The plot, while clearly very simple and not at all difficult to understand, actually tackles some topics that are still very important today. Capitalism, pollution, politics... all while a cybernetic grasshopper man is beating up a spider guy. Ishinomori was clearly very interested in scientific progress and what it will do to humanity, and that is seen clearly when Takeshi Hongo (and later, Hayato Ichimonji) gets turned into a cyborg by the evil organization Shocker, who intend to force him to do their bidding. But Kamen Rider manages to escape, and from that day on he fights Shocker and it's evil cyborgs, who are so similar to him in concept, but who have been transformed into mindless monsters only capable of evil. In fact, the theme of both good and evil using the same means for different ends is a reoccurring theme not only in this manga, but in the entirety of the Kamen Rider series as well.
"Science... is neither good nor evil. It all depends on how it's used."
But while the subtext is fantastic, the primary text is again, very simple. Most chapters, while beatiful looking, mostly just amount to "Shocker cyborg attacks humans, someone dies, Kamen Rider intervenes, he wins, everyone is happy". This is not a completely bad thing: this manga was intended to be read by kids, as Ishinomori wanted first and foremost to teach them lessons about humanity, heroism, and evil. So it couldn't be too complicated. And always remember: Simple ≠ not deep.
Still, it could have been better in places. My least favourite thing in the whole story is the character of Ruriko Midorikawa: she only serves as a Damsel-In-Distress who can gush over the hero. At one point she stops appearing altogether. I much prefer what was done with her character in Hideaki Anno's Shin Kamen Rider (a movie which pays homage to this manga in many ways, showing how Anno knows and deeply respects Ishinomori's legacy).
All in all, this is an incredibly important piece, not just to Kamen Rider, but to the whole of tokusatsu and manga as well. And I had lots of fun with it.
RIDER KICK!
