What IS a Kamen Rider?
 

Probably doesn't need its own thread, but just for fun, what is it to you that makes a Kamen Rider a Kamen Rider in its truest essence? We can with the idea that they're "heroes of justice" or "vigilantes". how about we go a bit more in-depth?

If I recall correctly, the original Kamen Rider was very anti-government? At least, disagreeing with the government of the time. Most Kamen Riders, especially Eiji and the showa riders are altruistic and prefer to help out people in any way they can without hindrance, with the exception of G3/X, Drive, Accel, Build riders, and maybe Kuuga whom have ties to legal bodies. Well, Build is a stretch since Sento and Banjou were pretty much drafted and Sento becoming a military contractor in New World. So much for "Kamen Riders aren't weapons!".

If Kamen Riders were to meet many of the heroes in Marvel, DC, and BNHA(especially this), I'd like to believe they'd have many disagreements on how to go about things, especially with how in BNHA you have to have some sort of "permit" to use your powers. Spider-Man might be one of the few heroes, many of the Kamen Riders could be compatible too, though that might be the case since didn't Spider-Man inspire Tokusatsu?

So, for me, they're like agents of good-will, freedom, and human life.

A scene I like in Kamen Rider Zero-One, despite it being played for laughs, was when Aruto escaped HIDEN intelligence and butt heads with Yaiba during one time in Q1. He displayed his willingness to set aside policies and rules to do what's right.

I'd love to see that again in Saber, with Touma leaving the organization and disregarding his "duty" to go out and save people along with Yuuri.

Kamen Riders are weapons for evil that rebelled against their original purpose and became forces of good. At least that's what the first few Kamen Riders were like anyways.

For me, this scene really captures what it means to be a Rider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gICYcovR58s

Protecting freedom of all people and come running when someone calls for help, regardless of who it is and how he calls for it.

Justice, rules, the law is all secondary to helping others.

I agree with the OP, most Kamen Riders are chaotic good, just like the Kyurangers and the Assassin Brotherhood. It's common for evil organisations like Shocker to take advantage of this by using propaganda to convince people that Kamen Riders are terrorists and the subjugation of humanity is actually salvation. Even lawful good guys like Shinnosuke aren't safe from this as he was a fugitive at least twice. The fact that Kamen Riders fight using evil powers is why their struggle is so difficult, since they're unfairly demonized for trying to protect people's freedom.

It was at times, although the original idea behind Kamen Rider, or rather his motivation, is highly anti-fascist.

The basic plot of Kamen Rider is that Shocker as an organization gathers the brightest minds and strongest athletes to create a world where they rule over the humans they deem "weak" and "flawed". Takeshi Hongo is selected to join them as their Cyborg general, refuses and flees before being brainwashed, using his newfound powers to fight Shocker instead.

A few panels from the original work of Shotaro Ishinomori really explain it best:

https://i.imgur.com/iFOGKrr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qYmvMUV.jpg

So yeah, that’s Kamen Rider for me. Someone who fights for those who cannot fight for themselves, against fascists and other despicable people who use their strength to harm others for their own gain.

...

They kind of have to wear a fancy costume and have a belt that makes silly noises at the same time though, that’s non-optional.

Wasn't it also stated that, because "Justice" can be seen as a nebulous concept, and fascists and dictators see their actions as justice; that Riders aren't warriors for justice, but warriors for freedom, specifically?

It's still almost always true that rider use the same thing that the bad guys use, but they use if for good. Most modern riders are not themselves the weapons meant for evil, but they use the same thing the bad use and twist it toward good. Very few riders aren't like that to some extent. Drive even took that concept and reversed it. The good guys tech game first and the bad guys twisted that.

I generally agree with the other people here, and I think the way Kamen Riders use the same powers as their villains is symbolic of how they fight for people's freedom against fascists, dictators, conquerors, etc. It's all about choice. It would be easy for a Kamen Rider to become a servant of evil, either joining with the monsters or becoming just as bad (evil Riders can be seen as proof of this). But a true Kamen Rider is a force for good, not because there's anything inherently good about their power, but because they choose to use it for good. In other words, Kamen Riders don't just fight to free other people from evil's control, they also fight to free themselves.