KAMEN RIDER SKYRIDER (1979-1980) - CHARACTER

Hiroshi Tsukuba

(筑波　洋 Tsukuba Hiroshi) is a young man who hang glides for fun and studied karate under Ryoichi Miyoshi. Three years prior, he lost his parents and sister in a car crash. While on a picnic with his friends, Tsukuba witnessed Professor Keitarō Shido being pursued while hang gliding and saves him from a gang of Air Commandos. Soon after, Tsukuba finds his friends have been all murdered for his meddling before being approached by Midori Kanō, who takes him to Shido as the man informs Tsukuba of the terrorist organization Neo-Shocker.

While finding Imata Tonda snooping around Shido's safe house, Tsukuba finds the scientist abducted by Gameleojin, the monster who murdered his friends. But when the pursuit resulted with Tsukuba critically wounded, Shido by convinces General Monster, who realized the young man's potential, to allow him to convert Hiroshi into a cyborg. Coming to, Hiroshi wanders out of the NeoShocker complex and learns of his new nature before he accidentally transforms into SkyRider. Using his new found ability, SkyRider destroys Gameleojin and embraced his new-found existence as a means to stop Neo-Shocker's evil. To keep a low profile in his search for Neo-Shocker's base, Tsukuba founded the Shido Hang Glide Club with Shido.

Eventually, after Neo-Shocker Plus-Alpha Bomb on Tokyo, Shido takes his leave without warning to join the Anti-Neo-Shocker Commitee overseas. However, Shido arranged for Tsukuba to supported by his old friend Genjiro Tani, who happened to be a mentor to Tsukuba in the past. For the first 19 episodes of New Kamen Rider the hero is known as "Kamen Rider", but in episode 20 Kamen Rider Stronger addresses him as "Skyrider". All of the previous Kamen Riders call him Skyrider and the Neo-Shocker kaijin do so as well after episode 20. Towards the end of the series comic relief is provided by the bumbling, superhero-wannabe, GanGan G. In episode #48 Skyrider has to fight 3 fake Skyriders (Dororingo). As usual the evil Riders wear yellow scarves. In The Finale, The Riders fought The Great Boss of Neo-Shocker. The Leader and Neo-Shocker itself is destroyed at the hands of Skyrider & The Original 7 Riders.