Kamen Rider

Since the premier of its first series in 1971, Japan’s Kamen Rider superhero franchise has spanned more weekly television series, films, comics, videogames and other assorted media than one would think possible for a franchise the core concept of which is “Man in vaguely insectoid outfit rides motorcycle, fights monsters”. And yet, the franchise’ cast of characters has grown so massive that it’s become en vogue in recent years for massive teamup movies featuring every main character in Kamen Rider history to be produced every year or so. Most recently, these have taken the form of the Taisen series of summer event movies, beginning with 2012’s Kamen Rider X Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen, which saw the Riders battle and then team up with one of their primary rivals for the hearts of children (and the wallets of said children’s parents), the Super Sentai franchise. Super Hero Taisen was followed a year later by Super Hero Taisen Z, which threw the somewhat obscure Space Sheriff Gavan series into the mix, leading many to wonder where the Taisen films could possibly go next.