This is a partial character sheet for Kamen Rider Build. Visit here for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.
open/close all folders
General Tropes
- Arms Dealer: For all intents and purposes: they mass produce the Guardians used by both Faust and Touto's government and provide them. Upon the war actually starting, they provide them to Hokuto as well, and later Seito. Namba's ultimate reason for backing Faust is to profit off the resulting war and the prospect of making a Kamen Rider army.
- Child Soldiers: Specializes in creating them. The Namba Children, most of them orphans, are trained since very young to excel in many fields, and of course, with the utmost loyalty to Namba. It's implied that due to not having a disaster to exploit, Namba was unable to do this in the new timeline, as Utsumi is a simple factory worker rather than an Evil Genius.
- Disc-One Final Boss: After Evolt regains his full power, Namba industries goes from the series Big Bad to a smoldering crater in the span of a single episode with everyone who didn't either reform or join Evolt dying in the process. Rarely in Tokusatsu or in media in general has You Have Outlived Your Usefulness been so swift, brutal, and complete.
- Mecha-Mooks: They create the Guardian troops used by all three nations, Faust, and even Foundation X. They also have their own, much more war-ready variant: the Hard Guardians, with abilities that are on the same level as Grease.
- MegaCorp: The company is so massive that they rival the three factions controlling Japan in terms of power. The finale implies profiting monumentally off the Skywall Disaster allowed them to become this, as in the timeline where it never happened, they're a simple steel factory.
- N.G.O. Superpower: Namba is mentioned early on as being so powerful that even the three factions Japan has been divided into are wary of them. Indeed, when the show gets to the Seito arc, Seito itself is presented as being just a puppet state, with Namba as the actual threat of the arc.
- Playing Both Sides: Are effectively providing a large percentage of the army for both sides of the Touto and Hokuto war via their Guardian Mecha-Mooks. When Seito enters the fray, Namba shows them favoritism by providing them with not only Guardians, but the Kaiser System and Kamen Rider Rogue as well.
- Spell My Name With An S: Due to the way Japanese handles "M" and "N" sounds, the company's name as well as the name of its founder can be read as "Namba" or "Nanba".
- Welcome to Evil Mart: Provided Faust with everything they needed for their evil enterprises, and is the suppler of Mecha-Mooks to all the villains in the series. More realistic than most, as they hide this side of their business from the public and are extremely immoral war profiteers.
Juzaburo Namba
Juzaburo Namba
Portrayed by: Akira Hamada, Norimasa Fuke
The president of Namba Heavy Industries, who enter the fray as the backer of Faust and all factions of Japan. He want to open the Pandora Box and access the unlimited energy supposedly stored within to create weapon of mass destruction, therefore monopolizing weapon manufacture in the world. In #28, his face is changed by Stalk into Prime Minister Mido to continues the war against Touto, all for seizing the remaining 28 Fullbottles in there.
- Abusive Parents: The Namba Children view him as their father figure and are all fiercely loyal to them, but Namba sees them as expendable pawns and has them conditioned to commit suicide if they're ever caught.
- Arc Villain: After serving as the Greater-Scope Villain for the first two arcs, Namba takes center stage in the "Invasion of Seito" arc, manipulating the war for his own ends.
- Asshole Victim: No tears were shed for Juzaburo after he's reduced to nothingness by Evolt.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Night Rogue for the first part of the show, as he's funding Faust. He later teams up with Blood Stalk after him and Rogue separate.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Juzaburo and his corporation stand above the three factions, providing all of them with information and technology only to betray them whenever it becomes more convenient to find a new partner to back. Seito in particular is shown to be a puppet of Juzaburo's influence, with their leader being played increasingly as an ineffectual joke: Juzaburo is the real villain of the arc. However, ultimately he's just as blinded by his greed as the faction leaders, and yet another pawn in Stalk's game.
- The Chessmaster: He has spies planted in all three governments along with other key positions in society, and through them and his other connections manipulates the three regions into fighting in order to advance his own goals.
- Classic Villain: Embodies Greed. Everything Juzaburo does is to preserve his own cushy lifestyle and make himself richer. He'll do anything to make more money and make his company even bigger, and this includes making a Deal with the Devil. And that last bit blows up in his face.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The CEO of Namba Heavy Industries and a war profiteer who desires to help start a Japanese civil war so he can make money off the resulting weapons deals.
- Deadly Hug: Evolt kills him with one after mockingly declaring his love for humanity.
- Death by Irony: He had Blood Stalk take Mido's face and impersonate him after he orders the latter to kill Mido and reduce him to scattering motes. When Evolt finally betrays Juzaburo, he gives the old man a Deadly Hug that also reduced him to scattering motes. In short, both Mido and Namba died along with the flags of their respective factions covering them as they are dissolved to nothingness.
- Dirty Coward: It's easy to miss because he's an old man and obviously not a fighter. That said, he's the most rotten human villain in the show, who spends most of the series hiding behind men, women and children far more powerful than himself. Everything he does is to preserve his own luxurious lifestyle and feed his ever growing greed. The moment he's cornered by Evolt, he becomes a blubbering mess begging for mercy.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: Despite of how much of a monster he was in the series, Utsumi genuinely cared about him and his reason for becoming Mad Rogue was to backstab Evolt when his guard was down and gain the strength to do it.
- Evil Old Folks: He's a war profiteer who if he got his hands on the Pandora Box would use its power to create a weapon stronger than a nuke, presumably just to sell it to the highest bidder. Long before the Sky Wall incident, Juzaburo was already inserting brainwashed agents that he'd indoctrinated from childhood into every part of Japan, and possibly even other countries. Unlike all of the other major villains, he was never corrupted by the Pandora Box's Hate Plague, or if he was, it didn't make him any more evil than he already was.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: He thought that working with a Humanoid Abomination like Evolt turn out fine for him. He is horrified upon realizing just how stupid he was.
- Evil Versus Oblivion: Despite his War for Fun and Profit attitude, he wants to rule the world, not destroy it. He is not happy when Evolt manages to finally open Pandora's Box.
- Eviler than Thou: Mido attempting to defy him and stick by the terms of his deal with Touto earns him a swift death and Namba stealing his identity.
- Fatal Flaw: Greed. His desire for the Pandora Box and the power it contains blinds him to 1) it's potential to destroy the world, 2) the idea that working with Blood Stalk is a horrible idea. Sure enough, Evolt plays him like a fiddle until he finally gets his ultimate form, at which point he decides that he no longer needs Juzaburo and kills him.
- Faux Affably Evil: He appears like a friendly old man most of the time, with his true ambitions being known to few outside his inner circle.
- Foil: To Taizan Himuro. Both of them are the leaders of their respective factions, with Taizan leading Touto and Namba leading NHI. But while Prime Minister Himuro is a conscientious man driven by the duty of his office and genuine care for the people he's serving, Namba is driven by his own self-interest and desires to subjugate not only Japan, but eventually the entire world. Also, while Taizan seeks to end the conflict as quickly and as bloodlessly as possible, Namba thrives on the destruction and carnage caused by his weapons and sees it as an opportunity to demonstrate his power to world. Finally, Taizan is a caring father who loves his son Gentoku unconditionally, even when he betrays him, and only wants the best for Gentoku so that he can be happy. Namba brainwashed an entire orphanage's worth of children into worshipping the ground he walks on and only cares about them as long as they are useful to his plans. He does not hesitate to discard them when they've exhausted their usefulness to him or manipulate them in order to get what he wants, such as he did with Sawa.
- Fountain of Youth: His theft of Mido's appearance functionally acts as this.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears glasses, and is one of the most morally bankrupt characters in the show.
- Hate Sink: Juzaburo is both the only villain who's in no way affected by the Pandora Box and the one who's the most decisively rotten to the core. Only Evolt and Killbus rival his absolute lack of redeeming characteristics, and even they are more likable (for villains) and charismatic than he is.
- The Heavy: The Man Behind the Man behind all 3 antagonistic organizations (Faust, Hokuto and Seito), with Seito basically owing their military might entirely to him. Additionally, Utsumi and Sawa had been working for him since the very beginning, which means he had already planted them as spies since the first episode.
- Holding Back the Phlebotinum: While his Kaisers have the ability to become the much more powerful Hell Bros, Juzaburo orders them not to use it until the second round of the Touto representative match, because his clients knowing such a powerful weapon was available would negatively impact sales of his other products.
- He's also this for Pandora's Box, wanting to use it's immense energies for his own gain, not to destroy the world with it.
- It's All About Me: Namba's only care is his own gain and what he wants above all else. He only really cares about the threat Evolt plays when it might affect him.
- Kill and Replace: When Mido proves unable to go back on his deal with Touto, Juzaburo has Stalk kill him and give Juzaburo his face. Ironically, Evolt threatens to do the same to him unless he swears absolute loyalty.
- Lack of Empathy: Namba only cares for what he wants and his own gain, nothing else. He'll destroy or kill countless lives solely for his own gain with a smile on his face.
- Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Even before the war starts, Namba is show profiting massively off the Skywall Disaster, including providing most of the standing military for all three capitols and becoming a Villain with Good Publicity. It's implied this is how he was able to make his company a MegaCorp in the first place, as in the universe where it never happened, Namba Industries is just a simple steel factory.
- The Man Behind the Man: Backed Faust and later Hokuto and Seito, using them all as part of his bid to claim Japan.
- Manchurian Agent: Long before the series, he founded the Namba Children, talented children who were brainwashed to become geniuses in their respective fields and insert themselves into positions of high authority, all while remaining loyal to him. Based on their ages, he did this before the Sky Wall incident, just in case he would ever need them. Though as Utsumi is a normal factory worker in the 'Sky Wall never happened' timeline, it is possible that without the Incident to profit from he was unable to complete it.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Of the villain factions, he's the most passive, having neither ability to directly fight himself or any active combatants in the war, mainly manipulating things from behind the scenes to his advantage. Justified, in that he's both an old man with no superpowers and a war profiteer, so he has nothing to gain from throwing his hat into the ring actively and everything to gain from letting all of Japan's governments buy more of his weapons. That said, he eventually picks Seito as the horse he wants to back in the race for the Pandora Box, since the nation proves easy to control, and when Seito's leader can't get the job done, he finally steps up himself.
- Take Over the World: His ultimate goal is to take over the world using the power of the Pandora Box and create an immortal Namba Empire.
- The Sociopath: Namba manipulates and plays everyone for his own ends, including the Namba Children as his personal Tyke Bomb minions, is able to masquerade as a Villain with Good Publicity, and human life means absolutely nothing to him to the point of starting a war solely for his own gain.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Taiyaki. He eats it even when impersonating Mido.
- Undying Loyalty: Somehow manages this with the Namba Children. If getting Sawa turned into a Smash is considered acceptable grounds for winding up Beneath Suspicion, you're either a damn good father figure or a damn better Cult of Personality leader.
- Unwitting Pawn: He fully cooperates with Blood Stalk to complete the Pandora Tower, thinking that its rise will bequeath to him unimaginable wealth and power, not knowing that his serpentine ally will use it to wipe out mankind.
- Villain with Good Publicity: As stated, he and his company have a very positive public image, but are into some very shady stuff behind the scenes, and he himself is willing to start an all out war for his own gain.
- Villainous Breakdown: In #38, when Evolt comes to kill him for attempting a double-cross, Namba falls out of his chair and spends his last moments on the floor fruitlessly trying to bargain for his own life.
- War for Fun and Profit: Desires to help Faust start a war between the three factions so he can profit off the resulting weapons deals. He eventually sets his ambitions a little higher, wanting to open the Pandora Box itself and create an immortal Namba Empire.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: An interesting case that's almost an inversion. While he's presumably revived in the New World, he don't get see what his New World counterpart is like. His company however is shown to be a metalworking factory instead of a war-profiteering MegaCorp, so presumably he isn't nearly as evil as his Old World self.
- Would Hurt a Child: Before the proxy fight between Seito and Touto, he tries to strong-arm Sawa into working for him again by kidnapping Nabeshima's wife and daughter, threatening to kill them unless she gives him the data on Build's new power-up item.
- Written by the Winners: Outright says this to Mido.
"Winners write history. If you take control you can make any justifications you want afterwards."
- Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks that Evolt is honestly loyal to him. Even after Evolt completes the Pandora Tower and semi-opens Pandora's Box he seems to simply think it's Evolt being slightly rebellious. By the time he finally realizes that Evolt isn't on his side after all it's far too late.
- On top of that, when Evolt comes to kill him he tries to bargain for his life by promising him money and his company. Evolt's planning to destroy the world so he doesn't need either of those things. He also seems to have forgotten how Evolt killed Mido, and lets his guard down when Evolt goes in for a "Hug".
Namba Children
Nariaki Utsumi
See his page in Kamen Rider Build Touto Government
Sawa Takigawa
See her page in Kamen Rider Build Protagonists
Fu Washio/Remocon Bros
See his page in Kamen Rider Build Seito
Rai Washio/Engine Bros
See his page in Kamen Rider Build Seito
Guardians
Guardians
Guardians
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Their focus is obscenely single-minded, and they aren't especially intelligent, such that they can all decide to only target Build even though there's an active and dangerous Smash right in front of them. Making matters worse is that Stalk, and presumably anyone else working with Namba Heavy Industries, can take control of any Guardian at any time. Subverted as the guy they're taking orders from was the guy sending out Smash to begin with and that's exactly what Namba designed them to do.
- Bayonet Ya: Guardian's rifles are adorned with a blade at the end.
- Boring, but Practical: They have the potential to defeat Smash by themselves. It just takes a lot of bullets. A lot of bullets.
- Cannon Fodder: In Heisei Generations FINAL, the Nebula Bugsters goons are swapped out for Guardians in the film's last act so that all the Riders get opponents they can beat since Bugsters are immune to attacks not backed by a Game Driver or weaponry associated with such.
- Combining Mecha: A whole group of them can combine into a larger mecha.
- Cool Helmet: The Guardians do have pretty cool helmet designs.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Whoever designed their targeting systems needs to be fired immediately. That said, their effectiveness against anyone but the protagonists (who Faust explicitly wanted alive for their own ends) imply their seemingly poor aim might just be for Pragmatic Villainy in those cases.
- Just a Machine: The heroes have no qualms destroying them, often in creative ways.
- Manchurian Agent: Namba Heavy Industries, as part of their pact with Faust, included a Villain Override function allowing Night Rogue and Blood Stalk to hijack them at a moment's notice.
- Mecha-Mooks: For every faction, with their ownership distinguished by their faceplates. Even Foundation X has some. All of them are produced and sold by Namba Heavy Industries, whose entire intent for starting the war was to sell weapons like them in the first place.
- Mook Carryover: After Evolt kills Namba, he continues using both the Guardians and the Hard Guardians as his own personal footsoldiers.
- Redshirt Army: They're basically government-issued Shocker Grunts.
- Villain Override: Namba Heavy Industries included one in their design, allowing Blood Stalk and Night Rogue to take control of them whenever they want.
Hard Guardians
- Elite Mooks: Much more powerful than the regular Guardian models.
- Gatling Good: Their right arms have gatling guns equipped.
- Million Mook March: In #46, Evol brings a horde of them with him to greet the Team Build Riders outside the Pandora Tower. They're very quickly destroyed by the four Riders before they enter the tower.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: Their dominant color is a sickly light green.
