Kamen Rider Black

, is a Japanese tokusatsu drama and the ninth installment of the Kamen Rider Series. As the ninth entry of the Showa Era, it aired from October 4, 1987 to October 9, 1988 on Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Lasting for 51 episodes, the series was a joint collaboration Ishinomori Productions and Toei Company. 
A modern-day re-imagination, titled Kamen Rider Black Sun, was released in 2022 to commemorate the series' 35th anniversary as well as the overall franchise's 50th anniversary. 
Discotek Media released Black on Blu-Ray DVD in North America on February 28, 2023.
==Story==
After being kidnapped by the cult Gorgom on the night of their 19th birthday, stepbrothers Kohtaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki were submitted to a cyborg surgery with the purpose of becoming the candidates for the next Gorgom Creation King. Both of them are called Century Kings and are destined to best each other in a final battle - whoever wins will become the next Creation King. Kohtaro escaped before getting brainwashed (which is the final step in the surgery), with help from his foster father, and turned against Gorgom. He soon finds out the horrific truth from his stepfather: Gorgom originally killed his true parents and, since both Kohtaro and Nobuhiko were born on the day of a solar eclipse, referred as "Black Sun" and "Shadow Moon". Kohtaro, taking on the name of Kamen Rider Black, was determined to rescue his stepbrother from Gorgom while protecting Japan. However, later in the series, Nobuhiko emerged as Shadow Moon to fight Kohtaro with the survivor becoming the next Creation King.
==Characters==
===Kamen Riders===
====TV Show====
Kamen Rider Black	Kohtaro Minami
====Manga-exclusive====
Kamen Rider	Ryu Kazamatsuri
===Debatable Riders===
Shadow Moon 	Nobuhiko Akizuki
Previous Century King	Creation King, Evil Eye
Black Dummy 07 	Hiroshi Tachikawa
Demon King 	Demon King
===Allies===
*Kyoko Akizuki
*Katsumi Kida
*Ryusuke Taki
*Gorgom Shonen-Tai
*Masaru Todo
*Soichiro Akizuki
*Yoichi Daimon
*Akira Daimon
*Whale Mutant
*
===Villains===
====Gorgom====
*Creation King
=====Three High Priests=====
Grand Mutant Darom 	High Priest Darom
Grand Mutant Baraom	High Priest Baraom
Grand Mutant Bishum	High Priestess Bishum
====Others====
*Sword Saint Bilgenia
*Mara
*Kara
====Human Associates====
*Hideomi Kuromatsu
*Ryuzaburo Sakata
*Koichi Omiya
*Yukari Tsukikage
*Shigeru Sugiyama
====Gorgom Mutants====
*Bat Mutant
*Spider Mutants
*Leopard Mutant
*Silkworm Mutant
*Flea Mutant
*Goat Mutant
*Eagle Mutant
*Rhinoceros Mutant
*Cicada Mutant
*Bee Mutant
*Lizard Mutant
*Cactus Mutant
*Longhorn Beetle Mutant
*Crab Mutant
*Mammoth Mutant
*Tortoise Mutant
*Earwig Mutant
*Tapir Mutant
*Black Cat Mutant
*Aye-aye Mutant
*Anemone Mutant
*Jewel Beetle Mutant
*Wasp Mutant
*Chameleon Mutant
*Ammonite Mutant
*Coelacanth Mutant
*Mantis Mutant
*Buffalo Mutant
*Slug Moth Mutant
*Scarab Beetle Mutant
*Armadillo Mutant
*Squid Mutant
*Porcupine Mutant
*Mushroom Mutant
*Red Salmon Mutant
*Mole Cricket Mutant
*Rat Mutant
*Dogfish Mutant
*Phantom Mutants
*Centipede Mutant
*Salamander Mutant
*Cobra Mutant
*Fly Mutant
*Stag Beetle Mutant
*Whale Mutant
*Stickleback Mutant
*Fleeing Mutants
==Episodes==
==Other media==
===Manga===
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===Novel===
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===Video games===
*
:Side-scrolling action game released by Bandai for the on April 15, 1988. Player takes control of Kamen Rider Black, who must defeat numerous Gorgom mutants. The player gets to ride Battle Hopper in addition to controlling Black on foot.
*Kamen Rider: Seigi No Keifu
:Kamen Rider Black appears as the main character of the 1988 storyline in this 3D action game for the . Lead to an old Shocker hideout believing it to be Gorgom, Kohtaro is forced to fight various kaijin and Gel Shocker Combatmen, only to learn the game's true villain is after the Kingstone inside of him. Eventually, Kamen Rider 1, Kamen Rider V3 and Kamen Rider Agito travel to 1988 to assist him in the game's final battle. Tetsuo Kurata returns to voice the character. Shadow Moon makes a brief cameo as a non-playable character as well.
*Kamen Rider: Climax Fighters
:Kamen Rider Black appeared as a playable character in the fighting game. He is the only playable Showa Rider in the game, due to the game being released on the 30th anniversary of the TV series in 2017.
===Reboot Series===
*Like Kamen Rider Amazons in the Heisei Era, Kamen Rider Black will get a reboot series called Kamen Rider Black Sun in 2022. It has been announced on the day of the 50th Anniversary of Kamen Rider.
==Cast==
* : 
* : 
** : 
* : 
* : 
* : 
* : 
* : 
* : 
* : 
* : and 
===Guest actors===
* : 
* : 
* Toru Hayami: 
* Morita: 
* Gorgom Henchwoman: 
* Sugiyama: 
* : 
* Buffallo Mutant (Human Form): 
* Kimie Tadokoro: 
* Kenichi's Sister: 
* Saburo Takasugi: 
* Kuwagata Mutant (Human Form): 
* : 
===Suit Actors===
* Kamen Rider Black, Shadow Moon (sub): 
* Batta Man (1): 
* Shadow Moon: 
* Shadow Moon, Spider Mutant: 
* High Priest Darom, Flea Mutant: 
* Grand Mutant Darom: 
* High Priest Baraom: 
* Mara: 
* Kara: 
* Bat Mutant, Gorgom Mutants: 
* Spider Mutants: , 
* Silkworm Mutant, Goat Mutant: 
* Others: , 
==Songs==
;Opening theme
:
*
**Lyrics: 
**Composition: 
**Arrangement: 
**Artist: Tetsuo Kurata
;Ending theme
:
*"Long Long Ago, 20th Century"
**Lyrics: Yoko Aki
**Composition: Ryudo Uzaki
**Arrangement: Eiji Kawamura
**Artist: Norio Sakai
==Other Songs==
*"Black Action"
**Lyrics: Ishinomori Shoutarou
**Composition: Watanabe Michiaki
**Arranger: Ishida Katsunori
**Artist: Igarashi Toshiya
*Gekisou! Ni Dai Machine
*Goal E Mukatte Hashire
*Hoshi No Lullaby
*Black Hole Message
*Henshin! Rider Black
*Ore No Seishun
*Let's Fight Rider
==Release==
===Brodcast===
*The show aired on both the Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 4, 1987 to October 9, 1988.
*The show was broadcast in Thailand in 1990 as .
*In 1993, the show was broadcast on RCTI in Indonesia under the title Ksatria Baja Hitam. The show reran on Indosiar in 2004. http://p2k.unkris.ac.id/id3/2-3065-2962/Ksatria-Baja-Hitam-Kamen-Rid_174058_unkris_p2k-unkris.html
**On August 24, 2020, RTV aired the show again with a new dub under the title Masked Rider Black.https://twitter.com/langitrtv/status/1297859448552136704?s=21&t=9N6xSdDpJgYQOKuaI7wIIw. The dub was made available on YouTube in the same year. The show received an English-style logo for the ads.
*Also in 1993 to 1998, the show was broadcasted on IBC-13 in the Philippines under the same title. It is the one of the high-rated shows in the country, being dubbed in Filipino.
*In Latin America, the show was aired under the titles Blackman and Black Kamen Rider. 
*In Hong Kong the show aired in Cantonese on aTV as 
*The show was broadcast in Brazil from April 1991 to July 1994 on the now extinct network Rede Machete, though for undisclosed reasons the final episode "Gorgom's Last Day" was never broadcast. In 2010, a Brazilian broadcast rerun occurred on the channel Ulbra TV, but only the first two episodes were shown before it was canceled the following week over dubbing disputes.https://natelinha.uol.com.br/televisao/2020/09/03/band-tira-kamen-rider-black-do-ar-apos-uma-semana-por-entrave-com-dublagem-150359.php
===Home Media===
==Notes==
*With its very dramatic storyline and its twist of the Kamen Rider having a tragic relationship with his arch-nemesis, the show was a massive success in the countries where Black had aired. As such, Black and Black RX are regarded classics and Kohtaro is considered the most famous Rider of the Showa-era. 
*Black is the last Kamen Rider series to fully air in the Showa era, the direct successor of Black would be split in half between the Showa and the Heisei one (this is ignored in the Kamen Rider franchise, as the Showa era does not end until the last Showa Rider work, compared to in real life). 
==External links==
* at 
*Kamen Rider Black at Japanese Wikipedia
*Official website at Kamen-Rider-Official
Category:Kamen Rider Series
Category:Showa era