This is a partial character sheet for Kamen Rider Gaim. Visit here for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.
This page deals with tropes for Kouta Kazuraba of Kamen Rider Gaim.
Warning: Due to the sheer number of spoilers associated with this character, all spoilers are left un-marked. New viewers beware.
Kouta Kazuraba/Armored Rider Gaimnote /Man of the Beginning
Portrayed by: Gaku Sano (live), Seiji Takaiwa (suit)
Young Kouta Portrayed by: Hayate Torii
- "It doesn't matter who's on my side! I'm still protecting the same people! Even if I completely change in the end!"
The main character of Kamen Rider Gaim. Kouta is an earnest young man who quits Team Gaim so that he can get a job and support his sister. However, after finding the Sengoku Driver and Orange Lockseed he is drawn back into the competition between the different "Beat Rider" gangs, believing that his new-found power is the key to his maturation as an adult.
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Tropes that apply to him in general
- 10-Minute Retirement: Him quitting being Gaim only lasted a single episode.
- Accidental Murder: He had no idea that he'd killed Yuya until Takatora told him. This then extends to every single Inves he ever killed, who were all once sentient beings before Helheim made them a part of its ecosystem.
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Downplayed, but after getting his Rider powers he used them for every little thing while acting very cocky.
- All-Loving Hero: While he stays true to the formula, given the nature of the show, almost everyone takes a chance to pot shot at him exemplifying the trope once Cerebus Syndrome hits.
- In #6, he tries to make friends with Kaito even after all the crap the latter has pulled. Kaito, fresh off of Ryoji and Hideyasu's betrayal, rejects it.
- #11: Even after he finds out the truth about Yggdrasill and its involvement in the Inves Game, Kouta still tries to save the people at the base camp, despite clearly not liking — if not outright disgusted by them.
- Further cemented in #12: While Micchy urges him to throw the Driver away and stop being Yggdrasill's guinea pig Kouta can't help but use his power to protect innocent people.
- #14: Despite the fact that Ryoji had become an Ax-Crazy Hekija Inves, he still thought he could reach Ryoji... it didn't work and Sigurd jumped in to kill Ryoji.
- #15: He tells DJ Sagara that he intends to use his power only to protect the city, and others.
- #20: Might see this get Deconstructed. Kouta, upon realizing that the Inves were once humans, was unable to fight them outside of defending himself.
- #23: He decides after his talk with DJ Sagara to fight so that others don't make the same mistakes that he has made and so that nobody else has to fight against Helheim's invasion.
- #32: Another point of deconstruction. Up until this point, Kouta was ready and willing to give everyone a chance and look at things from their point of view. After spending a few episodes trying to appeal to Demushu, Kouta finally realizes how monstrous he really is, decides that there's genuinely no reasoning with him, and kills him using Kiwami Arms. He then proceeds to willingly fight the other Overlords with lethal force.
- #40: Redyue takes a turn to deconstruct this for Kouta. She tells him that, even if he does save everyone, he's going to be hated upon because he has become something more than human. While she breaks Kouta down, all it simply does is cause Kouta to focus on the fact that he's fighting for the people he loves, not everyone.
- Alternate Character Interpretation:
- An in-universe example: Micchy comes to believe that Kouta is an idiot who ruins his plans by rushing into things who also "corrupts" everyone that they care about with his beliefs. However, it's clear that this way of thinking is a result of Micchy's increasingly evil and deluded worldview, and Kouta really is the heroic and noble Hope Bringer that Mai and Takatora see him as.
- There's another in-universe example in #36: Kaito believes that Kouta is at best naive and at worst insane.
- Appropriated Appellation: A positive example, just like Haruto, who got his name the same way: After answering the kid who called for a Kamen Rider to save him in the finale of Wizard's series, Gaim learns of the name Kamen Rider and that they're heroes of justice. Since he thinks that describes him pretty well, he decides to take up the legacy of Kamen Riders and become Kamen Rider Gaim.
- Arch-Enemy:
- Kouta's morals slowly make him Sid's most hated foe after he becomes Sigurd.
- Kouta also becomes this to Micchy after the latter's sanity breaks. Micchy starts to see him as the root of all of his problems and attempts to kill him.
- And in the final episodes, he becomes one to Kaito. Where Kaito believes that people lose strength with compassion, Kouta believes the opposite, that they can have both, and that they become stronger if they do.
- Badass Biker: Just like any other Rider.
- Badass Boast: Gives one to Takatora in #23:Kouta: I'll never give up! If you say sacrifices are necessary, I'll fight the world that demands them!
- Bash Brothers: He had this relationship with Ryugen in the early episodes, and they were one more time in the final episode. He's traditionally also fight side-by-side with the secondary Rider, Kaito, against Demushu and later Rosyuo.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: This is basically what accepting Kiwami Arms really is for Kouta. He takes the power in an obvious Deal with the Devil situation because he needs greater strength to deal with the Overlords. He's also essentially admitting that it's hopeless to reason with the Overlords, abandoning his role as a protector to become both a conqueror and destroyer as he unleashes lethal force on sapient beings (though his intentions remain noble and the Overlords are almost entirely evil).
- The Beastmaster: Manifests the Overlords' ability to command Inves in order to defeat Kaito and his army.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Mai, according to the rest of the team.
- Berserk Button:
- Finding out the Yggdrasill Corporation used him and the others as guinea pigs didn't sit very well with him.
- He gets seriously pissed off when Team Red Hot start using the Inves for criminal actions.
- He gets pissed off with every little secret Yggdrasil has. Upon learning of Yggdrasill's plans to wipe the city clean from Sid, the rage that builds (and Sid experiences, painfully) might as well be this. Ryoma then slams the button even harder the next episode when he explains the plan to kill six out of every seven people in the world, because the remaining one-seventh is all Yggdrasill will be able to save. Takatora then breaks the button by showing him what really happened to Yuya.
- He's enraged when Takatora apparently betrays him, not knowing that the Zangetsu Shin trying to kill him is actually Micchy.
- After Micchy reveals himself to be the fake Zangetsu Shin, Kouta suffers from a brief Heroic BSoD but quickly regains his senses and angrily fights back.
- He goes ballistic after Redyue mercilessly backstabs and kills Rosyuo in cold blood.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Friendly, nice, somewhat naive and all around do-gooder... until you piss him off enough.
- Big "NO!": Does an epic one when he tries to stop Sigurd from killing Ryoji.
- Bishōnen Line: His transformation to Kiwami Arms can be seen as this, as he goes from the bulky and heavily armored Kachidoki to the rather thin and lightly armored Kiwami Arms, which wears even less armor than his basic Orange Arms.
- Blood from the Mouth: Most of his serious fights cause this to him.
- Brains and Brawn: With Mitsuzane in the early episodes, with Kouta acting as the Brawn. Kouta is noticeably a better fighter than Micchy but, while not stupid, isn't a genius like him.
- Break the Cutie: Gets hit with this hard after finding out that he unknowingly killed Yuya. Thankfully, he gets better once he learned to moved on from his past mistakes.
- Break the Haughty: His ego swells after becoming Gaim, but Zangetsu severely deflates it after delivering a particularly bad beating.
- Broken Pedestal: Like Takatora before him, he's this to Micchy in a really weird way. Kouta is extremely noble, selfless, and wants to save everyone. Unfortunately, as Micchy becomes more evil and deluded over the course of the series, he starts to view Kouta as a fool who rushes into things without thinking and "ruins everything." Even worse, he puts all of the blame for this hatred on Kouta himself, claiming that Kouta's adherence to his ideals is a foolish, childish notion that has cost him Micchy's respect.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: But by #47 after being broken Micchy realizes that Kouta is a true hero and a great role model.
- But Thou Must!:
- One of the Yggdrasil employees in the forest begs him to help when their base is attacked by the Inves. Kouta isn't happy about this at first since they see the Armored Riders as guinea pigs and said employee was laughing about that fact earlier. He caves in after a moment, though, since he still doesn't want to let anyone get hurt.
- After some sort of disease begins to spread, the Beat Riders are held responsible, so when an Inves begins to attack, Kouta doesn't start fighting until after he's attacked by Bravo.
- Butt-Monkey: He is this early in the show, before things get serious. Things like constantly getting rejected for a job interview, riding his bike off a cliff (and not realizing it until he looks down), pecked by crows while trying to lure an Inves, having his team won hundreds of Lockseeds only to realize that those Lockseeds are coming from Yggdrasill...
- Calling Your Attacks: While he normally doesn't do this, when he uses the Showa Rider Lockseed in Kamen Rider Taisen he shouts out two famous words when he activates the Ichigou Squash.Gaim (Ichigou's voice with him): Rider... KICK!
- Character Development: Kouta goes through a lot over the course of the series; fitting, as it's essentially a Coming of Age Story.
- Kouta goes through a significant arc in the first five episodes. He starts off as a straight and narrow Nice Guy, who's doing his best to try and figure out what it means to be an adult. Gaining superpowers and becoming Gaim led him to become a prideful Mr. Vice Guy (albeit one with good intentions who still wants to help his friends and family) who treats the entire situation as a game. His Break the Haughty moment (see above) then forces him to realize how serious things really are, to the point that he stops using his powers and tries to caution Micchy about becoming a Rider. However, after hearing how he had inspired Micchy to become stronger, he regains his resolve and becomes Gaim again.
- Character Tics:
- After he transforms he has a tendency to make a horse stance
and hold his weapon over his head with his right hand. - His henshin pose is drawing a circle in the air, mirroring the opening of the crack that gives the Arm Part. It actually symbolizes that he's really become a hero: the entirety of #2 and #3 was him fanboying over having super powers, with one of the first things he did being trying to find a cool henshin pose. After he finally decides to use the belt to just protect people, he instinctively finds one that's just right.
- After he transforms he has a tendency to make a horse stance
- Childhood Friends: With Mai.
- The Chosen One: Nobody's actually chosen throughout most of the show, but Sagara seems to believe that Kouta will be the one. He's right.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Suffers from this big time. He will always rush to save people, even when it puts him at odds with Mitsuzane.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- The previous main Rider Haruto Soma is a cynical experienced Rider who fights as a Hope Bringer wizard to those who fell into despair cause by the Phantoms, while Kouta is an idealistic man who started out weak during his early tenure as an Armored Rider before he gets stronger due to his growing experience to the point he used his growing powers to save the world from Helheim's invasion.
- As the main character of a multiple rider show and the most idealistic among them, he is one to Shinji Kido/Kamen Rider Ryuki. While both started off as a mere Wide-Eyed Idealist early in the story, Kouta develops into a mature Ideal Hero due to his decent Character Development while Shinji became a Classical Anti-Hero due to his inability to save other riders from their impending demise.
- Cooldown Hug: Removes the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed from Micchy before giving him a tender hug in #43.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Delivered them to low class Inves, an army of Kurokages, and Sigurd.
- On the receiving end from Zangetsu and Demushu. He returns the favor to Demushu after getting Kiwami Arms.
- Delivers this to Redyue in #40.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Subverted as a rare heroic example. By #3, Kouta has been shown to be perfectly happy with using his powers for self gain. He soon grows out of it and focuses on protecting the city instead.
- Cool Big Bro/Parental Substitute: He's pretty much this to Micchy. Noticeably, Mitsuzane has a rather distant relationship with his brother, and his parents are never shown. Kouta is his only positive role model... which in hindsight explains why he has such an unhealthy duplicitous relationship with him. He doesn't want to lose the approval of the only good thing in his life.
- Dead Person Conversation: Despite his supposed demise, Kouta ends up in a dream, where a blonde-haired Mai wants to have a chat with him in #44.
- Declaration of Protection: He states this in the first episode to the mysterious woman, thinking she's Mai. He's right, but he didn't know that at the time.
- Later in the series he basically extends this to the entire city, since Yggdrasill isn't doing a thing about the Inves.
- After discovering that Yggdrasil plans to wipe out 6 billion people, he extends this declaration to pretty much the entire world.
- Deliberate Injury Gambit: He intentionally takes a fatal hit from Ryugen Yomi in order to get at his belt and de-transform him before the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed could kill him.
- Determinator: He will stop at NOTHING in order to help those in need.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Kouta says that he can never kill another human being. As he says this Micchy and the audience discover that in the very first episode he unknowingly killed Yuya after he became the Byakko Inves.
- In #29 Kouta makes a speech about how he would have never gotten as far as he did if he didn't trust his friends. He's saying this to Zangetsu Shin, who is secretly Micchy (the person he considers his best friend), who is abusing his trust to try and commit first degree murder.
- Drunk with Power: Typical of Urobuchi, not even a Nice Guy like Kouta can avoid letting superpowers get to his head. But unlike most cases, it's downplayed to humorous hijinks and he grows out of it quickly.
- Comes Great Responsibility: Realizes that he can't handle the Rider's power if he's using it for himself, but he can if he uses it to help people. #3 shows that he's still working on this, as while he's using it to help other people, he still benefits from it.
- He finally gets over this attitude after his first encounter with Zangetsu. Later, he shows how far he's come when he laments this behavior after finding out that the Armored Riders were being used as Yggdrasil's lab rats.
- Dressing as the Enemy: In #11 when infiltrating Yggdrasill's research camp.
- The Dulcinea Effect: His response to being told by a woman he met for the first time that if he is to fight now he will fight to the bitter end is that he'll do it if it means protecting her. Justified, since he thought it was Mai. Subverted since it was Mai.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: In #43, he pulls a Deliberate Injury Gambit to save Micchy by allowing himself to be stabbed by the latter so he could remove the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed from him.
- Enemy Mine: This is what he sees helping Yggdrasill contain the Inves horde in #11 as. He despises the organization, but he won't let his hatred of them let people get hurt. It happens again in #22.
- Expy:
- Of Madoka Kaname, the main character of her eponymous series. Both of them don't take responsibilities seriously, both also have suffered from deaths of others (Mami and Sayaka to Madoka, Hase and Yuya for Kouta), and both have achieved godhood, though the process of obtaining said godhood are different.
- He's also this to Sayaka Miki, since both of them are sword-wielding idealists in blue who are at odds with an orphaned and impoverished Anti-Hero in red (Kyoko for Sayaka, Kaito for Kouta). Both of them are also Wrong Genre Savvy and ended up becoming the very thing they're fighting against, though Kouta is more emotionally stable and takes it better than Sayaka did.
- To Shirou Emiya as well. Both of them are hardworking men living in a fictional city who got involved in a larger conflict that tests their idealism, have a friend who betrayed them out of envy (Micchy to Kouta, Shinji to Shirou), and have a Dual Wielding fighting style.
- Also to Peter Parker, both of them living with a relative that served as their caretaker. Both of them realize that With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility and both of them have fought a green-colored villain who caused mayhem for the sake of it. (Norman Osborn/Green Goblin for Peter, Redyue for Kouta).
- Fire-Forged Friends: Slowly becoming one towards Kaito.
- Foil: Kouta acts as one to all three of the other main characters:
- Kaito resolves to use his power to subjugate the weak, while Kouta wants to use his power to protect the innocent.
- Mitsuzane is willing to keep secrets and manipulate others in order to do what he thinks is right, while Kouta tries to be open and honest. Mitsuzane also becomes increasingly Drunk with Power as time goes on and cares more about his own desires than anything else; Kouta gets over himself fairly early on and is firmly dedicated to protecting others.
- Takatora is willing to sacrifice innocent people if it means ensuring the human race's survival, while Kouta refuses to accept this and wants to save everyone. However, it's eventually revealed that Takatora and Kouta aren't so different from one another, and Takatora is open to working with Kouta when a more idealistic option presents itself.
- Forgiveness: Easily forgives Micchy while calling him an "idiot" after all the shit the latter did in #43.Kouta: You idiot, Micchy... When you think how long the road ahead's gonna be... Are a few little mistakes that big of a deal?
- For Happiness: Slightly deconstructed. Kouta wants everyone to be happy to the point where he is determined to save everyone and refuses the idea of sacrificing innocents. The problem is that he never figures his own personal happiness into this ideal. Mai eventually asks him to promise to find his own personal goal in life once the fighting is over.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Sanguine.
- Friend to All Children: His first chronological appearance (Wizard #52) has him jumping into an unknown portal because he heard children crying for help. His first appearance in the series has him helping a kid finding said kid's mother.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: From Yggdrasil's perspective. He went from being just another of their lab rats to being able to near effortlessly fight his way into their base and only being stopped by Zangetsu.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Attempts to do this on Micchy in their last fight. It fails, and Kouta is forced to pull a Deliberate Injury Gambit to bring Micchy back to his senses.
- Godzilla Threshold:
- Kouta becomes the threshold for the villains of the final act. They all know how powerful he is and are willing to resort to desperate measures and suicide tactics to defeat him.
- The coming of the Overlords and Kaito's madness in the last few episodes make him throw away his reluctance to kill.
- Good Is Not Dumb: Kouta is the nicest most moral member of the cast, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. He regularly makes accurate deductions, asks the right questions, and thinks things through, which is a major change from most All-Loving Hero type Kamen Riders.
- Good Is Not Soft: Make no mistake, he is a Nice Guy and adheres to Thou Shall Not Kill. But when he gets truly enraged, he tends to turn into a One-Man Army.
- Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: Learns it the hard way in #8, when he rides the Sakura Hurricane off a cliff immediately after entering Helheim Forest. Bonus points for the producers for pulling out the slapstick humor by having Kouta not realizing that he will fall down until he looks down below.
- Green Thumb: His Overlord powers have begun to manifest by the end of #40. He leaves a trail of rapidly growing plants as he walks, just like Rosyuo.
- Growing Up Sucks: Realizes that he had to mature and find out what it truly means to be an adult. Unfortunately for him, it means he had to give up some of his hobbies and leave his friends for a time. Then the rest of the series progresses, and things quickly get worse.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Kouta has trouble understanding that some people choose to be monstrous scumbags. Best shown in #43, where offering Micchy forgiveness helps break him instead of saving him.
- Guilt Complex: One of the reasons why he's taking on Yggdrasill and Helheim on all alone is because he considers himself a sinner due to killing Yuya and doesn't feel deserving of help.
- Healing Factor: Becoming an Overlord has given him one, best seen in #44 when he's recovered from the supposedly fatal stab wound by Micchy.
- The Hero: He is titular Rider of the series.
- Heroic BSoD:
- He did not take losing for the first time well. Considering that said loss was to Zangetsu, it's expected. He could have been killed and no one would know that he had perished!
- He also did not respond well when he finds out that all of the Inves were humans and animals at one point before it became what today known as Helheim.
- He has another one when he finally finds out that he's killed Yuya at the end of #22.
- He gets a SOLID one after Micchy reveals his Face–Heel Turn in #35. Fortunately, he gets over it quickly and starts to fight back.
- And an EPIC one during his Lotus-Eater Machine moment in #40. It doesn't last though.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: During the Yggdrasill Saga due to their smear campaign.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Does this in #43 by allowing himself to be stabbed by Micchy so he could remove the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed from him before passing out and apparently dying. He's barely alive in #44, thankfully.
- He's Back!:
- In #5, he breaks out of his Heroic BSoD just in time to save Ryugen.
- In #23, after being utterly broken by the events of the previous episode, DJ Sagara gives Kouta a pep talk and his Mid-Season Upgrade, which causes Kouta to go straight to Yggdrasil headquarters and destroy the Scalar System.
- In #32, after defeated by Redyue, he came back with the new power of Kiwami Lockseed.
- In #44, he came back from his supposedly fatal wounds, to try to stop Kaito.
- Horror Hunger: Not as bad as some examples, but he is clearly disgusted by how much he wanted to eat the Helheim Fruit. After he learned from Rosyuo and Redyue that he become an Overlord, he wanted to test it out if he's not human anymore by eating a Helheim fruit.
- Honor Before Reason: Why he initially opposed Yggdrasill's ways of fighting against Helheim. While acknowledging that their goals were basically the same, he was unhappy about keeping the secret from the general populace and the corporation's manipulation of the Beat Riders. Eventually, however, he opposes them due to finding out the full scope of Yggdrasil's plans and because he realizes that most of its top players are evil nutcases.
- Hope Bringer: Mai, Takatora, and DJ Sagara all see him as one. Micchy also comes to see Kouta as one, but unfortunately, he's convinced that the hope Kouta inspires in others needs to be destroyed for the sake of his own plans and ambitions.
- How Do I Shot Web?:
- Most of his fight in #1 consisted of finding out what all his new powers and gear can do, while desperately finding out the most effective way of taking down the Monster of the Week.
- He stumbles around in #16 when trying to use the Genesis Core and Lemon Energy Lockseed to access Jimber form. It took the enemy accidentally knocking off his Rider Indicator before he figured out how to use it.
- Ideal Hero: No matter what people like Sid, Takatora, or Redyue say, Kouta never stops trying to protect others and refuses to accept the idea of sacrificing innocent people.
- I Reject Your Reality: Kouta, after a talk with DJ Sagara, decides that his enemy isn't Yggdrasill or even Helheim, but a reality that states you have to sacrifice something to get something. He decides to destroy that rule.
- Ignorance Is Bliss: Kouta is uncomfortable with this idea. This is best shown when he expresses reluctance in keeping the existence of Helheim secret from the public, even going so far as to ask his sister whether she would want to know if the world were coming to an end.
- Furthermore, in #23, he wants to tell Mai the truth about what happened to Yuya, feeling that keeping the secret would dishonor his memory and be unfair to Mai. He ultimately tells her the truth in #26.
- Image Song: "Ranbu Escalation", which he shares with Kaito.
- Implacable Man: Has become this on occasion when pushed too far, both times with Yggdrasil on the receiving end. Zangetsu was the only thing that could halt his advance either time.
- It's All My Fault: Like Takatora, he blames himself for Micchy becoming a villain, thinking that he could have prevented Micchy's Face–Heel Turn if he had been perceptive.
- Keeping Secrets Sucks: Kouta knows many dark secrets and awful truths, and they give him nothing but grief.
- Kleptomaniac Hero: In #21, he hits Sid with a Rider Kick, and as Sid de-transforms, he looks up in surprise to find Kouta is holding up the Cherry Energy Lockseed he's just swiped from Sid's Sonic Arrow. Later, in #22, he, Marika and a group of Kurokage Troopers battle a group of Elementary Inves. After the Inves are destroyed or retreat and the Crack shuts, he and Marika revert... and then Kouta snatches the Peach Energy Lockseed right off Marika's Genesis Driver and runs off with it. Played with in #43, where he performs a Deliberate Injury Gambit to get close enough to Micchy, then yanks the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed off his Sengoku Driver... and crushes it, rather than taking it for himself.
- Locked Out of the Loop: An odd case where Kouta is actively trying to get into the loop about the Overlords, but Micchy is doing all in his power to keep him out of it.
- Lonely at the Top: Discussed by Sagara in #40. He points out that if Kouta succeeds in saving the world he'll have become so powerful that everyone would hate and fear him, leaving Kouta with nothing.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Redyue shoves him into an extremely trippy one in #40, where he's the Byakko Inves, Yuya is Gaim and is trying to kill him, and the Overlords are his friends in an attempt to make Kouta surrender his humanity.
- Lucky Seven: His Orange Lock Seed is LS-07. In #15, his holding room is number seven.
- Magnetic Hero: Reconstructed with Kouta, who has none of Kaito's charisma, but having the right personality means that even if people didn't like him at first for whatever reason, if they known him personally and are good people, they will sway to his side. Yes, even Kaito.
- Manly Tears: He cries after dealing the finishing blow to Kaito, and even swears that he'll always move forward regardless of his tears.
- Messiah Creep: He started out as a carefree young dancer struggling to be a responsible adult. By the end of the series he gains the Forbidden Fruit's power and use it to end Helheim's assimilation once and for all, saving the world (or worlds, since Helheim is an interdimensional threat).
- Messianic Archetype: Kouta is this with his compassion and Forgiveness, as well as how he apparently dies for it in #43.
- Morality Pet:
- He becomes one to Kaito, who goes out of his way to bail Kouta out of trouble during the Helheim Saga.
- To Mitsuzane. Unfortunately, Kouta doesn't realize this, and Micchy starts to degenerate after Kouta stops paying attention to him before renouncing his friendship with Kouta completely.
- Mr. Vice Guy: While still a good person, becoming Gaim corrupted him for a stretch and made Pride and money his main vices. He gets over it after Zangetsu roughs him up pretty badly.
- Mundane Utility: Deconstructed. Episode 2 has him fail at using Gaim's power to find a job. Sure, Super-Strength and increased agility would be very useful in everyday life... but when that involves putting on incredibly bulky Power Armor, the everyday part becomes a little sketchier.
- Nice Guy: He's generally friendly and both his first scenes (his Wizard Early-Bird Cameo and in the series itself) involve helping out kids.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He tells Takatora about the Overlords, which leads Takatora to believe that the world can be saved without sacrifice and prompts his team to follow suit. That's when Takatora realizes that his companions were planning on betraying him the whole time.
- No One Could Survive That!: Revealed in #44 that the injury he received from Micchy could have killed him.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Both Kaito and Sid have exploited this to get him to do what they want.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
- He does this to a Kamikiri Inves in #28 in a fit of rage and despair after Micchy tricks Kouta into thinking Takatora betrayed him. What's really disturbing is that Kouta does this of his own free will without any Superpowered Evil Side. Even he has limits to what he can take.
- Does this again in #41 to Redyue after she backstabbed Rosyuo.
- No Place for Me There: In #40, Redyue tries to convince Kouta that he's no longer human and can never fit in with them again; while Sagara tells Mai the same thing about him. Both Kouta and Mai admit the truth in that, but — to Redyue's shock and Mai's horror — that changes nothing and Kouta continues to fight for a world he can never belong to anyways.
- Not a Game: The reason why he quits in #4. After being crushed by Zangetsu, he realizes that fighting could get him killed and it scares the crap out of him.
- Not Quite Dead: Twice. The first one is when Micchy seemingly killed him in #43, only for it to be a Deliberate Injury Gambit. The second one is when Megahex killed him in Movie War Full Throttle. Turns out, he has some preparations in case he's killed, as his soul is stored inside the Kiwami Lockseed...
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Does this to Micchy on a regular basis.
- One-Man Army:
- Whenever he uses Suika Arms even swarms of full powered Inves become mere mooks to him.
- With Kachidoki Arms, he turned an entire battalion of Kurokage Troopers into mere cannon fodder. He later turns three automated Suika Arms (courtesy of Sid's special Lockseed) into scrap metal.
- Only Sane Man:
- He's initially the only person who points out how dangerous the Inves are and wonders where they come from; everyone else just accepts such an oddity.
- He's also the only person, besides Takatora, who realizes that Bravo could be bad news.
- Seems to be a defining trait for Kouta. He is seemingly the only Rider (besides perhaps Zack) with his head on completely straight, lacking any villainous or anti-hero tendencies.
- Pals with Jesus: Downplayed. He's suspicious of Sagara, but Sagara seems to favor him to win, and Kouta has little issue accepting his help.
- The Power of Friendship: Talks about this to Micchy after the battle in #43.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: "This is my stage now!"
- Pride: Becoming Gaim made his ego steadily grow until Zangetsu severely deflated it in #4.
- The Promise: Mai makes him promise to find his own personal goal in life after everything's over.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: Subverted in #36. Kouta tries to rationalize that Micchy is not evil, just misguided. Kaito puts a stop to this line of thinking, pointing out how hypocritical it would be for Micchy to get special treatment just because he is Kouta's friend.
- Razor-Sharp Hand: In the final battle against Kaito, he punches through his sword before using it against him.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: As a result of the Kiwami Lockseed turning him into an Overlord, he gains these whenever he uses his Overlord powers. Word of advice, if he does this, you'd better run.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Kaito's blue, despite their suit's colors, with Kouta being more passionate and Hot-Blooded in personality and fighting style.
- Ron the Death Eater: In-Universe example. Micchy, grasping at straws for a reason to hate Kouta, decides that Kouta is willing to kill Mai to get the Forbidden Fruit.
- Say My Name: KAITO!
- Screw Destiny: He gives Woman of the Beginning (Mai) this speech to help snap her out of her cynicism.
- Secret-Keeper: Mitsuzane convinces him to keep Yuya's death a secret from Mai. Kouta's not happy with this and ultimately tells her the truth.
- Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: He never gives a damn about cynicism, regardless of what people like Sid and Takatora say.
- Sitcom Archnemesis: To Oren early on, before the latter's Jerkassery becomes more serious.
- Smarter Than You Look: Many people write Kouta off as an Idiot Hero — especially Micchy — but he's actually one of the more philosophical and insightful members of the cast.
- Spanner in the Works: Yggdrasil would've easily had its way with the entire world if Kouta hadn't gotten the Sengoku Driver. This leads to him basically screwing over their entire plan because someone with actual morals became a Rider.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: In-Universe example, with Mai pointing out that by him doing everything for Team Gaim, everyone else has stopped contributing.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Even after finding out that Micchy is evil, he still sympathizes with him, thinking that he's just lost his way due to all the lies he's told.
- Take a Third Option: Kouta is obviously a follower of the Neutral Path.
- This culminates in #46 when he becomes the Man of the Beginning. He has two options: either let Helheim take over the earth, or stop Helheim and die. He chose a third option, letting Helheim run free on a dying planet.
- Taught by Experience: Kouta has become noticeably better at fighting as the series goes on. Where he originally couldn't even stand against Bravo without help, he actually holds him off on his own later on and even beats him with the help of Jimber Arms. He then proceeds to wipe the floor with all the Energy Riders (except Takatora's Zangetsu Shin), pointing out that the beatdowns he got from them were in a way experience needed for their rematch.
- Theme Music Powerup: Gets it sporadically, such as in #17 and #21, but it really comes to the fore in #41 and #45 with
"Ranbu Escalation". Interestingly it does not always play, but one can argue it comes up when his tenacity and determination seems to be rising up to uphold his ideals. - These Hands Have Killed: His reaction after learning he killed Yuya.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: He ascribes to this trope wholeheartedly... too bad his hands are covered in blood due to him killing countless Inves who were once sentient beings, on top of killing Yuya.
- He sticks with this after he found out the truth about Yuya: even when he has several chances to kill Sid, he never takes any of them.
- Averted with the Overlords. Kouta does try to reason with them, but he becomes willing to use lethal force against them once he realizes just how monstrous Demushu and Redyue are.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: In #22 when he finds out he personally killed Yuya. Can't blame the guy.
- Took a Level in Badass: Due to spending his time fighting as a Kamen Rider, it's revealed later that he's able to hold his own against the Kurokage Troopers along with Kaito in #15, as well as beating the stuffing out of a larger adult criminal in #21, both cases untransformed, showing that he's become quite the fighter.
- Transformation Is a Free Action: Averted, but not in the sense that he's vulnerable during it: Kouta's one of the few Riders to weaponize his Transformation Sequence. It gives out a burst of energy that defends him from attacks, and the Armor Parts that drop from the portal can actually hurt, which he's used as a ball to kick the enemy for a distraction. He's also used his orange armor as more than just armor: he can convert it into a spinning helmet that can fend off attacks, and can even transform it into a spinning shield on his hand. With Kiwami Arms, all the fruits can swarm the enemy in a metallic barrage.
- Übermensch: Becomes one in #23, rejecting the hopeless solutions of the other Riders and choosing an ideal path above moral compromise. He wants to destroy the very rule of the universe that demands sacrifice in exchange for hope.
- The Unchosen One: Unlike most other Riders who are part of Yggdrasill or were handpicked by Sid, Kouta found his Driver in Helheim Forest (dropped by Yuya, who Sid did pick). The difference really shows, since Kouta's moral compass is much stronger than any other Riders'.
- Unknown Rival: In a weird way, he has this situation going on with Micchy. Micchy has become increasingly evil and bitter towards Kouta over the course of the series, to the point that he's now secretly attempting to kill him as Zangetsu Shin II. Kouta has absolutely no idea that this is the case and still thinks Micchy is his best friend... until the Internal Reveal in #35, when Micchy reveals his hatred of Kouta and attempts to kill him again.
- Unwitting Pawn:
- Subverted. He's perfectly aware that DJ Sagara might be manipulating him, but goes along with it because he gets power ups out of it.
- Played straight in #26 where Mitsuzane, Kaito, and Minato manipulate him to find the Overlords.
- Victor Gains Loser's Powers: Snags Sid's Cherry Energy Lockseed after defeating him in #21.
- Western Zodiac: In #6, he's revealed to be an Aquarius (born January 30). Oren irrationally hates him for this.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gets called out by Mai, Akira, and Kaito during #3 for their own reasons:
- Mai complains that he is seeking all the attention that comes from being an Armored Rider as well as taking all responsibility from the team, leading them to become lazy with their dancing.
- Akira lectures him for quitting his jobs just to have fun with his friends. While he is earning a lot of money from Inves battles, she believes that his previous jobs (painting buildings and delivering food) were better since they helped other people and society, instead of just making him and his friends happy.
- Kaito confronts him for "just" using his powers to defend Team Gaim's own territory, rather than try to take over other teams' areas. Kaito considers this a waste and criticizes Kouta for not seeking "true power". Considering that Kaito is a Jerkass, though...
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Kouta starts out as one, but increasingly gets put through the wringer over the course of the series. Fortunately, he hangs on to his optimism and becomes a more mature Ideal Hero.
- Wild Card: Sagara outright calls him one in #32.
- Worf Had the Flu: During his fight with Lord Baron in #44, he was still suffering from his wound from his battle with Ryugen Yomi.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: He initially thinks he's in a pretty light-hearted Kamen Rider show where there's just a lack of communication between characters in conflict with one another. He's completely wrong. For one, he thinks the Overlords would be easy to talk to, but one chat with Demushu reveals that he got everything he got from Sagara wrong. Second, he, along with some of the other Riders, thinks Micchy got manipulated by the Overlords and that's why he's being an antagonist to them, as opposed to what really happened.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Every time it looks like Kouta is going to get some real help in stopping Helheim or Yggdrasill, something happens that makes said ally betray him like Kaito and Micchy or something horrible happens to said ally like Takatora being disposed of by the other Yggdrasill Riders.
- In #35, Kouta finds out that Micchy, his best friend and one of the people that he trusts without question, hates him and has been trying to murder him for the last several episodes. Also, he's about to do it again, so Kouta had to act fast.
Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Gaim
Soiya! Orange Arms! Hanamichi on Stage!note
Soiya! Mix! Orange Arms! Hanamichi on stage!note Jimber Lemon! Ha-Ha!
Soiya! Kachidoki Arms! Iza Shutsujin! Ei, Ei, Oh!note
Lock Open! Kiwami Arms! Dai, Dai, Dai, Dai, Dai Shogun!note
- Abnormal Ammo: In a manner similar to Gilgamesh, Kouta is capable of using the summonable weapons in Kiwami Arms as ammunition, regardless of their original function.
- All Your Powers Combined: In Kiwami Arms, he can use the weapons of every single Armored and New Generation Rider.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: As Gaim Yami, he is most definitely not himself and is capable of putting the hurt into others.
- Combat Pragmatist: Best shown when he just shoots his opponent with his Musou Saber when he has them in a blade lock.
- Confusion Fu: He didn't really know how to use his powers at first, so his style was really sporadic and weird until around #9 or #10.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Gaim was the first Armored Rider because Gaim means Armored Warrior. So he's... Armored Rider Armored Warrior.
- Dual Wield: Gaim usually dual wields Musou Saber and Daidaimaru. Due to the Saber’s nature as a side weapon, in theory, this trope is in play with most of the transformation Lockseeds. Kiwami Arms also lets him dual wields Arm Weapons.
- Everything's Better with Samurai: Gaim's motif is samurai.
- Finishing Move:
- Orange Arms:
- Squash: Can perform the Burai Kick. After jumping into the air, he's engulfed by orange energy passing through a line of orange slices with a high concentration of orange energy focused on his right foot as he strikes the target with a powerful kick. Alternatively, he can perform his Daidai Ittou note by charging his Daidaimaru with energy before unleashing a series of slashes on the target.
- Musou Saber: When the Orange Lockseed is in place, Gaim performs the Orange Musou Zan note by charging the weapon with orange-shaped energy producing an effect of sparks around it before he slashes the enemy. When combined with the Daidaimaru, he can perform the Naginata Musou Slicer note by firing energy slashes from the Musou Saber end at the enemy, trapping them in an orange sphere. Afterwards, he charges the Daidaimaru end with energy before slashing the enemy with it.
- Pine Arms:
- Squash: Iron Breaker. Gaim kicks the Pine Iron at the opponent, growing it if he needs it to. Once the Pine Iron is attached to the opponent's head, he strikes the target with a powerful side kick.
- Au Lait : Pine Musou Zan.note Gaim restrains the opponent with the Pine Iron and charges the Musou Saber with pineapple-shaped energy before slashing the enemy.
- Ichigo Arms: Kunai Burst. Gaim locks the Ichigo Lockseed into the Musou Saber and unleashes a giant energy-shaped strawberry that explodes into countless amounts of kunai that rain down on the enemy.
- Suika Arms: Twin Bladed Slice. Activating the Squash function, Gaim traps the target in a watermelon energy ball, and slashes the "watermelon" all over until the energy ball blows up, raining fire and "watermelon flesh" as the target is destroyed.
- Banana Arms:
- Au Lait: Gaim Banana Bullet. Gaim releases a spear-shaped energy beam from the Banaspear to thrust at the enemy.
- Sparking: Spear Victory. Gaim stabs the Banaspear to the ground, creating multiple banana projections that heavily damage the enemy on impact.
- 1go Arms: Squash: Gaim performs a Rider Kick, with holographic versions of Gaim in Orange Arms and Rider 1 appearing by his side.
- Drive Arms: Squash: Drift Slash. Gaim rides down a miniature road leading to his target, and slashes them upon contact.
- Fresh Orange Arms:
- Squash: Can perform a stronger version of the Burai Kick called Burai Fresh Kick. After jumping into the air, he's engulfed by orange energy passing through a line of orange slices with a high concentration of orange energy focused on his right foot as he strikes the target with a powerful kick.
- Au Lait: Musou Zan Fresh.note Gaim summons a series of sword beams from both his Musou Saber and Daidaimarus.
- Sparking: Musou Fresh Slicernote Gaim summons a immensely powerful sword beam from the Daidaimaru in Naginata Mode.
- Jimber Lemon Arms:
- Squash: Burai Kick. Gaim floats into the air and spins around. Afterwards, he uses the Sonic Arrow, powered by the Orange Lockseed, to create an alternating row of lemon slices and orange slices, which appear in a line in front of the target, before initiating a powerful kick by leaping through the line of slices and passing through each one before he hits the target.
- Au Lait: Using the energy from the Orange Lockseed and Lemon Energy Lockseed, he uses it into his Sonic Arrow when he executes a spinning lemon projectile slash against his target.
- Sonic Arrow: Gaim locks the Lemon Energy Lockseed into the Sonic Arrow, activates the Squash function on his Sengoku Driver and pulls the Sonic Arrow back to its fullest width. All the energy then pools into the arrowhead of the Sonic Arrow, making an alternating row of orange slices and lemon slices appear to form a line in front of the target. Once the charge is done, he lets go, sending a bolt of great power, fueled by the power of both the Orange Lockseed and Lemon Energy Lockseed to pass through the line of slices, slamming into the target.
- Kachidoki Arms:
- Kachidoki Chargenote : Gaim fires a large ball of energy at the enemy.
- Hinawa Daidai Musou Zannote : Gaim ignites the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju in flames before slashing it against an enemy.
- Flags Wild Dance: Gaim slashes an enemy with the Kachidoki Bata.
- Kiwami Arms:
- Squash: Can perform the Burai Kick. After jumping into the air, he's engulfed by pure energy as he strikes the target with a powerful kick. With the Banaspear, he can perform variants of the Spear Victory by either stabbing the Banaspear to the ground, creating multiple banana projections that heavily damage the enemy on impact, or releasing a spear-shaped energy beam from the Banaspear to thrust at the enemy.
- Au Lait: Gaim performs the Hinawa Daidai Musou Zan by surrounding the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju with energy surrounded by image projections of fruits before slashing it against an enemy, scattering the projections in the progress.
- Fruits Basket Charge: Gaim fires a powerful blast surrounded by a projection of multiple fruits at the enemy, which envelopes and annhilates the target.
- Orange Arms:
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Gaim can use any of the basic Arms Weaponsnote , the Musou Saber, Sonic Arrow, and DJ Ju in Kiwami Arms. Additionally, the CSM version of the Kiwami Lockseed also shows that he can theorically wield the additional Arms Weapons in post-series material.
- Improvised Weapon: The orange that appears during the transformation sequence can actually be used as a weapon. First shown in #2. The crossover movie Kamen Rider Taisen shows him using it as an improvised shield, and then using the giant strawberry from Ichigo Arms as a weapon.
- The Juggernaut:
- Whenever he uses Suika Arms. Not even a literal army of Inves could stop him.
- Done again with Kachidoki arms. An entire army of Kurokage troopers barraged him with bullets. He took absolutely no damage, and then proceeded to decimate ALL of them right after.
- Kiai: just like Eiji, whenever he does a finisher...Kouta: SEIHAAAA!
- Katanas Are Just Better: The Daidaimaru note in Orange Arms.note
- Mix-and-Match Weapon: The default Musou Saber note sidearm can combine with some of his other weapons and their Lockseeds for extra power, and the WizarSwordGun in Wizard Arms.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: The Jimber Armsnote and Kachidoki Arms.
- Mini-Mecha: His Suika Arms can assume 3 different modes.
- Be the Ball: Odama Mode, which folds up into a giant watermelon with Gaim inside and rolls around crushing anyone in its path.
- Flight: Gyro Mode. In this mode, Gaim can also fire seed-like bullets from the fingertips.
- Powered Armor: Yoroi Mode, the warrior form where Gaim is equipped with this Arms' personal weapon.
- Orange/Blue Contrast: In his Orange, Fresh Orange, and Kachidoki Arms.
- Paint It Black: As Gaim Yami, most of his armor, including his lockseeds are painted black.
- Protagonist Powerup Privileges: He has four standard Lockseeds (Orange, Pine, Ichigo, and Suika) compared to other Riders' one or two, and three Energy Lockseeds (Lemon, Cherry, and Peach) on top of that. Kouta is also the only Rider in the series that able to use the Energy Lockseeds to form Jimber Arms, and is also the only Rider to have forms like Kachidoki and Kiwami Arms.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works:
- Showing how much more badass Kouta has become, he throws his Musou Saber at an Inves that has tackled Ryugen while Ryugen and the Inves were riding on a motorcycle and successfully impaled said Inves without hurting Ryugen.
- In Kiwami Arms, he can launch the Arms Weapons, Gate of Babylon-style.
- Took a Level in Badass: He's been steadily growing in skill over the course of the show.
- Took a major increase in #23 when he gets Kachidoki.
- Upon receiving Kiwami Arms, Kouta is able to effortlessly destroy Demushu.
- In #41, he is able to defeat Redyue by using his new Overlord powers.
Tropes exclusive to him as the Man of the Beginning (MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD)
I will protect this world... and this future!
- Big Good:
- After he became an Overlord alongside Mai, Kouta acts as this to the Armored Riders of Earth, such as providing guidance, restoring their powers, or providing them with new power-ups when needed.
- In a way, he acts like this whenever he shows up in future crossovers, usually intervening in a major way to help the current Rider in a way only he could, such as effortlessly retrieving Mr. Belt so Drive can join the fight against Dr. Pac-Man, destroying the Enigma Machina's invisibility barrier, or giving Sougo advice that is a major reason the Bad Future is prevented in the end. Each of these is instrumental to the day being saved whether directly or indirectly.
- Bishōnen Line: After Kouta eats the Forbidden fruit in #46, it turns him into a white haired and silver armored version of himself (looking an awful lot like Kiwami Arms without the helmet), while gaining godlike powers in the process. This makes his most powerful form the most human looking of them all, which is only appropriate, showing that he only lost his physical humanity, but nothing else of it, in his becoming an Overlord and then the Man of the Beginning.
- But Now I Must Go: At the end of #46 he and Mai depart, taking with them all of Helheim that invaded Earth. But since he has god powers, he can come back anytime he wants.
- Crazy-Prepared: In the crossover movie with Drive, it was revealed that Kouta has his soul stored inside the Kiwami Lockseed. If he's dead, he will be revived if anyone (except Obviously Evil characters like Megahex) opens the Kiwami Lockseed.
- Creating Life: Is capable of this after obtaining the Forbidden Fruit, as Rosyuo showed. He chooses to use this to go to a dead world and start life from scratch.
- Deity of Human Origin: In the end of the series, he obtains the Forbidden Fruit and becomes a god. He then becomes a literal god by going to a dead world and beginning life from scratch. Following crossovers outright refer to him as a god, both from him and other characters.
- Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: In #46, Kouta surprises Sagara by relocating Helheim to a lifeless planet so he doesn't have to destroy the Earth. Sagara is pleasantly surprised.
- A God Am I: A rather benevolent example upon becoming the Man of the Beginning. In Movie War Full Throttle, his first meeting with Shinnosuke even made Kouta to refer himself as a space god.My name is Kouta Kazuraba. I'm... well you can say that I'm a space god.
- God Is Good: In the end of the series, he chooses to use the Forbidden Fruit to become the god of a new world, the sort of world Kaito desired: one where its people don't seek the power to oppress the weak and none are trampled. Crossovers show he still remembers the Earth and keeps watch over it.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: While his hair changed to blonde after becoming a god, he's still the same Kouta that we know.
- Humanoid Abomination: As he's an Overlord, he is considered one, only more noble though.
- Physical God: He wins the competition and gets the Forbidden Fruit. An example of his power is opening a dimensional rip to a dying planet and taking all of Helheim. He maintains this status in appearances in crossovers, with him and other characters outright calling him a god.
- Power Dyes Your Hair: After getting the Forbidden Fruit, his hair goes blond too.
- Story-Breaker Team-Up: By the end of the series, Gaim has essentially become a literal Physical God. The powers he has demonstrated or is implied to have include teleportation, barrier creation, energy manipulation, regeneration, warping/space time across the actual universe and spontaneous life generation on a planetary scale. This should make him arguably the most powerful Rider in the franchise (with only Evol, Decade after his series, or the supporting information for Ultimate Kuuga suggesting someone as strong). But in all subsequent appearances he's essentially on par with any other Rider, whether he's using Kiwami Arms or not. This can of course be easily explained narratively as if he wasn't depowered to a more "normal" level in his crossover cameos, he'd either overshadow the Riders who were the actual story focus or be a hanging plot hole of "why isn't Kouta fixing this?"
- Justified in the finale he's clearly holding back and could've easily destroyed Jam by himself but wants Micchy to become a hero again in his own right. This in turn suggests that he holds back during other crossovers for similar reasons, particularly when the only villain in crossovers to actually pose any threat at all to Gaim is Megahex, another god tier being on par with him.
- Even while being portrayed as a "normal" Rider, he still does obviously extreme things far beyond the norm (such as traveling to the World of Build entirely under his own power and destroying the invisibility shield protecting Bikaiser's Doomsday Device then sending the huge machine reeling with a single kick untransformed.)
- In Zi-O it's averted as, while not immune to the effects of time manipulation, he's got some resistance and when restored by the destruction of Another Gaim, has access to his full array of powers.
- It also somewhat makes sense in that while Gaim is powerful beyond any human and most Riders, his godlike abilities aren't quite to the point of just being able to snap his fingers and wipe his enemies from existence. And much of his powers involve the manipulation of the Forest of Helheim and its Inves, something he's not likely to want to bring to the Earth again even if he's controlling it this time just to be on the safe side.
- Vocal Evolution: After becoming the Man of the Beginning, he takes on a wise and dignified tone of voice.
- Walking Spoiler: To see the ending of Gaim, you must know this. Otherwise the folder would be white like Kouta's armor.
- Willfully Weak: Comparably speaking. In the finale he's clearly more than capable of curbstomping Jam himself (as he beat Jam's full power form Mars in a weaker state), but doesn't and instead supports Ryugen so he can redeem himself and become their hometown's hero while Kouta is on the other side of the universe. It's somewhat implied he's also performing this trope in crossovers barring Megahex (who was equal to him and thus he required Drive's help to gain the upper hand); as despite appearing relatively on par with the other Riders, he's still shown doing things like effortlessly retrieving Drive's gear from the sealed, deep underground Drive Pit, traveling to the World Of Build and back completely under his own power, and destroying the Enigma machine's invisibility shield and sending the massive robotic hand reeling with a single kick untransformed.
