Characters / Kamen Rider Ryuki 13 Riders

Main Character Index | 13 Riders | Others

This is a partial character sheet for Kamen Rider Ryuki. Visit here for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.

"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 Fight... 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 in General

General Tropes

• Animal Motifs: Each Riders are modelled after the Contract Monsters they're associated with.
• Bond Creature: Each Kamen Rider has a Contract Monster which can be summoned in battle to assist them.

Main Riders

Shinji Kido/Kamen Rider Ryuki

Shinji Kido/Kamen Rider Ryuki

Portrayed by: Takamasa Suga (live), Seiji Takaiwa (suit)

"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, going to every stall". He is a shining optimist who believes in the best in people, even in some of the worst he encounters. He is a little slow and clumsy, and is very simplistic. His main flaw is that he wants everyone to be happy; he struggles with situations where one person must lose for another person to gain.

So naturally, these qualities would make Shinji the worst kind of candidate for Kanzaki's Rider War. In fact, 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 soon finds himself 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 suffers a mortal wound while protecting a young girl during the Raydragoons' invasion of the real world. His last act encouraged Ren to face Odin.

Yet Shinji's efforts were not in vain. Whenever he failed, Shiro Kanzaki would reset time, trying to change the Rider War. Despite not being chosen by Kanzaki, Shinji would somehow become Ryuki each and every time, and would constantly oppose Shiro's plans. Shinji's dogged determination, his actions over the course of several wars and finally his words to Shiro that Yui wanted the war to end for his own sake eventually broke Shiro's obsession. Shiro reset time one last time, to a world where the Rider War never existed. Without him ever knowing, Shinji Kido changed the fates of the Riders, and stopped the fighting for good.

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Accidental Murder: Thinks he committed this on Zolda when Kitaoka and Goro try to force him to drop out of the Rider War.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: While Shinji's backstory in the series itself is bare bones, fitting with his status as The Everyman, some adaptations and stories decide to give him a new backstory to make him more tragic or involved with the plot such as Episode Final making him a part of Yui's backstory or a SIC story arc giving him a twin brother who died when he was young.
• All-Loving Hero: Like many Kamen Rider protagonists, he is willing to use his powers to help the innocent instead of using it for selfish reasons. He was even willing to help Asakura defeat a trio of Mirror Monsters to feed his Contract Monsters, and immediately helped Imperer after he was betrayed by Tiger, despite being attacked by the former just moments before.
• Batman Grabs a Gun:
  • Is determined to never fatally harm anyone, even Takeshi, but was forced to do so against his Mirror World self.
• Beware the Honest Ones: Shinji's honest nature makes him unpredictable. His friend and skilled fortune teller Tezuka/Raia has pointed this out.
  • He is perceived as this by Takamizawa/Verde in 13 Riders because his goodhearted fumbling threatens the status quo. It leads to him gathering the other Riders for collective attack, basically an extermination of Shinji, for the sake of mantaining 'order'.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's a Nice Guy, but if his enemies (especially Asakura) would pushed him too far, he's determined to stop them.
• Blood from the Mouth: Coughs up blood after being dealt a mortal wound by a Raydragoon in #49. It's one of the big indicators that his time has come.
• Blue Is Heroic: Usually seen wearing a blue coat in his civilian guise.
• Bolivian Army Ending: Goes through this in both the Episode Final ending, and the "Join the Fight" ending of the 13 Riders Special.
• Break the Cutie: The last episodes are firmly dedicated to making Shinji's life suck. His Wide-Eyed Idealist beliefs were already shaky after finding out the other Riders' motive for conflict. It only became worse when he found out that Yui would die on her twentieth birthday, giving him only one month to solve things. He actually starts seeking out other Riders to fight, even Ren and Kitaoka, yet he can't find himself to finish them. In the end, he finally affirms his desire to close the Mirror World... and he dies right after.
• Butt-Monkey: Whether it's working at ORE Journal, trying to stop the Rider War or getting along with Ren, poor Shinji can never catch a break. Even in the new timeline where the Rider War never happened, life has its fair share of hardships in store for him.
  • 13 Riders is an especially bad case of this. Throughout the special, he tries and utterly fails to convince any of the other Riders to stop fighting, resulting in them ganging up on him to preserve order (although Ren later defects and joins forces with him). Neither of the two possible endings make matters any better. In the first ending, he dies fighting the other Riders. In the second, he attempts to stop the war by destroying a special mirror in the Mirror World but goes insane upon realizing that his efforts were in vain.
• Character Tic: Before he enters the mirror world, he pumps his fist and says "Yosha!" Saying Yosha itself also counts.
• Classical Anti-Hero: As the series progress, Shinji is racked with guilt over the victims of the Rider War.
• Determinator: Even suffering temporary lapses in memory while going through a time travel trip won't stop him from laying a single hit on Kamen Rider Odin.
  • Despite suffering a mortal wound from a Mirror Monster, he spends the last of his energy with Ren decimating an entire army of Mirror Monsters before expiring.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Despite dying, Shinji's wish is granted: Thanks to him delaying the end of the Rider War, Kanzaki has an epiphany and ended up undoing the War, reviving all of its victims, including Shinji himself.
• The Everyman: For both his own series and the entire FRANCHISE. Where every single protagonist before Shinji had some tragic past that defined them, Shinji was just a normal guy who accidentally stumbled into the Rider War. Because AND despite the fact that he had nothing to lose or gain by entering, he gave his all to save others. This even extends to his powers: He's a Jack of All Stats.
  • Some alternative stories like The Movie or S.I.C. stories try to avert this by giving him a tragic past (An S.I.C. Story gave a twin brother who died in his youth and later got resurrected to become Ryuga) or a connection to the forces (The Movie made him a part of Yui's backstory), but in the series proper he's just an ordinary guy who happened to find the deck and kept fighting because of his sense of justice.
• Friend to All Children: Unsurprisingly, Shinji is quite fond of children, with three episodes show him saving little girls. One in particular, #19, has him risk his life in order to comfort Chika, a little girl being held hostage by Asakura, secretly playing dolls with her from afar to calm her down and staying with her as Asakura releases everyone else but holds her for insurance. He's even shown holding her hand after being rescued.
  • In a way, it's ultimately what gets him killed as he sacrifices his life to save a young girl in the penultimate episode.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Sports a shorter hairstyle come #41.
• Final Speech/Last Words: Shares some in the penultimate episode of the series.
  Shinji: I think I've found a bit of an answer... but I don't think I'll make it. I've been thinking since yesterday.... and I couldn't figure it out... but I thought just now... I really do want to close the Mirror World and stop the fighting. I'm sure it'd cause me and others a lot of grief... but I still want to stop it. It's not about whether it's right or wrong. As a Rider, I also have a wish I wanted granted, and this is it.
  • Killed Mid-Sentence: His true final words are him weakly attempting to speak to Ren before he dies mid-sentence.
  Ren: Kido, don't die! Don't die!!
  Shinji: Who'd have thought you'd speak to me like that.
  Ren: Hey! ....Hey!!
  Shinji: It's a little...
• Foil: Shinji is excitable, more prone to jump into situations without thinking things through, and fighting solely to save other people. Ren is quiet, less willing to get involved into the affairs of others, and (initially) fights in order to save a personal relation of his. However, they both protect innocent civilians whenever possible.
  • Their contrast extends to their character development. Where Shinji's character development ultimately leads him to understanding why the various Riders involved themselves in the Rider War, Ren's character development is about him confronting his reasons for joining the Rider War against his own sense of morality.
• The Hero: The titular Rider of this series.
• Heroic BSoD: Goes through this after believing he killed Zolda (whom he believed to be Goro). This caused him to fall into a deep depression and nearly gets him eaten by Dragredder.
  • Also goes through this in The Movie when he learns that the entire Rider War essentially begun because he didn't keep his promise to Yui when they were children. As a result, Ryuga is able to possess his body until he snaps out of it.
  • In the 13 Riders Special's non-canonical ending, Shinji breaks the Core Mirror to stop the Rider War. However, this only ends up temporarily delaying the Rider War, and he ends up breaking down in the middle of a crowded street.
• The Hero Dies: Near the end of the series, he ends up sacrificing his life to save the life of a young girl, though this ended up being reversed thanks to Yui telling her brother to stop the War.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Averted. Shinji is afraid of dogs actually ducking behind Yui to hide from a shiba. This is actually something he has in common with Ren.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Tries to see the good in everyone, even Asakura to an extent. This also includes a corrupt cop who plastered his partner into a wall, a rich kid who thought it'd be fun to get people to kill each other, and a guy who believes he can be a hero by sacrificing other people. That said, he did get it right with Ren, Kitaoka, and Miho.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: By the end of the war, he feels like useless, unable to save anyone or get anyone to listen to him. It's entirely because of him and his idealism that the happy ending was able to take place.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He came to have this relationship with Ren as the Rider War progressed.
• Idiot Hero: He's not very smart, nor is he that good at judging people. For all that, he can be pretty good at fighting with unusual tactics.
• Intrepid Reporter: Tries to become one, though it's hard to be one when he has to be a Rider as well.
• Indy Ploy: Another part of his fighting style. Despite having a very average deck, he thinks up unusual ways of dealing with his enemies that allowed him to survive the majority of the war.
  Tezuka: You really are unpredictable, aren't you?
• Jerkass Ball: Though it's understandable from how poorly Ren treats him, in #4 Shinji accuses Ren of feeding children to Darkwing, given Ren's near relentless desire to win the Rider War. This gets him a What the Hell, Hero? moment from Yui.
• Last Stand: In the penultimate episode, he is stabbed in the back by a Raydragoon and suffers a mortal wound. Despite this, he still transforms to help Ren fend off the army of Mirror Monsters attacking the real world and shortly after succumbs to his injuries.
  • It's also implied that this is the nature of the final scene in The Movie, with him and Ren facing off an impossibly large number of Mirror Monsters.
  • Shinji really can't catch a break. In the 13 Riders Special's canonical ending, Shinji faces off against the remaining Riders, all of whom are getting their Final Vents ready.
• Legacy Character: In the 13 Riders special, he inherited his deck from the original Ryuki, Koichi Sakakibara. Later in that same special, he took up the mantle of Kamen Rider Knight after Ren’s death.
• Leitmotif: "Hopeless Shinji" is a leitmotif that plays whenever Shinji does something idiotic.
• Mythology Gag: His Henshin pose is Rider Ichigo's signature cross arm.
• Naïve Newcomer: He didn't become a Rider to get a wish, he became a Rider to protect people.
• Nice Guy: For all his simple-mindedness, Shinji is incredibly nice. He constantly tries to stop the fighting, tries to see the best in people even with a serial killer and dedicated his becoming a Rider to protect people from Mirror Monsters.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The 13 Riders has two endings with Shinji either choosing to join the Rider Battle or choosing to stop it. While Shinji is likely killed in the former by the other Riders, the latter is arguably worse despite Shinji choosing to stick with his principles. It turns out that his attempts are futile and he ultimately goes mad from the realization.
• Note to Self: After his failure in warning others of the incoming future to change the outcome of the Rider War, he fills his entire office and room with notes that all read "When you see gold feathers, punch behind you", to Okubo and Yui's dismay. It succeeds and manages to shock Odin, proving Shinji as a Spanner in the Works though Odin No Sells the attack.
• Real Men Cook: Is apparently good enough with gyoza to impress a professional butler like Goro.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Ren's blue. Extends to their Rider form where Ryuki is a red-colored fighter with a moveset more grounded in his offensive capabilities, while Knight is a navy blue-colored fighter who focuses on skill and technique.
• Reluctant Warrior: He'll fight Mirror Monsters, but is reluctant to fight Riders.
• Right Man in the Wrong Place: Shinji's entire place in the war: a completely normal guy with no wish and no desire to fight somehow managed to find an Advent Deck and become a Kamen Rider. This is justified because all the other Riders were picked specifically because they would have a reason to fight, and Shinji can somehow resist Shiro's Time Vent due to not being picked.
• Spanner in the Works: It seems that Shinji's entire existence is this trope. No matter what Shiro Kanzaki does or how many times use pushes his Reset Button with Time Vent, Shinji somehow manages to become Ryuki every time. Because of this, he manages to get the Riders to delay or even stop their fighting, preventing Shiro from ever reviving Yui at the cost of the lives of the Riders. Eventually, after many different timelines of having his idealism broken, Shinji finally wins in the end, with Shiro erasing the Rider War from existence. Being who he is, he does all of this without even knowing it.
• 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.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Probably the most morally upright Rider in the cast, and ends up dying in the penultimate episode.
• Took a Level in Badass: Throughout the war Shinji slowly gets better and better at fighting. Towards the middle, he manages to fend off monsters untransformed and even defeated Asakura before the man contracted other monsters. And then he gets the Survive card, faces more foes and tragedy, which strengthen his resolve. By the end, he becomes powerful enough to threaten Odin, and even take on an entire ARMY of Raydragoons while mortally wounded.
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Justified since he generally isn't attacked outside the Mirror World (Aside from the one time Asakura broke his arm). Transforming into Survive Form surrounds him with blazing flames, shielding him from attacks and enemies, thus also being justified.
• The Unchosen One: He was never meant to become a Rider. He just happened to find his Advent Deck after its intended wielder had already died and kept it out of a sense of obligation to save others. This made him the unpredictable element that eventually undoes the carefully laid plans of the Big Bad.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: He came to have this with Miho, acting like a married couple at times. Subverted in the novel, where they had sexual intercourse at one point.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: In Episode Final's timeline, he inadvertently becomes the catalyst of the Rider War when he doesn't play with Yui on a rainy day, causing her to go inside the Mirror World, die, and become a Rider.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is scared of dogs, a trait he shares with Ren of all people.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: He believes that using his powers as Ryuki is to protect humanity for the better while also trying to stop the fight between other Riders.
• Willfully Weak: By the end of the series, it's clear that Shinji has become the best fighter among the 13 Mirror Riders, only being hampered by his refusal to kill anyone.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Ryuki

• Badass Biker: Also rides a motorcycle while not transformed. Survive Form makes Dragreder into a Transforming Mecha called Dragranzer that can transform him into a bike.
• Breakable Weapons: Blank Form's Ride Saber breaks without leaving a scratch on the Monster of the Week.
• Cool Sword: Drag Saber, resembling Dragredder's tail. The upgraded Drag Visor-Zwei's extendable blade also counts.
• Dragon Knight: Shinji's aesthetic as Ryuki and the use of Dragreder in his attacks make him this. The Level 2 announcement for the Mirror Labyrinth Ryuki Gashat outright calls him a "Dragon Knight".
• Dragon Rider: While his normal form focuses on the Knight aspect, Survive Form's aesthetic is that of a Dragon Rider, made all the more appropriate when he can jump on his now evolved Dragranzer and have him transform into a bike.
• Empathic Weapon: Though not much comes from it, Shinji's Strike Vent Drag-Claw snarls at him when he first summons it, implying it's this. Justified since it's Dragreder's head.
• Evolution Powerup: Has three forms. Blank (initial form), Ryuki (via contract with Dragredder), and Ryuki Survive (powered-up by Survive card). Each form is vastly more powerful than the previous one.
• Finishing Move:
  • ''Dragon Rider Kick'': Ryuki jumps and delivers a Rider Kick powered by Dragredder's flames. Actually a Stealth Pun off his name.
  • ''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.
• Incendiary Exponent: During his Final Vent.
• Gun Blade: The Drag-Visor Zwei takes form of a gun, but has a sword mode via the Sword Vent card.
• Jack of All Stats: Ryuki has one of the most balanced decks among the riders, with two shields, a sword, and a projectile. His basic form is also this trope among the Evolution Powerup forms. This is even reflected in his Survive Form: His Drag-Visor Zwei is a gunblade that can be used as a sword or a marker for Meteor Bullet, and his Strange Vent can copy cards from other Riders.
• Joke Character: Blank Form, which barely keeps him alive until he contracts with Dragredder.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Drag Shield, which can be dual-wielded, attached to his the hardpoints all over his armor, and even used to ram.
• Meaningful Name: Ryuki means Dragon Knight, but could also mean Dragon Rider.
• Multi-Melee Master: As a balanced Rider, Shinji has three weapons in normal form: The Drag Saber, the DragClaw, and the Drag-Shields. Survive form replaces all three with the Drag Visor-Zwei for the first two and the Fire Wall for the latter.
• Playing with Fire: All of his special attacks are fire-based, given that his mon is a dragon.
• Power Copying: How Strange Vent works in the series, it randomly becomes another Vent Card outside Ryuki's arsenal, usually copying his foes in battle.
• Power Fist: His Strike Vent Drag-Claw. Rarely ever used as an actual gauntlet, but instead as a medium for Drag Reder's Drag-Fire. In crossovers and future appearances by alternate Shinjis, it could breathe fire without Dragreder's assistance.
• Red Is Heroic: The heroic red coloured main Rider of the series.
• Super Mode: Ryuki Survive, which changes his visor to the Drag Visor-Zwei, increases his stats and abilities even more, and evolves DragReder into Dragranzer, who can transform into a Cool Bike for his Final Vent.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: Drag Visor-Zwei has a folding blade on it, can shoot beams of light and can be used as a marker for the Meteor Bullet attack.
• 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.
  • Played Straight with Survive Form, wherein he suddenly has knowledge of all his new powers.

Ren Akiyama/Kamen Rider Knight

Ren Akiyama/Kamen Rider Knight

Portrayed by: Satoshi Matsuda (live), Makoto Ito (suit)

"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 the batlike 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 former 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, dying from the injuries he sustained afterward.

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Anti-Hero: While he doesn't want to see innocent people getting killed by Mirror Monsters, he is willing to get his hands dirty when it comes to his determination to win the Rider War.
• Badass Biker: One of surprisingly few Riders to ride a motorcycle in the real world.
• Badass Longcoat: It's Ren usual costume.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Makoto Hikawa. While both are the first Secondary Riders in the entire franchise, also being blue-colored and having been active before the titular Rider, they have different personalities and perspectives towards their respective protagonists: Hikawa being a heroic Rider who is a police detective and mostly gets along with Shouichi (unless if Hikawa's clumsiness is involved), whereas Ren is an anti-heroic loner who fights to ensure his girlfriend's recovery and for the most part, often clashes with Shinji (ranging from outright battling him to being a plain jerk to him), although near the end, acknowledges the lad as his friend.
• Deadpan Snarker: Ever since having met and fought Shinji, Ren often banters with him, even billing him ranging from the scene of Yui breaking a window glass to even for just being plain "annoying" to him.
• Defrosting Ice King: Ren's slow growth from an aloof loner to Shinji's closest ally and friend is one of the core arcs of the series.
• Deuteragonist: The Trope Codifier of the franchise. While Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider 2 and Joji Yuki/Riderman existed as Second Riders before him, neither appeared in their respective series' first set of episodes, with the former being the Arc Hero due to the absence of the main character and the latter appeared in the last arc of his home series. And while Makoto Hikawa/Kamen Rider G3 appeared from the very beginning of Kamen Rider Agito, he wasn't exactly the Deuteragonist. Appearing as a Rider even before Shinji, Ren's relationship with Shinji is one of the series' main focal points and they are generally treated as equals. Ren's Character Development drives most of the first half of the series, and he is one of only two Riders to share the same Final Form name with the Protagonist Rider (Survive Form, and even then he is the only one to use said Final Form in the series proper unlike Gatack Hyper Form). Even the series marketing acknowledges this with one of the final commercials taking the audience for following "Shinji and Ren", and the closing shot of the opening credits is them crossing swords with each other. Finally, Ren is the only case of a Secondary Rider outliving the main character and fighting the final villain within the franchise. While he later dies after the battle, both Shinji and Ren are brought back to life at the end, and one of the series' final shots is of the two seeming to recognize one another before parting ways.
• Death by Irony: That depends on whether you think he died at the end: Having discovered that he already killed people long ago and having lost his truest friend, Ren finally throws away his hesitancy to fight and kill... And dies right before he can see Eri again.
• Fountain of Expies: While Makoto precedes Ren as the Heisei era's first Secondary Rider, Ren has arguably been much more influential in how Secondary Riders are characterized. His role as an initially hostile figure who eventually warms up to the lead Rider is one of the most popular archetypes for Secondary Riders, and he has no less than four expies in the Heisei era's second phase.
  • Kaito Kumon/Kamen Rider Baron: The deuteragonist in a series featuring a Rider War whose primary motif is also knight wielding a lance. Kaito's hostile attitude towards Kouta is also reminiscent of Ren's attitude towards Shinji although Ren and Shinji never actually do end up fighting to the death.
  • Makoto Fukami/Kamen Rider Specter: Yet again a secondary Rider who is initially hostile to the Primary Rider. He initially shares a similar goal to Ren too in that he's trying to save the life of a loved one. Unlike Ren, he manages to accomplish his goal early in the series and from there becomes much friendlier.
  • Hiiro Kagami/Kamen Rider Brave: A knight-themed secondary Rider whose motivation stems from his dead lover.
  • Geiz Myokoin/Kamen Rider Geiz: A secondary Rider who is initially hostile to the primary Rider. He follows Ren's character development in that the main source of his internal conflict is how he's torn between wanting to kill the Kamen Rider and their growing friendship. Funnily enough, Geiz's Super Form is called Revive Shippu, while Ren uses the Survive Shippu to transform into his Super Form.
    • While coincidental, Geiz's and Ren's actors even physically resemble one another to the point that when Gaku Oshida (Geiz's actor) was actually mistaken for Satoshi Matsuda (Ren's actor) at one point. This eventually became an Ascended Meme in Rider Time Ryuki when Shinji briefly mistakes Geiz for Ren (to the point of having Satoshi Matsuda dressed in Geiz's outfit).
• Hero with an F in Good: Inverted. Much of Ren's conflict is due to him not being as cold-blooded as he needs to be in order to win the Rider War.
• Image Song: Lonely Soldier
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Has a very aloof and cold attitude, except to certain people like Eri or Yui, but he can warm up to people like Shinji, and his actions can contradict his attitude in a good way—while he claims Shinji's death would mean nothing to him, he always helps out when Shinji is in mortal peril.
• Love Makes You Crazy: His inner conflict stems from him wanting to save Eri by winning the Rider Fight, but being unable to actually kill another Rider. This drives him to do several irrational things throughout the series, such as allying with Asakura, in hopes of becoming more like him.
• Not So Above It All:
  • Was willing to get involved in Shinji's schemes to save Reiko and Shimada when they were kidnapped, and even wound up dressing as an office worker to spy on a suspect of his own accord.
  • He's afraid of dogs actually climbing onto a hand railing to avoid a shiba. This is actually something he has in common with Shinji.
  • When Sano attempts to hire him and Shinji to team up him by offering an exuberant amount of money, Ren spends the entire scene staring at the briefcase even reopening it after Shinji slams in it shut, seeming to be genuinely considering the idea.
• Pet the Dog: Occasionally does this for Shinji despite how much he annoys him. Most notably he tried to comfort him when he fought he killed Zolda and set of Kitaoka to expose his lies.
• Only Friend: In all 3 continuities (movie, TV special, series), Ren pretty much admits that Shinji is his only friend.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Shinji's red.
• Sole Survivor: He became the last Rider standing in the Rider War in the TV series timeline, only to die upon arriving at the hospital to see Eri's revival.
• Special Ability Shield: Kamen Rider Knight Survive's Darkvisor Zwei is a sword-and-shield combo, which he uses to activate his Advent Cards, and can even turn into an arm-mounted bow.
• The Stoic: He keeps a cold and aloof persona most of the time.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Over the series, he eventually comes to consider Shinji as a true friend and is very reluctant to kill him. He doesn't deny allegations of them working together when Imperer comes in, and where he originally would've strangled Shinji without hesitation, his final fights with him actually have him unable to raise a blade at him when his friend is ranting about what he should do to save everyone.
  Shinji: I won the last battle. You didn't fight seriously, did you?
  Ren: Saying yes or no wouldn't be good for me either way.
• Troll: Surprisingly, Ren seems to be quite fond of trolling his rivals (especially Shinji).
  • He maintains a running bill of annoyances Shinji has made against him, a fact which he gleefully reminds Shinji of on a number of occasions.
  • When Shinji was arrested on a murder charge, Ren took the opportunity to hold Shinji's imprisonment over his head, more for his own amusement than out of actual malice.
  • Tried to convince Sanako Kanzaki that Shinji was dangerous and a threat to Yui.
  • Mocked Kitaoka when he was being pursued by Megumi, claiming that it would mean one less Rider to worry about.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is afraid of dogs, to the point of backing away from one when it approaches.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Knight

• Badass Cape: Darkwing can attach to Ren to grant him this, which can defend him from attacks and allow him to fly. Survive Form has this by default.
• BFS: Wing Lancer, though technically, it's a Jousting Lance that Ren happens to use as a sword.
• Blow You Away: Knight Survive's Blust Vent has Darkraider launch two tornadoes. Using the card itself surrounds him with a barrier of wind.
• Cape Wings: Darkwing can be mounted onto Knight's back with his wings becoming a cape for Knight.
• Character Tic: Takes out his rapier and poses before jumping into the Mirror World.
• Cloak of Defense: His Guard Vent summons a cape to shield him from attacks.
• Doppelgänger Spin: Trick Vent allow him to create up to eight copies of himself.
• 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 wrapping darkness around Ren and itself and drilling into the enemy.
• Jousting Lance: In normal form, he has the Wing Lancer, a lance he uses as a sword and his Royal Rapier Dark-Visor. The Dark-Visor Zwei in Survive Form houses a sword and can transform into either a shield or a crossbow.
• Lightning Bruiser: Ren has a pretty versatile Deck. His Trick Vent provides him with clones to give him backup, he has a Sword Vent and his rapier to deal close range damage, Nasty Vent to help him GET close, a Guard Vent for sticky situations, and his Mirror Monster can attach to him to help him fly. Problem is, he has no long-range options. Survive Form takes away this weakness while making him even MORE powerful.
• Mix-and-Match Weapon: Similar to Ryuki Survive, the Dark Visor Zwei usually takes form of a crossbow, but Ren has the ability to turn it into a sword, usually on its own but it does have its own Sword Vent card.
• Royal Rapier: Dark Visor, which gives him a slight advantage over some others in that he doesn't have to use a card to have a weapon on hand.
• Super Mode: Knight Survive.
• Super-Scream: Nasty Vent has Darkwing attack the opponent with sonic waves.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: Dark Visor-Zwei, which can change into a sword, a shield or a crossbow.
• Weak, but Skilled: While not exactly a pushover, official stat books show that Knight has the weakest punches and kicks of any Rider (with the exception of Femme). Despite this, he's skilled enough that he was able to fight Ryuki Survive toe to toe while holding back (though considering Shinji's reluctance to kill, he may have held back too), and even was responsible for killing Odin, the official strongest Rider in the series a total of two times.

Shuichi Kitaoka/Kamen Rider Zolda

Shuichi Kitaoka/Kamen Rider Zolda (I)

Portrayed by: Ryohei Odai (live), Yoshifumi Oshikawa (suit)

"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 (such as Asakura), 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 Goro. 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 that apply to him in general

• Amoral Attorney: Willing to do anything to get the verdict he desires, regardless of whether the client is innocent or guilty.
• Anti-Hero: An Amoral Attorney and generally unpleasant guy, but he has genuine redeeming qualities and overall leans on the side of good.
• Arch-Enemy: To Asakura.
• Bus Crash: It's heavily implied in Rider Time Ryuki that he succumbs to his cancer and dies sometime after the events of the main series, as both Goro and Asakura refer to him in the past tense.
• Character Development: Goes from an amoral Jerkass willing to happily screw people over in his selfish quest for immortality to a genuinely noble Jerk with a Heart of Gold who willingly accepts his impending mortality.
• The Charmer: Shinji develops quite a strong admiration for him when he has to spend time with him to make a report about him. Subverted with anyone who's been on the wrong side of his Amoral Attorney practices or the actions he commits during the Rider War.
• Death by Adaptation: The show had him become one of the four finalists destined to fight Odin while one of the S.I.C. stories had him die and replaced him with Tiger as one of the finalists.
• Death by Irony: His illness was one of the main reasons he became a Kamen Rider. Because of his illness, he also had to stop being a Rider.
  • Funnily enough, his Final Vent never killed any Rider despite its destructive power. A S.I.C. story had him kill Asakura after the latter used stolen Advent Monsters to create Genosurviver with his Final Vent, only to get killed by the blast of his own attack.
• Everyone Has Standards: He's an Amoral Attorney, but after one meeting with Asakura, he decided he couldn't stand him^note he also deemed defending Asakura to hopeless. Since he allowed Asakura to escape from jail when Shinji used memories of the future to warn him Asakura would become a Rider, he does consider stopping him in the finale to be his responsibility.
• Handicapped Badass: Subverted. While he is a very competent fighter, it's made clear this is only because his cancer hasn't developed enough to actively affect his life. As it gets worse, so does his performance in battle.
• The Hedonist: His reason for wanting to live forever? So he has more time to enjoy life.
• Image Song: Kienai Niji
• Immortality: His wish for winning the Rider War.
• I Surrender, Suckers: When cornered and about to be beaten up, Kitaoka's last tactic was to drop to his knees and beg for mercy while having actually secretly used this opportunity to call for the police.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Can show a kinder side to those who are in a similar position as him, such as paying for medical treatment for a girl's mother in spite of his dislike for children.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: The movie had him bow out of the Rider War, knowing that he won’t have enough time to survive until the end.
  • While he doesn't care about the morality of his cases, he refused to act as a defense for Asakura as he very quickly saw he was going to lose.
• Not The Illness That Killed Them: Only applies in the tv special and movie in which he is killed in the Rider War. In the tv series he actually dies from his cancer.
• Pet the Dog: Since he's terminally ill, he has a soft spot for people in similar conditions, doing things such as pay for the operation to save the life of a young girl's mother and going a date with Megumi, an old girlfriend of his that he thought was terminally ill, though the latter turned out to be a misdiagnosis.
• Soap Opera Disease: He starts showing symptoms towards the end of the series, as they become more severe.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He becomes less antagonistic to Ren and Shinji as the series progresses. During the early episodes of his screentime, he tries to find ways to kill both of them, but this fades away after a while. He eventually gets a sort of working relationship with them. Near the end of the series, he indirectly shows he cares a little bit for Shinji after he tells Ren about his suicidal Heroic BSoD.
  Kitaoka: How is Kido now?
  Ren: Well... He's the same as usual, isn't he?
  Kitaoka: Ha! Idiots do recover quickly. Well, I suppose I can acknowledge him a bit now.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rier Zolda

• Awesome, yet Impractical: His finisher End of the World. It lives up to its name in destructive power, but the long time it takes to prepare it means it usually won't hit people.
• BFG: Giga Launcher, a huge cannon that's formed from Magnugiga's arms. It's comparable in size to an actual artillery gun of some sort, and is nearly twice Zolda's height!
• Combat Pragmatist: He rarely takes part in direct fights, and one of his preferred methods is sneak up a on fight in progress and try to kill the combatants with his Final Vent.
• Dramatic Gun Cock: Justified. He can fire Magna Visor without cocking it, but he has to cock it in order to load and use his Advent Cards.
• Finishing Move: End Of World ^note Zolda uses the Magna Visor as a trigger for the summoned Magnugiga to deliver a salvo of missiles, bullets and energy blasts.
• The Gunslinger: His visor is a handgun, his deck has two long range weapons, and his contact monster is loaded with large number of missiles, cannon and beam gun. Notably, he had a Strike Vent and another Guard Vent that were never used in the series because the former completely went against his style, and the latter was just plain redundant.
• Handguns: Magna Visor, a handgun with very impressive rate of fire. Like Ren, this gives him the advantage of having a weapon even before using any cards.
• Horn Attack: His Strike Vent, unseen in the series but detailed in side materials, is Magnugiga's head mounted on his arm and serving as a katar.
• Long-Range Fighter: The only rider amongst the 13 who specializes in ranged combat. His visor gives him a powerful handgun to use by default, and coupled with his two Shoot Vents, makes him incredibly hard to touch. Virtually every Rider facing him had had to run a gauntlet of missile fire in order to even get close to him.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Giga Armor and Giga Tector. The latter is never used in the series and the former is very, very rarely seen.
• Multi-Ranged Master: His visor is a handgun, he has two BFG weapons for multiple situations and his Final Vent has him use Magnagiga to unleash everything in his arsenal.
• Our Minotaurs Are Different: Magnagiga, and outside of Dragedder and Venosnaker, it's the largest Mirror Beast, so much that the prop is too big to use in fights, so all it does it take part in his Final Vent.
• Power Fist: Giga Horn, resembling Magnagiga's head. Never used in the series, though it WAS used in the video game.
• Shoulder Cannon: Giga Cannon, a double beam cannon that resembles Magnu Giga's legs.

Takeshi Asakura/Kamen Rider Ouja

Takeshi Asakura/Kamen Rider Ouja

Portrayed by: Takashi Hagino (live); Jiro Okamoto [main], Keizo Yabe [understudy] (suit)

"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 Goro 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 Goro 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 that apply to him in general

• Animal Motifs: Snakes. Not only is his Rider name literally "King Snake" in Japanese, but he wears a snakeskin jacket, and has the dangerous, predatory nature associated with the animal.
• Arch-Enemy: To Kitaoka.
• A Sinister Clue: Appears to be left-handed, judging by his fighting style using his sword in his left hand.
• Ax-Crazy: He is about as bad as it gets when it comes to this trope. His short tempered and prone to violent outbursts at the slightest annoyance, having committed murders over people annoying him. He doesn't take any enjoyment in that type of violence, he just does it because he's angry. The only time he finds violence to be any fun is when it's directed in a fight between Riders.
• Bait the Dog: He seems to get one good moment: when he stays with a young girl (who viewed him as her saviour) until her recovery even when he no longer needed to. However this turns out to be a Subverted Pet the Dog moment, since he only stayed near her because she was targeted by a trio of Mirror Beasts and he was hoping to kill them when they showed up. When a hungry Venosnaker hits her trying to attack him, he doesn't even flinch.
• Beyond Redemption: Once he reveals he set the fire that killed his parents right before finishing the job by killing his brother, Shinji, who spent the past few episodes trying to reach him, accepts that there's nothing good in Asakura and he has to be stopped with force.
• Big Bad Wannabe: The most active, in terms of directly fighting the protagonists, villain the series, and typically is the biggest threat to them unless Odin shows up. In most series with a There Can Be Only One format, he'd likely have been the Big Bad, but Kanzaki using Odin means he never had a chance of winning the Rider War and in the end is largely Kanzaki's pawn.
• Big Brother Bully: He didn't have a good opinion of his younger brother, saying that he always was in his way. Likewise, his brother doesn't want to remember him.
• Blood Knight: The wish he'll have granted if he wins? To have the war go on for eternity. He didn't even know about that part of the battle for most of the series, Kanzaki's promise of fighting was all it took to draw him in.
  • In one fight with Shinji and Ren, he even gets so lost in the thrill of it that he nearly stays in the Mirror World past the time it's safe for him and nearly dies. When he returns to the normal world, he's still so thrilled that he picks up a crowbar and rushes at them, intending to continue the fight as humans. He faints out of exhaustion, which causes Shinji and Ren to run rather than take any chances with him.
• Breakout Villain: While he's not the first villainous Rider of Ryuki (Scissors and Gai appeared before him), he's the one who had the biggest impact, because of his large role in the series and differentiated himself from those Riders by actually being a fearsome and competent villain. This made him the most popular character of Ryuki, exceeding that of Shinji and Ren, and subsequently made him a recurring fixture in crossovers, showing up in Decade, Ex-Aid, Zi-O, Geats, Outsiders, the latter four even appearing unsuited.
• The Brute: Asakura is so frequently recruited, replicated, or even revived by outside villainous organizations, because for how devious he can be, he's dependably violent. Thus he can be counted on to follow orders in the short-term so long as he's pointed at potential victims or combatants can entertain him.
• Cain and Abel: He's the Cain to his brother's Abel. The fire that made him a Self-Made Orphan was primarily intended to kill his brother. He even tricks Reiko into bringing his brother to him so that he can kill him with his monster, once he finds out he's alive.
• Character Catch Phrase:
  • Whenever he finds something that annoys him, he'll say "This vexes me..."
  • When he fights people he's fought and tried to kill before, he sometimes says "Now, a continuation from yesterday/before..."
• Character Tic: He cracks his neck and breathes "Ahhh" before jumping into the Mirror World.
• Complexity Addiction: It's no fun for him to kill an opponent outside of a rider battle, so even though he gets fair of number of chances to, he never does so. That doesn't mean he won't play dirty BEFORE the fight, and he certainly doesn't care for non-Riders.
• Consummate Liar: Surprisingly, he managed to spin a convincing lie about trying to save his younger brother during the fire that burned their house down.
• Crazy-Prepared: When caught in a trap by Kitaoka that got his deck stolen, he kept the Contract Card for Metalgelas underneath his shirt, have apparently guess Kitaoka might have been trying to trick him.
• Death by Irony: Asakura finally got what he wanted since the start of the war: To fight and beat Zolda. Unfortunately, he killed Goro, and not Kitaoka. Sickened and maddened by dissatisfaction, he purposely walks into a police ambush and dies without a fight.
  • Similarly, despite being a serial killer who killed many Riders throughout the war, he never actually managed to kill the ones he wanted to kill the most (Kitaoka of course, then Shinji, then Tojo).
• Determinator: Put him in jail? He'll escape! Time limit runs out in the middle of a good fight? Continue until you're expelled from the Mirror World and then keep fighting in the real world! A two way fight turns into a three way fight featuring your two most hated Riders and ends with your current prey escaping and your most hated rival victorious while you're panting and bloody? Smile and ask him if he wants to fight! This guy won't stop fighting until he's out cold or dead.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Naturally given his temper. He murdered his own brother because he found him annoying, and has committed an unspecified number of other murders and assaulted an unspecified number of other people just because they annoy him.
• The Dragon: In a weird way. He is surprisingly amicable towards Shiro Kanzaki for freeing him from jail and giving him the chance to fight, and offers him food and does his bidding if he approaches. Of course, since those requests all involve killing people and he'd probably kill Kanzaki and Odin if he had the chance, this doesn't exactly hold.
• The Dreaded: Being a killer, he's quite a source of panic to those who recognize him.
• Enfante Terrible: His crimes begun when he murdered his entire family in a house fire at the age of just 13.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Hinted at when he killed his younger brother, as he had difficulty understanding why anybody cared that he did it in the first place. Later on, when a little girl that bonded with him gave him a flower, he stared at it because he didn't understand why she would give him such a useless thing.
• Evil Is Bigger: His first Mirror Beast Venosnaker is among the largest to appear in the main series, a little bigger than Dragredder. Then he merges him with Evildiver and Metalgeas, and Genocider is DAMN big.
• Expy: Asakura is basically the series' resident Sword Master Bilgenia and N-Daguva-Zeba if he was a Kamen Rider.
• Fatal Flaw: Two of note; his desire for a battle in the Rider War, and his anger. With the former, he wants to fight and kill his enemies as Riders, causing him to forgo chances when he could kill them when it would be easy and will continue fights even at risk to his own life. His anger, it goes without saying, keeps him from having any allies.
• Four Is Death: He ends up killing 4 Riders before biting the bullet (Gai, Raia, Imperer and Zolda), and thanks to a combination of crossovers and movies for the series, he's been killed 4 times (as noted below).
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He is VERY prone to violent outbursts against anyone that even slightly annoys him, and if there's nothing around he'll just beat on whatever random object is near by even if involves beating his head on a concrete wall or punching glass.
• Hate Sink: He has zero redeeming qualities and all of his screen time is dedicated to him hurting others.
• The Heavy: Kanzaki is the Big Bad behind the Rider War, but Asakura is the most active and dangerous antagonist in the series.
• Hero Killer: For a very vague definition of "Hero". He has the highest Rider kill count in the series (Gai, Raia, Imperer, Zolda).
• Image Song: Spinnin' Around
• Implacable Man: Combines this with The Determinator. Getting caught in trap build to burn the victim alive means he reappears not so long afterwards only slightly charred. His Contract monster's corrosive spit melting through his helmet and onto his face only puts him out of the equiation for about as long. He has to be gunned down by a shooting squad.
• Iconic Outfit: His snakeskin jacket.
• 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.
  • For further irony, all of the Riders that Asakura deliberately targets are the Riders that weren't killed by another Rider: Kitaoka succumbs to his cancer, Tojo sacrifices himself to save a family from being ran over, and Shinji dies after being mortally wounded by a Mirror Monster.
  • Despite having the highest kill count of all the riders in the series, he also has died the most of all the Ryuki riders - first, he died at the end of the TV series being gunned down by the police. Then, in Episode Final, he was killed by Femme when the latter destroyed his Contract Deck. Then, in the World of If "what if" spinoff novel, he gets the jump on Odin only for the latter to Time Vent so that they always had the advantage and instantly kills him in the process. Then he is killed off by Mach's Dead Heat along with Dark Kiva in Kamen Rider 4, in Beast Rider Squad special, he's killed by Kamen Rider Brave while the latter is using the Knight of Safari Gashat, and finally for double irony died from his wounds he got from Goro surprise attacking him in Rider Time Ryuki.
  • His wish is to make the Rider War last forever. The timeline where he properly professes this has him almost immediately die in an ensuing fight with Odin, who uses Time Vent to set up a killing blow several seconds into the past and punch him out.
• Jerkass: The biggest in the series, particularly when he's "vexed."
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When he found out via Reiko that his younger brother Akira was still alive from the house fire that killed their parents, he told her he tried to save him at the moment, and wanted to be reunited with him. But then he reveals that he actually caused the fire himself, and proceeds to have Venosnaker eat his own brother.
  • Happens again in #31-32, where he apparently saved and took care of Mika, a little girl who was the sole survivor of a Buzzstinger attack on a ferry. Turns out he was just using her as bait to fight said monsters and feed his own.
• Kick the Dog: Killing his brother just because he found him annoying.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Turning (and literally) on Jun. Nobody but Shinji cared.
• Knight of Cerebus: The Rider War wasn't exactly puppies and sunshine, but before Asakura came on the scene, only one Rider—a clearly evil one, at that—had died, and the current five 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 four dead Riders, a third needed for the wish.
• Laughing Mad: Rather fitting for his maniacal nature.
• More Despicable Minion: Although calling him a "minion" might be stretching things a bit, Kanzaki is the one who brought Asakura into the Rider War, and Asakura is both more depraved AND has less noble goals (although no less selfish, perhaps) than Kanzaki.
• Sadist: He is completely psychotic and extremely sadistic as well, his worst act being killing fellow Riders, including Jun Shibaura/Gai, Miyuki Tezuka/Raia, and Goro Yura/Zolda, and also killing Miho Kirishima's sister.
• Save the Villain: Shinji saved him from being devoured by his own Mirror Monsters. He did this because he supposedly saved a little girl, but in reality he was just using her as bait for other Monsters. Shinji still finds saving him justified, and in a trope view it still is, because if he died the girl would have gone into severe depression.
• Screaming Warrior: Tends to scream a lot when he's feeling vexed. It mainly happens outside of battle when he's feeling bored or disappointed when things don't go his way. It rarely happens in battle since he's too much of a Blood Knight to not enjoy himself in the thrill of it...unless he's pissed with the opponent in question, such as Tiger or Goro when it was revealed he was Zolda rather than Kitaoka.
• Self-Made Orphan: He burned down his own house as a child trying to kill his younger brother.
• Serial Killer: Killed his parents when he was just 13, as well as Femme's sister, his own brother, and quite a few others once he escapes prison. It's implied he had far more victims before his arrest also, something the novel goes into full, gory detail about.
• Smarter Than They Look: Despite being a murderous psychopath, Asakura is not stupid. A lot of what makes him so dangerous is his ability to play the Rider War intelligently while being completely uninhibited by morality, and he makes a number of calculated decisions just to get further ahead.
• The Sociopath: He doesn't care how many people he has hurt or killed even before the Rider War started, the only thing he cares about is hurting and killing more people for his own sick sadistic pleasure.
• Villainous Breakdown: When he kills his archenemy Kitaoka/Zolda, he discovers that it wasn't Kitaoka wearing the suit and the real Kitaoka died peacefully at home during the fight. This pretty much results in him allowing himself to be gunned down by the police.
• Would Hurt a Child: He has no trouble using a little girl as a leverage during a hostage exchange to engage Kitaoka in their first fight.
• Would Hit a Girl: Knocks Reiko unconscious and attacked her before when he first went for Kitaoka, has no trouble trying to kill Femme, killed her sister for fun, and has no trouble using a little girl as a hostage.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Ouja

• Awesome, but Impractical: Having contracted with three Mirror Monsters (his original Venosnaker, then Metalgelas and Evildiver taken after killing their Riders), he gains at least some cards from their decks (their associated Final Vents and weapons; he's never shown using Raia's Copy or Gai's Confine), allowing him three different finishing moves AND the ability to fuse them into Genocider. However, it means he has three times as many mons to feed, which is a problem for him when he doesn't feed them for a while.
• Cool Sword: Veno Saber, resembling Venosnaker's tail. Initially, his ONLY weapon before killing other Riders and getting their monsters. It's the most balanced melee weapon among his weapons.
• Evolution Powerup: The SIC stories and Outsiders gave him a Survive 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 with a spray of venom as he does a scissor kick.
  • Doomsday: Ouja corkscrew kicks a foe into a vortex that opens within Genocider.
• Fusion Dance: His Unite Vent, combining the three monsters he gained. The SIC stories gave him a Super Mode, and made the card forcibly fuse EVERY REMAINING MONSTER IN THE WAR. Of course, since one of those monsters was Dragreder, still contracted to Shinji, it didn't go the best way for him.
• Joke Character: Blank Form, seen only once in Episode Final after Genocider is killed.
• Magikarp Power: His deck. Advent and Final Vent aside (the latter of which did succeed in killing whatever target he hit it with), it started with just a Sword Vent and nothing else. However, it is the only deck that has spare Contract Cards. By the end, he has three melee cards and three mons, which can be fused into the formidable Genocider.
• Power Fist: Metal Horn, after Ouja becomes contracted to Metalgelas. Stronger but shorter than his Veno Saber.
• Purple Is Powerful: His color scheme is purple and he has the highest kill count in the Rider War.
• Suave Sabre: When he contracted Venosnaker, aside from the obligatory Advent and Final Vent Asakura only had a grand total of ONE card : Veno Saber. Even when he receives the powers of other Advent Decks, he still prefers using it over the others. Justified, since in the real world he often uses a metal pipe to fend off police, and Veno Saber is shaped like one.

Recurring and Minor Riders

Masashi Sudo/Kamen Rider Scissors

Masashi Sudo/Kamen Rider Scissors

Portrayed by: Takeshi Kimura (live), Ryoji Okada (suit)

"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.

Sudo was a Dirty 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 Sudo an Advent Deck. It's not known what Sudo would have chosen as his Prize (in fact it's not even hinted that Kanzaki even told him about it); 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 crablike Contract Monster Volcancer).

Shinji first meets Sudo in battle as Kamen Rider Scissors, and despite Ren's warnings the naive Rider attempts to befriend him, Sudo 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, Sudo duels Ren within the Mirror World. Sudo'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 Sudo, body and soul.

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Asshole Victim: His death is incredibly brutal, but it's hard to say he didn't deserve it given what a corrupt bastard he was.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He acts like a By-the-Book Cop in public, but he's involved in a number of illegal schemes.
• Death by Irony: He fed people to his Mirror Monster to make it more powerful, and died by getting eaten by said monster.
• Dirty Cop: Plastered his partner Kaga in a wall after he demanded a bigger share, used his job to cover his illegal acts, and feeds anyone who gets in his way to his contract monster.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: In the manner of how Volcancer devours him, especially since only Sudo's arm is shown in the process.
• Faux Affably Evil: Sudo appears to be a calm, cordial detective attempting to offer his services to help out investiagting the assault on Reiko, but in reality was the one who assaulted her for trying to figure out what happened to Kaga. He keeps the friendly facade with Shinji in order to manipulate him to get his and Ren's deaths staged and use Yui as leverage, but once his crimes are exposed, he unrepentantly told Shinji his (rather petty) reason for plastering Kaga to a wall and attempted to feed everyone who knows about his crimes to his Mirror Monster Volcaner.
• Hate Sink: An utterly despicable bastard guilty of murder and corruption. It's the only thing that makes his utterly horrific fate not incredibly disturbing.
• I Surrender, Suckers: When the two cops have him cornered, Sudo puts on a smug smile on his face as Volcancer comes out of the reflections to eat the two.
• Jerkass: When he reveals his true colors.
• Karmic Death: See Death by Irony above.
• Oh, Crap!: His reaction to Reiko telling him that she deduced him as the culprit behind the case.
• Sacrificial Lamb: His entire existence showcased two aspects: Riders being jerks, and the consequences of breaking a Contract.
• This Cannot Be!: Once he realizes his Deck broke and Volcancer is about to eat him.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets killed off in the two-episode arc that introduces him. Even Imperer lasted longer than him!
  • 13 Riders had him make an alliance with Shinji to stop the Rider War, which was a ploy to get Shinji killed by him and other Riders. He doesn't get to do more as Ouja appears and kills him, both for his desire to fight and his distaste for cops.
• Would Hit a Girl: Had no qualms with inconspicuously assaulting Reiko for her investigation and later kidnapping Yui as an attempt of having an advantage in the war.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Scissors

• Finishing Move: Scissors Attack ^note Scissors is launched by Volcancer into the air. However, it's interrupted by Knight so we don't see the full extent of the Final Vent. The video game adaptations of it portray it as a sommersault.
• Improbable Weapon User: Scissors Pincer, which is just one of Volcancer's claws.. Also his Scissor Visor, which is sort of a blend of shears and Blade Below the Shoulder.
• Joke Character:
  • Has the worst deck among the Riders. Advent and Final Vent aside, all he has are a Strike Vent (which is kind of an awkward weapon to use) and a Guard Vent, no special cards whatsoever like Raia's Copy or Gai's Confine; on top of that, his cards have very low AP.
  • In terms of the series, though, he was less Joke Character and more Starter Villain—the inexperienced Shinji wouldn't have stood a chance against the heaviest hitters in the Rider War early on, and really had his hands full with this first "real" enemy.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Shell Defense, shield that resembles Volcancer's back armor.
• Weak, but Skilled: Despite being a Joke Character stat-wise, he was actually winning his fight with Ren before his Advent Deck is broken.

Miyuki Tezuka/Kamen Rider Raia

Miyuki Tezuka/Kamen Rider Raia

Portrayed by: Hassei Takano (live), Keizo Yabe (suit)

"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 realize that Yui is the key to everything, yet is unable to communicate this to Shinji before he dies.

Despite the multiple timelines seeming to prove that it WAS impossible to change fate, the fact that the Rider War finally reset to being no more proved him wrong, and in a roundabout way he achieved his dream in the end.

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Blessed with Suck: He's blessed with the gift of prophecy, which allowed him to find two Riders (Ren and Shinji) easily whereas many contestants have trouble finding one. However, he's troubled with his power because he sees death and misfortunes with his clients, hence why he strongly believes in that people can Screw Destiny if they prepare.
• Death by Irony: He predicted that Shinji would die next, but lied to Shinji saying that he himself would be the one to die. He performed a Heroic Sacrifice for Shinji, averting his true prophecy yet fulfilling his fake one. My predictions are never wrong indeed.
• Gender-Blender Name: Miyuki is usually a name for girls.
• Go Out with a Smile: He finally manages to Screw Destiny to save Shinji, dying happily as he believed his friend Yuichi had no regrets just like him and believing Shinji would change the fate of the Riders.
• Heroic BSoD: Pretty much half of what caused his death was being told that his best friend Yuichi, the man who was supposed to be Raia instead of him, regretted never participating in the Rider War to fulfill his wish, even if it meant killing. This gave Tezuka a crisis of faith that left him unresponsive, leaving Asakura to give him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that forced Shinji to save him... only for Tezuka to due saving him when Asakura proved to be too much for him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Pretty much the main reason of his death besides Asakura giving him the death blow.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Even Asakura's presence doesn't motivate him into fighting.
• Last-Name Basis: Others often refer to him as Tezuka.
• Nice Guy: Cares about Ren's emotional welfare and is the only one that supports Shinji's plight to stop the Rider War.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He enters into an Unstoppable Rage when he finds the monster that killed Yuichi, even pushing Shinji away and telling him to not interfere despite being the Rider with whom he has the best relationship.
• Revenge Before Reason: He seems to subvert this trope as his main objective is stopping the war and he only returned to the revenge issue once the monster that killed his friend appeared, and yet he was capable of fighting effectively in spite of his enraged state and quickly came back to normal once he achieved it. He also averts this trope when Kanzaki reveals that Asakura was the one who broke Yuichi's fingers, which caused him to join the Rider War and die when he refused to participate. Tezuka refused to fall for the bait, giving Ren his Survive Card instead.
• Unstoppable Rage: Against the monster that killed his friend.
• Sacrificial Lion: Gai and Sissors deaths may have established no one was safe in the Rider War, but Tezuka's Heroic Sacrifice is when things begin going From Bad to Worse, and establish Asakura as the series primary threat.
• The Stoic: Although he's kind and caring, he rarely smiles or shows much outward emotion.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Ren in the 13 Riders special.
• You Can't Fight Fate: By irony. He predicted Shinji would die, but lied and said he himself was the next one to die. Later, Shinji was about to be killed by Ouja, but Tezuka made a Diving Save and took the hit for him, proving his faked prophecy correct. He didn't mind at all.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Raia

• Dark Is Not Evil: Yes, the Rider with an arsenal mostly starting with "evil" is a good guy.
• Evolution Powerup: The SIC stories gave him a Survive Form.
• Finishing Move: Hide Venom ^note Raia uses Evildiver as a mount and rams the foe.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Evil Visor, a small shield in the shape of Evildiver.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Evildiver, though it's a subversion since its user is one of the undisputably good Riders.
• Power Copying: Copy Vent, which allows him to wield a duplicate of another Rider's weapon.
• Weapon Specialization: Evil Whip is his base weapon. Resembling Evildiver's tail, it isn't really powerful, but has good reach.

Jun Shibaura/Kamen Rider Gai

Jun Shibaura/Kamen Rider Gai

Portrayed by: Satoshi Ichijo (live), Takeshi Mizutani (suit)

"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 an almost 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. Jun cursed Asakura, saying that he was supposed to make the game fun for him, but the murderer simply shrugged and said that it was his fault for being close, and quickly finished him off.

And so, fittingly, the manipulator died to the manipulated.

Tropes that apply to hi in general

• Asshole Victim: Only Shinji cared about his death, and it was more out of principle.
• Death by Irony: He loves manipulating people in order to seem better than them, and thus created a six way battle between the Riders. Fittingly, he was killed by one of the people he thought he had under control, Asakura.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: As noted above, he helps Asakura get acclimated to the Rider war to make it more exciting, and also likely for the purpose of using him. It doesn't exactly pan out.
• Faux Affably Evil: Jun treats the Rider Fight as a game and gleefully manipulates others to their deaths for his demented amusement. His temporary takeover of ORE Journal shows him attempting to unleash a deadly game of his onto all of Japan and tried to burn Shinji's Dragreder card as leverage to keep him obedient, all while keeping that playful, trollish attitude.
• Hate Sink: While it is not in the same levels as Asakura's, his manipulative nature makes him one of the worst Riders in the war.
• Insufferable Genius: He's intelligent, observant, and uses it to treat people like crap when he's not manipulating other people.
• Jerkass: One of the greatest ones in the series, ranging from being a Mean Boss to ORE employees to Insufferable Genius to everyone else.
• Mean Boss: His brief time as a boss of ORE shows him mistreating his employees, even having Shinji putting on a ridiculous costume to make promotions, forcing him to write an article about him, and threatening to burn his card, which will result in Shinji's death.
• Power Fist: He only has one "weapon" to speak of, that being the Metal Horn.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Jun is easily one of the nastiest in the whole franchise, he treats the Rider War as one big game for him to win and Riders as mere players to be killed.
• The Sociopath: For his short tenure, Jun often treats things like a game, has no repentance for the lives he had taken because of his games, and manipulates people to do his bidding.
• Smug Snake: His fatal flaw. Shibaura's intellect and cunning is overshadowed by his own arrogance. He thought he can have one of the most dangerous participants of the Rider Fight play along in his game of death, Asakura ultimately proves him wrong, pointing out just how too shortsighted Shibaura is to notice that he is being outsmarted.
• Spoiled Brat: He's described to be the son of a rich businessman, which can be seen when he announces himself as ORE's new boss.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Gai

• Anti-Magic: Confine Vent. When played just after another Rider plays a card, this will cancel the effect (de-summoning a mon or causing a weapon to disappear).
• Finishing Move: Heavy Pressure ^note Gai rides Metalgelas and rams the foe with the Metal Horn.
• Power Fist: Metal Horn, resembling Metalgelas's head. Due to its big size and its shape, it can also be used as a shield.
• Rhino Rampage: His and Metalgelas's animal motif.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Truth be told, while he can competently fight, when the other Riders finally get it in their heads that they REALLY want to fight this guy, he doesn't stand a chance. He only survives due to his form's heavy defense, his cunning manipulation and the fact that his opponents generally don't want to fight him.

Satoru Tojo/Kamen Rider Tiger

Satoru Tojo/Kamen Rider Tiger

Portrayed by: Jun Takatsuki (live), Naoki Nagase (suit)

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

Satoru Tojo 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 Mitsuru Sano 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, culminating 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.

The next day, a crumpled newspaper is seen blowing across the streets. The latest news is of a man who sacrificed himself to save two others, and became a hero...

Tropes that apply to him in general:

• Alas, Poor Villain: His death is a legitimately somber affair, as he finally fulfils his wish to be a hero by giving his life to save a father and son from a traffic accident.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: While an utterly ruthless Knight Templar, Tojo's genuine belief in his own twisted view of heroism, and fleeting moments of sympathy puts him ahead of the other villainous Riders in the war, who are motivated by greed, sociopathy, and bloodlust. Notably, he is the only one of the four to be given a sympathetic death.
• All for Nothing: Somewhat comes to feel this after killing Kagawa and learning that he didn't manage to kill Sano. He becomes lost without Kagawa's direction, and even ends up burning Kagawa's research notes on the Mirror World.
• Apologetic Attacker: Tojo apologizes to both Kagawa and Sano after betraying them. It's debatable how sincere said apologies were.
• Ax-Crazy: Asakura and Kitaoka notice that Tojo isn't so different with the former after a fight between the three of them.
• Boomerang Bigot: Tends to be very critical of the other Riders, criticizing Knight, Zolda and Ouja for not being heroic, despite being only second to Ouja in terms of having the largest body count in the series.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He did this to his colleague, to his mentor, and to Sano. It costs him dearly as he starts losing his fights more frequently now that he's alone. The worst part is that his philosophy of sacrificing others didn't make him any stronger.
• Cradling Your Kill: Carries Kagawa's body out of the Mirror World in this way after betraying and killing him.
• Death by Irony: He constantly sacrificed others in order to try and become a hero. He died sacrificing himself to save a father and son, and was called a hero the next day.
• Diving Save: Performs one to save a father and son from a traffic accident.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: While no angel himself, Kagawa who genuinely believes what he's doing is for the best invites Tojo to lunch with his family in order to show him the value of human relationships. This completely flies over Tojo's head and he winds up betraying and killing Kagawa.
  • He also seems genuinely shocked when Kagawa calls his family to check on their safety after Kanzaki threatens to kill them.
  Tojo: So, you do care about your family.
  Kagawa: Of course I do! Listen, Tojo, being a hero doesn't mean being ignorant to human life.
• Foil: Was designed as one to Ouja. Where Asakura was conceived as a Showa-styled villain (more outwardly and blatantly destructive), Tojo is meant to represent a more modern (for the time) villain (not as outwardly violent, but holding deep psychological issues).
  • Also serves in some measure as this to Ren. While Ren's reasons for joining the Rider War are selfish in that he wants to save his girlfriend's life, he still has a sense of justice that prevents him from taking the lives of others while feeling an obligation to protect regular humans from Mirror Monsters. Meanwhile, Tojo (initially) has the seemingly selfless goal of wanting to close the Mirror World and holds morally absolutist views. However, he is the only other Rider besides Ouja in the series proper to successfully kill another Rider (both the Alternatives) and is generally one of the most morally reprehensible characters in the series.
• Friendless Background: Strongly hinted to be the case, as he tells Sano that the reason he wants to be a hero is so that everyone will like him.
• Gone Mad from the Revelation: His mental health was always bad, but hearing from Asakura that he failed to kill Sano, he loses it even more.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Starts to show up more as his insanity becomes more evident. As his defeats start to pile up and he's mocked by both Asakura and Kitaoka, Tojo starts to scream and break mirrors with his fists in moments of rage.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Commits one to save a father and son from a truck, committing his only heroic deed in the series and ironically fulfilling his wish at the moment of his death,
• Heroic Wannabe: A truly frightening example given his instability.
• Hero-Worshipper: A very dark version of the trope. Worships Kagawa's ideals and considers him a true hero, but winds up taking Kagawa's life because of those ideals.
• Hypocrite: Despite being one of the most vicious Riders in the series, he tends to be critical of the other Riders' moral character.
  Tojo: These Riders are the absolute worst people. There's probably no reason to listen to them.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: States this as his reason for wanting to become a hero.
• Insane Troll Logic: The reason he becomes a villain: If being willing to sacrifice those close to you makes you a hero, actually sacrificing those close to you makes you MORE of a hero. It gets to the point where Shinji considers Asakura easier to understand that Tojo.
• Irony: Believes sacrificing those who are important to him will make him stronger. Loses more battles after doing just that.
• Kill the Ones You Love: Takes Kagawa's philosophy of a hero being one who is willing to sacrifice even the ones they love to mean that sacrificing the ones you love is a requirement for being a hero. Ironically, he becomes an even worse fighter after doing this.
• Knight of Cerebus: Thanks to his misguided attempts at being a hero, more people die.
• Lack of Empathy: Seems to suffer from this as he's unable to understand Kagawa's attempts to make him understand the value of human relationships.
  • Notably, when Kagawa makes the decision to stop the Rider Battle despite Kanzaki threatening to kill his family, Tojo praises Kagawa as being a true hero despite it being very clear that Kagawa is not proud of his decision.
• Laser-Guided Karma: His betrayal of Sano leaves him all alone, and hearing from Asakura that he failed to kill him causes him to fully lose it.
• The Needs of the Many: An avid believer, yet he never saved anyone except in his last moments.
• A Sinister Clue: Inverted, he is the only Rider to transform using his right hand to hold his Advent Deck, as opposed to everyone else, who either use their left hand or, in the case of Ryuga, simply don't use their hands at all.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Gets to make it to the finals in the S.I.C. story World of If along with his teacher...only for Ryuga to kill him later.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Kitaoka gives him a short one telling him that the more he tries to convince himself that he's a hero the less likely he's to become one. Considering Tojo's actions, he's right. Tojo did not took it well along with the defeat that came with it.
• Tears of Remorse: Sheds them when he kills his colleague and his mentor.
• Verbal Tic: Tends to phrase his statements as hypothetical statements (expressed in Japanese as かも or かもしれない).
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He makes himself out to be this, and to some extent wanting to kill Yui to end the Rider War counts. Unfortunately, in seeking to become a true hero, he easily took to the sacrificing part but didn't quite get into the saving part.
• With Friends Like These...: It's honestly probably a lot safer to be his enemy than it is to his ally.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Tiger

• Awesome, yet Impractical: His Finishing Move is brutal, but easily stoppable if the enemy is fully aware.
• Blue Is Heroic: Subverted, hard! Tiger's armor is white with blue linings and highlights, and in his first appearance, attacks Ouja while leaving Ryuki alone, making Shinji think of him as a potential ally. However, it's soon revealed that Tojo is definitely far from heroic. Even worse, he has a very, very distorted concept of heroism that's borderline Insane Troll Logic. To twist the knife even further, the only time he does something genuinely heroic, he doesn't even transform at all.
• Combat Pragmatist: Attacks his opponents from behind with his Final Vent or when he's teaming up with someone else. This is why he's been capable of defeating the likes of Asakura, Kitaoka, and Shinji. Unfortunately for him, the former two are more than eager to pay him back in the form of one Curb-Stomp Battle after another.
• Crippling Overspecialization: While Tojo is very good at using surprise attacks on his enemies, that seems to be his only major strength as a fighter. While no slouch in direct match-ups against enemies, he is more likely than not to lose in those confrontations.
• Finishing Move: Crystal Break ^note Destwilder drags the foe as Tiger stabs him with the Dest Claw.
• Panthera Awesome: His design theme and Destwilder's.
• An Ice Person: Freeze Vent. It does exactly what it sounds like, freezing enemy Contract Monsters.
  • In Rider Time Ryuki, it's revealed he can also use it to freeze other Riders although he was unsuccessful in doing so.
• Mons: While all Riders in the series technically rely on their Mons, Tiger seems to rely on Destwilder more than others. As a result of his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, he usually opens an assault against others with either his Advent or Final Vent, both of which summon Destwilder to attack his enemies.
• Wipe the Floor with You: His Final Vent has Destwilder dragging the target across the ground before Tiger dealing the final strike.
• Wolverine Claws: Dest Claws, which are his monster's forearms and bladed fingers.

Mitsuru Sano/Kamen Rider Imperer

Mitsuru Sano/Kamen Rider Imperer

Portrayed by: Takashi Hyuga (live), Masashi Shirai (suit)

"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 Tojo 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 Tojo 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 Yurie. What's more, Sano had come to develop a friendship with Tojo, 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 Tojo, 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, Yurie waited for Sano to return...

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Alas, Poor Villain: He's not an innocent man, but he nonetheless still entered the Rider War out of desperation without a full understanding of the danger he was getting into, and then later died because he couldn't leave even though he got everything he wanted. His last words are calling out for someone who cannot even hear him.
• Anti-Hero: He won't do anything heroic without a fee, hence why Ren kicks him out since he demands an outrageous sum of money.
• Anti-Villain: He crosses into this when he's more ready to participate in the Rider War than before. He doesn't want to fight anymore, but at this point he no longer has a choice as he will be killed by his own monsters if he doesn't comply.
• Beware the Nice Ones: After he became a president of his father's company, he became more aggressive in terms of personality.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Puts on a Nice Guy act to charm his fellow Riders in an attempt to get easy cash and an alliance to win the war. The few who do agree with him will have his loyalty...unless he makes an alliance with other Riders who give him a better deal.
• Briefcase Full of Money: Uses one on two different occasions to forge an alliance, first with Shinji and Ren, and then with Kitaoka. He's refused by the pair and the latter does not intend to do his part so Sano has the pay revoked.
• Broken Pedestal: When Sano first appears, Shinji was the first one who gave him a chance, even offering him a place to live...only for Sano to betray him in favor of helping Tojo in trying to kill Yui. The next time Sano comes to make an alliance, Shinji physically assaults him and throws him out, showing how deeply hurt he was at his betrayal. He verbally rejected him again when Sano attempted to bribe him and Ren into an alliance. Despite this, Shinji was later saddened upon learning of Sano's death.
• The Charmer: Attempts to do this with his fellow Riders. Only Shinji falls for it.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Betrays Shinji, the only Rider that was nice to him, twice because Tojo and his mentor gave him a better deal. He then becomes a victim of this when Tojo nearly kills him due to his belief of heroes killing their loved ones to become stronger.
• Death by Irony: He actually became happy during the war, having no more need for the wish. Unfortunately, he had to fight in order to survive, and was betrayed by Tojo, whom he thought was his best friend. He died to Asakura soon after.
• Driven to Suicide: According to him, during his talk with Shinji, he was so depressed over his lifestyle that he felt like dying every day until he was given the chance of being a Rider to become rich.
• Every Man Has His Price: He believes this wholeheartedly. He only intended to help as long as other Riders gave him a better payment, leading to his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder. After inheriting his father's fortune, he intends to 'bribe' them instead, leading to him being rejected out of principle or trying to be tricked.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Ren kicks him out after hearing his fee, Kitaoka sends him to Asakura with the intention of getting him killed, Tojo only tolerates him due to his teacher hiring him, and Shinji no longer wants anything to do with him after being betrayed too many times. Subverted with Tojo after he saves him and then tragically double subverted when he fatally injures him under his belief that killing him will make him stronger and closer to becoming a hero.
• Naïve Newcomer: Deconstructed due to him not being familiar with the risks of the Rider War. He takes the war as a chance to sell his services to other Riders for high payments, unaware that this is a conflict where the Riders will kill each other sooner or later. By the time he gets serious about killing Riders, starting with Shinji, it's mainly because Kanzaki tells him he can't retire or he will be killed by his own Monsters.
• Nice Guy: While he's fickle with his choice of allies, he's not a bad guy and will try to help the people he cares about.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He saved Tojo and took care of him even though when he started doing so he was still struggling to support himself, and it landed him with an ally that turned on him beat to the point where he was an easy kill for Asakura.
• Pet the Dog: In a role reveral scenario, Sano would prove rather generous with the money he later inherited from his deceased father, to the point of offering hefty sums of it to others in exchange for favors, though he'd deem those who refuse that much amount of money as fools.
• Self-Made Man: Pretty much what Sano was intended to become when his father disowned him. Instead of that, things did not go as planned since he joined the Rider War and ended up signing his own death sentence.
• Spoiled Brat: His father disowned him to prevent him from being this.
• Took a Level in Badass: In terms of personality, he became smarter and more mature, figuring out that Kitaoka did not intend to ally with him after paying him and saving Yurie from a Monster.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: After inheriting all of his father's fortunes, he became more of a jerk that he's more willing to kill other Riders to win the Rider War, though he has no other choice as he can't quit the war.
• 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... Then Kanzaki forced him to keep fighting, and it got him killed not long after.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Imperer

• The Beastmaster: His main Contract Monster is Gigazelle, however he is also accompanied by the Zelle archetypes (Megazelle, Negazelle, and Omegazelle).
• Finishing Move: Drive Divider ^note Imperer's Zelles stampede the enemy and he finishes with a knee attack to the head.
• Meaningful Name: Imperer's name comes from the Latin root word, Impero, which means "to command," signifying his ability to command hordes of Monsters. Spelt alternately as Impaler, it signifies his penchant to fight with pointy weapons, as well as refering to his Contract Monster, given impalas and gazelles are closely related.
• Non-Standard Character Design: His Rider form is the only one where it's Rider colors do not match the primary colors of his Contract Monster: Gigazelle is purple-colored primarily, but Imperer's Rider Armor color is brown.
• This Is a Drill: Gazelle Stab, which is a sort of Power Fist with two long spiral horns.
• Zerg Rush: On the surface, his deck isn't very impressive, with only a rather awkward melee weapon and a mediocre mon, Gigazelle. However, Gigazelle itself is the leader of a herd of other Zelle monsters, which allows him to use Zerg Rush tactics with them.

Kamen Rider Odin

Kamen Rider Odin

Portrayed by: Tsuyoshi Koyama (voice); Jiro Okamoto [main], Eitoku [understudy] (suit)

"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!, though he never even had to use it) 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. This made him even more an unfair edge for Kanzaki, because if Odin was killed he could replace him. 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 that apply to Odin

• 13 Is Unlucky: Unlucky to face.
• All for Nothing: In the World of If, Odin successfully wins the war for Shiro, giving him a chance at saving Yui. However, because Shiro is not Odin^note in fact, this timeline's Odin is another Kamen Rider; to be exact, it's a Brainwashed and Crazy Ren and therefore cannot interact with baseline reality the way the Kamen Riders can interact with the Mirror World, he is physically unable to reach Yui in time to save her, thus making his efforts useless once more.
• Badass Arm-Fold: His default pose, more or less.
• Bling of War: His armor, Visor, and weapons are all golden.
• Brainwashed: The person acting as the host for Odin.
• Combat Pragmatist: While not a skilled fighter, he does take full advantage of his teleportation power and spams the hell out of it.
• The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Seriously, could Kanzaki have made Odin any more unfair to fight against?
• Conveniently Timed Distraction: Happened to the second Odin when Yui screams, allowed Shinji to hold him in place for Ren's Finishing Move.
• Cool Sword: Gold Saber, he pull Dual Wielding in the finale.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Every fight he takes part in. Ren beating the first one only happened because he got careless and left himself open, and the second because he got distracted and allowed Shinji to hold him in place for Ren's Finishing Move. Odin would've killed Ren the third time around, if not for the fact that at literally the last second Kanzaki changed his mind.
• Death by Irony: Specifically made to win the Rider War and to loop time repeatedly in order to manipulate its outcome, Odin is destroyed when Kanzaki realizes the whole war is pointless.
• Dragon-in-Chief: To Kanzaki. His plans need him around to succeed and he's the strongest enemy the other Riders face.
• The Faceless: His identity is never seen, because it's actually not important—-Odin is a vessel for Kanzaki's will and his hosts are always brainwashed.
• Finishing Move: Eternal Chaos ^note Never completely displayed in the series, but its video game and its American adaptation say it's pretty much a full out charge to the opponent
• Flash Step: A big part of why fighting him is so futile; he moves out the way of every attack used on him (you can literally count the number times somebody hit him on one hand^note only three times^note and Shinji literally spent an entire timeline preparing for one of them) and can attack his enemies from various angles too quickly for them to respond.
• Graceful Loser: Congratulates Ren for becoming the Final Rider after Shiro's screaming destroys him for the final time.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: His Final Vent has a possibility to do so.
• It Can Think: World of If implies a flaw in Shiro's constructions gives Odin barely enough individuality to be its own person — enough that if Odin wins, the credit goes to it and not Shiro, but not enough to actually have a wish for itself. Needless to say, Shiro hits rock bottom in that timeline and has no way to get back up, with both his own efforts and the bloodshed of the Rider War permanently invalidated.
• The Juggernaut: Ren and Shinji in their Surive forms couldn't even slow him down, and that incarnation only died after a lot more teamwork and a bit of sheer luck when he got distracted by Yui screaming.
• Large Ham: He practically shouts all his lines.
• Lightning Bruiser: He's strong enough to send a speeding truck off its course and can move too fast for his enemies to even touch him. He's no slouch for taking hits either, one of the few times he was hit (a punch from Shinji's Strike Vent) was more a shock to him that Shinji hit him than anything else.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Gold Shield
• Meaningful Name: He's named after a god, which rings true considering just how overpowered he can be.
• No-Sell: Shinji once landed a punch on him. It had no effect.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: His entrance during his debut episode.
• Purposely Overpowered: Kanzaki has no interest in fighting fair.
• Reset Button: Time Vent, which turns time back to however far Kanzaki wants and has been used an unspecified number of times by the time the show starts. Two of the resulting timelines are seen in the events of the TV Special and the Movie, and the main series is the last.
• Suicide Attack: Though Odin's Final Vent is not shown in Ryuki, Dragon Knight reveals that Odin's Final Vent is essentially this, as Wrath (Odin's counterpart) gets vented/killed immediately after using the Final Vent.
• Super Mode: Survive Form, using the Survive Mugen card. He's never needed to use it.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Since Odin is just a random person acting as Kanzaki's puppet, he wins by means of his overwhelming power and Flash Step abilities rather than actual skills. Of course, given his ridiculous power, he can afford to be this way.

Spin-off Exclusive Riders

Itsuro Takamizawa/Kamen Rider Verde ( 13 Riders)

Itsuro Takamizawa/Kamen Rider Verde

Portrayed by: Arthur Kuroda (live), Fumiya Touei (suit)

"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 Kitaoka 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.

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Ambition Is Evil: He wants to rule over the world.
• Big Bad: Of the 13 Riders special, since him gathering the surviving Riders to kill Shinji and Ren is what starts the climax.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He may be a charismatic leader of his own corporation, but on the inside, he's a megalomaniac who seeks power in order to rule the world.
• Death by Irony: Gathers the surviving Riders to kill Ren and Shinji since the latter's idealism is a threat to the Rider War and the former betraying the group to protect him puts a risk to his plans. He mortally wounds Ren while attempting to kill Shinji with his Final Vent, only for Ren to kill him with his own Final Vent. It's ironically makes him the first victim of his master plan, which was to kill Ren and Shinji so that the Rider War can continue.
• Faux Affably Evil: He acts like a Benevolent Boss against his employees and the public, which explains his good publicity. However, he shows his true colors as a megalomaniac to other Riders, such as Shinji in his conference room, while also covering the room with soundproof curtains so his true side won't be leaked outside. He lampshades it when he claims he can drop his act to Shinji.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Jun, who's one of the youngest Riders while he's the oldest.
• The Social Darwinist: He's a power-hungry businessman who wants to rule the world and views society as about defeating the competition. This also extends to Rider War where he views every humans as (his definition of) Riders.
• Villainous Friendship: Considering that in the original series, Jun intended to make battle royale between all Riders and Itsuro pretty much united all Riders in the same spot to fight, it can be assumed that Jun admires him for his charisma and for making the Rider War more interesting.
• Villain with Good Publicity: He is well-respected by his own company and Jun.
• Virtue Is Weakness: His definition of a Kamen Rider, due to his worldview and the nature of the Rider War, is that they must be utterly cold-blooded to only care about obtaining their goal by any means. He immediately antagonizes Shinji when he reveals he wants to stop the war, and later mocks Ren's grief over Tezuka's death, eventually turning on him when he hesitates to kill Shinji.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Verde

• Costume Copycat: His Copy Vent (apparently different from Raia's card of the same name, which copied weapons).
• Finishing Move: Death Punish ^note Biogreeza sends Verde at a foe, and Verde finishes with a piledriver.
• Invisibility - His Clear Vent. Comes with a chameleon-based Contract Monster.
• Killer Yo-Yo: Bio-Winder, his weapon.
• Power Copying: Like Raia, his Copy Vent copies an opponent’s weapon, though his use has an added benefit of copying the appearance of an entire Rider, as he managed to copy Knight’s entire appearance along with his Wing Lancer.
• Wrestler in All of Us: His Final Vent ends with a piledriver.

Miho Kirishima/Kamen Rider Femme (Episode Final)

Miho Kirishima/Kamen Rider Femme

Portrayed by: Natsuki Katou (live), Keiko Hashimoto (suit)

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, she joined the war for the same reason as Ren: to save the life of a loved one. For her it was her sister, whose body is preserved in a state of "cryogenic stasis" after being killed by Asakura.

She meets Shinji after running from a man she tried to swindle, and the two develop an awkward romantic relationship. Though they often argued with each other (primarily over the Rider War and her loose sense of morality), her small kindnesses and flirtations served to confuse Shinji as he tried to figure out her character, complicated by her attempt to pickpocket his Advent Deck.

As Femme, she is able to hold her own against Mirror Monsters but is outmatched in combat ability against other Riders. After Kanzaki imposes a three-day time limit to the Rider War, she attempts to kill Asakura and avenge her sister, but finds herself helplessly outmatched. She is almost killed when she is saved by the dark Ryuga, whom she mistakes for Ryuki in the dim light.

The next day she takes Shinji out to dinner as thanks, something that confuses him even further. However, their date is cut short when Ryuga emerges from the Mirror World to attack her. They transform to battle in the Mirror World, and she is mortally wounded by Ryuga's overwhelming power, only saved from total annihilation by the real Ryuki. They return to the real world and Shinji walks her home, leaving with assurances from Miho that her injuries are not as severe as he suspected. However, after he leaves she collapses to the pavement and dies, her body ignored by the thousands of pedestrians who walked the streets the next day.

Tropes that apply to her in general:

• Action Girl: The only female Rider in the series, and the first official female Rider in the franchise.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Started out this way towards Shinji, on the grounds of her being a Gold Digger and taking advantage of his naivete. However, she later grew to genuinely care about him.
• Foil: To Ren. While he's primarily black and blue, Miho's white and black. Similarly, while Ren's combat style revolves around down and dirty one on one combat, Miho's focuses on graceful illusions and crowd control. Both of them even become close to the resident Idiot Hero Shinji.
• Gold Digger: At first seduced men (including Shinji) for money.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Despite being fatally wounded by Ryuga, Miho masked her pain in Shinji's presence, not wanting him to feel grief for it.
• Morality Pet: Shinji came to be this for her. External materials even state that Miho might have dropped her vendetta altogether had she met Shinji sooner.
• Rescue Romance: Falls in love with Shinji partly because she thought he saved her from Asakura. It was actually Ryuga. Later played straight after Shinji tried to save her from Ryuga.
• Revenge: Killing Asakura was one of her main objective in the Rider War.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only female Rider in the series.

Tropes exclusive to her as Kamen Rider Femme

• Cool Sword: Blanc Visor, a Royal Rapier like Knight's.
• Distaff Counterpart: Of Knight, being based on a winged animal while using a rapier Ride Vendor when not using a large bladed weapon.
• Double Weapon: Wing Slasher, which is two blades on a stick.
• Finishing Move: Misty Slash ^note Blancwing produces a gust that blows the foe into the path of Femme's Wing Slasher.
• Light Is Good: Zigzagged: She has white armor in her Rider form and while she seems to be on the side of good, she's still a con-woman and an Anti-Hero with similar goals as Ren.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Wing Shield

Shinji Kido (Mirror World)/Kamen Rider Ryuga (Episode Final)

Shinji Kido (Mirror World)

Portrayed by: Takamasa Suga (live), Jun Watanabe (suit)

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

This mirror reflection of Shinji 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 Genocider 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.

For tropes related to his appearance in Kamen Rider Zi-O, see the folder for Another Ryuga here.

Tropes that apply to him in general

• Artifact of Doom: The S.I.C. story World of If shows that Shinji became Ryuga when he discarded the Ryuki deck over the Ryuga deck on the last days of the Rider War.
• Become a Real Boy: His wish was to fuse with Shinji and take control of his body, so he may exist outside the Mirror World.
• Evil Sounds Deep: His Visor has a noticeably deeper voice than others when reading cards.
• Evil Twin: He's Shinji's reflection so he looks like him.
  • Subverted in a S.I.C story where Ryuga is the spirit of Shinji's older twin brother, who was the opposite of Shinji in terms of personality, but otherwise loved his brother. He actually wins the Rider War and uses the wish to revive all the victims since that's what Shinji would have wanted.
• Manipulative Bastard: He is this of the highest order.
• Mirror Self: Fittingly enough, he is Shinji's Mirror World counterpart.
• Pet the Dog: Played with Yui when she was saddened over Shinji breaking his promise of playing with her. Although this can be attributed to him being a Mirror World creation, which are all shown to be loyal to Yui throughout the series. It is unknown how true this remains in adulthood when Shinji accused him of trying to manipulate him when he suggested using the wish of the Rider War to resurrect a dead Yui in order to trick him into merging with him.
• Wild Card: This is precisely what makes him so dangerous, proving outright more dangerous than Odin for the protagonists.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Ryuga

• Cool Sword: Drag Saber
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Unlike Ryuki, Ryuga has no issue murdering others:
  • Within minutes of his introduction in Final Episode, he effortlessly defeats Ouja. Keep in mind Ouja had Genocider on his side and still lost, with Ryuga destroying Genocider itself with his final vent.
  • Femme doesn't fare batter against the evil Rider neither, most of their fight is Ryuga toying with her until he decides to just kill her. She is saved at the last minute by Ryuki, but dies from the injures she took in the fight anyway.
  • In the S.I.C. continuity he easily defeats Tiger though this is no surprise given he was on survive form.
• Finishing Move: Dragon Rider Kick ^note Ryuga levitate himself then has Dragblacker "launch" him in a straight horizontal torpedo strike, with black flames.
• Jack of All Stats: A result of his deck being the same as Shinji’s.
• Kill It with Fire: Drag Claw, which was used to breath a powerful dark flames alongside Dragblacker.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Drag Shield.
• Paint It Black: He's Ryuki but painted black instead of red.
• Palette Swap: Just as Ryuga is a dark version of Ryuki, his weapons are black versions of Ryuki's weapons.

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