Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider

Lore & Background

The special is an in-depth retrospective comparing the two franchises, with segments such as 'The Spacium Ray Vs. The Rider Kick', 'Jet VTOL Vs. Cyclone', 'Kaiju Vs. Kaijin', 'Henshin Vs. Henshin', and a humorous segment titled '!?'. Interspersed are interviews with Hiroshi Miyauchi, who played Shiro Kazami in Kamen Rider V3, and Kohji Moritsugu, who played Dan Moroboshi in Ultraseven.

Reader's Guide

The final segment is a short film titled 'Super Battle: Ultraman vs Kamen Rider', in which Ultraman and Kamen Rider 1 separately fight original monsters Gadoras and Poison Scorpion Man. The monsters merge into Sasori Gadoras, and Kamen Rider 1 grows to enormous size to fight alongside Ultraman, combining their powers to destroy the monster. The short featured no face or voice actors, only suit actors, and used recycled soundbytes. The special was re-released on Blu-ray and DVD in 2011 for the 45th anniversary of the Ultra Series and the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series, including a new interview with Susumu Kurobe and Hiroshi Fujioka.

Did You Know?

• The special aired on July 21, 1993, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Ultra Series and the 20th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series.
• The short film segment used no face or voice actors, only suit actors and recycled soundbytes.
• The theme song 'Tatakau Tame ni Umareta Senshi' was sung by Hironobu Kageyama.
• The 2011 home media release included a special interview with Susumu Kurobe and Hiroshi Fujioka.