[TokuKnight89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

Not really Kamen Rider, but it's adjacent. Why isn't Kikaider considered part of the Metal Heroes series?

I don't get the "adjacent" part, but there wasn't a Metal Heroes series during the time of Kikaider! There were multiple '70s tokusatsu, just as there were multiple '80s horror/slashers. A veritable glut of material all vying for attention. When a thematically situated property or concept garners mass attention and positive financial returns, it leads to additions and sequels and competitors and people throwing things at the wall to see if anything sticks. Kikaider was one of the ones that stuck.

Once Gavan and the Space Sheriffs made their debut and more or less succeeded, they tacked on anything they could think of to try and copy that initial success.

Kikaider just wasn't retroactively considered to be a Metal Heroes concept like Gorenger and JAKQ were retroactively considered to be Super Sentai concepts. Partly because Kikaider was in the '70s and Metal Heroes can be considered a firm '80s-'90s concept.

I could argue that it's because Kikaider wears a "suit", but Jiraya renders that a virtual lie.

It might seem unfair, but Toei doesn't always double check their work! Should Ninja Captor be a retroactive Super Sentai series? Some have pondered the same.