Is Kamen Rider really meant to be a kid's show?
 

I mean I get that standards and content restrictions and whatnot are a bit different in Japan, but I'm still trying to get around to the fact that these are meant to be shows for kids. Watching W right now and from the general tone at times to the language (I assume the swearing isn't just added or translated a bit harsher by the subbers) used and having episodes where multiple people are killed on-screen and whatnot, it just seems like a bit much doesn't it? Not that I think all these are necessarily bad or something that should be kept from kids (just the opposite really, I'm a bit more lax on those things), I just am kinda..surprised I guess.

Plus looking at the toylines and stuff, especially things like Figuarts which, while action figures, strike me more as a collector oriented/older audience sorta toy. So what's the deal?

Actually most Kamen Rider series are labeled as dramas/action.

Well, it is, as you say, a principle of different standards. Toei just recognizes that there's a marketable appeal to both kids and adults. So you see kids being appeased with new forms and abilities to buy toys off of, while adults get to enjoy good writing. The whole Figuarts thing is also a dichotomy with Bandai. You've got the DX stuff, like the WAP! or FMCS toys and the roleplay stuff, which is marketed primarily at kids (and still gobbled up by collectors), and the collector fanbase is strong enough to where Tamashii Nations figures, like SH Figuarts, can be sold. Basically, everyone loves Kamen Rider.

Funny thing, W actually is not quite as dark as most Rider series can get.

I think Brainchild hits it on the head in that while it's primarily a kids show, it recognizes room for adults and doesn't exclude them. That is why even one of the most lighthearted Rider shows, Fourze, has some seriously dark elements. I think it's a great compromise, keeping the heroic spirit found in kids' shows while introducing some maturity too.

brainchild answers all of lives questions

Just as a minor caveat, being a kids show doesn't mean it can't be a serious show.

I'm a little peeved that the notion of a dramatic story line is treated as "For the adult fans" as if someone younger than 15 couldn't watch and appreciate it...

Makes sense, I mean the site I'm watching them on is a Drama site afterall.

Have to say they have done a really damn good job of it. I wish Hasbro was better about things like Bandai and Toei seem to be.

So I've heard. W certainly does seem to be a bit of a mix of darker themes and a bit of the more fun/lighthearedness Fourze had (though nowhere NEAR the same level. I know I've heard Ryuki is really dark, as is...I think Agito (or was it Kabuto?). What would you consider the darkest (not counting the Showa era, as from what I understand most of those were a bit darker in tone).

Definitely agreed, Fourze actually had a few near tearjerker moments for me even, which was just not what I was expecting from that particular series. It had such a nice balance of everything, even if it was more fun and light than not. It played its cards very well.

What I've gathered as well.

Yeah, I agree with you. I probably could have worded myself a bit better. I completely agree that kids can and do appreciate things with some depth and drama to them, I certainly did when I was younger, it's just something you generally don't see stateside.

Ryuki, because there can be, and eventually is, only one.

I think the kids that people are generally thinking of are the 5-9 year-old crowd, whose primary interest is going to be, for the most part, toys and flashy visuals. That aside, I can see preteens and some younger than that enjoying the stories of the simpler shows of late, like Fourze, but something like Blade or Ryuki? I don't know how much of that would come across to someone younger than 12.
I might just be basing that on myself though. I was an idiot as a kid.

Considering what Toei considers "Kamen Rider for adults" was Shin, I think they had the mindset of making a show for kids with Ryuki and Blade.