Ryudo Uzaki.
Arrangement by Eiji Kawamura.
Artist: Tetsuo Kurata




Masked Rider Black Closing Theme
Kamen Rider Black Outro



"Long Long Ago, 20th Century"
Lyrics by Yoko Aki.
Composition by Ryudo Uzaki.
Arrangement by Eiji Kawamura.
Artist: Norio Sakai

Masked Rider Black was and still is my favorite Japanese tokusatsu series to date. A super hero series that took all audiences seriously engaging both children and adults alike. I have so many memorable episodes of this series: Robert mastering his improved rider punch and kick versus the Lobster Mutant, The transformation sequence of the Gorgom High Priests into Great Monster Leader; and the part when Masked Rider dies and a Gorgom Whale Mutant took care of him until his miraculous revival. This is one of those 90s show that complete our Sundays. Adding up to Masked Rider Black's charm is both its catchy opening theme and melodramatic closing theme. My biggest gripe with IBC-13 back in the days was the frequent cutting and rewinding of the series on the part where Shadow Moon confronts Robert Akizuki. Fastforward to many years (about two years ago), I managed to watch the series again but this time from beginning up to to the very end. I was finally able to witness the show's epic conclusion.

What about you guys? What are your fondest memories of Masked Rider Black's IBC-13 run? Share your thoughts on the comments section below: