Henshin!

Being a Kamen Rider fan that I am, I finally decided to write a little something about the masked rider.

Kamen Rider, the masked transforming hero that usually rides a motorcycle and kicks antagonist ass. Through the many years that Kamen Rider existed and through the two eras that it has been, Showa and Heisei, there have been many of them.

In this article, I would like to differentiate each of the main riders of the Heisei era, from Kuuga up to OOO, according to what type of rider they are, their status as a rider at the beginning of their respective series, how they know when and where their enemy would strike and what are their enemies called.

I would be categorizing them as:
Technological type - Source of powers come from the advancement in technology.
Organic type - Changing into a rider entails that the riders entire biological make-up changes as well. (However, I think none of the main riders are of the organic type.)
Mystical type - Origin of powers come from mystical sources such as ancient artifacts, mystical creatures, and the like.

Kamen Rider Kuuga - Mystical type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Yuusuke Godai acquires Kuuga's belt and is able to transform. His enemies are called the Gorongi. He knows they are around since the police usually are the first on the scene then he comes next.

Kamen Rider Agito - Mystical type. Since Shouichi Tsugami lost his memory, it is unsure if he was or was not a rider prior the start of the series. However, it is safe to assume that he was since he is very knowledgeable of Agito's abilities. His enemies are called the Unknowns. Shouichi seems to have a connection with the Unknowns and feels it when they are about to strike.






Kamen Rider Ryuuki - Mystical type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Shinji Kido finds a blank Advent Deck and makes a contract with Dragredder and becomes Ryuki. He battles other riders and the monsters from the mirror world. Shinji and the other riders hear some kind of high pitched sound whenever a mirror world monster is about to attack.






Kamen Rider Faiz - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Takumi Inui dons the Faiz Gear and transforms into faiz. Orphenochs are what Faiz fights. Since the Orphenocs are after the Faiz gear, trouble seems to find Takumi.








Kamen Rider Blade - Technological type. Kenzaki Kazuma is a newbie rider at the start of the series. He uses the Spade's category Ace to transform. Blade seals the Undead. The undead are found via a tracking system.








Kamen Rider Hibiki - Mystical type. Hidaka Hitoshi became an Oni on his own. He discarded his name a long time ago and was then since called Hibiki. Hibiki fights kaijins they call the Makamou. He and other Oni hunt the Makamou with the help of Disc Animals.








Kamen Rider Kabuto - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series but knows that being a rider is his destiny. Souji Tendou has a rider belt since he was a child and he was chosen by the Kabuto Zecter. The alien Worms are what he fights and some of the alien Natives. Since every worm leaves a pattern, Tendou easily finds the culprit Worm.






Kamen Rider Den-O - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Ryotaro Nogami was given Den-O's belt because he was a Singular Point, a being that is not affected by changes in the time stream. Den-O battles the wish-granting Imajin. The Imajin that possesses Ryotaro can feel the activities of their fellow Imajin.







Kamen Rider Kiva - Mystical type. Already a rider at the start of the series. Wataru Kurenai was passed the power of Kiva from his father, though not directly. The vampire-like Fangarie are the antagonists of this series. Wataru's father's violin, The Bloody Rose, which strings vibrate every time a Fangarie attacks its prey is the sounding alarm.






Kamen Rider Decade - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series. However, it was said that Tsukasa Kadoya was already a rider way before and only lost his memory. Since Tsukasa travels different worlds, he fights whatever or whoever it is that is the antagonist on whichever world he is in. But his main nemesis is Shocker.






Kamen Rider Double - Technological type. Already a rider at the start of the series. Hidari Shotaro and Phillip use Double Driver and Gaia Memories to transform into Double. Shotaro and Phillip fight Dopants. Since both of them are detectives, they find that most of the time, their cases involve a Dopant.







Kamen Rider Ozu - Mystical type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Eiji Hino was given the seal to transform with by Ankh, a mystical being known as Greed. The incarnation of human greed are known as the Yammi and this is what Ozu fights besides the Greed. Ankh, being a Green himself, can feel if a Yammi is in the process of growth.






There you have it. All the twelve Heisei riders in a nutshell. There are other riders in the Heisei era. Some of them are secondary riders from the series, some are from the series but only have a cameo appearance, and some are move exclusive riders.

I'd probably categorize the secondary riders on my next post. Until the next post.