Kamen Rider Ryuki/Characters

""Mirrors facing each other create an infinite number of worlds. There is more than one fate. The only thing that's the same is desire. All humans desire. That's why they fight. And when that desire becomes so great that it becomes unbearable, people... become Riders. The Rider battle... begins.""

- Shiro Kanzaki

Warning: this Characters page contains unmarked spoilers. Unless noted, this page deals with the TV Series continuity, not the Episode Final or 13 Riders continuities.
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KAMEN RIDERS
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 * Shinji Kido (Kamen Rider Ryuki)

""I finally made my decision... I want to close the Mirror World. That is my wish, as a Kamen Rider.""

Shinji is an naive but energetic young reporter who goes about gathering information "as if he's at a festival, and going to every stall". He is a shining optimist who believes in the best in people, even finding something to admire in Asakura. He is a little slow and clumsy, and has a very simplistic way of thinking. His main flaw is that he wants everyone to be happy; when confronted with a situation where one person must lose for another person to gain, he struggles with the moral dilemma.

These qualities would make Shinji the worst kind of candidate for Kanzaki's Rider War, but Shinji's entry into the Rider War was a complete and utter accident. While investigating the home of Koichi Sakakibara (Kanzaki's original candidate) he discovers a blank Advent Deck and is stalked by the dragon monster Dragredder. Yui gives him a chance to live a normal life- to keep the Seal card that would protect him from the Mirror Monsters and give the Deck to her- but after discovering that the Mirror Monsters have been killing people in the real world, Shinji makes the decision to fight. It is an utterly selfless decision, and he only learns of the Rider War after he has been locked into it. But Shinji's resolve remains strong: he decides that he will not fight for the sake of the Rider War, only for the sake of others.

Shinji's presence in the Rider War- his innocence and determination- slowly soften the other Kamen Riders, the exact opposite of what Kanzaki wanted. To try and motivate Shinji to take a more active role in fighting, Kanzaki gives him one of the three Survive cards, but this only allows Shinji to overcome even more incredible odds.

Yet Shinji always struggles with the question of whether or not it is right to stop the Rider War: whether he has the right to impose his will on twelve others who are fighting for their own personal reasons, or whether they have the right to take twelve other lives in order to fulfill their wishes. Never does this conflict hit him harder than when he discovers that Yui will die, and that only the Prize from the Rider War will save her. He believes that no-one ever listens to him, yet the fact that by this point, no Rider will fight him willingly is proof of the positive effect he had.

Shinji eventually discovers his answer. But it is too late, as he takes a lethal stab wound while protecting a young girl during the Raydragoons' invasion of the real world. His last act is to pass on his courage and determination to Ren, so that his closest friend might survive the Rider War.

- Tropes associated with Shinji/Ryuki:

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 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Dragon Rider: While riding Dragranzer's bike form as Ryuki Survive.
 * Evolution Power-Up - Has the most forms out of all the Riders.
 * Joke Character: Blank Form
 * Jack of All Stats: Ryuki Form
 * Super Mode: Ryuki Survive
 * Finishing Move
 * Dragon Rider Kick: Ryuki jumps and delivers a Rider Kick powered by Dragredder's flames.
 * Dragon Firestorm: Ryuki Survive rides Dragranzer, transformed into a motorcycle, which shoots fireballs at the enemy before ramming it.
 * Dragranzer Clash: Dragranzer blasts fireballs at the enemy before jumping up and clashes with the enemy with Ryuki Survive riding it. Replaced Dragon Firestorm in first two Kamen Rider Climax Heroes games.
 * The Heart
 * The Hero Dies
 * Heroes Prefer Swords
 * Horrible Judge of Character
 * Idiot Hero
 * Incendiary Exponent - During his Final Vent.
 * Intrepid Reporter
 * Naive Newcomer
 * Playing with Fire
 * Power Copying - Strange Vent
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Ren's blue.
 * Reluctant Warrior - He'll fight Mirror Monsters, but is reluctant to fight Riders.
 * Second Rider - Inverted, as Ren debuted in the first episode.
 * Take Up My Sword - Happens to Shinji twice in 13 Riders, first with the original Ryuki, then with Ren after the Ryuki deck is destroyed by Odin.
 * Upgrade Artifact - Averted, in that his transformation to Ryuki still leaves him with beginner fighting abilities. He slowly improves his fighting technique as the series progresses.
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Blank Form
 * Breakable Weapons: Light Saber
 * Ryuki Form
 * Cool Sword: Drag Saber
 * Kill It with Fire: Drag Claw
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Drag Shield
 * Ryuki Survive
 * Swiss Army Weapon: Drag Visor-Zwei
 * Ren Akiyama (Kamen Rider Knight)

""Don't fight because you are angry or upset. Fight because you are a Kamen Rider.""

Ren is the first Rider introduced, and appears at first to be the epitome of the kind of Rider that Kanzaki wanted in the Rider War: cold, determined and utterly focused on obtaining his wish. He used to be a drifter that would travel the country frequenting bars and getting into fights with people that annoyed him. The person who saved him from this dead-end life was a girl: Eri Ogawa.

His contract monster is Darkwing, the same Mirror Monster that attacked Eri and put her in a coma. Kanzaki appeared then and told Ren that if he won the Prize, he could use it to revive his love. And so Ren accepted the Advent Deck and fought.

He got close to Yui Kanzaki because she was useful to him, but that developed into a friendship. He started out as an adamant rival of Shinji, but despite all of Ren's efforts he soon warmed to the boy. Herein lies Ren's flaw: his tough guy persona is merely an act, and given time and reason he will naturally gravitate towards emotional attachment, and friendship. But this in turn led to disaster: Ren was convinced that the only way he could take another human's life- and thus win the Rider War- was to be as cold and emotionless as the mask he wore, and the longer he spent in the company of people like Yui and Shinji the harder it became to pretend. Thus, Shinji inadvertently became Ren's greatest rival, an obstacle that he had to overcome (and never did) to win.

He received one of the Survive Cards from Tezuka (who in turn received it from Kanzaki) because the latter didn't want to use it. Kanzaki makes several attempts to manipulate Ren into continuing the fight- such as forcing Eri out of her coma for a brief instant to give him a glimpse of his reward- but these things only strengthen Ren's resolve to fight against the system.

Following the climax of the Rider War, Ren is the last Rider standing. He fought against Odin and won, if only because of Kanzaki's forfeit. He accepts the Prize and uses it to save Eri, perhaps dying from the injuries he sustained afterward.

- Tropes associated with Ren/Knight:


 * Badass
 * Badass Biker
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Blood Knight
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Doppelganger Spin - Trick Vent
 * Elemental Powers
 * Blow You Away - Knight Survive's Blast Vent.
 * Make Me Wanna Shout - Nasty Vent
 * Evolution Power-Up
 * Jack of All Stats: Knight Form
 * Super Mode: Knight Survive
 * Expy - Any resemblance to another bat-themed dark knight is purely coincidental.
 * Finishing Move
 * Hishou Zan: Darkwing forms a cape and cloaks Knight as he uses the Wing Lancer as a drill to destroy a foe.
 * Shippudan: Knight Survive rides Darkraider, which transforms into a motorcycle and fires a paralyzing laser followed by a missile.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Love Makes You Crazy
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Shinji's red.
 * The Stoic
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Knight Form
 * BFS: Wing Lancer, though technically, it's a lance.
 * Cool Sword: Dark Visor
 * Knight Survive
 * Swiss Army Weapon: Dark Visor-Zwei, which can change into a sword, a shield or a crossbow.

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 * Masashi Sudoh (Kamen Rider Scissors)

""Just trying to be as efficient as possible.""

The first truly evil (and a Mauve Shirt) Kamen Rider to grace the entire franchise who wasn't a Red Shirt nor is redeemable like Shadow Moon.

Sudoh was a Corrupt Cop who was taking advantage of his position to carry out a variety of evil acts. After he killed his partner-in-crime for demanding a bigger share, Kanzaki appeared before him to give Sudoh an Advent Deck. It's not known what Sudoh would have chosen as his Prize; to him, the greatest advantage of being a Rider was that he now had a perfect method of disposing of anyone who got in his way (by feeding them to his contract monster Volcancer).

Shinji first meets Sudoh in battle as Kamen Rider Scissors, and despite Ren's warnings the naive Rider attempts to befriend Sudoh. Sudoh exploits this for all it's worth, gaining information that allows him to target Ren and Yui, culminating in his later attempt to murder Shinji himself.

After his cover is blown by Reiko's investigations, Sudoh duels Ren within the Mirror World. Sudoh's bad karma catches up to him when Ren shatters his Advent Deck: with the contract to his Monster broken, Volcancer goes wild and consumes Sudoh, body and soul.


 * Corrupt Cop
 * Finishing Move: Scissors Attack
 * Improbable Weapon User - Scissors Pincer
 * Joke Character: Has the worst deck among the riders. Advent and Final vent aside, all he has are a Strike Vent (which is an improbable weapon) and a Guard Vent, no special card whatever. And they have lowest AP to boost.
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Shell Defense
 * We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets killed off in the two-episode arc that introduces him. Even Imperer lasted longer than him!

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 * Shuichi Kitaoka (Kamen Rider Zolda)

""I can do whatever I want, for however long I want. Is there no greater prize?""

A self-proclaimed "Super Lawyer", Kitaoka prides himself on being able to get the Innocent verdict every single time even if the person or company he is defending is clearly guilty. This reputation led to him acquiring the nickname of "The Black-Or-White Lawyer" and a lot of enemies in some very nasty places. But Kitaoka doesn't do it for the morals or even the money: he does it because he can, because he loves knowing that he is the best. And he will refuse cases which even he sees as impossible, preserving his own pristine court record.

Despite his smugness and success at life, Kitaoka has a nasty secret: he has terminal cancer. Instead of going into treatment in order to delay the inevitable, Kitaoka chose to live his life as normally as possible and hide his cancer from everyone except his manservant Gorou. He is also Kamen Rider Zolda, and his wish is simple: Immortality, to survive his cancer and "do whatever I want, for however long I want".

During the early stages of the Rider War, he comes off as an incredible dick. He fakes Zolda's death in order to break Shinji's morale and force the boy to quit the War. He saw his act as just another way of fighting the War; he may have felt guilty had he known that it pushed Shinji to the brink of suicide. As the Rider War progresses and he becomes closer to the other participants- especially Shinji- he comes to terms with his mortality and loses his desire to win. As he puts it, "I've already lived a pretty awesome life."

At one point he develops a crush on Reiko and pursues her for the rest of the series, sending her presents and dropping cheesy pick-up lines that the fiercely independent Reiko rejects every time. He also makes an enemy of Asakura by refusing to represent him in court because of his certain guilt, but mostly because he doesn't like him.

At the climax of the Rider War, he finally gets Reiko to go on a date with him. But feeling responsible for Asakura's transformation into a Rider and subsequent reign of terror, he is determined to finish things with his arch-rival first. He does neither, for the cancer that had been stalking Kitaoka for so long finally cripples his body, and he dies peacefully in his home.

- Tropes associated with Kitaoka/Zolda:


 * Amoral Attorney
 * Arch Enemy - To Asakura.
 * The Charmer
 * Finishing Move: End Of World
 * Graceful Loser - When cornered and about to be beaten up, Kitaoka's last tactic is to drop to his knees and beg for mercy.
 * Hey, It's That Voice! - Around the same time he was in Ryuki, Ryohei played another amoral warrior with green armor and BFGs: Orga Sabnak from Gundam Seed.
 * Immortality Immorality
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Multi Ranged Master
 * Soap Opera Disease - He starts showing symptoms towards the end of the series, as they become more severe.
 * Smug Snake
 * Took a Level In Kindness: He becomes less antagonistic to Ren and Shinji as the series progresses. During the early series, he tries to find ways to kill both of them, but this fades away after a while. He even works together with them for 2 episodes. Near the end of the series, he indirectly shows he cares a little bit for Shinji.
 * Weapon of Choice
 * The Gunslinger
 * BFG: Giga Launcher
 * Handguns: Magnu Visor
 * Shoulder Cannon: Giga Cannon
 * Power Fist: Giga Horn. Never used in the series.

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 * Jun Shibaura (Kamen Rider Gai)

""You were supposed to make my game more fun...""

The spoiled son of a rich businessman, Jun had the money, intelligence and free time to treat life as a game. His first act in the series was to create a computer game that sent subliminal messages to the player, stimulating their base fighting instincts and urging them to recreate the battle royale of the game in real life. He intended to distribute the program to every one of ORE Journal's subscribers, creating a city-wide orgy of violence. To Jun, this was just a way of making his life more fun.

He presumably joined the Rider War because he saw it as the ultimate game; his intended Prize for winning was unknown. His Contract Monster, the powerful Metalgelas, compensated for Jun's natural lack of strength and fighting experience and put him on equal ground with the other Riders. Perceptive and manipulative, Jun noticed Ren's hesitancy to deliver the fatal blow and exploited that weakness for all it was worth. He was also the first to discover the civilian identities of all the other Riders, a fact that filled him with glee.

When Asakura became a Rider, Jun was happy to fill the new guy in on some of the rules and point him in the direction that would cause maximum conflict. Though Jun probably acknowledged that Asakura was dangerous, he simply saw him as another wild card that would make the Rider War even more interesting for himself. Perhaps he even thought he could manipulate the madman. He never expected that Asakura would use him as a human shield against Zolda's End Of World attack, and turn on him without a moment of hesitation or gratitude.


 * Evil Is Not a Toy: As noted above, he helps Asakura get acclimated to the Rider war, likely for the purpose of using him. It doesn't exactly pan out.
 * Finishing Move: Heavy Pressure
 * Jerkass
 * Power Fist: Metal Horn
 * Spoiled Brat

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 * Miyuki Tezuka (Kamen Rider Raia)

""My predictions are never wrong.""

Tezuka is a young fortune teller who plays his trade on the streets, and boasts that his prophecies are always correct. Due to this, he believes that destiny is predetermined and cannot be changed. Tezuka is also the only other Rider aside from Shinji who is against the Rider War, and works to stop the in-fighting between the Riders. Due to this, he becomes fast allies with Shinji.

Tezuka's opposition to the Rider War becomes clear when it is discovered that he was never intended to be a Rider in the first place: instead, a good friend of his- Yuichi Saito- was chosen, but refused to participate and was devoured by the Mirror Monster Guldthunder. Taking his Card Deck, Tezuka contracted Evildiver and vowed to avenge his friend.

Because Tezuka refused to participate in the Rider War, he was a hindrance to Kanzaki. At first, Kanzaki attempted to motivate Tezuka by giving him a major advantage: the first of the three Survive Cards. Tezuka didn't even consider using it, instead giving the card to Ren. In retaliation, Kanzaki ordered Guldthunder to attack Tezuka, successfully triggering a berserk rage in the young man towards his friend's killer. However, after defeating the Monster Tezuka returned to normal.

He and Shinji always clashed on the question of whether or not it's possible to change your own fate. When Tezuka predicted that Ryuki would be the next Rider to die, he panicked and lied to Shinji by telling him that Raia was the fated one. Later, when Ryuki and Ouja fought, Tezuka pushed Shinji out of the way of a lethal Final Vent and took the blow himself. He had changed his own fate, but ironically fulfilled a false prophecy at the same time.

Shinji manages to drag Tezuka into the real world before he dies, sparing him the fate of dissolving in the Mirror World. In his dying moments, Tezuka seems to realise that Yui is the key to everything, yet is unable to communicate this to Shinji before he dies.

- Tropes associated with Tezuka/Raia:


 * Finishing Move: Hide Venom
 * Gender Blender Name
 * Heroic Sacrifice
 * Revenge
 * Unstoppable Rage
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Evil Visor
 * Whip Sword: Evil Whip
 * You Can't Fight Fate- He did.

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 * Takeshi Asakura (Kamen Rider Ouja)

""Being a Rider is fun.""

Asakura is not a hero. Nor is he an Anti-Hero. Nor is he misunderstood. He is a psychopath, plain and simple.

He is drawn to violence, feeling an unbearable tension that can only be eased through fighting. When confined in a jail cell, he becomes so frustrated that he begins banging his head on the wall until he draws blood. Yet he is not mindless; he is capable of intelligent manipulation and does not make stupid decisions. Kanzaki could not have picked a better Rider; an assessment that is immediately proven when Asakura kills Gai in his first battle as Ouja.

Kitaoka is initially assigned to defend Asakura in court, but the "super lawyer" takes a dislike to his client and smugly tells him that there's nothing he can do. This ignites a rivalry that lasts for the entire series.

Asakura racks up the highest body count of all the Riders, killing Gai, Raia, Imperer and Zolda. When the monsters of Gai and Raia come to exact revenge for the death of their masters, Asakura binds them to his will instead, making him the only Rider with three Contract Monsters and gaining access to all of Gai and Raia's powers. Furthermore, he can use Unite Vent to fuse them into one, creating Genocider, the second most powerful Monster in the series. The disadvantage is that he now has three monsters to feed, something that nearly leads to his death when he starves his monsters and they threaten to devour him.

At the climax of the Rider War, the Japanese police force are given orders to shoot Asakura on sight. But Asakura will not surrender, not until he has killed Kitaoka in battle. And so he faces Zolda in battle, and finally lands the killing blow he had been waiting so long for... only to find out that Gorou had taken Kitaoka's place as Zolda. Asakura could not comprehend it: why he had been robbed of something he had waited so long for and wanted so badly, and why Gorou had selflessly taken Kitaoka's place. Overcome with frustration and rage, he makes a suicide run at the police and is shot down like a dog.

- Tropes associated with Asakura/Ouja:


 * Arch Enemy - To Kitaoka.
 * A Sinister Clue
 * Blood Knight
 * Evolution Power-Up - The only non main Rider of the series with more then one form.
 * Joke Character: Blank Form
 * Jack of All Stats: Ouja Form.
 * Finishing Move - Has two of his own, plus Gai and Raia's after taking their Contract Monsters.
 * Veno Crash: Venosnaker launches Ouja at the foe, as he does a bicycle kick.
 * Doomsday: Ouja corkscrew kicks a foe into a vortex Genocider creates.
 * Fusion Dance - His Unite Vent.
 * Irony: Despite being very willing to kill, and having the biggest kill count among the Riders, if he deliberately targets someone, he never manages to kill them. This is made the most apparent with Kitaoka.
 * Knight of Cerebus: The Rider War wasn't exactly puppies and sunshine, but before Asakura came on the scene, only one Rider had died, and the current 5 at that time weren't doing all that good a job at the whole killing each other thing. That changed once he became Ouja, and he's responsible for the bulk of the dead Riders.
 * Pet the Dog - He gets one moment: when he stays with a young girl (who viewed him as her saviour) until her recovery even when he no longer needed to.
 * Self-Made Orphan
 * Villainous Breakdown -
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Cool Sword: Veno Saber.
 * Power Fist: Metal Horn, after Ouja becomes contracted to Metalgelas.
 * Simple Staff: Veno Visor.
 * Whip Sword: Evil Whip, after Ouja becomes contracted to Evildiver.

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 * Satoru Toujou (Kamen Rider Tiger)

""You're an important person to me. If I sacrifice you, maybe I'll become stronger.""

Satoru Toujou might have just been another one of many 25 year old men had Kanzaki not selected him to become a Kamen Rider. Unknown to Satoru, the day he made the choice to accept Kanzaki's offer was the day his life---as well as the lives of those closest to him---would be forever ruined.

A man of subdued character, Satoru is arguably no less deranged than the likes of Asakura, possessing a sociopathic mentality that forces him into single-mindedly pursuing one goal: becoming a hero. He confesses to Sano at one point that he has never had many friends, and that he believes that if he becomes a hero, people will like him.

As a student of Semeiin University, Satoru had become very close to one Professor Kagawa, who took the young man under his wing and was probably the closest thing Satoru had to a father figure. It was perhaps little surprise that Satoru initially chose to side with his mentor in their quest to destroy the Mirror World. Kagawa impressed upon the young man his utilitarianist philosophy that a hero was someone who has the courage to sacrifice one person- even those closest to them- to save ten.

Alas, Kagawa's mantra had an unintended effect: Satoru reasoned that Kagawa's philosophy would work in reverse, and that by sacrificing those closest to him he would achieve his dream of becoming a hero. This conclusion was only reaffirmed by Kanzaki's Rider War: all of his closest friends were Riders, and if Satoru was the last to remain then he could use The Prize to become a hero. And so when Kagawa let down his guard, Satoru attacked, shedding tears as he killed the most important man in his life.

Perhaps his most vile act, however, occured after the professor's murder. After a bad run-in with Asakura, Satoru was rescued by Sano Mitsuru AKA Kamen Rider Imperer, who had previously allied with both Satoru and Professor Kagawa. Providing a safe haven for Satoru, Sano asked if they were friends, a statement which the former confirmed claiming that besides Professor Kagawa, Sano had been the only person who'd been kind to him. Later that day, Satoru betrayed Sano, stabbing the latter in the torso and leaving him for dead, cementing the insane Rider's villainy.

He would only grow more unbalanced as the days passed, cultimating in an attempt to eliminate all the Riders at once. While his attempt failed, Satoru was convinced he'd succeeded cackling as he made his escape. Yet, the words of his former idol haunted him, and from across the street, Satoru witnessed a man and his son, rekindling in Satoru the memory of his deceased teacher and his own child. As a truck careened into the family, Satoru- unthinkingly- ran to push them out of the way, sacrificing himself for their sakes.

As he lay dying, Satoru yet found himself wracked by his inability to attain his wish, never knowing that his final act had made him that which he'd desired to be all along: a Hero. As he finally closed his eyes, the tragic story of a man consumed by his own hubris came to a silent conclusion.

- Tropes associated with Toujou/Tiger:


 * An Ice Person: Freeze Vent.
 * Apologetic Attacker: Toujou apologizes to  after betraying them. It's debatable how sincere said apologies were.
 * Ax Crazy
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
 * Diving Save
 * Finishing Move: Crystal Break
 * Heroic Sacrifice
 * Heroic Wannabe
 * Panthera Awesome
 * Weapon of Choice
 * An Axe to Grind: Dest Visor
 * Wolverine Claws: Dest Claws
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity - Arguably, this is the reason why Satoru ended up a complete crackpot.

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 * Mitsuru Sano (Kamen Rider Imperer)

""I just wanted to be happy.""

There was once a young man who was disowned by his father. The father was a wealthy businessman and only wanted his son to go through the steps of a self-made man to insure that he would be a suitable and competent successor.

Things did not quite go the way he planned.

Mitsuru Sano is first seen working in a parking lot, pandering to the egos of men like his father to earn the odd tip, spending his free hours reminiscing for the life he once had. Chosen to become a Kamen Rider by Kanzaki, Sano contracted with the weak but massive herd of Gigazelle Mirror Monsters, becoming Kamen Rider Imperer. Like the Gigazelles under his command, Sano needed a herd of his own and began looking to ally himself with other Kamen Riders...for a price. Eventually, Sano decided to team up with Kagawa and Toujou to kill Yui, though that decision lead to nowhere when the latter betrayed and killed his mentor.

Once again alone, Sano found himself without allies though a ray of hope was just around the corner. It was soon after Sano took an injured Toujou back to his home and nursed his former comrade when he received a call; his father had died and left the company in his hands. With his new status, Sano also came to know a lovely girl by the name of Yuri. What's more, Sano had come to develop a friendship with Toujou, a sentiment which the other man seemed to share. At last, Sano had what he always wanted: Happiness.

But because he finally had what he wanted, there was no longer any reason for him to fight as a Kamen Rider. Unfortunately for Sano, the Rider War didn't work that way. A stern threat from Kanzaki and the leering, hungry glares of his Contracted Monsters was all that was needed for Sano to realize that the only way to survive was to win the War. Teaming up with Toujo, Sano attacked Shinji/Ryuki...until suddenly being betrayed by the man he had believed was his friend.

Mortally wounded, Sano attempted to escape the battlefield but ended up instead in Kamen Rider Ouja's line of sight. Ouja dealt the fatal blow, shattering Sano's deck and leaving the man to dissolve in the Mirror World. His last moments were in the rain, screaming for help, gazing sadly into his world as his body was slowly eaten away.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Yuri waited for Sano to return...

- Tropes associated with Sano/Imperer:


 * The Beast Master
 * Finishing Move: Drive Divider
 * This Is a Drill - Gazelle Stab
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: In the cruelest way possible. He actually gets what he wants without having to kill anyone, and would have dropped out of the Rider War, and been no trouble. Kanzaki forced him to keep fighting, and it got him killed not long after.

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 * Miho Kirishima (Kamen Rider Femme) (Episode Final)

The first female Kamen Rider of the series, although it would not be until Kamen Rider Hibiki before a TV Female Rider appeared.

A con-artist who seduced men for money until caught by Shinji, she joined the war for the same reason as Ren - to bring back someone they had lost; for Ren, it was his girlfriend Eri. For Miho, it was her sister killed by Asakura, whom she wants dead as well. A dangerous proposition as fighting Asakura is a suicidal attempt.

Shinji met Miho while she was running from a man she tried swindling. A brief romantic interest in Shinji was shown as the two interacted and were often seen bickering like an old married couple. Though she often berated him, she would still perform acts of kindness toward him (such as tying his shoelaces). Miho was rather dedicated to winning the war, as in one scene tried to steal Shinji's deck before he caught her and told her off.

Her combat abilities were shown to be sub-par as she was barely able to hold her own in the mirror world against a Rider and Shinji told her that being a Rider was too dangerous. But with revenge on her mind, she went and tried to kill Ouja by herself, but being Ouja, he quickly overpowered Femme and was close to killing her if not for Ryuga's intervention. Despite being dealt the killing blow, Asakura proved that even without his deck he was capable of killing Femme as a human...if the Mirror World didn't finish him off first.

Miho was grateful to Shinji (she mistook Ryuga as him) and treated him to dinner. However Ryuga then came out of the mirror and tried to harm her, before he revealed himself. Miho was attacked, but she was saved later by Shinji in the nick of time. They escaped later, and Shinji walked Miho home, before she died from injuries sustained while being ambushed by Ryuga. Her card deck was left unnoticed.

- Tropes associated with Miho/Femme:


 * Dead Older Sister
 * Distaff Counterpart: Of Knight.
 * Finishing Move: Misty Slash
 * Gold Digger - at first.
 * Revenge
 * The Smurfette Principle
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Cool Sword: Blanc Visor
 * Double Weapon: Wing Slasher
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Wing Shield

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 * Itsurou Takamizawa (Kamen Rider Verde) (13 Riders)

""Every human being is a Rider.""

The thirty-eight year old head of the Takamizawa Group, Takamizawa is a rich and respected businessman who keeps his true megalomania hidden to all but the other Kamen Riders. He saw the Rider War as an allegory for human society: individuals struggling to make their dreams come true at the expense of others. His reason for joining the Rider War is simple: power. If he won, he would use the Prize to rule the world. His Contract Monster, the chameleon Monster Biogreeza, grants him numerous powers of deception which he uses to ruthless effect in the 13 Riders special.

A charismatic man, he convinces Kitoaka and Shibaura to team up with him against the naive Shinji, whose attempts to stop the Rider War he viewed as a threat to his plans. Though he kills Raia (by tricking him into lowering his guard) and mortally wounds Ren, he is unable to defend himself against Ren's last Final Vent attack and dies.


 * Costume Copycat: His Copy Vent.
 * Finishing Move: Death Punish
 * Invisibility - His Clear Vent. Comes with a chameleon-based Contract Monster.
 * Jerkass
 * Killer Yoyo: Bio-Winder.

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 * Kamen Rider Ryuga (Episode Final)

""I am no longer an illusion in the mirror! I exist! As the strongest Kamen Rider.""

Ryuga is the Mirror World Rider, born when a young Yui Kanzaki wished for a playmate in the Mirror World and created it in the image of the mystery boy that she had befriended: Shinji Kido. Where Shinji is kind and compassionate, Ryuga is cruel, manipulative and utterly merciless. His Rider self is a soulless reflection of Ryuki, as is his contract Monster Dragblacker.

As a denizen of the Mirror World, Ryuga followed the opposite rules from regular Riders: he could pass into the real world for a time, but after a while he would begin to dissolve and had to return. He wished to absorb Shinji to eliminate this weakness and become a real person, not simply an illusion in the mirror. He has no need for a reflective surface to summon his V-Buckle, as he himself is a living conduit to the Mirror World's energies.

He kills Ouja and Femme, and succeeds in absorbing Shinji by convincing the poor boy that it was what Yui wanted. He would have killed Knight, if not for Shinji realizing the truth and rejecting Ryuga. This forces a final confrontation where their Final Vents clash. Ryuga is the loser in this fight: even if they were equals once, Shinji's rediscovered resolve was too much for Ryuga to handle.

- Tropes associated with Ryuga:


 * Become a Real Boy - His wish.
 * Evil Sounds Deep - His Visor has a noticeably deeper voice than others when reading cards.
 * Evil Twin
 * Finishing Move: Dragon Rider Kick
 * Not an exact mirror. While Ryuki's finishing kick comes in from a high angle after jumping into the air, Ryuga's kick was usually a straight horizontal torpedo strike from a grounded position.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Paint It Black
 * Weapon of Choice: Just as Ryuga is a dark version of Ryuki, his weapons are black versions of Ryuki's weapons.
 * Cool Sword: Drag Saber
 * Kill It With Darkness: Drag Claw.
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Drag Shield.
 * The Worf Effect - Within minutes of his introduction, he effortlessly defeats Ouja.

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 * Kamen Rider Odin

""It is none of your concern. Continue to fight. Only the final Rider may face me.""

The thirteenth Rider, one who was only supposed to be fought by the Rider who defeated the other eleven. As Kanzaki's personal trump card, Odin was ludicrously overpowered to the point of outright cheating: he was so fast no-one could touch him, could steal other Riders' equipment via Steal Vent, possessed the third Survive card (with a power rating of Infinity!) and had the most powerful Mirror Monster Goldphoenix contracted to him. Odin's responsibilities are two-fold: to protect Yui Kanzaki, and to defeat the final Rider and win the Prize on behalf of Kanzaki.

His most important ability is the Time Vent card, which rewinds the Rider War back to the start and erases the memories of all involved. Kanzaki would use this ability over and over again, each time making a change in order to edge closer to the conclusion that he wanted. Only Shinji has a resistance to the memory-erasure, as he was never one of Kanzaki's chosen Riders.

Despite the Foreshadowing to the contrary, Odin is not Kanzaki. Odin is an anonymous person that Kanzaki gave the Odin Advent Deck to. But unlike other Advent Decks, the Odin Deck erases the identity of the person who uses it, leaving only Kanzaki's puppet and stand-in who can interact with the real world in ways that Kanzaki- as a being of the Mirror World- cannot. During the course of the series, Kanzaki goes through at least three Odins: the first is killed by Knight in order to motivate Ren into killing the rest of the Riders; the second dies at the hands of Knight and Ryuki when Odin attempts to stop them; the third confronts Knight at the climax of the Rider War but is killed by Kanzaki himself, after the latter realizes the futility of the War.

- Tropes associated with Odin:


 * Badass Arm-Fold
 * Bling of War
 * Brainwashed - The person acting as the host for Odin.
 * The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard - Seriously, could Kanzaki have made Odin any more unfair to fight against?
 * The Faceless
 * Finishing Move: Eternal Chaos
 * Flash Step
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: If you squint hard enough, then yes, Odin has the same voice as Bang Shishigami.
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: His entrance during his debut episode.
 * Power Glows
 * Thirteen Is Unlucky
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Armor-Piercing Slap - It's strong enough to knock over a frigging truck.
 * Dual-Wielding Cool Swords: Gold Sabers
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Gold Shield

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ALTERNATIVES
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 * Hideyuki Kagawa (Alternative Zero)

""To sacrifice one life in order to save ten: that is the meaning of a true hero.""

Once a mentor to Shirou Kanzaki, Kagawa accidentally glimpsed notes made by his student concerning the Mirror World and due to his Photographic Memory, was able to recall every detail of Kanzaki's plans. When his student, Satoru Toujou became Kamen Rider Tiger, Kagawa enlisted the young man and one of Kanzaki's former colleagues, Hajime Nakamura, to close the Mirror World, on the pretense that it was the heroic thing to do. Living by the mantra 'Sacrifice One Life To Save Ten', Kagawa attempted to assassinate Yui to render Kanzaki's plans redundant but would find the likes of Shinji and Ren a constant thorn in his side.

Eventually, when at a hair's breadth away from fulfilling his mission, Kagawa was betrayed and killed by Toujou, his body dissolving from the arms of his treacherous student.

- Tropes associated with Kagawa:


 * Blessed with Suck: Possibly more so than anyone. If not for his Photographic Memory, he would have never known about the Rider war. He even stated himself that it causes him problems. He was right.
 * Cool Sword: Slash Dagger
 * Finishing Move: Dead End
 * Hostage for Macguffin: Kanzaki pulls this on him, threatening to set a Mirror Monster on his family unless he gives up the Alternative deck..
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: His teachings of "sacrifice one life for ten" to Tojo ultimately results
 * Horrible Judge of Character: Kept Toujou around even after the latter killed one of their allies. Although he may not have had much of a choice in the matter.
 * Photographic Memory
 * Super Speed: Accele Vent
 * The Unfettered
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's willing to  to end the Rider War..

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 * Hajime Nakamura (Alternative)

A former colleague of Shirou Kanzaki at the Ejima Lab. He was away when Kanzaki conducted his experiments, thus he became the only survivor from the lab's staff. Although Yui and Reiko each ask him about his involvement, he vehemently refuses to answer them. Later, he is discovered to have teamed up with Hideyuki Kagawa and Satoru Toujou, seeking to close Mirror World by killing Yui. After Shinji thwarts his attempts, he is ambushed by Toujou, showing that the latter would not be afraid to betray his allies to fulfill his twisted morals.

Tropes associated with Nakamura:


 * Revenge: His motivation for joining forces with Kagawa.
 * Weapon of Choice: As his Alternative deck has little to no differences with Alternative Zero's, he uses similar weaponry.
 * Cool Sword

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OTHER
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 * Shirou Kanzaki

""Fight.""

The Big Bad and mastermind behind the Rider War. Kanzaki is the creator of the Advent Decks, chooses who to give them to and subconsciously encourages the wielders to fight. He is a psuedo-being of the Mirror World, living in the Mirror World and able to travel through reflections but unable to tangibly interact with the real world in the way that Mirror Monsters can. He can also control the Mirror Monsters, sending them to fight specific Riders and provoking conflict. He promises to offer power great enough to grant a single wish to the last remaining Rider: this is a half-truth, as his plan is to have Odin kill the last Rider and take the power for himself.

For the majority of the series, Kanzaki's motives are wrapped in mystery. But despite his inhuman demeanour and powers, his motives are far too human: to save the life of his sister Yui. For it was his decision as a child- an all-too-human decision- that led to the Mirror World Yui replacing the life of his dead sister; a decision he made because he could not stand to lose the one thing in his life that brought him hope. And when he was forcefully separated from her, taken to America by relatives, he screamed and pleaded not to go.

From that point on he dedicated his existence to finding a way to save her. He studied the Mirror World, discovering how to harness its power and extend Yui's life. He even discovered how to use it to manipulative time itself, and became a being of the Mirror World.

But Kanzaki couldn't get the outcome he wanted. After every failure, he would rewind time and do things differently, making small changes in the hope that it would edge him closer to his desired outcome. But no matter how many times he ran the Rider War, no matter how many advantages he gave himself or how many changes he made, he could never do it. And there were some things that he couldn't change at all: Shinji always became a Rider, and would always be an unwanted presence in Kanzaki's plan. And Yui, upon finding out the purpose of the Rider War, would always reject the new life he had worked so hard to give her.

It is unknown how many times Kanzaki rewound time, changed history and ran the Rider War. But distortions were beginning to appear in time itself. For example, there were records showing that Kanzaki had died in America at the same time he was studying in Japan. In the end, he finally accepts the bitter truth: that Yui would never accept the new life, that all his efforts were misguided. So once again he rewinds time to the moment of Yui's death, but this time he enters the Mirror World to be alongside her Mirror World self forever. Yui is never reborn, the Mirror World remains closed, and the Rider War never occurs in the first place.

- Tropes associated with Kanzaki:


 * Badass Longcoat
 * Big Bad
 * The Chessmaster
 * Love Makes You Evil
 * Reset Button
 * Stealth Hi Bye
 * The Unfettered
 * Villainous Breakdown - Fantastically achieved in the last two episodes when . When his voice loses the echo it has up till then always been accompanied by, you know he's reached his breaking point.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist

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 * Yui Kanzaki

""Oniichan.""

As a young girl, Yui Kanzaki was cursed with the power to see the Mirror World and its monstrous residents; an ability which made her the victim of merciless taunts by skeptical schoolmates. Added to that an abusive family-life and it was little wonder that Yui gravitated so closely to her brother, Shiro. Together, they formed the foundations of the Mirror World, creating the Mirror Monsters to act as their guardians but then...Yui died.

Unable to accept her death, Shiro made a deal with Yui's Mirror World self to resurrect her, although she would disappear forever on the day of her 20th birthday. The resulting breach in realities as the Mirror World-Yui merged with the real Yui caused a fire in the Kanzaki mansion, killing both their parents. Yui was adopted by her grandmother while Shiro was taken in by a different set of relatives and sent to America.

For years, Yui lived ignorant of her death and would likely have remained so if not for the Rider War. Refusing to believe that her brother would be so cruel as to set twelve individuals against each other, she begged for answers from her now enstranged brother. Eventually, realizing the truth as her body slowly began to crumble away, Yui made a final desperate plea for Shiro to stop the Rider War.

She would succeed, as on the verge of allowing Kamen Rider Odin to become the final Rider, Shiro finally had a change of heart and destroyed his own minion. Shiro then reversed time and allowed himself to die alongside Yui, entering the Mirror World with her alongside their Mirror World selves to live the rest of eternity in peace.

- Tropes associated with Yui:


 * Apocalypse Maiden - Professor Kagawa believes that Yui is the key to the Mirror World, and that killing her will make it all go away.
 * Dangerous Twentieth Birthday
 * Tomato in the Mirror

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 * Gorou Yura

""You...have a good whistle.""

Gorou is the manservant of Shuichi Kitaoka, and utterly devoted to the man. He's a talented cook and martial artist, and for a brief moment it was hinted that he was Zolda. He also has an odd habit of whistling, and admires anyone who has an equally good whistle. Gorou knows about Kitaoka's double-life as Zolda, and it causes him great pain to think that his master is fighting for his life every time he transforms.

Gorou's dedication to Kitaoka came from a sense of guilt: Kitaoka had defended Gorou in court against a false charge instead of attending a medical examination that could have detected his cancer and saved his life. Kitaoka holds no grudge against Gorou, but the young man feels beholden to Kitaoka. At one point, Gorou nearly murders Asakura to protect his master. But Kitaoka stops him, knowing that the act would have shattered Gorou emotionally and gently telling him that it was not his duty to fight his battles for him.

Sadly, it was the very act of fighting one of Kitaoka's battles for him that led to Gorou's death. Having refined his abilities to the level of a master chef, Gorou could have left and lived his own life. But instead, with Kitaoka determined to finish things with Asakura but unable to because of his rapidly failing health, Gorou takes the Zolda Deck and goes in his place. The Mirror World is where Gorou meets his end.

- Tropes associated with Gorou:


 * Battle Butler
 * Identity Impersonator

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 * Daisuke Ookubo

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 * Reiko Momoi

- Tropes associated with Reiko:


 * Cool Big Sis
 * Intrepid Reporter
 * Only Sane Man

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 * Nanako Shimada

- Tropes associated with Nanako:


 * Berserk Button - You do not want to insult her computer skills. Or manhandle her computers.
 * Beware the Nice Ones - Shibaura/Gai found that out the hard way.
 * Cloudcuckoolander

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 * Megumi Asano

- Tropes associated with Megumi:


 * The Ditz
 * Late to the Party
 * Ninja Maid: In her debut episode, she singlehandedly defeats five gangsters.
 * Unreliable Narrator: when recounting her history with Kitaoka.