Aside from its brief hiatus in the 90s, Rider Kamen has been a mainstay of henshin hero fiction for nearly fifty years. Every year, fans receive a new Kamen Rider, with almost every aspect of the character changing…except for one: the Rider Kick. Every year, the Rider’s main finishing move is always the Rider Kick. Even then, not all Rider Kicks are the same.
Of course, most Kamen Riders simply do their own variation of the original flying kick, but that’s not true for all. Some characters manage to put their own spin on the heroic final blow, developing their own style. It may be hard to beat the original, but these Kamen Riders all did their best to stand out.
Kamen Rider Ryuki’s Dragon Rider Kick relies on the power of his contract beast
In Ryuki, everyone used the powers of the beast they made a contract with. For Shinji, it was the Dragreder, allowing him to call upon the power of a literal dragon. Given that Shinji didn’t exactly have the bloodlust necessary for the deadly war he was being dragged into, having such a powerful contract beast ended up being rather important.
Dragreder not only allowed Shinji to transform, but he also aided him in his final move, the Dragon Rider Kick. The flying kick itself is quite familiar, but Dragreder helps Shinji by adding a powerful blast of flame directly from his mouth to help him destroy his enemies. It’s just an undeniably cool visual that makes it impossible to leave off the list.
Joker Extreme from Kamen Rider W took advantage of the different sides of the hero
Kamen Rider represents the beginning of the second phase of the Heisei era, and when Rider Kamen began to reach a new level of popularity. The series was a reinvention of the classic Rider Kamen formula once again, introducing new ideas like merging two characters into one to become a Rider. Philip and Shotaro Hidari combine with the powers of Cyclone and Joker GaiaMemories to form Kamen Rider W, the hero of Fuuto City.
W’s Rider Kick is the Joker Extreme, a special move that takes advantage of W being two Riders in one. After using the powers of a whirlwind to lift them into the air, Kamen Rider W splits into two halves to attack their enemy. The quick kick to one side then the other eradicates all enemies, but also makes perfect sense as an attack.
Kamen Rider Drive’s Full Throttle Speedrop is the Ultimate Speedblitz
Kamen Rider Drive is an underestimated Rider Kamen series featuring one of Rider’s best main characters in Shinnosuke Tomari. Shinnosuke relies on his detective skills and the powers of his partner Tridoron to fend off the time-altering Roidmudes. While Kamen Rider Drive, his Full Throttle Speedrop Kick is a superb finishing move that instantly elevates him to the level of the big guys.
The Super Sentai Rangers That Weren’t a Fit for Power Rangers, Explained
It’s no secret that Power Rangers was adapted from the Japanese series Super Sentai, but some rangers never made it to America.
Although it has a long charge time, the Speedrop Kick surrounds the enemy with four tires, leaving them unable to move or counterattack. Once charged, Drive speedblitzes its enemy by attacking it with multiple kicks as it bounces on the wheels, preventing the enemy from escaping. It feels like they’re being attacked by multiple Riders at once, which is fitting for a Rider built entirely around speed.
Kamen Rider Decade’s Rider Kick references all previous Heisei pilots
The decade was Rider’s birthday to celebrate ten years of Kamen Rider’s Heisei era. With this, they gave him the frankly absurd ability to transform into every other Rider of the Heisei era. In these forms, he has access to everything they do, including their final attacks.
However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own Rider Kick. Decade’s final move is entirely appropriate given his status as an Anniversary Rider. Another jumping kick, Decade’s kick sees him cycle through his cards based on all the other Riders before finally hitting his opponent. It’s certainly a great visual, even if everything else in Decade could bore Kamen Rider fans to no end.
Kamen Rider Blade’s Lightning Sonic Kick combines multiple powers at once
Kamen Rider’s Blade doesn’t get the credit it deserves, both to the series and its main character. Blade is easily one of the best Kamen Rider series of all time, and Kazuma Kenzaki is a big part of the reason why. A true warrior of justice, Kenzaki pushed his limits time and time again to protect not only the innocent, but all of his friends as well.
The riders in Blade relied on the power of their Rouse cards, which contained the powers of defeated undead monsters, to fight new enemies. Over time, Blade learned to use multiple Rouse cards at once to empower his attacks, eventually creating the Lightning Sonic Kick. With this attack, Kenzaki combined three different Rouse cards at once to create a lightning-fast kick attack infused with blazing energy to decimate his opponent.
Kamen Rider Geats’ big Magnum Boost victory put on an incredible spectacle
People can say a lot about Geats, but they can’t say he doesn’t know how to make a good impression. In his first appearance, Ukiyo Ace uses the power of both the Magnum Buckle and the Boost Buckle to finish off the final boss of a round of the Desire Grand Prix: a real sentient castle known as Slug Fortress Jyamato. An almost invulnerable enemy from the outside, the Slug Fortress required the power of a very special Rider Kick.
10 K-Dramas That Deserve To Be Called Masterpieces
K-dramas come in many different forms, but no matter the story, some remain masterpieces from start to finish.
Geats’ Magnum Boost Grand Victory saw him ride Boost Buckle’s Boostriker like a motorcycle, just before it transformed into a sentient fox from which Geats does his Rider Kick. Powered by flames from Boostriker’s exhaust tail, Geats Magnum Boost Grand Victory sent him straight through Fortress Slug Jyamato’s mouth and out the other side, blasting the fortress from the inside. It’s an impressive spectacle that will stay with viewers long after the first episode ends.
Kamen Rider Kuuga’s Rising Rider Kick Could Destroy Entire Blocks
“Then please take a look at my Rider Kick!” Kuuga represented the start of the Heisei era of Kamen Rider, relaunching the franchise for the first time in decades and beginning its transformation into the powerhouse it is today. With that in mind, they had to do everything right, including Kuuga’s Rider Kick.
It’s certainly a great visual to see him gather so much energy that the Kuuga symbol appears under his feet before he attacks. Yet it’s his Rider Kick from Rising Mighty Form that provides the real spectacle. This mid-season upgrade allows him to keep pace with the stronger Grongi, but also causes explosions so massive that Kuuga can’t even fight in town anymore.
The Rider Double Kick is the best of Kamen Rider’s teamwork
To contrast with the Super Sentai series, some people like to define the Kamen Rider as a lone warrior of justice. However, from the beginning, this was not the case. In episode 14, Hongo had the help of Hayato Ichimonji, also known as Kamen Rider Nigo, to continue the endless war with Shocker.
Together, Kamen Rider Ichigo and Kamen Rider Nigo can perfectly synchronize their abilities to perform the Rider Double Kick. It combines the power of both Riders into a single devastating attack that no one can hope to defeat. The Rider Double Kick represents the first in a long line of incredible team-ups between Kamen Riders, which continues even into the current Reiwa era.
Kamen Rider Ichigo’s Rider Kick defined countless heroes after him
There’s no way to talk about the greatest Rider Kicks and not talk about Kamen Rider 1/Ichigo. Takeshi Hongo initially took on Shocker, an organization whose goal is to take over the planet, with nothing more than his own power. The true definition of a hero, Hongo must have had quite an impressive move set to fight against Shocker’s large army of monsters, but few were more impressive than his iconic finishing move, the Rider Kick.
Every Kamen Rider Series Available to Stream (And Where to Watch), Ranked
Discover all the Kamen Rider series available for streaming, as well as their cultural impact and evolution.
Although it was a simple flying kick, its influence cannot be underestimated, even decades later. Just like Rider Kamen inspired by many anime, almost every other Kamen Rider since then has made variations on the original Rider Kick. Interestingly, Ichigo had many different finishing moves and even variations on the Rider Kick itself, which highlights how iconic the Rider Kick had to be to overshadow everything else.
Kamen Rider Kabuto’s kick can come out of nowhere
It might be controversial to consider Kamen Rider Kabuto’s Rider Kick as the best, given that it deviates significantly from the usual attack. After all, rather than the usual flying side kick, Kabuto opts for a simpler roundhouse kick. However, it is this boldness that sets him apart from others as remarkable.
Tendou Souji’s Rider Kick is both one of the fastest of all Riders and completely unforgettable. Of course, a lot of what makes him cool is the aura of it all, but Tendou is one of those characters known for his aura farming moments, so it’s not surprising. Yet this roundhouse kick is also surprisingly practical, as Tendou can hit it from virtually anywhere without any setup, destroying enemies as fast as he recites another parable of his genius grandmother.