Era Confusion
 

I hear you guys talk about Hesei Era Riders, and Showa Era Riders. And sometimes with Godzilla too.

What does that mean exactly?

Showa: 1, 2, Riderman, V3, X. Amazon, Stronger, Skyrider, Super-1, Black, Black RX, Shin, ZO, J.

Heisei: Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz (555), Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, Kiva, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard.

That clears that up. But I still don't understand what the eras are, or what they mean exactly.

In Japan the reign of each emperor is an "era". So the reign of Hirohito, 1926-1989 is called the 'Showa Era' and the reign of his son Akihito (1989-now) is the 'Heisei Era." Someone in the government assigns the names but I'm not sure how they come up with them.

so in theory Showa: 1, 2, Riderman, V3, X. Amazon, Stronger, Skyrider, Super-1, Black,

Hesei era 1: Black RX, Shin, ZO, J.

Heisei era 2: Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz (555), Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, Kiva, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard.
this is coming from me being in completacting answering things so thats i see it most

Black RX started while Hirohito was alive, though it ended after his death. So I guess technically it's borderline.

It's even more confusing with Sentai, since there's a second Heisei series divided by the new millennium.
Showa: Goranger, JAKQ, Battle Fever J, Denjiman, Sun Vulcan, Goggle V, Dynaman, Bioman, Changeman, Flashman, Maskman, Liveman.
20th Century Heisei: Turboranger, Fiveman, Jetman, Zyuranger, Dairanger, Kakuranger, Ohranger, Carranger, Megaranger, Gingaman, GoGoV.
21st Century Heisei: Timeranger, Gaoranger, Hurricaneger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, Magiranger, Boukenger, Gekiranger, Go-Onger, Shinkenger, Goseiger, Gokaiger, Go-Busters.
Same thing can be done with Ultraman, Metal Heroes, and Godzilla, but I don't feel like typing that all out.
And no, Akibaranger doesn't count as anything. :p

Everything from the first-J is considered Showa (even the movie riders debuted after Hirohito passed away) Kuuga is (more or less) the first Heisei rider--certainly the first on TV in the new era after the Metal Hero series collapsed (Thanks, SHT net movie!) It's really just a way to draw a line between the layover between J and Kuuga.

Just repeat to yourself--"It's just a show about vaguely bug-themed guys on motorcycles--I should really just relax." ;)

Shin, ZO, and J are Heisei. Stop lumping them with Showa.

Metal Heroes isn't usually cut up into Showa/Heisei, though. Probably because the franchise was so random that you can't really define it by era. If anything, it's usually categorized by show themes: the Space Sheriff trilogy, the Rescue Hero trilogy, the B-Fighter shows, and the rest that just kind of fill in gaps between those.

Officially, though, they are classified as Showa. In this case I think it's less about when they were released and more about the tone and aesthetic of the films. Shin is an oddball, but ZO and J are very much Showa Riders in design and story. The stuff from Kuuga onwards is very much a different franchise in a lot of ways (serialized storylines, multiple heroes on each show, an abandonment of the reconstructed human/evil organization tropes, etc.).