Scary Moments in Kamen Rider?
 

I've been curious about this topic ever since I finished Kamen Rider Kuuga awhile back and, among other ideas for video discussions on the franchise, was curious about what moments across the now 50 year old franchise might've had an effect on other people in the fandom.

These can range from mildly startling to "well, I'm not sleeping tonight", so I'm interested to hear what you guys might have and where those moments might fall in that spectrum.

For me personally, the moment that comes to mind/inspired this discussion was the home invasion scene from Episode 35 of Kamen Rider Kuuga titled "Emotion". Again, not anything ground breakingly terrifying but going in, much like the drastic difference with Kuuga itself compared to many of it's successors, I was impressed by how effective and atmospheric the scene was when Go-Jaraji-Da was hunting the last of his victims in his own home. Something about the relatively quiet moment with faint glimpses of Jaraji skulking around in his human form, circling his prey while the family tries to keep their son calm, leaving us waiting for Godai to make it to their house and hopefully arrive in time to save them.

Granted, the scene itself didn't cost me any sleep or anything but the fact that "intentionally" scary moments in the franchise up until this point failed to have any effect when in this scene, seeing Go-Jaraji pop up in his human form in their home made me jump said something to me personally about how effective it was.

That and it lead to one of the more brutal "fights" in the series and what, to me personally, is still the most effective bit of foreshadowing for the hero's final form. All around, a fantastic scene that led to an ever greater moment in a season that I had already adored to that point and one with a surprising lingering effect.

Definitely agree with the Kuuga moment you brought up.

Similarly, the scene in Black where Kotaro gets jumped by the werewolf legit got me the first time.

What's scary for me is how Mach treated Chase, Kiva unable to fight back and Touma's friends against him.

There are scary stuff I want to escape from.

Kuuga first episode. Watch it first time when I'm in still in elementary school. The tomb atmosphere, how daguva revive the grongi, how the grongi's hand pop out from the ground, and when the hero finally show up, he isn't as strong as the previous rider. Its terrifying me.

3 things that come to mind currently. And the first two were because of how young I was back then.

1. Shinji and Asakura's death. I finished Dragon Knight first, so I thought I had Ryuki all figured out. But I remember feeling my heart beat faster when Shinji got stabbed in the back before he could even transform and then continuing to fight while injured, painful to see your hero fight near-death. Then there's Asakura's death. I was already scared at Ouja back then, but then it's more scary that he didn't die via Kamen Rider means. He was untransformed and was killed by conventional means. There was only silence as the sniper guns shot. It didn't even matter he was a Kamen Rider. He died like that.

2. Kenzaki becomes a Joker. Don't you just love being a kid and seeing your hero become the very villain they were fighting just now? That sure was great. TV quality and the local dub didn't help either in me trying to understand what was going on. I was also not paying attention much while watching, so I THOUGHT I saw Kenzaki become a joker, leave Hajime, and then my brain somehow processed that Kenzaki committed suicide! It went to a commercial after that, and I was in so much shock I stopped watching it. Never to see the actual ending for a few good years, thinking Kamen Rider Blade committed suicide after becoming the Joker.

3. Chase rips out the gold feather thing. Actually no, all the times the V-cinema showed blood lmao. It's more freaky than scary, I guess. But it was gnarly to watch Chase stand there forcible ripping out the feather on his chest, making painful noises.

Not a moment in Kamen Rider, but I had this strange nighrmare once where I was being chased by Build Hazard Form through a creepy abandoned school building at night.

4 words: The Red Shoes System

The first episode of Black got off to a pretty creepy start, with Kotaro running terrified through streets trying to hide from the inhuman robed cultists floating after him while frantic chase music played

When Scissors got his deck busted and you know the rest. That still tops it all. And people in Japan saw that on a Sunday morning. *shudders*

Metal Cluster Hopper's debut literally made my jaw drop.

Oma Zi-O 1-hit KOing final villains like they're nothing.

Evolt consuming a whole planet in front of Sento.

Christmas in EX-Aid.

Takeru experiencing the partial destruction of his soul.

The Global Freeze.

Oh yeah, that scene was both scary and bad*ss. Probably the most memorable Chaser moment for me, rejecting an illusion of happiness by plunging a blade in his heart!

Damn, that sounds scary as hell! Do you recall how it ended?

I still get chills thinking about just how calm Build Hazard was when Sento lost control. No shouting, no flailing, just dead quiet and brutally efficient violence.

I'm not sure if this is scary scary but Emu seemingly killing Parad was incredibly intense. Like you feel deeply for Parad, despite how bad he was up to that point, he is facing death. Emu is potrayed in this cold ruthless fashion, which is such a contrast to his normal character. Then you have Parad falling into the water as a metaphor for death and it's so good!

I feel this is something that gets overlooked. For all the other Riders, their "Berserk" mode not only leaves them mindless, but it's also an actual form that they have to change into.
Red Shoes System is a part of every ZECT Rider, and they're just no longer in control despite being fully aware. So Kabuto being unable to stop himself from hurting Hiyori becomes all the worse.

The brutality in Kamen Rider Amazons from the limb and flesh-tearing fight scenes to watching people get eaten raw.

Pretty much any scene where the Gurongi play their game. They may not be the best designed villains, but they’re IMO the most ruthless and terrifying. No wonder there’s a warning to watch the show in a well lit room

Man, I actually looked that scene up after you mentioned it (since I have yet to see Ryuki, waitin' on the Tokushoutsu release now) but...yeesh, I see what you meant.

Gotta love the juxtaposition of Kamen Rider's really dark moments and the fact that it's a kid's show, with a few exceptions in terms of specific seasons or projects.

It was either that or the fight scenes of Kamen Rider Shin. At the least the Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue was geared towards adults. Ryuki was a Sunday morning power hour deal which makes it even scarier. The average Taro Tanaka's kaninabe would not be the same ever again after that. :lolol

I may not have been fond of it from a storytelling perspective, but just about everything about how Ark-One was filmed and framed and touched-up. So many shots with a head tilt and that one red eye highlighted. It really was something else

Yeah, I admit I did find it scary when I first watched it a very long time ago but then in Britain we have had the odd thing like Ant McPartlin's paintballing accident on Byker Grove and I'm guessing most countries have had the odd scary moment in kids TV so it's not like no-one else has done stuff like that imo!

Maybe it's just cause I was a lot younger when I watched it, but Wizard getting his Phantom destroyed from the inside in the Infinity arc was pretty strong implied body horror. Haruto's screams... yeesh.