Kamen Rider - Raid of the Demonic CactoGuron

Hey everybody it's Kamen Rider Thursday! Why did I ever pick Thursday to write about Kamen Riders anyways? Oh well. Today's episode marks the beginning of the second story arc of the 1970s series "Kamen Rider". This is a particularly historic episode because the character Takeshi Hongo, the original Kamen Rider, has been officially written out of the story so he can recoup from his real life motorcycle injuries. While he'll be missed we get a brand new Kamen Rider to take his place: Hayato Ichimonji! And as it turns out, this new guy is actually pretty cool! But how is the episode over all?  Let's find out.

New Rider in town:  Hayato Ichimonji

The episode starts off in Shocker's headquarters in Mexico. Compared to Shocker's branch in Japan, the Mexican branch is actually very successful in ruining the lives of many people. This is all thanks to their resident monster CactoGuron who is actually one of the more cooler monsters to appear in the series so far! Great leader is so impressed with CactoGuron that he assigns him to Shocker Japan to defeat the Kamen Rider that keeps ruining their plans. FBI agent Taki intercepts the news of CactoGuron and requests backup only for CactoGuron to kill Taki's partner and assume his identity! Taki is nearly killed by CactoGuron before Tachibana interferes in the fight, but there's only so much two normal people can do against a cyborg cactus monster. Luckily Kamen Rider appears out of nowhere and evacuates the two to safety.

CactoGuron is smarter than most cyborgs.

During the course of the story we are also introduced to 3 new girls: Mari, Yuri, and Michi. They're all meant to replace Ruriko who has left the show for reasons unknown, and while Yuri and Mari are pretty cute, that Michi is total dog. I almost thought she was a shocker cyborg when I first saw her. They all wish to join Tachibana's motorcycle club but ultimately have zero experience with such vehicles. Really, I thought this entire part was pretty random and unnecessary, but I guess a little eye candy isn't bad. Tachibana and FBI Agent Taki seek Shocker's headquarters and soon realize there are a bunch of cacti lying about, little do they know is that those cacti are explosive! Hayato Ichimonji makes a rather non-chalant appearance telling them not to get near and eventually reveals himself as the next Kamen Rider. CactoGuron and a bunch of shocker minions then make their attack and an all out brawl begins and suddenly ends with a massive cliffhanger!

This is a great way to start off the new season, it seems like the higher ups enjoyed the first season so much that they now have a higher budget to make more elaborate costumes and special effects! The new Kamen Rider's costume looks great, and is currently proving himself to be a great character in his own right. The tough guy persona works very well, making not only a hero of justice but a badass as well! If you wish to check out the series then head on over to KITsubs and check out the latest episode! Next week, I'll be talking about a different Kamen Rider show entirely, so be sure to look forward to that!  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the new season 2 opening I uploaded for you!