Female Kamen Riders

UPDATED DECEMBER 31, 2008
I am most obsessed with heroines and since Kamen Rider is mostly a 'boys only' club, I decided to cover the quite few female Kamen Riders that have graced the screens.

Kamen Rider Femme (2002)
She is the first official female Kamen Rider. There was debate if the character, Tackle, from Kamen Rider Stronger was a Rider, but it was agreed she was more of a sidekick rather than a legitimate Rider. Femme's true identity is Miho Kirishima, and was portrayed by Natsuki Kato. She was only in the movie Kamen Rider Ryuki Episode: Final and in the costume a cameo in Kamen Rider Ryuki: 13 Riders. Her power was of the Swan. As for action figures, there is a articulated Sôchaku-Henshin figure, a vinyl figure, and a small bust (which I own). She will appear in the upcoming American Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight as Kamen Rider Siren and I am told she will appear for quite a few episodes.

In Kamen Rider 555 (2003), many people who transform into the same armor or 'gear.' Where many men would wear one gear, one female would. One girl (Rina) wore the Delta armor but was kicked out of it a few seconds later. Both Yuri and Megumi become different versions of Kamen Rider Ixa in the Kamen Rider Kiva movie (2008).

Kamen Rider Alpha (2003)
Even though not official (stage show Riders aren't consider canon), the Alpha suit was used by a female in the Kamen Rider 555 stage show. Pictures avaliable here in this Japanese site.

Kamen Rider L-arc (2004)
Her true identity is Miwa Natsumi and she was portrayed by Yoko Mitsuya in the movie Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace. She is sometimes called Kamen Rider Lark or Kamen Rider L'arc. Her rider name, "Larc", is French for "Archer." Miwa Natsumi originally applied as an office worker, but was berated by the boss. As a result, she knocked him out after having enough of his words. She was handpicked, along with two others to become the New Generation Riders for BOARD to capture the Undead released by the Albino Joker. As for toys, she has one vinyl figure.

Kamen Rider Shuki (2005)
In the series Kamen Rider Hibiki, she appears in one episode. All the warriors had motifs of instruments, hers was a harp. Although she is in her 80's, Shuki used her power to assume a form that resemble herself in her early 30's. When she was young, her entire family was murdered by the villains. She used this as a reason to become an Oni. She used personal grudge and not the desire to uphold justice and protect the weak as a reason to fight. Unlike the others, the demon face took over her helmet. She ended up killing herself to get her revenge. To me, her outfit was tacky. She is the only Kamen Rider to ever have a skirt. She is the first female to actually be in the TV series, not a movie. She only got a small gasphon figure.

A second (fourth overall) female Rider for Kamen Rider Hibiki by the name of Mishiki went as far as having a DX Otoukenban marketed and a prop suit made for her before she was dropped.--This has been repeated in almost every Wiki-like page or blog, but no picture or backup. Since 2005, there has been no more female Riders, I can't wait to see what comes next.

UPDATED DECEMBER 31, 2008

Heroine Profile: Helen Lady (Spielban)

To prove I will not only be covering Sentai, but other Tokusatsu.

I always wondered this and I got my answer last year when researching to do TokuCentral.com VR Troopers got its footage from the now-defunct Metal Heroes series of Toei, in fact three series. The series Jikuu Senshi Spielban (Spacetime Warrior Spielban) was where the footage of the transformed JB and Kaitlin came from. Kaitlin's counterpart was Diana Lady (above) but I heard Spielban's sister who was bad, became good and was a hero too. Her name was Helen Lady but wondered how she looked like.

Actually Helen Lady had the same costume as Diana Lady. I thought the costume would at least had a difference but none at all. So instead of having a new girl play her in VR Troopers, they made up ' VR Kaitlin Double Team'---which was that Kaitlin had a mirror twin that was bad but then became good and she could call her when it battle. In Speilban, his older sister was actually the evil Helen/Hellvira who was raised that way and then wet to their side. The armored footage of Hallvira was used for a two-parter where a girl was brainwashed to become 'Red Python.'

So basically Speilban was the only Tokusatsu series (so far) to have one male hero and two female teammates. Most tokusatsu series have two male and one female.

Jungle Fury: It has happened!

Has hell frozen over? This year, Bandai America has definitely redeemed itself. I dunno if it has completely redeemed itself for the shabby Operation Overdrive line last year, but it has been incredible. The above picture is the newly revealed Transforming Battle Megazord. This product was not pre-mentioned, scheduled or anything else. It contains zords that many thought would not be released because they were released separately in Japan. In this package, there is Lion, Chameleon, Wolf, and a re-painted Jaguar. It is not named but it is colored in red and blue, a bit of yellow, which resembles their group weapon, the Claw Cannon.

Even though the zords don't combine together, they are making fans happy. The Lion and Chameleon can join with the Transforming Jungle Pride Megazord's Tiger, Jaguar and Cheetah. The Wolf can join with the Jaguar and Tiger to make the Wolf Pride Megazord. The extra animal can also make a leg to join in the fun. The four zords can not transform together without the Tiger zord of the Jungle Pride Megazord.

Go-Onger: Triptor's Gender?

I have been wrong before. But, it is getting sort of debatable over the gender of Toripter/Triptor. Triptor is a mix of a helicopter and a chicken. Some believed it was a rooster, but from its hologram, it has a waddle, and 'Niwatori' means chicken in Japanese. Triptor is voiced by a voice actress, Shizuka Ishikawa. Now, it was originally believed that their helper Bomper was female, because he has a voice actress and his pink color but it has been accessed that the actress is simply playing a young boy's voice. Now, some have thought Triptor is a young boy, but the voice clearly sounds to be female to me. Also, Go-On Gold's sister Go-On Silver has a male partner Jetoras. So I believe if the girl has a boy, then the boy should have a girl partner. I do not know why everyone is so against Triptor being female. On the show, they haven't referred to Triptor as either male nor female. But Bomper has been referred to as male.

Jungle Fury: How many Phantoms will there be?

The following is just speculation. Opinions and facts may change in a few weeks.

A few weeks ago on the show, it was revealed that there will be 8 Phantoms, many thought this was the 8 Twin Phantoms, the underlings to each General of GenJyuKen. But Monday night, it was revealed 3 are "Snapping Turtle, White Tiger, and Avalon Dragon." That will be Sanyo, Suugu, and Ron (above). They are the generals, the other two generals were Rio and Mele. There are some speculation, the Rio Gryphon suit will be used. But I think it is him, Ron's Beastman outfit. I think maybe they will be going with the animals in the motif, I guess they will not be going with the Mythical beasts because Sanyo was Basilisk and Suugu was Chimera.

According to this scan, there will be Sojo (Addanc user)--left (his head can be seen) and Dorou (Capricorn user). They are fighting the Shark Ranger.

Even though they are based on mythical creatures, the GenJyuKen monsters also had an animal motif. Dorou was a Capricorn but had a goat motif and the Addanc user Sojo had a rat motif. There is Kou (Cereberus user), the Bat Ranger is fighting him. Kou was Cerberus but obviously has a dog motif.

Also on her resume, Sarah Thomson (Fran) says she will be the voice of a character named Lepus. "Lepus" is the name of a constellation of a rabbit. So, Hiso is mostly the suit that is gonna be used. She had a Rabbit motif but was a Fairy-fist user.

I think Mele's Phoenix outfit and Rio's Gryphon outfits will be used, Dai Shi and Camille will become them. So if that is 7, then the other might be Shiyuu, the Minotaur user.


Because there is an episode description "Blue Ranger, Twin Dagger" which implicates it will use the footage from the episode using Shiyuu. His motif was the Ox.


So then most likely the suit definitely not being used will be:

Shuen (Hanuman style) and Haku (Unicorn style) above. Shuen most likely won't be used because he is featured in a Christmas episode. Christmas episodes are number 1 to clipped. Haku is featured in an episode that might be hard to adapt and since there are only 8 Phantoms and less episodes, then this one might get skipped as well.


As for Gouyu (Catoblepas/Boar), it's hard to tell if he will be used. Even though I know there will only be 8 Phantoms, but this one is pretty important. If skipped, I guess they can work around it. But in his 'giant' footage, he is accompanied by Sanyo, well Sanyo takes him away---which could be used for the show to have more 'hype' or 'terror' over the phantoms. Also, Violet destroys Gouyu in front of the Gryphon when taking him on. So dunno, maybe they will use Gouyu and skip Haku or say she is a regular monster.

Power Rangers/Super Sentai Character Conversion: Jungle Fury / Gekiranger

UPDATED NOVEMBER 1, 2008

Casey / Jan (GekiRed)

Both can be kinda annoying to fans. They are very different in origins. Jan was a jungle boy, literally. He had his own language, he would make up funny words and was rather childish. Even the Sentai producers admitted he was the most childish adult character they have had lately, I think ever. Casey isn't as bad as Connor but there doesn't seem much to him, many fans find him whiny. Casey is basically a normal kid but new to the whole Phai Zhuq (special class of martial arts of this series). Casey also comes with this 'full of it' attitude and is also absolute--he told a kid if he steals, then he is evil and against the Power Rangers, no grey. And that's not how the whole world works. The entire Gekiranger story was all about choosing your own path, Jan's father was a fighter and he was destined to fight Rio but ultimately he chose it. Jan had to deal a Darth Vader-ish father but Casey didn't, just dealing with the banished Whiger. Jan became close to Rio and both Jan/Casey believed in Rio/Jarrod. No one else believed Jarrod could be turned. While, mostly everyone wanted Rio back, but Ran and Retsu didn't want to completely forgive him.

Theo / Retsu (GekiBlue)
I initially disliked Retsu at first, finding him stuck up but he grew on me. He found beauty in everything, loving to paint and was all technique when it came to fighting. Unfortunately, Theo grows like a fungus. He is just plain stuck up. He is bossy, wants things a certain way and is such a multi-tasker, that he doesn't care to listen to reason. Retsu was very young when Gou was already an adult, he had went to fight Rio and he promised to Gou not to join GekiJyuKen (Fierce Beast-Fist) and fight. Of course, Gou disappeared and Retsu thought him more or less dead. Later after Gou returned and they made up, Retsu still felt like his brother treated him like a kid. In the end, Theo revealed his feelings to Lily. Retsu and Ran never had these feelings.

Lily / Ran (GekiYellow)
Ran was a bit of a prude, she was a tomboy and very strict. She also had a habit of saying 'eh???!' the equivalent to 'huh.' Lily is more laid back, she is a sweet nice girl, she sees the bright side of things. She also cops an attitude when she has to be put the boys in line. So did Ran, as she was like the 'mother' of the team. Both became 'bad,' in reality defiant, in one episode due to a 'spell.' Also, Lily was given the position of 'captain,' which I consider the leader because she is seen taking charge and the boys follow her orders. And in all other group attacks, she is seen in the center. Lily has yet to have any sort of promotion, I doubt it since Casey has already asserted he is the leader. Ran and Retsu didn't forgive Mele and Rio and challenged them to a battle for forgiveness.

RJ (Wolf Ranger) / Gou (GekiViolet)
RJ is the mentor, a zen-obsessed neo-hippie vegan. He is quite entertaining and refreshing for a young trainer. He is a quite innovative character on the part of the writers. Gou, on the other hand, is one of my favorite characters of Gekiranger. He followed his own path, even when he didn't know what it was. He is stern, but not too cold, he cares for his brother Retsu so much, he didn't want him to fight and made him vow not to. Both RJ and Gou became werewolves, except Gou did it to himself trying a forbidden technique and RJ's wolf side was simply tampered with by Dai Shi. Both had to tame the beasts. RJ also sought his own path, since his father is a Shark-style user and he chose to go under a Wolf master. Gou was also old friends with Rio. He tried fighting him but ultimately it had to come between Jan and Rio. RJ simply told Casey he couldn't teach them anymore at the end and told the others that when he fought Dai Shi it was his destined battle.

Dominic (Rhino Ranger) / Ken (GekiChopper)
Ken is lazy (nothing wrong with that), has technique and power but just fell on it, he's a goof-off. He is girl crazy and it was hinted he had feelings for Ran. While training in front of SaiDain, he decided to quit but vowed to come back and protect the sacred ground. The others didn't immediately warm up to him. Same as PR, they don't warm up to Dom--everyone considered everything being a game to him, same as Ken. In fact, Dom saved Fran the same way Ken saved his sister. Dominic wandered the Earth for six years, like Gou (well, much longer=10). And same as Ken, he had to make the others want to be part of the team. Dominic seems more wanting to part of something. I personally like Ken, always looked at the positive. Ken sold the SouJyuTo, which is much more reckless than Dom who left it (Control Dagger) between cushions in a restaurant. In the end, Dom ended having a romance with bookish Fran.

Master Mao / Master ShaFu
ShaFu is a anthropomorphic Caracal, who used to be human. They decided not to go that way in Jungle Fury, so Mao is human but when he disappears or teleports, there are signs of caracal. Mao was killed early on and is now a spirit that occasionally helps the gang. He was their first master. ShaFu was always there, and was very much hard to understand sometimes with his phrases. He was unconventional, him and RJ of course have similar teaching styles. ShaFu used to have a relationship with Rageku and took his students to their limits. Mao took ShaFu's animal form by the last episode.

Master Phant (Elephant Spirit Ranger) / Master Elehan Kempo
There is three definite different things between the two, the only two similarities are their costume and they share the same animal spirit. #1 is the most obvious, that Phant is human; #2 is Phant was connected to the Spirit Ranger--Master Elephant Ranger; and #3 Elehan is a pervert. Phant was a sad-sack, that people thought they didn't care about him. He is very similar to Bat Li, who refused to teach anyone new. Elehan chased young girl's skirts, touched Ran everywhere and was just an overall pervert. He believed in having fun. Phant took Elehan's animal form by the last episode.

Master Swoop (Bat Spirit Ranger) / Master Bat Li
They both have different costumes to begin with. Swoop has a Matrix-like outfit. Both of them are interesting characters. Bat Li was a hermit, who refused to teach anyone, because he was saddened from the failure of a student with promise not learning from him. Of course, Retsu learns and makes him cry. Also, Bat Li had a lady love---unfortunately because of his commitment to GekiJyuKen, he couldn't be with her and she had been living in contempt for him for decades. But of course, the Gekiranger clarified this. Swoop, on the other hand, is actually blind and is RJ's favorite teacher and taught him how to fight blind. Swoop has a nice sense of humor and very insightful. He was able to call Theo out on his bad habits and help him. Swoop was connected to the Bat Ranger. Swoop took Bat Li's animal form by the last episode.

Master Finn (Shark Spirit Ranger) / Master Sharkie Chan
Both have the same outfit, and that's all they have in similarities other than their animals. Sharkie is basically a kid, he never had a student before and the other Kensei didn't take him seriously. Sharkie and Jan are very similar and got along quickly. Sharkie is very clumsy, he was in charge of keeping something that could bring Maku to life, but he lost it. Finn is RJ's father and was insulted when he didn't follow in his father's footsteps in studying the shark techniques. Finn and Casey got along quickly. Finn and RJ had a typical dysfunctional father-son relationship. Finn was connected to the Shark Ranger. Finn took Sharkie's animal form by the last episode.

Master Rilla / Master Gorrie Yang
Gorrie Yang worked in NY writing novels. He had dreads in his hair. Other than ShaFu, he was like the leader, he is smart and stern. He helped Gou at a time when he was concerned about the gang's triangle, he was very insightful. He was even insightful with Rio with a spar/mentoring thing. He even rubbed Jan to the wrong way when he asked why he was studying GekijyuKen. What drove him. But Gorrie has his moments of goofiness. Rilla didn't have a lot of characterization since he is dead and was visited in the spirit world and the jungle fury masters have limited appearances compared to the Kenseis. He did appear at the end and took Gorrie's form.

Master Lope / Master Pyon Biao
Pyon monitored a national park in Kenya. He decided to teach Retsu to hone his body. Retsu and Pyon combat in a bloody battle in a soccer field, the object was for Retsu to capture Pyon's bandanna. He mostly followed Ken in a X-mas ep. Lope didn't have a lot of characterization since he is dead and was visited in the spirit world and the jungle fury masters have limited appearances compared to the Kenseis. He did have Theo sing karaoke. Also, Pyon is a Gazelle and Lope's power lies on the Antelope. He did appear at the end and took Biao's form.

Master Guin / Master Michelle Peng
Michelle is colorful and cheerful, she is in charge of the Sweden branch of SCRTC. She was selected by Gou to teach him how to hone a technique the master of GekiJyuKen--Brusa E created and honed and none of the Kensei knew. She only knew it in theory. Guinn didn't have a lot of characterization since she is dead and was visited in the spirit world and the Jungle Fury masters have limited appearances compared to the Kenseis. She was played by Michelle Langstone, who portrayed Kat in SPD. She did appear at the end and took Peng's form.