Kamen Rider Stronger (仮面ライダーストロンガー Kamen Raidā Sutorongā) is the protagonist and eponymous character of the 1975 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Stronger. Stronger's primary motif was that of electricity. Stronger was not based on a grasshopper or grasshopper-like insect as with the previous Riders, but rather on the Japanese rhinoceros beetle. Stronger later reappears in the movies Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker and OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders along with the other showa and heisei Kamen Riders. He is the seventh Kamen Rider.
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Shigeru Jō (城 茂 Jō Shigeru, portrayed by Shigeru Araki) has bravado and an eccentric personality. He wears various t-shirts emblazoned with the letter "S", along with numerous other items of clothing, including a denim jacket with a rose emblem. Stronger usually makes an entrance by whislting and than saying "The heavens call...The earth cries out...The crowd roars...All calling on me to strike back against evil. Now listen up, villains! I am the champion of justice: Kamen Rider Stronger!"
After the death of his best friend and mentor by Black Satan, Shigeru faked ignorance of their part in the murder by accepting the offer to become a cyborg in order to get his revenge on the organization, escaping before he could be brainwashed. In the process, Shigeru meets Yuriko Misaki as they work together against Black Satan. The two eventually meet Tōbei Tachibana as well.
Stronger, Tackle, and Tōbei fight valiantly against the evil cyborg forces of Black Satan, continually meeting the head agents General Shadow, and Mister Titan. Titan is defeated in episode 13, but manages to return in episode 17 as the One-Hundred Eyed Titan, posing an even greater threat than before. Despite sharing the similar goals of defeating Stronger and conquering the world, General Shadow and the Titan cannot seem to agree on a few other issues—for instance, which one of them gets to kill Stronger. Often, their bickering inadvertently allows him to escape their wrath.
In episode 26, Stronger is able to topple Black Satan once and for all. With his former organization in ruins, General Shadow forms the "Delza Army" to continue his malicious goals. There were two further defining moments for the series: first, in episode 30, Tackle sacrifices herself to save Stronger from Doctor Kate, a Delza Army general. Her death affects Stronger greatly, and he vows to keep fighting until evil is defeated. Tackles' death is sometimes compared to Riderman's sacrifice in Kamen Rider V3. In the following episode, Stronger's fight against evil is greatly assisted when he undergoes surgery and gains a devastating new power—the ability to power up into a new, stronger, form—"Charge Up!".
Ultimately, all the former Riders, Kamen Riders #1, #2 from the original Kamen Rider, V3 from Kamen Rider V3, X from Kamen Rider X, and Amazon from Kamen Rider Amazon, all appear in the final few episodes to help Stronger finally defeat the Delza Army and General Shadow.
As Stronger, he uses the power of electricity that flows throughout his body. All his attacks were based on electricity, and the cyborg aspect of his body is much more prominent than in the previous series; for instance, his hands were metal coils that had to be covered when he was not transformed. Additionally, the "form change" motif makes its first appearance in Stronger. Stronger's "Charge-Up!" mode predates Robo Rider and Bio Rider of Kamen Rider Black RX, and the primary themes of many Heisei Kamen Rider Series where the main characters' ability is to change forms during battle to adjust varying situations. Kamen Rider Kabuto, where each Rider character can shift between a bulky armoured form and a lightly covered, fast form, also features this concept prominently.
Earlier Kamen Riders had "charge up" modes but without a change in appearance. Riders 1, 2 and V3 simply had a charge up sound effect. Kamen Rider X had smoke pour out of his body.
Combat techniques:
In episode 31, Doctor Masaki operates on Shigeru placing a super electron dynamo inside his body. This gives Stronger the ability to "Charge Up!" (チャージアップ! Chāji Appu!). Parts of him would turn silver and the S on his chest would spin. However, there was a price to pay for this increased power: Stronger had 1 minute to disperse the extra energy, by using it against his enemy or he would explode.
Charging up gave Kamen Rider Stronger more powerful combat techniques:
The Electrer (エレクトラー Erekutorā) is Stronger's transformation belt which is powered by electricity.
The Kabutolaw (カブトロー Kabutorō) is Stronger's motorcycle and can perform the Kabutolaw Thunder (カブトローサンダー Kabutorō Sandā).
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