Best Kamen Rider Series to Start With
New to Kamen Rider? Here's how longtime fans actually answer "where do I start," and why the show that hooks you might not be the oldest one.
"Where do I start with Kamen Rider" is asked constantly in fan communities, and the honest answer is: almost anywhere. Since 2000's Kuuga, nearly every Kamen Rider season is a fully self-contained story — new cast, new belt, new villains, new tone — designed so a first-time viewer never needs prior-series homework.
Start with tone, not chronology
Kamen Rider covers a huge range of moods across its eras. Some seasons are dark, tragic, and morally complicated; others are bright, comedic, and built around a fun gimmick (cards, video games, snacks, dream logic). Deciding what kind of show you want to watch matters far more than starting at series number one.
What fans actually recommend to newcomers
Ask longtime fans for a starting point and a handful of titles come up constantly — usually praised for a tight, well-paced story, a strong emotional arc for the lead, and a toy-friendly transformation gimmick that's fun to watch even before you're invested in the characters. Kamen Rider Build in particular gets cited often for exactly this combination: found-family drama, a genuinely twisty plot, and a chemistry-set transformation system that's visually distinct from anything else in the franchise.
If you want something lighter as a first watch, later Reiwa-era entries tend to be more accessible and faster-paced, while Heisei-era shows (2000–2018) generally go deeper into serialized drama and higher stakes.
You'll hit era debates immediately — here's the short version
Once you start asking around, you'll run into the perennial Showa/Heisei/Reiwa debate. Showa (1971–1989) is the classic monster-of-the-week formula that started the franchise; Heisei (2000–2019) is the era most modern fans point new viewers toward, prioritizing serialized story and toy-line ambition; Reiwa (2019–present) leans further into concept-driven seasons built around a clean, marketable hook. None of them are strictly "better" — they're different enough in pacing and tone that picking based on what you actually want to watch matters more than picking the "correct" era. Full breakdown: Heisei vs Showa vs Reiwa.
One thing worth knowing before you dive in
Several Heisei-era seasons follow a documented numerical pattern in their core gimmicks — worth knowing purely because it's a fun thing to notice once you're a few seasons in. See our Numbers Theory explainer.
Related reading
Heisei vs Showa vs Reiwa: The Era Debate · The Kamen Rider Numbers Theory, Explained · Reiwa Kamen Rider: A Brief History
Written by Kakebo · Published August 19, 2026.