Kamen Rider Spotlight: Kamen Rider Kiva

Okay, so this hasn’t exactly turned out to be the happiest Halloween ever, but nonetheless I wanted to give you the Kamen Rider Spotlight I promised earlier this month. So today, we look at a Rider whose Spotlight is all too fitting to occur on this day (and I swear, if I hear one Twilight related jab at this guy, I’m not gonna be held responsible what I do in rebuttal, lol): Kamen Rider Kiva.

“Wake up! Break the chains of destiny!!”

Kiva is a young man named Wataru. Living on his own, Wataru shy and obsessed with his own hygiene, and while he never lies, he does hide a secret: He is in fact Kamen Rider Kiva, a title passed down from father to child among the race of creatures known as the Fangire Race, beings similar to vampires, but with a stained glass motif, and each belonging to an animal class, being able to take on a monstrous form of said animal. However, because they feed off human life energy, Wataru fights to protect humans, and ends up meeting several friends and allies from all walks of life, be they human, Fangire, or other monstrous beings. His story is of course a bit more complicated than that, but we’re not really here to give complete spoilers to the show.

“Kivatte Ikuze!”

As I’ve alluded to, most Riders use a Henshin Device in the form of a belt, and Kiva is no different in that regard. However, Kiva’s belt is summoned in a very different manner. His partner, Kivat-bat the 3rd, bites into Wataru’s hand, awakening his Fangire blood and summoning a series of chains that form the Kivat Belt. Once hung from the belt upside-down in true bat fashion, Kivat transforms Wataru into Kiva.

Kiva’s motorcycle is the Machine Kivaa, his own personal variant of the Honda Shadow 750, as built for him by Motobat the 16th. It’s actually a living creature with the brain of a horse installed inside, and has the ability to vanish from plain sight when travelling at higher speeds. Using the Buroon Fuestle, Kiva can upgrade the Kivaa with the Buroon Booster, upgrading its speed and making it capable of multiple motorcycle tricks, and at top speeds creating a field that cuts air resistance on the motorcycle almost completely.

Kiva’s natural form, termed simply as Kiva Form, is a fairly well rounded basic form. He has access to all the Fuestles in his arsenal, and possesses a powerful Rider Kick called the Darkness Moon Break, wherein he kicks the target against a surface so hard that he leaves a indentation in the surface in the form of his emblem.

“Garulu Sabre!”

Garulu Form is formed when Kiva summons the Garulu Sabre. In this form, Kiva is an almost rabid werewolf-like swordsman. His speed is much higher and he fights with a ferocity unseen in his other forms. His mouthpiece can also open to place the Sabre in his ‘mouth’, and then execute the finishing manoeuvre, the Garulu Howling Slash.

“Basshaa Magnum!”

Basshaa Form is formed when Kiva summons the Basshaa Magnum. Despite the loss of most of his attack power and agility in this form, his long range attacks and quick analysis of enemy weakpoints can make up for such losses. He can also manipulate the water and rain, creating his finisher, the Basshaa Aqua Tornado.

“Dogga Hammer!”

Dogga Form is formed when Kiva summons the Dogga Hammer. In this form, Kiva’s speed is cut down harshly, but his physical prowess is increased dramatically. He can also see invisible foes and manipulate electricity. His finisher, the Dogga Thunder Slap, creates an effigy of the Dogga Hammer out of lightning that slams into the target HARD.

…Erm, pile on? lol

DoGaBaKi Form is formed when Kiva summons all three of the Arms Monsters weapons, combining the base elements of his Dogga, Garulu, Basshaa, and Kiva Forms. In this form, Kiva’s power is increased to such a high level that he can only assume it for five minutes. Any longer and it can be deadly to him. He can summon any of the weapons in this form, and presumably can use any of the finishers from his other forms.

“Pyunpyuun! Tension fortissimo!”

Demon Imperial Dragon Tatsulot is a small dragon that becomes something of a second partner to Kiva along with Kivat. He also serves as a Henshin Device that allows Wataru to assume Kiva’s Emperor Form and utilize his upgraded finishers in Emperor Form.

“Wake Up Fever!”

Emperor Form is Kiva’s true form, awakened through Kivat and Tatsulot. Because Tatsulot also provides upgraded versions of all of Kiva’s other finishing moves, Wataru eventually grew to use this form over the others, often-times transforming straight to Emperor. On one occasion, Emperor Form was powered up into a berserker form when Wataru’s Fangire blood went out of control. He later receives a weapon called the Zanvat Sword that, when used with Emperor Form, allows him to execute the Final Zanvat Slash.

Holy clusterfuck, Kivaman! XD

DoGaBaKi Emperor Form is a very rare form that Kiva has only used once. It requires him to transform using Kivat, Tatsulot, and the Arms Monsters weapons. It possesses the abilities and powers of all Kiva’s forms, but presumably possesses the same limitation as the standard DoGaBaKi Form. His finisher is the DoGaBaKi Emperor Break.

…Yeah, go ahead and make a joke. We’ll see if it’s still funny when he roasts your ass. lol

Flight Style is a powerful dragon-like form that Kiva can assume while in Emperor Form. Rarely seen, it gives Kiva supersonic flight, bladed wings, flame breath, and deadly finisher called the Bloody Strike.

Well that’s all for today. Next time on the Kamen Rider Spotlight, we regret nothing as we tighten up, because we got to keep it real and ride on right time when the sun goes up, and remember that time judged all and shout out the power to tearer since anything goes. Ja né!