Kamen Rider dating conundrum

The Kamen Rider dating conundrum refers to the clashing dates given in individual Kamen Rider Series, especially in regards to their relation to the greater franchise.

As a general rule in Kamen Rider, other tokusatsu, indeed all media in a "present day" setting is assumed to roughly correspond to their release (i.e. television broadcast or theatrical release). As Toei hero series typically have a standard run of one year, with weekly episodes, the passing of seasons may become apparent by characters changing their manner of dress for summer or winter. As well as that, episodes broadcast in the period of Christmas and New Year may reflect the respective festivities. On-screen, explicit dates may be infrequently provided by items such as newspapers, calendars mobile phone screens.

Showa Rider era

 * Kamen Rider (1971-73) commences in 1971, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Episode 39 closes on the night of Christmas Day, December 25th.
 * Episode 40 opens on New Year's Day, January 1st (1972).
 * The original series' time zone of Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu is placed in November 1972, during the Double Riders' battle against Gel-Shocker.
 * Kamen Rider concluded on February 10th of 1973, a date supported by Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3.
 * Kamen Rider V3 (1973-74) commences in 1973, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * The V3 time zone of Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu is placed in January 1974, while V3 and Riderman are fighting Destron's monsters led by Marshal Armor.
 * Kamen Rider X (1974) commences in 1974, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75) commences in 1974, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Stronger (1975) commences in 1975, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider (Skyrider) (1979-80) commences in 1979, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Super-1 (1980-81) commences in 1980, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! (1984) takes place in 1984, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Kiva's series is uniquely set partly in a past time period (1986-87).
 * Kamen Rider Black (1987-88) commences in 1987, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * The Black time zone of Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu is placed in August 1988, two months following the emergence of Shadow Moon.
 * Kamen Rider Black RX (1988-89) commences in 1988, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (1992) takes place in 1992, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider ZO (1993) takes place in 1993, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider J (1994) takes place in 1994, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * The SIC Hero Saga story Kamen Rider ZO (& J): ZO vs. J takes place five years following ZO (1998) and features the first encounter between ZO and J. As such, the 1994 short film Kamen Rider World, which features the on-screen crossover between ZO and J, would take place after this.

Heisei Rider era

 * Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000-01) commences in 2000, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch. Indeed, in the series, the year is acknowledged through numerous references (Yusuke Godai's 2000 skills, the naming of TryChaser 2000 & BeatChaser 2000, and several on-screen dates).
 * Though mostly a dream experienced by Yusuke, "Episode 46.5" sees him celebrating the first day of the New Year, 2001.
 * Kamen Rider Agito (2001-02) commences in 2001, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * In the second episode, it is stated by Toru Hojo that two years have passed since the extinction of the Unidentified Lifeforms at the hands of "Number 4"; following Kuuga's setting, this would place Agito as beginning in early 2003. Most confusingly, however, is that the first episode dates itself as taking place on January 21st of 2001, which would place retroactively place Kuuga's conclusion two years earlier in 1999. In any case, it should be noted a point was made by the production not to explicitly tie Agito to its immediate predecessor as a sequel.
 * The penultimate episode falls on January 21st of 2002, the 21st birthday of Ryo Ashihara.
 * The Agito time zone of Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu takes place in April, three months following the fall of the Unknown. However, in regards to the dating conflict between Kuuga and Agito, the game takes the side of the former. Thus, Agito's post-series events are placed in 2004.
 * The finale's epilogue sequence takes place a year into the future (early 2003).
 * Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002-03) commences in 2002, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider 555 (2003-04) commences in 2003, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Curiously, the sixth episode of Kamen Rider Zi-O has the second episode of 555 taking place on October 25th (2003), a week short of seven months following its real world airdate.
 * Kamen Rider Blade (2004-05) commences in 2004, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Hibiki (2005-06) commences in 2005, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006-07) commences in 2006, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Den-O (2007-08) commences in 2007, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Kiva (2008-09) commences in 2008, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Decade (2009) commences in 2009, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * The series itself begins in the World of Natsumi, evidently the prime universe. All A.R. Worlds visited in Decade are assumed to take place in the same time as well. This is supported by the fact that they all fall into a "present day" setting, especially in the World of Black and World of Black RX, whose respective versions of Kohtaro Minami (Tetsuo Kurata) appear older than the original. Indeed, the World of Shinkenger is dated as taking place in 2009 within its.
 * Kamen Rider W (2009-10) commences in 2009, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider OOO (2010-11) commences in 2010, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Fourze (2011-12) commences in 2011, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * Kamen Rider Wizard (2012-13) commences in 2012, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * The Sabbath took place six months prior.
 * Episode 16 takes place on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
 * Kamen Rider Gaim (2013-14) commences in 2013, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch. Specifically, the first episode takes place on October 6th, a date supported by Kouta Kazuraba's phone.
 * While part of another franchise, the film  would take place in the year 2014 of the World of Kamen Rider following his debut in the episode The Red and Blue Kikaider.
 * Kamen Rider Drive (2014-15) commences in 2014, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * The Global Freeze, depicted in Type ZERO Episode 0: Countdown to Global Freeze, occured at midnight on April 9, 2014; 6 months prior to the start of the story.
 * Episode 11 takes place on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
 * Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future takes place over the course of four days (August 5th-8th, 2015). In a contradiction, Takeru Tenkuji appears within this film, on August 8th, as Kamen Rider Ghost, despite not becoming such until October 3rd.
 * Kamen Rider Ghost (2015-16) commences in 2015, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch.
 * In the first episode, Takeru Tenkuji is murdered and resurrected, with a limit of 99 days, on October 3rd.
 * Episode 12 sees a refreshing of Takeru's limit, taking place on January 10th, 2016.
 * In the penultimate episode, Takeru is permanently resurrected after facing the end of his second 99 day stretch on April 17th.
 * Kamen Rider Ghost: The 100 Eyecons and Ghost's Fateful Moment, which takes place within the aforementioned second stretch, features a cameo by Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, suggesting his first transformation to have occured within this time. This is, however, seemingly at odds with the rapid progression of Ex-Aid's first quarter episodes (broadcast in late 2016).
 * The series concludes exactly a year following Takeru's first death, on October 3rd.
 * Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (2016-17) commences in 2016, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch. The novel Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: ~Mighty Novel X~ provides its own timeline for the Ex-Aid TV series as well as spin-off works.
 * Kamen Rider Snipe: Episode ZERO, depicting the events of Zero Day, takes place five years prior (2011).
 * Episodes 1 to 5 take place in October.
 * Episodes 6 to 8 take place in November.
 * Episodes 9 to 12 take place in December.
 * Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders takes place in December.
 * The twelfth episode falls on Christmas Day, December 25th.
 * Episodes 13 to 16 take place in January.
 * Episodes 17 to 20 take place in October.
 * Kamen Rider Brave: ~Let's Survive! Revival of the Beast Rider Squad!~ takes place over the course of two days (February 20th-21st, 2017).
 * Episodes 21 to Go Together, Embracing Your Ambitions! take place in March.
 * Episodes 25 to 29 take place in April.
 * Episodes 30 to 33 take place in May.
 * Episodes 34 to 36 take place in June.
 * Episodes 37 to 41 take place in July.
 * Episode 39's placement is disputed by a scan which has the date at May 30th.
 * Episodes 42 to 45, the final episode, take place in August.
 * Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: True Ending, which is set not long after the final episode, is placed in September.
 * Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Final Stage takes place in March 2018.
 * A post-credits scene attached to True Ending, featuring Ex-Aid's encounter with Kamen Rider Build, takes place in September 2018. Following Build to his parallel world, Parado ends up stranded there for two years.
 * In the "World of Ex-Aid", Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FINAL: Build & Ex-Aid with Legend Riders takes place one week following this incident; it is explained that the timelines of the two worlds are out of sync.
 * Kamen Rider Build (2017-18), primarily taking place in its own reality, commences in 2017, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch. Though Sento Kiryu ultimately merges his world with the prime reality, creating a new world where the Sky Wall never existed, Zi-O establishes that the former World of Build still exists at least as a possible timeline accessible by the Time Mazine.


 * Kamen Rider Zi-O (2018-19) commences in 2018, a date acknowledged by the Ridewatch. Specifically, the series begins in the early days of September, when 18 year old Sougo Tokiwa begins his third year of high school. In this series, the familiar history of the Heisei Riders are repeatedly changed as the Time Jackers replace the histories of individual Heisei Riders by creating the monstrous Another Riders. As yet, history is not restored when the individual Another Riders are defeated, and so the majority of past protagonists are left with no memory of their time as Kamen Riders while their own monstrous adversaries are erased from history.
 * The crossover film Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER features a world in which the Heisei Riders exist only as television characters.
 * Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Trilogy: Another Ending takes place in 2020.
 * As seen in Zi-O, Kamen Rider Shinobi is active in the year 2022.
 * Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: ~Mighty Novel X~ takes place three years following Another Ending in 2023.
 * As seen in Zi-O, Kamen Rider Quiz is active in the year 2040.
 * Having first been hinted at in the finale of Kamen Rider Ghost, the novel Kamen Rider Ghost: ~Memories of the Future~ confirms that Takeru Tenkuji and Chloe have a son named Ayumu Tenkuji.
 * The finale of Kamen Rider Kiva features an appearance by a New Kiva from 2031, 22 years into the future.
 * Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future features a possible future in which the world is dominated by the Roidmudes led by "Krim Steinbelt" by 2035; Eiji Tomari, the future Drive, was a native of this time. However, the destruction of Paradox and his past self in 2015, followed by the subsequent extinction of the Roidmudes, allows for a new future to be created.
 * In Zi-O, Geiz Myoukouin and Tsukuyomi were born circa the year 2050.
 * Kamen Rider OOO: Ankh's Resurrection, the Medals of the Future, and the Leading Hope establishes that Michal Minato is given the Poseidon Driver by the Kougami Foundation to fight new monsters in 2051. Briefly possessed by the malicious Poseidon Greeed, Michal visits the present year of 2011 before returning to his time as the heroic Kamen Rider Aqua.
 * Kamen Rider Zi-O establishes a dark future ruled by the Oma Zi-O by 2068. 18 year olds Geiz Myoukouin and Tsukuyomi both hail from this year, as well as the Time Jackers and Woz, prophet and servant of Oma Zi-O.
 * Oma Zi-O is temporarily erased from history when the younger Sougo Tokiwa briefly considered allowing Geiz to destroy his Ziku-Driver, but quickly returns in his own time zone when Sougo decides to remain as Zi-O.
 * However, a second potential future makes itself known when another Woz arrives, claiming that "Geiz Revive" will defeat Oma Zi-O.
 * As seen in Zi-O, Kamen Rider Kikai is active in the year 2121.