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Kamen Rider Spotlight: Kamen Rider OOO
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen and others, to the Kamen Rider Spotlight. Today, we count the medals as well look at my girlfriend’s favourite Rider (Should I be jealous? lol), Kamen Rider OOO!…This is gonna be a LONG one…-_-
“I’ll transform!!!”
Kamen Rider OOO is a travelling young man named Eiji Hino. The victim of a tragedy that caused him to lose all selfish desires, he became the perfect individual to become OOO when a group of creatures made up of strange Medals called the Greeed awaken and begin to feed off of the desires of humans. OOO is assisted by the bird Greeed, the enigmatic Ankh, who provides him with and safeguards the Medals required to become Kamen Rider OOO.
OOO’s henshin device is the OOO Driver. For 800 years, it served as the seal on the Greeed, but with the seal on the Greeed broken and the secondary seal on the Driver itself undone by Eiji, he and he alone can become OOO by inserting three Core Medals into the Driver and scanning them with the O Scanner found to the side of the belt formed by the OOO Driver.
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/268/1/8/kamen_rider_ooo___core_medals_by_w_double-d3bfywr.jpg
The Core Medals that make up the Greeed are also used to transform Eiji into Kamen Rider OOO. Each Medal represents a different animal, and also provides Eiji with a different head, arms, or legs amour piece as OOO. The initial five coloured Medals (red, yellow, green, silver, and blue) can be mixed and matched, whereas the purple Medals only work with themselves, as do the orange Medals, though with the latter I’m willing to bet that’s only because they appeared in one of the movies. The Kangaroo, Imagin, and Shocker Medals were each one-time appearance Medals as well, the Panda Medal only appeared in a game, and the black Medals also only appeared in one of the movies and were not used by OOO, but rather by the villains of that movie. But yeah, suffice to say, there are a LARGE number of possible random combos OOO could use, but to save time since this is already likely to be my longest Spotlight yet, let’s look at the primary Medal Combos.
“TAKA! TORA! BATTA! TA TO BA, TATOBA, TA TO BA!”
TaToBa Combo is likely OOO’s most used form. This is likely due to the perfect balance of speed, power, evasiveness, and accuracy. The Taka Head grants OOO improved senses and can even lock onto otherwise invisible targets, the Tora Claw gauntlets grant razor sharp claws that stab and slice enemies, and the Batta Legs grant enhanced jumping and kicking power. His finisher is the TaToBa Kick, wherein after bouncing high with grasshopper-like legs, OOO dives through a series of red, yellow, and green rings to deliver a powerful Rider Kick.
“TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!”
The Medajalibur is a powerful sword that was crafted for OOO by the Kougami Foundation. It’s usually used in TaToBa Combo, but has seen use in others on rare occasion. My own personal theory on this is that the Tora Arms with the claws retracted can get an easier grip on it than the others. By inserting three Cell Medals and scanning them, OOO can use the OOO Bash, a powerful slash that can cut through anything, though strangely when it cuts through inanimate objects (buildings, vehicles, etc.), they reform as the attack ends.
“Hey! Transform already!”
The Ride Vendor is-Wait, that’s not right…
There we go! The Ride Vendor is OOO’s motorcycle. It starts off as a vending machine (seriously) that can be activated by OOO by inserting a Cell Medal into it. The wonderful part of that is that the Kougami Foundation has them set up all throughout the city, so there’s no shortage of them. They also carry the Candroids, little robotic buddies that can assist OOO in a variety of ways, but we’ll discuss one in particular a little further down.
“KUWAGATA! KAMAKIRI! BATTA! GA–GA–GA–GATA KIRI BA, GATAKIRIBA!”
GataKiriBa Combo is the green Medal Combo. The Kuwagata Medal allows OOO to send out lightning blasts from the horns, and the Kamakiri Medal grants him blades on his gauntlets that can also be held and used like swords or scythes. In GataKiriBa Combo, OOO also possesses the power of multiplication, creating copies of himself to either overwhelm a single opponent or even the odds against many. Apparently, according to Eiji, the hard part of that ability is actually putting himself back into a single one of him. His finisher is the GataKiriBa Kick, where all of the duplicates aim Rider Kicks at a single target. Also, apparently the reason this combo didn’t appear all that often was because it was taxing for the CGI. lol
“LION! TORA! CHEETAH! RA TORA TAH, RATORATAH!”
RaToraTah Combo is the yellow Medal Combo. The Lion Medal can send out a massive wave of heat and light (so insects must LOVE this combo), and the Cheetah Medal lets OOO run super-fast and deliver lightning-quick kicks. Overall, RaToraTah lacks a lot of the power of the other combos, but makes up for it with its speed. Its finisher, the Gush Cross. After running through a series of Yellow Rings, the Tora Claws are infused with the Lion Head’s light and heat, creating a massively powerful cross slash.
Shortly after gaining access to RaToraTah Combo, OOO was also given the new Tora Candroid. Through it, the Ride Vendor is turned into the Toride Vendor, a feral jungle cat of a motorcycle. In this form, its speed and power are enhanced, and it can fire medal-shaped projectiles at targets. The downside is rather steep, as it’s usually impossible to control, but thanks to a special ability of the machine’s, it siphons out the excess energy of RaToraTah Combo while simultaneously taming the beast, making this combo all the more potent.
“SAI! GORILLA! ZOU! SA GO ZO! SAGOZU!”
SaGoZou Combo is the silver Medal Combo. The Sai Medal grants OOO a hard and pointed horn for head-butting, the Gorilla Medal gives him massive gauntlets for punches, lariats, or even for rocket punches, and the Zou Medal allows him to create small quakes with every step at the cost of pretty much all of his running and jumping power. In SaGoZou Combo, he can pound his chest to create shock-waves and manipulate gravity with his horn. Obviously, SaGoZou Combo makes OOO the stereotypical strongman, granted with immense offensive and defensive strength while unable to run fast or jump high at all…which makes his finisher, the SaGoZou Impact, all the more insane to watch. He rockets himself up into the sky using his gravity control, then stomps down hard to send a wave through the earth that pulls the opponent down into it and toward OOO, who then bashes the hell out of him with a simultaneous double punch and head-butt.
“TAKA! KUJAKU! CONDOR! TAAAAA JAAAAAA DORUUUUUU!”
TaJaDol Combo is the red Medal Combo, and honestly, it’s my personal favourite. The Kujaku Medal grants OOO the use of a powerful weapon called the Taja Spinner, while the Condor Medal gives OOO talon-attachments. In TaJaDol Combo, OOO’s Taka Head becomes the Taka Head Brave, further enhancing his sight, he can generate small blasts in the form of Peacock tail feathers, and even sprout wings for fast and easy flight. His finisher in this form is the Prominence Drop, wherein he swoops in from high up and grows large talons to crush the target in their razor sharp grip. But probably it’s greatest feature is…I LOVE its insert theme. 😀
And yes, that IS the actors playing Eiji and Ankh singing the song. And the fangirls start a creamin’. ^_^
“GIGA SCAN!!!”
The Taja Spinner is one of OOO’s greatest weapons. It acts as a shield while also granting him the ability to shoot flames at his opponent, either in small fireballs or in long streaming infernos. But beyond that, the Taja Spinner opens to reveal seven Cell Medals inside. These Cell Medals can be exchanged with Core Medals for different elemental attacks, via scanning them with the O Scanner. In particular, using the Red Medals allows OOO to use the Magna Blaze, projecting a phoenix around him before delivering a powerful Rider Punch. And somewhere, Captain Falcon is shaking his fist in anger. lol
“SHACHI! UNAGI! TAKO! SHA–SHA–SHAUTA! SHA–SHA–SHAUTA!”
ShaUTa Combo is the blue Medal Combo. The Shachi Medal allows OOO to send and receive sonic waves, fire blasts of water, and allow him to breathe underwater for up to three hours, the Unagi Medal grants him electrified whips, and the Tako Medal gives him legs covered in suction cups that can cling to walls or split into eight tentacles. In ShaUTa Combo, while OOO doesn’t possess nearly the punch and kicking power that the other Combos, he has incredible flexibility and even the power to completely liquefy, not unlike Black RX’s Bio Rider form. His finisher, the Octo Banish, sees him shooting into the air in liquefied form, wrap the Unagi Whips around the opponent, and drag himself and the target together while the Tako Legs form tentacles that spin like a drill, drilling straight through the enemy.
“PTERA! TORIKERA! TYRANNO! PU TO TYRANNOSAURUS!!!”
PuToTyra Combo is the purple Medal Combo. Unlike all other Medals, the purple Medals cannot be used for Random Combos, only working together for PuToTyra Combo. This form essentially makes OOO a berserker unless he’s able to keep complete concentration during a fight, which is easier said than done. The Ptera Medal allows OOO to see Medals and auras within a Greeed’s body, as well as grow wings for flight or for sending waves of ice cold winds that freeze targets in ice upon contact. The Torikera Medal grants him the Wind Stinger horns on his shoulders that can stretch out near endlessly and stabbing into targets. The Tyranno Medal gives OOO clawed feet and can grow a long, thick tyrannosaurus tail for harsh swings and slams. OOO’s finisher in this form is the Blasting Freezer, wherein the Wind Stingers stab into the target, keeping them in place so he can freeze them in a block of ice and then shatter them apart with a massive swing of his tail.
“PU TO TYRANNO HISSATSU!!!”
The Medagabryu is an axe that becomes a bazooka, made to channel the purple Medals’ power to destroy other Medals. The axe form can be used with any Combo, while the bazooka can only be used by PuToTyra. By inserting Cell Medals into the tyranno mouth of the weapon, it can perform a finisher. In the other combos, the finisher is a slash of purple Medal power also powered by that Combo’s elemental powers called the Ground of Rage. In PuToTyra Combo, it allows OOO to fire a massive burst of energy called the Strain Doom.
“COBRA! KAME! WANI! BURA KAAAAAAAA WANI!”
BuraKaWani Combo is the orange Medal Combo. The Cobra Medal doubles OOO’s eyesight, even granting him infra-red, the Kame Medal gives him a two-piece shield split on the gauntlets, and the Wani Medal equips his legs with saws that create the image of a crocodile head chomping on enemies when he kicks them. In BuraKaWani Combo, OOO can play a flute to turn the ponytail-like attachment into a snake that attacks according to OOO’s will. His finisher is the Warning Ride, wherein a series of orange rings are projected that OOO slides through feet first before sailing up and delivering a Rider Kick that creates the image of a giant crocodile head crunching the target.
“TAKA! IMAGIN! SHOCKER! TA MA SHII, TAMASHII, TA MA SHII! RIDERRRR DAMASHII!!!”
TaMaShii Combo is a special Medal Combo. The Shocker Medal was created through the sheer evil power of SHOCKER, the original foes of the Kamen Riders, while the Imagin Medal is somehow crafted from a part of Momotaros. The Imagin Medal gives OOO massive shoulder-mounted horns, while the Shocker Medal grants legs similar to the Condor Legs but using the same energy that SHOCKER tends to channel. This combo only appeared once, as the Medals vanished after a single use, likely because they were incomplete somehow. Its finisher is the Tamashii Bomber, basically a mighty ki blast using the combined powers of OOO, the Imagin, and SHOCKER.
“TAKA! KANGAROO! BATTA!” “TAKA! TORA! KANGAROO!”
The Kangaroo Medal is a unique Medal used only once. Unlike most Medals that grant a different head, arms, or legs piece only, the Kangaroo Medal could be used to grant both an arms or a legs piece depending on which slot it was placed in. In the arms slot, it granted OOO boxers gloves with which to throw super-fast and powerful punches. In the legs slot, it gave him spring-like legs that actually gave kicking and jumping power surpassing the Batta Legs, and could manifest a Kangaroo tail. It stands to reason it could be mix and matched with any of the other standard Medals, but there’s no way to tell. Much like the Imagin and Shocker Medals, it vanished after a single use.
“SUPER TAKA! SUPER TORA! SUPER BATTA! SU–U–PA, TATOBA, TA TO BA! SUPER!!!”
Super TaToBa Combo is arguably OOO’s ultimate form. This form possesses all the same strengths as TaToBa Combo, but its speed, power, and defensive prowess are all increased dramatically. Even the Super Tora Claws are longer and sharper than the originals. Also, because these Medals come from the future and now exist outside of their original point in the space/time continuum, OOO can actually freeze time for a few seconds. His finisher is the Super TaToBa Kick, and just like everything else with Super TaToBa Combo, it possesses far more explosive power than the original.
…WOW, that was a long one. For the next Kamen Rider Spotlight, I think we should maybe get a little…dark. 😉 Ja né!
Kamen Rider Spotlight: Kamen Rider Den-O
Ore sanjou! It’s time for another instalment of the Kamen Rider Spotlight, and this time we’re riding on the train that travels time with Kamen Rider Den-O!
“Ore sanjou!”
Den-O is a kinda weak kid with horridly bad luck named Ryotaro Nogami. Through a series of events, he learns of the Imagin, humans that lost their physical forms due to their histories being erased and possess other humans to gain new forms from their imaginations, eventually taking the person’s life to travel backward in time in search of the one responsible for the erasure of their history, destroying everything in their path. However, there are some Imagin that are willing to help stop the damage to time, teaming with Ryotaro as he boards a time travelling train and becomes Kamen Rider Den-O.
The Den Liner is Den-O’s time travelling train, made up of eight cars, each also equipped with a varying array of defence mechanisms and weapon systems. The DenLiner can be accessed by anyone with a Rider Pass opening ANY door when time lines up so that the hour, minute, and second are the same (2:02:02, 6:06:06, 12:12:12, etc).
The Den Bird serves both as Den-O’s personal motorcycle and can also plug into the main cockpit for the DenLiner. Once plugged it, it allows Den-O to take manual control of the DenLiner.
The Den-O Belt is Den-O’s Henshin device. By sweeping his Rider Pass past the Set Touch, the scanner in the centre, he transforms into Den-O. His natural form is his Plat Form, but by pressing one of the other four buttons and sweeping the Rider Pass, he transforms into one of his forms, provided one of his ally Imagin are available to possess him. It’s also possible for the Imagin to become their matching Den-O form themselves provided they have a copy of the Den-O Belt and Rider Pass.
Plat Form is the basic form of Den-O. Ryotaro rarely ever uses this form, really only ever appearing in transition between forms. This is due to Ryotaro’s frail physique and lack of any kind of self-defence training. He has access to the weapons of the other forms, but they do him little to any good whatsoever.
“From the start to the finish, I’m at a climax!”
Sword Form is likely Den-O’s best known form, and is assumed while being possessed by the Imagin Momotaros, arguably the most popular character of the Den-O series. Momotaros is a hot-headed and warmongering Oni-like Imagin, but he can be a good and goofy individual to his close friends. As the name suggests, Sword Form provides Den-O with a powerful sword. His standard finisher, the Extreme Slash, sends his blade launching out from the sword, connected by a chain of electricity, which he slashes across the foe. He has multiple variations of this move. He also has a roundhouse Rider Kick he’s utilized on rare occasion.
“Mind if I reel you in?”
Rod Form is accessible by letting the flirtatious turtle-like Urataros possess him. Armed with a long shaft that can also be utilized as a harpoon and a fishing rod. He’s a bit more defensive than Sword Form while lacking a bit of Sword Form’s attacking power. For his finisher, the Solid Attack, he pins the opponent by using the rod as a harpoon and executes a Rider Kick on it.
“My strength has made you cry!”
Axe Form is formed when Ryotaro allows the bear-like sumo/samurai to possess him. He’s armed with a mighty axe that makes him the most powerful short range form and has increased strength, power, and durability. The downside is that he’s slowed insanely down. His finisher is an all-powerful falling slash with the axe known as the Dynamic Chop.
“Mind if I defeat ya? I can’t hear you!”
Gun Form is formed when Ryotaro is possessed by Ryutaros, a dragon-like, childish, reckless risk-taker with a love of break-dancing. Armed with a high-powered gun and able to utilize his break-dancing for ducking and dodging, he should be the superior of all four original forms. The problem is that Ryutaros’ lack of accuracy combined with the power of his ammo can make Gun Form a bit unreliable. His finisher is the Wild Shot, which is a powered up shot that will blow away just about ANYTHING, provided that Ryutaros can get his aim right.
“Advent! To the top!”
Wing Form is a rarely used form brought about by Ryotaro being possessed by Sieg, a swan-like regal-minded individual whose need for the others to treat him in a princely manner can make him something of an annoyance. The special Wing Buckle also must be placed over the Den-O Belt for this form to be achieved, as there is no button for this form. Wing Form is equipped with a hand-axe and a boomerang, and possesses agility surpassing even Gun Form. His finisher, the Royal Smash, is a pincer attack with the twin weapons.
Momo–Ura–Kin–Ryu! CLIMAX FORM!
The Climax Cellphone K-Taros is a cellphone/henshin device. When three of the four Imagin were turned to dust, Ryotaro’s feelings for them turned the dust to the K-Taros and allowed for the Imagin to return later, as the K-Taros kept them connected, both by letting Ryotaro call them from anywhere and by attaching it to the Den-O Belt to allowed him to transform to Climax Form.
“Pile on!”
Climax Form is summoned by using the K-Taros to call Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros together. It’s essentially an improved form of Sword Form, but the combined effort and powers of the four Imagin with Ryotaro grants him power beyond all of his other forms, save for the later further upgrade to Super Climax Form. It has a number of finishers, such as the Boisterous Kick and Boisterous Punch, which lines the masks of the other Imagin along the leg or arm for a devastating blow, the Boisterous Shout, which opens Ryutaros’ mask open to launch a barrage of missiles, and finally the Boisterous Slash, which channels all their power through Sword Form’s sword for a massive Extreme Slash.
Liner Form is powerful upgrade to Plat Form that Ryotaro can use for situations where the Imagin are unable to possess him for whatever reason, be it some outside force keeping them away or in the case of one of the movies where Ryotaro and the Imagin all transformed into the different forms of Den-O. It is accessed by inserting the Rider Pass into the DenKamen Sword. While it is definite improvement to Plat Form, and the DenKamen Sword allows Ryotaro to imitate the fighting styles of the Imagin, it still leaves Ryotaro on his own in the field, and given his bad luck and lack of real fighting skill, this can be a problem at times. His finishing move, the Densha Giri, comes in five variations. The first four are imitations of the main four forms’ finishers, while the final is a massive slash dubbed the Fullthrottle Break, but each attack produces the illusionary form of the matching Imagin’s car from the DenLiner, with the Fullthrottle Break producing all of them at once.
“…What’s with this fluttery thing? Chicken bastard, is that you?!”
Super Climax Form was used once when Wing Form used the K-Taros to bring the other four Imagin together with Sieg. This is generally considered to be Den-O’s ultimate form. It functions much in the same way as Climax Form, only with extra power, likely best demonstrated with the Super Boisterous Kick, wherein Sieg’s mask on the back sprouts into full spectral wings and the power of all five Imagin come together for a massively powerful kick that obliterates the target.
Well that’s all for this edition of the Kamen Rider Spotlight. The next one will be a special Halloween edition wherein we take a look at the Rider who breaks the chains of destiny. Ja né!
Jyger’s Rant – Kamen Rider Wizard Review
My first review of an episode of Kamen Rider as I take a look at the first episode of Kamen Rider Wizard.
Audio and images from Kamen Rider (duh), Kool Aid, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy VIII.
Kamen Rider Spotlight: Kamen Rider Skull
It’s time for another instalment of the Kamen Rider Spotlight, and this time we’re going hardboiled as I look at my all-time favourite Kamen Rider of all time, Kamen Rider Skull!
“Saa, omae no tsumi wo kazoe!”
Mentor to Shotaro Hidari, Soukichi Narumi was a true hardboiled detective, but an incident in dealing with the Spider Dopant led to him becoming a Kamen Rider, as well as isolating himself from his daughter when a miniature Spider Bomb implants in him, which would go off if he ever came in direct contact with the one he loved most. He later took on Shotaro as an apprentice and began solving Dopant related cases as Skull, until his tragic end that also began Shotaro and Philip‘s story as W.
SKULL – MAXIMUM DRIVE!
Much of Skull’s tech is later passed down to W, or inspires the creation of similar tech. The Lost Driver that the Skull Memory is inserted into looks like a broken half of W’s Double Driver, and in fact was later passed down to Shotaro so that he could become Kamen Rider Joker in case of emergencies where Philip wasn’t available to transform with him. Like with W, it possesses a Maximum Drive slot that allows Skull to his finisher, the Skull Banisher Rider Kick. Also the Skull Magnum, his personal side arm, would later give inspiration to the creation of the Trigger Magnum, and as such operates in much the same fashion. It also grants Skull an additional finisher called the Skull Punisher.
The SkullBoilder is Skull’s modified Honda CBR1000RR motorcycle. It’s kept inside of the mobile garage, the tank-like SkullGarry, which can be called out with the press of a button on the Stag Phone. Both the SkullBoilder and the SkullGarry would later be reconfigured into W’s HardBoilder and RevolGarry.
It’s also worth noting that Skull has an incomplete form that appeared once: Skull Crystal. It’s relatively the same, except that it lacks the S-shaped crack in the helmet, which would usually be covered by Soukichi’s fedora anyway…and by the way, I would just like to note once again for the record that it’s because of W and Skull that I myself have taken to wearing fedoras myself, as a sign of my everlasting fanboyism to these two Riders.
Well, that’s all for this edition of Kamen Rider Spotlight. Next time, we start and finish at a climax. Ja né!
Kamen Rider Spotlight – Girls Night Out!
Okay, here’s the thing. I wanted to cover a female Rider, but sadly there aren’t many and usually only appear one time, usually in the movies. So you know what, fuck it, I’m gonna do them all in one go, it’s girls night out here on Kamen Rider Spotlight! And real quick, this only counts towards Riders that are predominantly female, so IXA and Birth and whatnot being used by women don’t count, and sadly Electro-Wave Human Tackle doesn’t count either, but don’t worry, I WILL cover her at some point.
FINAL VENT!
The original female Rider. Sadly, Kamen Rider Femme only appeared in the Ryuki movie “Episode: Final” and in the TV special “13 Riders”. She’s probably better known in North America as Kamen Rider Siren in the adaptation of Kamen Rider Ryuki entitled Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. In a rare instance in Tokusatsu where the English version is actually better than the Japanese, they decided to make her a full character and part of the “big three” that formed the main protagonists.
Like all Riders of that season, Femme used an Advent Deck, possessing a series of cards that gave her different abilities and equipment, and based around a Contract Monster, in her case the swan-like Blancwing. Her Advent card summoned Blancwing for an attack, the Sword Vent brings out a much more powerful sword called the Wing Slasher, the Guard Vent summons the Wing Shield, and the Final Vent allows her and Blancwing to perform the Misty Slash.
CHANGE~!
The second female Rider, Kamen Rider Larc falls into the same category as Femme, in that she originally only appeared in Kamen Rider Blade‘s movie, “Missing Ace”. However, a second Larc would appear in DiEnd‘s World in Kamen Rider Decade, giving the Rider a second chance to appear. She typically served as part of a trio with Kamen Riders Lance and Glaive.
Again like Femme, her powers come from cards. Her Change Keroberos (Red) card transforms her into Larc, and her Mighty Ray card lets her perform the Ray Bullet attack with her signature weapon, the Larc Rouser crossbow (and by the way, L’arc is French for “the bow”).
Kamen Rider Shuki only appeared in two episodes, dying in her second episode. And I can’t help but notice a pattern in that almost every single female Rider died, save for one that I’ll get to later. Heck, even Tackle died. But anyway, I digress. Shuki used a harp called the Ongekigen Kitara, since the Riders of Kamen Rider Hibiki used weapons in the form of musical instruments since the monsters they fought were weak to sound-waves. Not much else to say besides that.
Kamen Rider Amaki is actually an interesting topic, in that she wasn’t really classified as a Kamen Rider originally, just Transformed Akira. She wasn’t made a full fledged Kamen Rider until the appearance of her alternate reality self in Hibiki’s World in Kamen Rider Decade. She’s armed with the Ongekikan Reppu, a trumpet that also doubles as a blaster.
“Kiva-la ikuse!”
Despite appearances, Kamen Rider Kiva-la did not appear in Kamen Rider Kiva. Instead, she’s actually Natsumi Hikari, a girl who had nightmares of a future where Kamen Rider Decade destroys the other Riders in a massive battle, and later travelled with Decade in his journey through the Alternate Reality Worlds as they saved each one from different disasters. During Movie War 2010, she teamed with a Kivat from Kiva’s World called Kiva-la to become Kamen Rider Kiva-la, first to stop Decade when he goes on a rampage, and second to stand alongside Decade, DiEnd, and the other Riders against Super Shocker, a massive force born of Shocker, the original enemies of Kamen Rider Ichigo. Oh, and she’s also the first Rider to not die in action, and is presumably still operating as Kiva-la along with Decade, DiEnd, and Kuuga.
Not much else to say about her except that she’s got a wicked-ass rapier called the Kiva-la Saber, which I gotta believe is a weaker version of Kiva’s Zanvat Sword. However, what makes hers a bit more easy to wield is that she doesn’t require any Fuestles to perform her finisher, the Sonic Stab. It has been guessed by fans online that she could use Kiva’s Fuestles to summon his weapons, but I dunno. Kiva-la is a lot smaller than Kivat the 3rd, and I don’t know that she can hold those in her mouth.
“Uchuu KITAAAAAAAAAA!”
The girl who fell from the sky created from SOLU, Kamen Rider Nadeshiko is the newest female Rider. Her powers are the same as Fourze’s, except that she only has compartments for the Arm-based Astroswitches. Her belt comes with her own copies of the Rocket and Radar Switches and she’s only ever seen using Rocket, but since her Driver is based off of Fourze’s, it stands to reason she can use any of the Arm-based Astroswitches he can, leading to fan art of her in his different forms being created on deviantArt and the like. Oh, and her motif is a Japanese schoolgirl… … …Nuff said. lol
So yeah, that’s all of the female Kamen Riders. Honestly, I wish there were more, and I actually kinda hope someday we see the main Rider of a season be a woman. But for now, I will give you a hint as to the identity of the next Rider in the Spotlight…
And no, it’s not Michael Jackson. lol Ja né!
Kamen Rider Spotlight: Kamen Rider IXA
Well, time for another instalment of the Kamen Rider Spotlight, and for our second Rider, I’m taking a look at one of my all-time favourites, Kamen Rider IXA. Also, I noted that in the past, I hadn’t spent a lot of time covering the additional weapons and vehicles of Kamen Riders, so I will attempt to make up for that in this and future Spotlights.
“Fangaia… Sono inochi, Kami ni kaeshinasai!”
IXA was the secondary Rider from Kamen Rider Kiva‘s season. Unlike most Riders, a number of people have become IXA over time, including the Wolfen Jiro, Kiva’s father Otoya, Fangire Hunter Yuri Aso, the Lion Fangire Rook, the Spider Fangire Ryo Itoya, Yuri’s daughter Megumi, and Fangire Hunter Kengo Eritate. However, the primary user of the IXA System throughout the show was Keisuke Nago, who at first battles against Kiva until learning his true identity and seeing him as an ally in protecting humanity.
“RED-DI-I! FIS-SU-TO ON-N!”
The IXA System is operated with the IXA Belt and IXA Knuckle. By first pressing the Knuckle to another part of their body (Nago typically pressed it in the palm of his other hand) and then sliding it into place on the Belt, a projection of the armour appears in front of the user’s body and then overlaps it, materializing over them.
IXA only has three forms that are seen. The basic, original form is known as Save Mode. Back when IXA was still in the prototype stages, Save Mode was all it had, and it kinda blew. Steam would burst out for no reason, the thing constantly beeped, and it could actually harm the user. These problems would later be fixed as the system underwent upgrades over the years to the point that it also received it’s next form, Burst Mode. Like Kiva, it comes with a Fuestle that unlocks additional power. The Knuckle Fuestle allows IXA to use his primary finishing move with the IXA Knuckle called the Broken Fang.
Burst Mode is so named because it sends of a wave of intense heat that damages everything in the immediate area. It also gives slight upgrades to all areas that Save Mode usually gives increases to. He’s also armed with several more Fuestles, some of which actually allow him to borrow or even outright steal Kiva’s weapons. He also comes equipped with the IXA Calibur, a high powered gun that turns into a sword, because as we all know, guns that turn into swords and vice versa are frigging awesome. His finisher is a high-powered slash called the IXA Judgement.
As is the case with nearly every other Rider in existence, IXA has his own motorcycle. The IXAlion is modified from a Honda CBR1000RR and possesses a max speed of 753 km/h. But if you’re more the type that likes combat vehicles, IXA doesn’t leave you disappointed there either.
Anybody ever played the crane game?
The Powerd Ixer is a massive dragon-like crane on wheels. It was originally designed to combat the massive Sabbats or Kiva’s Castle Doran, but has since proven to be a helpful ally to Castle Doran in combat. It flings enemies around, can toss massive orbs at targets, or can even lob IXA himself at opponents for a high-powered Rider Kick.
RI-U-SIN-GU I-KU-SA!
But when all else fails, IXA has one final trick hidden up his sleeve, or rather his mouth-plate: The IXA Riser, a cellphone that turns into a gun and can also transform IXA into his final form, Rising IXA. This pumps IXA up to maximum strength, able to stand up to the strongest of opponents. Before the end of the series, IXA received a final upgrade that allowed him to bypass his other forms and go straight to Rising IXA, as the enemies were growing too numerous and too powerful for his weaker forms. The IXA Riser grants him his new finisher, a massive shot of energy called the Final Rising Blast. The only downside is that the finisher has one hell of a recoil, knocking IXA on his ass and cancelling out the transformation. IXA later managed to brace himself properly, but until then learned to vault himself off a nearby wall and follow the blast up with a Rider Kick.
As mentioned before, IXA is not locked down to a single chosen user and can technically be used by anyone. Because of that, it means that the one using it has to be stronger, faster, smarter, wiser, and more humane than any other in order to prove he is the one best suited for it, the one true Kamen Rider IXA.
Well, that’s all for this edition of Kamen Rider Spotlight, and I’ll see y’all next time. Ja ne!
Jyger's Rant 