Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー, Kamen Raidā?), translated as Masked Rider, is a weekly sci-fi story created by Japanese mangaka Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV (now TV Asahi). A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine around the same period. The series has spawned many sequels and evolved into a franchise. The cultural impact of the series in Japan resulted in Akimasa Nakamura naming two minor planets in honor of the series: 12408 Fujioka, after actor Hiroshi Fujioka, known for his portrayal of Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1, and 12796 Kamenrider, after the series, itself.

Every episode of Kamen Rider begins with the statement: Kamen Rider, Takeshi Hongo, is an modified human. He was altered by Shocker, an evil secret society with aspirations for world domination. Kamen Rider fights against Shocker for the sake of human freedom! (仮面ライダー本郷猛は改造人間である。彼を改造したショッカーは世界制覇を企む悪の秘密結社である。仮面ライダーは人間の自由のためにショッカーと戦うのだ！, Kamen Raidā Hongō Takeshi wa kaizō ningen de aru. Kare o kaizō shita Shokkā wa sekai seiha o takaramu aku no himitsu kessha de aru. Kamen Raidā wa ningen no jiyū no tame ni Shokkā to tatakau no da!?) during episodes 14 up to 52, the name Takeshi Hongo was replaced by Hayato Ichimonji.

Source: Wikipedia