Kamen Rider (Japanese: 仮面ライダー | Hepburn: Kamen Raidā | lit. 'Masked Rider') is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series and weekly science fiction manga created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. The original airing consisted of a total of 98 episodes and was broadcast from April 3, 1971, to February 10, 1973, on Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET (now TV Asahi). The manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine around the same period. The series has evolved into a franchise with many subsequent annual iterations.