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Series / Kamen Rider Ghost

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My life, will burn bright!

"Eyecon, open your eye!"

Kamen Rider Ghost is the 2015-2016 Kamen Rider series; the seventeenth entry in the franchise's Heisei era and the twenty-sixth series overall.

Takeru Tenkuji is a young man who dreams of following in his late father's footsteps and becoming a heroic ghost hunter. When he is mailed a mysterious artifact on his eighteenth birthday, supposedly from his father, Takeru suddenly gains the ability to perceive spectral monsters known as "Gamma". But even as he moves to defend his friends from the Gamma, he is cut down without mercy and dies.

Despite this, all is not lost! Takeru's soul becomes stored within the artifact (called an "Eyecon") and he is restored to un-life as a ghost under the condition that he fight against the Gamma over the scattered Eyecons. If Takeru is able to gather fifteen Eyecons, each containing the brilliant soul of a great historical figure, then he can use their combined power to grant any wish he desires, even being brought back to life.

To help him succeed, Takeru receives a Ghost Driver through which he can channel the power of the Eyecons and transform into Kamen Rider Ghost. By setting different Eyecons within the belt, Takeru can access the skills and abilities of famous historical figures such as the swordsmanship of Miyamoto Musashi or the innovation of Thomas Edison. But Takeru only has ninety-nine days to obtain the Eyecons he needs before his new un-life runs out and he fades away permanently.

Aired alongside Super Sentai shows Shuriken Sentai Ninninger and then Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger in the Super Hero Time block. Both Ghost and Zyuohger are part of Toei's Super Hero Year initiative, celebrating both Super Sentai and Kamen Rider.

Kamen Rider Ghost's tie-in projects include:

There exists a character sheet and a recap page for the series. Please place any related tropes there.

Recurring Kamen Rider tropes include:

  • Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Averted; Sennin gives Takeru the title of "Kamen Rider" along with the Ghost Driver. It's never revealed if there's any deeper significance to the name, though Kamen Rider 1 suggests he is aware of the original Kamen Rider and named Takeru one as homage to his legacy.
  • Cool Bike: After taking a year off in Drive, the lead Rider gets a motorcycle again with the Machine Ghostriker. Specter gets one too called the Machine Hoodie.
  • Defeat Equals Explosion: Played straight for the Gamma and their Eyecons.
  • Merchandise-Driven: As per course for a Toku series. This series focuses on the 15 Ghost Eyecons.
  • Monster of the Week: The Gamma, beings from another world. Each episode sees a different Evolved Gamma being created from a "Gamma Assault" possessing an object. Later on, new Monsters of the Week appear in the form of the Gammaizers, the golem-like artificial guardians of the Gamma World.
  • Multiform Balance: The Riders can utilize Ghost Eyecons to change into forms called "Damashii" (Souls), with each having a few basic forms that can be augmented with other Damashii that take the form of hooded jackets. Each base form also has a pre-Damashii transition state known as "Transient".
  • Sixth Ranger: Kamen Rider Specter started off as an Anti-Hero. Then there's the villainous Kamen Rider Necrom. As both of them pulls a Heel–Face Turn, they join Takeru in their battle against the Gamma later on.
  • Transformation Is a Free Action: Played straight and justified as if a Gamma tries to attack Ghost while transforming or switching to another form, the Parka Ghost he summons can defend him from incoming attacks or attackers.
  • Transformation Trinket: The Ghost Drivers for Ghost and Specter and the Mega Ulorder for Necrom, which work with the Ghost Eyecons. Fifteen of the Eyecons are numbered and based on famous historical people (and more historical Eyecons show up in tie-in projects), while others represent the Riders themselves. Ghost later gets a second belt for his Grateful Damashii form, the Eyecon Driver G.
    • In addition to his personal Ore Eyecon, Ghost gets numbers 1-10: Musashi, Edison, Robin Hood, Newton, Billy the Kid, Beethoven, Benkei, Goemon, Ryoma, and Himiko. He later receives the Toucon Boost and Mugen Eyecons as upgrades.
    • Specter's are his own Specter Eyecon and numbers 11-13: Tutankhamun, Nobunaga, and Houdini. He also gets Deep Specter later in the series and Shin Specter in Kamen Rider Specter.
    • Necrom has his own Necrom Eyecon and numbers 14-15: Grimm and Sanzo. In the Specter DVD he gets Yuujou Burst.
    • Dark Ghost, Zero Specter, and the various alternate Necroms also have their own personal Eyecons.
    • There are a number of promotional, non-Rider-specific Eyecons as well, many of which have their Damashii featured in the Ganbarizing arcade game:
      • A series of Legend Rider Eyecons based on the Phase Two Heisei Riders from Kuuga to Ghost's successor Ex-Aid (including one for Ghost himself). The ones from Double to Drive were included in the show's canon by appearing in Legendary! Riders' Souls and Kamen Rider 1, while Ex-Aid's appeared when the Rider himself showed up in the series epilogue episode and Kamen Rider Generations. There's also a Kamen Rider 45 Eyecon in Riders' Souls that has both a combined Heisei Damashii and an Ichigo Damashii; and a toy-only combined Showa Rider Eyecon.
      • Many additional historical figures got Eyecons as well: Ikkyu, Pythagoras, Darwin, Napoleon, the Tenkatoitsu,note  and the Shinsengumi all get used in tie-ins. Others exclusive to toys and Ganbarizing include Santa Claus, Kamehameha, Galileo, Nightingale, Columbus, Shakespeare, Ishinomori, and da Vinci; plus alternate personal Eyecons of Special Ore and a combined Ore/Specter. Most of the historical figure Eyecons do appear in The 100 Eyecons, but their Damashii don't.
  • Swiss-Army Weapon: Both Ghost and Specter have weapons that can be reconfigured, sometimes with a Ghost Gadget attachment, for use with different Damashii.
    • Ghost's Gan Gun Saber has seven modes.
      • Blade Mode: The standard mode, compatible with the Ore Damashii form.
      • Naginata Mode: Half of the Gan Gun Saber attaches to the hilt, becoming a dual-bladed shaft. Like Blade Mode, it is compatible with the Ore Damashii form.
      • Nitoryu Mode: Half of the Gan Gun Saber detaches, becoming a pair of one-sided blades. Compatible with the Musashi Damashii form.
      • Gun Mode: The hilt tilts and one side of the Gan Gun Saber rotates, exposing a gun barrel. Compatible with the Edison Damashii form.
      • Arrow Mode: The Condor Telephone attaches to the front of the Gan Gun Saber's Gun Mode, creating a bow. Compatible with the Robin Damashii form.
      • Rifle Mode: The Bat Clock attaches to the front of the Gan Gun Saber's Gun Mode, creating a double barrel rifle. Compatible with the Billy the Kid Damashii form.
      • Hammer Mode: The Spider Lantern attaches to the tip of the Gan Gun Saber's Naginata Mode, creating a war hammer. Compatible with the Benkei Damashii form.
    • Specter's Gan Gun Hand has three modes. Much later, Necrom gets a modified version of it called the Gan Gun Catcher.
      • Rod Mode: The standard mode, compatible with the Specter Damashii form.
      • Gun Mode: The orange tab slides forward to close the front of the Gan Gun Hand, exposing a gun barrel. Compatible with the Nobunaga Damashii form.
      • Sickle Mode: The Cobra Cellular attaches to the tip of the Gan Gun Hand's Rod Mode, creating a short scythe. Exclusive to the Gan Gun Hand (the Catcher has an Eyecon slot where the attach point would be) and compatible with the Tutankhamun Damashii form.
    • Ghost and Specter each get a second Swiss-Army Weapon with their Toucon Boost and Deep Specter Damashii, the Sunglasseslasher and Deepslasher repectively, which have two modes. Unlike the Gan Gun Saber and Hand, these weapons' modes do not rely on a specific Damashii form to be used. However, the Sunglasseslasher is mostly associated with Goemon, Ryoma, and Himiko since they are primarily paired with Toucon Boost and don't have any other weapons. They can also load two Eyecons into their sunglasses-like slots for a Finishing Move.
      • Sword Mode: The standard mode.
      • Blaster Mode: The blade rotates, becoming a gun barrel.
    • A few Damashii have weapons built-in with no separate gear needed.

Eyecon, open your Tropes!

  • An Aesop: From #49, courtesy of Takeru.
    Takeru: You never know when a person might die. But until the moment it actually happens, you should let your life burn bright!
  • Alice Allusion: The Book Gamna is basically a walking version of this.
  • All Your Base Are Belong to Us: #10. Saionji already had plans for taking Daitenkuu Temple itself, all he needed were the 15 Eyecons all together.
  • Artistic License – History:
  • Bedsheet Ghost: The Ghost Drivers evoke this in their design. Also in the spirit of the trope, the Parka Ghosts (when not worn by a Rider) are disembodied coats.
  • Bloodless Carnage: Subverted in regards to the Gamma, who actually do bleed black blood when wounded, and spurt a large amount when killed. Also, Takeru's shirt is stained with blood when the Gammas kill him.
  • Brick Joke: When Takeru goes inside the Edison eyecon, Edison introduces himself by loudly proclaiming in English, "YES, I'M EDISON!". Some time later when Takeru summons him via the Eyecon Driver G, Edison starts talking in borderline Pokémon Speak, proclaiming "I'M EDISON!" multiple times while doing so, albeit not exclusively.
    Edison: I am Edison! I am Edison! Are you Edison? No, you are not!
  • Catchphrase: Takeru's is "My life's gonna burn bright!"
  • Chest Insignia: The Riders have their respective eye logos on their chests, and each of the Damashii has an insignia that doubles as the Rider's face.
  • Chromatic Arrangement: The Riders have a neon-hued version of this: Ghost is orange, Specter is blue, and Necrom is green.
  • Coconut Superpowers: Seem to have become even more prevalent with this series.
    • Takeru regularly forgets he can fly, turn invisible, and walk through walls, even when it would get him out of bad situations.
    • Ghost’s great eyeball attacks, Specter’s Houdini hoverboard form and Necrom’s mook-based powers have each barely appeared since their respective debuts.
    • The CGI parka ghosts have largely been relegated to stock footage transformation sequences, with the much cheaper guys in black suits wearing coats or even just eyecons wiggling around being used in their place to represent the legendary heroes talking.
    • And the poster child is of course Captain Ghost, which, despite getting prominent placement in the opening sequence, has had so few actual appearances that you could count them on one hand.
    • It's the reason why, out of all the forms used, Beethoven and Himiko, the two forms that utilize some form of magic that relies on CGI effects, are the least used.
  • Continuity Nod: When pulling out the Newton Eyecon in #4, the show quickly flashes back to when Ghost got the Eyecon in the Drive finale, establishing those episodes as canon for Ghost.
  • Continuity Snarl:
    • There's a minor one regarding the Drive crossover appearances since #4 establishes them as canon. They have to happen sometime between the first and fourth episodes, but Ghost specifies that Takeru's only been dead two weeks at that point while Drive's timeline places them over two months.
    • Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Ghost Drive: Super Movie Wars Genesis worsens it; it treats Takeru and Shinnosuke's meeting in this film as being their first one (when the two first met when Shinnosuke gave him the Newton Eyecon in Kamen Rider Drive. In addition, it retcons how and why Takeru's father dies. Judging by the events of #47, this change did not in fact happen, making it a Non-Serial Movie.
  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Design-wise, at any rate. Previously, most Heisei and some Showa-era Kamen Rider designs have had glowing eyes on their faces. Ghost has a glowing face and non-glowing eyes.
    • Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you realize all of the other riders are alive. Ghost on the other hand is dead, as signified by having dead eyes.
  • Cool Ship: The Captain Ghost, a pirate ship. It can combine with the Ghostriker to become a giant lizard steed called the Iguana Ghostriker.
  • Creator Cameo: In a sense. One of the toy-exclusive Eyecons represents Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of the Kamen Rider franchise. However, there isn't a Damashii designed for him — when used in the Ganbarizing arcade game, his Eyecon seems to represent Grateful Damashii.
  • Creator Provincialism: Besides the fact that the show takes place in Japan, half of the Eyecons are of Japanese historical figures. Justified by the fact that making an Eyecon requires a possession of the person's and strong feelings about them; both are much easier to find regarding hometown heroes rather than people halfway around the world.
  • Dangerous 16th Birthday: Takeru receives the Ore Eyecon and is killed on the day he turns 18.
  • Death Is Cheap: This is the show where the Riders and monsters are ghosts, so this makes sense, but it is practiced to such an egregious level. How? Well, both Makoto and Alain die once in the entire franchise, while Takeru dies about four to seven times, but they all come back to life in one way or another.
  • Died on Their Birthday: As part of the Downer Beginning, Takeru dies on his 18th birthday after defending his friends from an attacking Gamma, setting the entire plot into motion.
  • Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: In the 100 Eyecons summer movie, we see a concert with the opening theme being performed by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and Schubert who are actually the band Kishidan who originally recorded the song.
  • Downer Beginning: Takeru is killed in the first episode. It doesn't stick.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Not only did Ghost debut in Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future, but he also appeared in Drive's last two episodes in a crossover. The Special Preceding Video released online after the movie but before his TV debut also counts, featuring Takeru's first in the flesh appearance.
    • In addition, Genm and Ex-Aid from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid made their debuts in #49 and #50 respectively, with Genm's presence in the former actually becoming a plot point in the latter.
  • Elemental Powers: At least five Damashii forms provide these.
  • The Evils of Free Will: The Gamma don't have much of a sense of individuality and consider it a negative, looking down on humanity since their opposing viewpoints cause so much conflict.
  • Evolving Credits: When the opening shows Takeru transforming into Kamen Rider Ghost, more of his other forms are added as he gains them, but eventually it is changed to show his most relevant forms. #6 adds a few scenes with Specter, with one of them eventually showing his Houdini Damashii, #13 replaces a clip of Ghost fighting with one featuring Toucon Boost, #14 replaces a clip with Saionji and Alain with one only featuring Alain and #17 drops a scene with different Eyecons to make room for Necrom.
  • Excited Title! Two-Part Episode Name!: All episodes are titled in this format, with the added format that the first part has to be two kanji long a la Kuuga.
  • Extremely Short Timespan: Rather than taking place over the course of a year like most Toku shows, Ghost takes place entirely over 198 days (roughly 6 months and a few days). Justified, as that’s how long Takeru has left before his soul fades away.
  • Eye Motifs: The Ghost Eyecons are shaped like eyeballs, with the Ghost Drivers providing the lids; and Ghost and Specter have an eye insignia on them and their weapons. The Gamma are also eye creatures and summoned through eye-shaped portals with a ritual involving something resembling eyedrops. Later on in the series, Ghost's Toucon Boost Damashii weapon the Sunglasseslasher has sunglasses on it that Eyecons are inserted behind, and Necrom's Transformation Trinket the Mega Ulorder involves eyedrops.
  • Faceless Goons: The Gamma Commandos.
  • Failed Attempt at Drama: #7 has Onari getting to outdo Takeru for once by finally tracking down the Mysterious Backer, just as he's gotten a new Eyecon for himself, and storm up to him... and then trip over a rolling chair.
  • Fainting Seer: The Victim of the Week in #17 as an unfortunate side effect of possession by the Himiko Eyecon.
  • Fanservice Pack: A mild example, but near the end of the show, Akari and Kanon mostly ditch the Proper Tights with a Skirt and start showing some leg.
  • The Flame of Life: Takeru has a Ghost Lights theme and seeks for his life to "burn bright". This is particularly notable with his first Super Mode, Toucon Boost ("Fighting Spirit Boost"), which is described as a simple powerup but also gives him a red, fiery appearance and control over fire.
  • Flat-Earth Atheist: Houdini's disbelief in the supernatural seems to be strong enough that he still makes token attempts to hold it after becoming a ghost himself.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • #8 has the Mysterious Backer explaining the actual Eyecon count, revealing one that's still unaccounted for. Turns out it's Benkei's Eyecon.
    • When Specter uses the Tutankhamun finisher in its debut, it involves him sending off one of the Gamma to another dimension that appears terrifying, much like what happened to him.
  • Four Lines, All Waiting: A lot of the subplots in Ghost either come to a screeching halt in favor of others or get haphazardly completed to get to other subplots. A good example is a subplot where Igor takes over a company for his plans, but it gets derailed in favor of addressing the absence of Makoto's actor, Alain's and Jabel's redemption, The Gammaizers stepping in, and a crossover with Zyuohger. It took ten episodes for the plot to come back around to Igor's takeover, and by then, almost.
  • "Freaky Friday" Flip: #39 has one involving the Victim of the Week (all two of 'em). It's surprisingly similar to the Trope Namer, being a parent and child with longstanding tensions and misunderstanding. However, due to an error, Gammaizer Magnetic Blade (the culprit behind the Flip who also doubles as the Monster of the Week) has its mind and body swapped as well, meaning the Flip goes three ways by #40.
  • Ghost Invasion: "Gamma" spirits attempt to cross over from their own realm to take over Earth. However, it's played with when it's revealed that the Gamma are really still-alive Human Aliens using Magitek to separate their souls from their bodies.
  • Gotta Catch 'Em All: Ghost has to search the world for the 15 Ghost Eyecons before the Gamma can find them.
  • Great Big Book of Everything: Takeru owns a book on great men of history that his father gave him; which of course includes entries on the men he gets Eyecons for.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: Has about 4, including one introduced solely in the post-series V-Cinema.
    • Adonis is the ruler of the Gamma and the one who authorized the invasion of the Human World, as well as the father of Alain and Adel. However, he does not personally take part in the invasion, leaving his sons to oversee it instead and is usurped by Adel before Takeru has a chance to confront him.
    • The Gammaizers are a set of artificial deities whose purpose is to guard the Gamma World and allow safe contact with the Great Eye. While they offer their services to Adel after his rise to power, they slowly manipulate him into giving more power to them. In particular, Gammaizer Climate was able to guide Adel into exposing them to human emotions and giving them full self-awareness, allowing them to usurp him at the end and become the Final Boss.
    • Edith/"Sennin" was Adonis's closest friend who worked with him and Danton to create the Gamma World, as well as design the Gammaizers. He also could have revived Takeru from the very first episode but chose not to and is the one who gave Argos his Driver, making him this for The Movie.
    • Danton is the third co-founder of the Gamma World who fought a Civil War with Adonis not long after it was created over a difference in ideals, later returning in the post-series movie to put in motion his plans.
  • Horned Humanoid: The Riders have horns on their masks no matter which Damashii they are using. Bonus points for Ghost and Specter being a Red Oni, Blue Oni duo.note 
  • Human Popsicle: All Gamma have their true bodies stored in special capsules. The physical bodies of them we see are projections from Eyecons.
  • Hunter of His Own Kind: Takeru. Though he aspires to be a Ghost Hunter long before he becomes a ghost himself.
  • In the Hood: A major design theme this year, as the Riders' form changes all involve different hooded jackets.
  • In the Name of the Moon: In #24, after seeing Yamato do his own roll call as Zyuoh Eagle, Takeru is inspired to do his own. It doesn't stick.
    Takeru: "Connecting the hearts of luminaries. Kamen Rider Ghost!"
  • Invisible to Normals: All the ghosts (meaning Takeru, Sennin, Yurusen, and the Gamma), though Takeru can become visible when he wants to (in human form anyway; being invisible as Ghost seems to be involuntary). Takeru's friends do find ways to See the Invisible, though.
  • Kabuki Theatre: Goemon Eyecon has a Kabuki and Ninja Theme.
  • Kid from the Future: In the last episode, maybe. As Ayumu disappears into the portal back to his own time, his parting words to Takeru are cut off, but he's clearly mouthing the word "dad" right before he vanishes, and he doesn't give any indication that he isn't still addressing him.
  • Klingon Promotion: Adel does this to Emperor Adonis and became new emperor and accusing Alain of his death.
  • Lampshade Hanging: #1 finally has someone mention the glaring size difference between Takeru and Kamen Rider Ghost (longtime suit actor Seiji Takaiwa has been in the lead Rider suit since Kamen Rider Agito regardless of who is cast as the lead, which means a glaring size difference every single time.)
  • Lighter and Softer: Despite the ghost theme and its Downer Beginning, the story is optimistic and uplifting compared to its two predecessors or four sucessors. The show has its general themes of believing in oneself and the bonds between people and is surprisingly by far the only Rider series where NEARLY every single villain presented in the show turns good in due part of the heroes' efforts. Also despite the ghost theming of the show it's the first Kamen Rider since Fourze that doesn't have a major character die for real in the finale.
  • The Magic Goes Away: Some of it, at least. With the Great Eye disappearing into outer space in #49, the Gamma Eyecon system ceases to function. However, the Eyecons that didn't use the Great Eye's power, such as the ones the heroes use to transform, keep working just fine.
  • Magic Versus Science:
    • Onari and Akari frequently bicker over this subject. Ultimately both of them are right, as ghosts in the series are a mixture of magic and advanced technology.
    • #17 and #18 highlight the theme, as they contrast both Onari and Akari with Igor (an amoral supernatural scientist) and also show that Newton and Himiko also don't get along for this reason.
  • Magitek: The Gamma are actively researching technology to enhance their supernatural powers. The Riders also have some, like the motorcycles and Ghost Gadgets, but it's downplayed in comparison. Ultimately it turns out that the Eyecons were Magitek to begin with, not purely magical as they were first believed to be.
  • Make a Wish: The reason Takeru and the other factions want to collect the Eyecons: when all 15 are collected, they will grant one wish.
  • Mêlée à Trois: Due to the nature of the Ghost Eyecons, it's natural multiple sides vying for them. By the climax of the first arc, the situation was Kamen Rider Ghost vs the Gamma vs Kamen Rider Specter vs Saionji, all going after the Eyecons for their own reasons. By #15, Kamen Rider Spectre and Ghost are on the same side, but the Gamma still have Alain and Adel, both of who have their differing motivations and a Sibling Rivalry between them, keeping it this.
  • Missing Mom: ALL of the three Rider's mothers are dead. Takeru's mother died shortly after he was born, Makoto's and Kanon's mother died when they were young is what caused their father to abandon them and Alain's mother died at some point, leading to Adonis' desire to create the perfect world.
  • The Monolith: Takeru's father found this black rocky structure with the eye symbol on it, and placed it in the underground base more than ten years before the pilot... or possibly built the temple around it. A later episode shows the Gamma trying to build an artificial one for some purpose.
  • Needle in a Stack of Needles: The whole series' premise is one. To revive himself, Takeru has to find 15 Eyecons in 99 days. While it sounds easy on paper, finding a few mysterious objects is really hard when they could be anywhere and represent anyone, and even worse if someone already has 5 of them with their own intentions in mind.
  • No Name Given: Unavoidable in The Movie, which promises to revive up to 100 Eyecon luminaries as actual people, while making it impossible to identify every one except by appearance. Some are names already used for certain Gamma, like Guan Yu and the Wright brothers, while others rely entirely on the costume, like the red samurai that may well be Sanada Yukimura.
  • Oni: Both the title character and Kamen Rider Spectre are themed after oni and oni-bi, with Ghost having one horn and Spectre having two. They barely miss the red oni, blue oni in appearance since Ghost wears orange while Spectre is blue.
  • Opening Shout-Out: The scene in the opening where the Takeru floats with the Eyecons is revisited for a similar scene in #49. Only this time, Takeru is flying with all 15 Eyecons and instead of just Akari and Onari waiting for him in the ground, this time it's all of his True Companions.
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: For one, they can henshin!
  • Orange/Blue Contrast: Ghost and Specter have largely similar black suits and default Damashii, but Ghost's color trim is neon orange and Specter's is electric blue.
  • Previously on…: In every episode, Takeru narrates his condition as a ghost with this statement "My name is Takeru Tenkuji. I was attacked and killed by a Gamma on my 18th birthday. I became Kamen Rider Ghost so I could gather all heroic Eyecons and come back to life." before he tells the situation from the previous episodes.
  • Public Domain Artifact: Eyecons call for an object owned or handled by a famous person, so there are a number of these for the ones that were created onscreen:
    • A handguard of Musashi
    • An Edison lightbulb
    • The bow and arrows of Robin Hood
    • A letter of commendation from Nobunaga
    • A musical score written by Beethoven
    • Billy the Kid's hat
    • A paper fan owned by Benkei and inscribed with a poem by a dear friend.
  • Punny Name:
    • The Ghost Eyecons. Besides the "eye"/"icon" pun, "kon" is a word for "soul".
    • Specter's Houdini Damashii involves his Machine Hoodie bike. Hoodie-ni, get it?
  • Race Against the Clock: Ghost only has 99 days to find the Ghost Eyecons before he dies again and a great disaster befalls the world.
  • Race Lift: The Movie promises to revive up to 100 historical figures from the Eyecons as live actors - except that Cleopatra and Billy the Kid, plus countless others, are clearly Japanese.
  • Red Baron: Many of the Eyecons have their respective luminaries gain a title in Takeru's Great Big Book of Everything, though some had to be revealed through a Telebi-kun magazine.
    • Miyamoto Musashi: "The No. 1 Swordsman in the World"
    • Thomas Edison: "The Unyielding Invention King"
    • Robin Hood: "The Just Thief of the Woods"
    • Issac Newton: "The Father of Universal Gravitation"
    • Billy the Kid: "The Fast-Shooting Gunman of the Wilderness"
    • Ludwig van Beethoven: "The Musician of Adversity"
    • Musashibo Benkei: "The Loyal Wild Monk"
    • Ishikawa Goemon: "The Great Thief of the Nation"
    • Sakamoto Ryoma: "The Lucky Adventurer/Soldier of Fortune of the Bakumatsu Period"
    • Himiko: "The Queen of Yamataikoku"
    • Tutankhamun: "The King of the Golden Mask"
    • Oda Nobunaga: "The Revolutionist of the Sengoku Period"
    • Harry Houdini: "The Legendary Magician"
    • The Brothers Grimm: "The Dream Painters and Fairy Tale Writers"
    • Master Xuanzang (Sanzo): "The Traveling Monk"
    • Pythagoras: "The God of the Triangle"
    • Ikkyu: "The Quick-Wit Master"
  • Red Herring: After Ghost works out the secret to Insect Gamma's mind control, he goes for all the glowing slugs immediately, but the Victim of the Week still goes off to work on Alain's artificial monolith, giving the impression that it's More than Mind Control, which certainly isn't unheard of in Kamen Rider... turns out Alain had thrown in some Gamma Eyecon possession as well.
  • Robot Buddy: The Ghost Gadgets, used by Ghost and Specter, which can transform from animal mode to object mode. They can also combine with the Rider's weapons, unlocking new forms of attacking.
    • Ghost:
      • Condor Telephone: A dial phone what transforms into a condor what can track down any calls it receives. Can combine with the Gan Gun Saber to turn it into its Arrow Mode.
      • Bat Clock: An alarm clock what can transform into a bat what can show recordings of the past in clock form and shoot ultrasonic waves to fend off attackers in bat form. Can either be turned into its Gun Mode to be used alongside the Gan Gun Saber in its own Gun Mode or combine with the Gan Gun Saber to turn it into its Rifle Mode.
      • Spider Lantern: A lantern what can transform into a spider what can make ghosts visible in lantern mode and create webbing in spider mode. Can combine with the Gan Gun Saber to turn it into its Hammer Mode.
    • Specter:
      • Cobra Cellular: A cell phone what can transform into a cobra. Can combine with the Gan Gun Hand to turn it into its Sickle Mode.
  • Rule of Three: Takeru messes things up by going against electric-based Gamma with Musashi Damashi - the one armed with two lightning rods - on two occasions. The third time, he deliberately goes with Edison Damashi.
  • Samus Is a Girl: Not subverted so much as not bothered with at all - "Little John" from #3, thanks to some very form-fitting pants, is clearly a woman.
  • See the Invisible: There are three ways to see the otherwise invisible Gamma as well as Takeru when he goes invisible: holding an Eyecon in your hands, spraying them with the "Shiranui" chemical, or simply having the Spider Lantern on hand.
  • Sentient Phlebotinum: It turns out the Parka Ghosts are completely sentient. This is to the point where Ryoma demands Takeru earn his favor to use him and Houdini outright refuses to let Makoto use his power.
  • Slow-Motion Fall: Takeru, when he's killed by a Gamma. There's also a Slow-Motion Drop as his necklace breaks and falls to the ground.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Of the 15 historical figure Eyecons, Himiko is the only one to be female. How can you tell? Well, it might have to with the little fact that her Eyecon's color is pink.
  • Someday This Will Come in Handy: Invoked when Sennin deliberately leaves two new Ghost Gadgets for Akari and Onari, with notes on them actually saying this. And they do, of course.
  • Soul Jar: The Eyecons. The "heroic" Eyecons hold the souls of their historic figures, Ghost's Ore Eyecon holds his own soul, and Specter has an Eyecon with the soul of his little sister during the first part of the series. Ghost's other personal Eyecons are implied to hold souls as well; Toucon Boost appears to be that of his father Ryu and Mugen is implied to be a second Eyecon with Takeru's own power. The Gamma Eyecons are later revealed to be their own Soul Jars and not their natural form. It's not clear if other personal Eyecons like Specter and Necrom have actual souls in them or not, but Deep Specter has a portion of the Gammaizer's power, which may or may not count as an actual "soul".
  • Spell My Name With An S: Several:
    • The Eyecons were initially assumed to use the normal English spelling of "Icon", though some fans embraced the pun based on their eyeball shape and the use of the "eye" kanji in Japanese and used "Eyecon" even before the name was confirmed.
    • "Damashii" is usually Romanized with a "T" as "Tamashii" (as it was with Kamen Rider OOO's TaMaShii Combo), but the Japanese writing indicated a "D" sound and it was later confirmed by being spelled out in English.
    • The name of the Riders' weapons were almost universally called "Gangan" until toy packaging revealed it was really "Gan Gun".
    • The second Rider's name may be "Specter" or "Spectre"; as both are valid English spellings. Officially it's "Specter", as seen on his Eyecon.
    • Tutankhamun's name also has a number of different ways it can be spelled in English, but it's officially written on the Eyecon as "Tutan Khamun". On the TV Asahi's page however, it is spelled as one word.
    • Fans originally spelled Alain's name as either "Alan" or "Aran". The Blu-Ray mini-series later revealed the official "Alain" spelling.
    • The humanoid Gamma who was send to help Alain can be translated as "Jabel", "Javel" or "Javelle". TV-Nihon has been translating his name as "Javert", as in Inspector Javert. This is actually more fitting than it seems.
    • The monsters are called 眼魔 in Japanese, which is literally transliterated as Ganma, and literally means "Eye-Demon". The official English spelling is "Gamma", as in practice in spoken Japanese the n sound before an m is pronounced as m as well.note 
  • Standard Evil Empire Hierarchy: The Gamma.
    • The Emperor: Adonis. Later usurped by Adel.
    • The Right Hand: Edith, the imperial magistrate.
    • The General: Adel and Alain, who head the Gamma's initial invasion.
    • The Guard: Igor, who uses the Deep Connect HQ as a front to develop the Demia Project.
    • The Oddball: Chikara Saionji, a regular human allied with the Gamma.
    • The Man Behind the Man: The Gammaizers.
  • Stock Footage: In #4, scenes of a part of Japan being lifted into the air from a Gamma's spell were reused from Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals.
  • Story Arc:
    • The first arc being about finding and activating the 15 Eyecons and uncovering what happened between Takeru's father and Saionji.
    • The second arc is about Takeru attempting to connect his heart with the 15 Eyecons as his father's spirit suggested, the relatonship between Makoto and the Gamma royal family and the revelation of the true nature of the Gamma race.
    • The third arc is about Alain adjusting to life in the human world after being framed by his older brother, the protagonists' attempts to stop Adel's Demia Project, and the mysteries surrounding the powers that forms the backbone of the Gamma world's existence.
  • Too Dumb to Live: The entire series kicks off because Takeru tried to fight two monsters with no formal training or superpowers. He dies on his first day.
    • Then in #2, Takeru tries using the Musashi form against a monster that uses electricity. Turns out using two giant metal swords means you attract and conduct lightning very easily.
  • Wham Episode:
    • #10 ends with Saionji snatching all 15 Eyecons right from under everyone's noses, and for even more wham, he pulls an All Your Base Are Belong to Us on the Daitenkuu Temple while simultaneously double-crossing Alain.
    • #22 has Adel murdering Adonis and taking over the position of Emperor while framing Alain for the murder causing Alain to become a fugitive. Takeru also found out about the true nature of the Gamma: All of them are actually beings with corporeal body who transfers their soul to eyecons. Their bodies meanwhile, are kept in stasis inside capsules.
  • Wham Line: #6 reveals the closest thing to a Morality Pet for Specter - a talking Eyecon.
    "Brother? Can I take a guess at what you're thinking about? It's Akari isn't it? You two were pretty close..."
  • Wham Shot: In #8: Specter having Houdini already is one thing, but Saionji has the five missing Eyecons for Goemon, Ryoma, Himiko, Grimm, and Sanzo!
    • In #21, at the end of the episode, a high ranking Gamma, Magister Edith appears to address the entire Gamma family. What makes this a wham shot is the fact that Magister Edith looks exactly like Sennin.
  • Who You Gonna Call?: The protagonists officially form one of these groups in order to better track Gamma activity.
  • A Wild Rapper Appears!: The Eyecons' transformation jingles have the Ghost Drivers rap about the Damashii summoned.
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Demia Project

The Demia Project is a plot by Gamma Emperor Adel to impose his will on everyone, joining the world as one being.

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Assimilation Plot

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Demia Project

The Demia Project is a plot by Gamma Emperor Adel to impose his will on everyone, joining the world as one being.

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Demia Project

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