Kamen RIder Wizard 52

Kamen Rider: This Storyline Looks Familar

 UPDATED 4/13/13 9AM EST

Like I did with Super Sentai and Power Rangers, there are some storylines that repeat that become tropes sort of. Kamen Rider has some recurring themes and topics.

Grey-Area Organizations

These are organizations that are not exactly the villains, or don't start out that way. Some facilitate the gear and henshin devices of the Kamen Riders and some offer explanations or are rooted in the villains. Smart Brain, Board, ZECT, Foundation X, Kougami Foundation and a couple others. Foundation X and Kougami Foundation are connected and carry through from Double to Fourze. I might be missing some.

Multiple Users

There are different people that are one Rider, either one gets killed off and they don it or there are multiple versions of one henshin unit (like the RiotTroopers) or someone is given the henshin unit for one time. Kamen Rider 555 has more than five users (Kiyotaka Nishida, Yuji Kiba, Saya Kimura, Kyōsuke Tokumoto, Takahisa Shindō, Rina Abe), about four were in Kamen Rider TheBee (Sou Yaguruma, Shun Kageyama, Arata Kagami, and Masato Mishima), and Three Ixas (Yuri Aso, Megumi Aso, Kengo Eritate and the main guy).

Hero is one of the Bad Guys

Not exactly one of the bad guys but they end up being half of what the villains are. Takumi Inui /Kamen Rider 555 turns out to be an Orphnoch,  Wateru/Kamen Rider Kiva in Decade was half-Fangire, and I think there were other Kamen Riders that were like that. 

Hero should have been dead

This is the majority of the Showa era were the original Kamen Riders were at the brink of death or killed and made superpowered by some weird space rock. 

Happy Rider, Brooding Rider

Here are some I remember: Kamen Rider Ryuki (Happy) and Knight (Brooding); Kamen Rider Fourze (Happy) and Cosmos (Brooding); Kamen Rider Decade (Brooding) and Kamen Rider Agito (Happy) and I think there are a few more. I think that Agito and Kaixa and also Blade and Garren, not sure.


The Tragic Anti-Hero or bad Rider dies
Ryuki has this in spades (Zolda, Knight, Ohja, Gai, Raia, etc.), Kabuto (TheBee, PunchHopper), and some in the movies of Faiz and Hibiki. Also not only riders but villains that redeem themselves and then die or sacrifice themselves.

The Girl's Brother

A girl (non-rider/love interest/girl friday) is common but that is a trope but not a storyline. But one common storyline is the girl concerned about her brother like Yui Kanzaki in Ryuki who was concerned about her brother Shiro, who was responsible for the powers and Hina concerned about her brother who is possessed by Ankh. 

Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2013/04/power-rangers-this-storyline-looks.html | http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2013/04/sentai-this-storyline-looks-familar.html 

Sentai Alum in LGBT Films

I have covered how former Power Rangers have played Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual roles; here is a short list of former Sentai alums playing gay characters, the films doing actually more than the American films the former PR actors did.

Kyousuke Hamao (Agri/Gosei Black) starred in Takumi-kun Series III. It is a ghost story or mystery movie, where the gay couple visits a haunted clock tower where someone fell while making out. Kyousuke Hamao kisses Watanabe Daisuke and they are shirtless hugging as well.

Find out more here

Ai no Kotodama

Yasuka Saitoh (BoukenBlack) and Hidenori Tokuyama (One of the Hoppers/Go-On Gold), this came out in 2007 after Yasuka did Boukenger and after Hidenori did Kamen Rider Kabuto, before Hidenori did Go-Onger. It is based on a manga and they kiss and are shirtless in bed togehter in the film. They are so far the only same-gender Sentai alums to play lovers.

Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2010/01/eka-derville-plays-love-slave-in.html

Heisei Era Rider Belts/Driver Toys

I don't own any seen below, pictures are from online.

OOO Driver

Comes with four medals, the round disc thing and the belt and other attachment.

Other attachments sold separately

Review here:

http://schizophonic9.com/dx_ooodriver.html


Double Driver
Comes with four Gaia Memories.

Review:
http://herotoy.web.fc2.com/maskedrider/double/doubledriver.html

Decadriver
Comes with 10 cards.

Review:
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/shuu_mars/10207258.html

Kivat Belt
Comes with Kivat, Belt and six Fueslots.
Review:
http://ooebihara.sakura.ne.jp/ganngu/ganngu464.htm

Den-O Belt
Comes with all seen below.

Review:
http://ooebihara.sakura.ne.jp/ganngu/ganngu419.htm

Kabuto Rider Kabuto Rider Belt

Ongekikou Kaentsuzumi
Review:
http://sibakari.jugem.jp/?eid=124

Blay Buckle
Couldn't find any more info or good pics.

Faiz Gear
Couldn't find any more info or good pics.

V-Buckle
Review:
http://ooebihara.sakura.ne.jp/ganngu/ganngu029.htm

Alter Ring (Agito)
Couldn't find any more info or good pics.

Arcle (Kuuga)
Couldn't find any more info or good pics.

Various Belt Reviews:
http://koshihara.air-nifty.com/blog/2009/02/index.html

Kamen Rider: Temporary Belt Users

Here are random people who became Riders other than the main person or other ones took over or switch. A long long long list...

Albie (Saban's Masked Rider)
Albie the young kid brother to Dex, became the Masked Rider in one episode. I didn't see the episode, I didn't know it was just a dream sequence.

Goro (Kamen Rider Ryuki)
In Kamen Rider Ryuki, Goro was Kitaoka Shuichi's devoted loyal servant, he pretended to be Zolda to trick Shinji but when Kitaoka died, Goro transformed into Zolda, being killed off by Ohja.

Kōichi Sakakibara (Kamen Rider Ryuki)
In the 13 Riders Special, Koichi was Ryuki and gave the deck to Shinji before he dies.

Shinji (Kamen Rider Knight)
In the 13 Riders Special, Shinji gets the Knight deck when Ren dies.

Kyōsuke Tokumoto (Kamen Rider 555)

After Shindo's death, he tried to put on the Kaixa belt, but couldn't out of fear because of the other users' deaths. After the Delta belt was discovered and he used it, he believed the belt was rightfully his because of the belt's side effect. Not only that, he also gained some power from the belt.

Kiyotaka Nishida (Kamen Rider 555)
Temporarily used the Kaixa belt in episode 11 and 12. With the Kaixa Gear, he destroyed Crocodile Orphnoch's first life. But he soon died in Mr. Masuda's arms from the belt's side effect.

Takahisa Shindō (Kamen Rider 555)
Used the Kaixa belt in episode 12 to fight the Crocodile Orphnoch, despite others' protest, but the Orphnoch knock the belt off him, forcing him to revert and disinterage from the belt's side effect.

Rina Abe (Kamen Rider 555)
Rina Abe is Shuji Mihara's friend, former classmate and co-worker in the orphanage. She wore the Delta armor but was kicked out of it a few seconds later.

Saya Kimura (Kamen Rider 555)
A "nekojita" much like Takumi, Saya briefly wore the Delta Gear. Eventually she found her way to the Kikuchi Dry Cleaning shop and worked part-time there. She waited to see what kind of person Takumi was before deciding to hand over the Delta Gear to him.

Yuji Kiba (Kamen Rider 555)
Yuji Kiba is Horse Orphnoch and temporarily wears the Faiz Gear (when Takumi become the Wolf Orpnoch) and The Kaixa Gear (near the end of the series).

Kamen Rider The Bee (Kamen Rider Kabuto)
Sou Yaguruma, Shun Kageyama, Arata Kagami, and Masato Mishima all became Kamen Rider the Bee.

Yuri Aso (Kamen Rider Kiva)
Yuri Aso is the founding member of the Fangire Hunters. She became Kamen Rider Ixa in the Kamen Rider Kiva movie (2008).

Megumi Aso (Kamen Rider Kiva)
Megumi Aso is a famous model and the daughter of Yuri living in the year 2008. Megumi became Kamen Rider Ixa in the Kamen Rider Kiva movie (2008). In the S.I.C Hero Saga side story King of Vampire, Kivala chooses Megumi to become Kamen Rider Kivala.

Kengo Eritate (Kamen Rider Kiva)
Kengo Eritate is an independent rock guitarist and vocalist from Tokyo who lied about coming from Osaka out of shyness. When Nago is injured in action, Kengo eagerly takes his place as the Ixa System's user.

Maya (Kamen Rider Dragon Knight)
With Kase vented, Eubulon made her into Kamen Rider Siren. She later gave her Advent deck back to Kase when Kase returned. Eubulon gave her magical martial arts fighting knowledge, that we are to assume went away once she gave up the deck.

Akiko Narumi (Kamen Rider W)
Akiko Narumi is Shotaro's boss and landlord at the Narumi Detective Agency. Episode 30 she becomes W, well the Joker part. I didn't see the episode, I didn't know it was just a dream sequence.

I am sure there are so many so many more, just leave a comment and I will post it on this post.