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Characters / Kamen Rider Kiva

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Kimi ga sekai ni sonzai shiteru (Don’t you wanna know)
Imi o shiritakunai? (The reason you exist in this world?)
Baku baku Beatin' heart (Beatin' Beatin')
Baki baki Burnin' heart (Come up Y'all)

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2008

    Wataru Kurenai 

Wataru Kurenai/Kamen Rider Kiva

Portrayed by: Koji Seto (live), Seiji Taikawa (suit)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watarukurenai.png
A shy violinist who fights Fangires as Kamen Rider Kiva.

Voted #1 Kamen Rider in the Kamen Rider Kiva franchise, #31 Kamen Rider in the Heisei era, and #37 Kamen Rider overall in NHK's All Kamen Rider Popularity Vote.

Tropes that apply to him in general

  • All of the Other Reindeer: Has this occur with him, mostly with the adults in the area. However by Episode 36 he is able to make sure the people in his area get along with him much better by simply to talking to them and properly apologising.
  • Awesome Moment of Crowning: Subverted. He beat the hell out of Taiga, and he crowns himself as the new Fangire King.
  • Bathtub Bonding: Has one with Nago and one with Taiga in the series. And one with his father in the movie.
  • Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Taiga's Veronica for Mio's Archie.
  • Berserk Button: If you dare messing with his friends and family, he'll shatter you.
  • Big Brother Worship: Looks up to his half-brother, Taiga. Which complicates the love triangle between him, Mio and Taiga further.
  • Break the Cutie: A very kind and sweet boy who experienced varying degrees of trauma throughout the series.
  • Broken Pedestal: In the third episode, he discovered that his father is not so much of a great person. In the past, Otoya's antics caused several people to lose their businesses during the Bubble era. In the movie, he directly witnessed his father's sleaziness.
    • Rebuilt Pedestal: Subverted. Even though Wataru never tried to justify Otoya's flaws, he managed to clear some of the misunderstandings.
  • Cain and Abel: Abel to Taiga's Cain. Their relationship went this route when Taiga decides to kill him after Mio's death.
  • Cassandra Truth: Nago dismisses Wataru when the latter admitted that he's Kiva.
  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Both Wataru and Ryotaro Nogami are the main Riders who were started with introvert personality prior to their character development. While Ryotaro heavily relies on being possessed by his Imagin companions to fight before he became strong enough on his own later on, Wataru is a capable fighter from the start although he listens to Kivat's advice for strategic battles.
  • Cruel to Be Kind: Beats the hell out of Taiga and take his King position away, in order to spare him all the harm the other Fangires will bring onto him.
  • Cultured Badass: He'll kick your ass, then go back to playing his violin.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: On top of having to basically raise himself, or rather, be raised by a biomechanical bat, since his childhood, this trope is implied when we see Maya deliver him to the late Otoya's mansion when he seemed to be elementary school age. Since she abandoned him there to protect him from her enemies, as she was still a fugitive, we can infer that Wataru grew up either in hiding or on the run during his earliest years.
  • Despair Event Horizon: After being tossed over and over in the sea of trauma, Mio's death is his breaking point.
  • Dhampyr: Wataru himself didn't know until #36. Though it should be noted that unlike most Dhampyrs in fiction, his mother is the vampire parent.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Koji Seto performed all of the insert songs of the show under the "limited band" named TETRA-FANG formed for the show.
  • The Dreaded: Nago, Shima and Megumi speak of Kiva as a terrifying, mysterious spectre who preys on humanity, when he is in fact a meek shut-in whose hobbies include taking baths and collecting bizarre smelly items for the purpose of making violins. It helps that Wataru basically never speaks as Kiva, leading to his reputation as a silent killer as opposed to The Quiet One. He loses this trope among the first two once the three learn the man behind the armor and even his true nature as half-Fangire, especially after a few bad incidents regarding his heritage. As for Shima, he initially orders a hit on Wataru, which the two agents are now reluctant to, but it take some karma on his part shortly after to drop this trope as well. Of course, it's justified, since their opinions are based on his definitely-evil predecessor and likely those before even him.
  • Driven to Suicide: He went back to 1986 to prevent his birth, by making Otoya return to Yuri again. Both rejected his idea.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Wataru gets introduced as someone who wears a mask, googles, gloves, and other covered clothing as his way of showcasing how introverted he is plus his alleged "allergies" while trying to find ingredients for his varnish, also noting how other view his strange mannerisms early on.
  • Experienced Protagonist: Has been operating as Kiva for an unknown amount of time before his series even begun. In fact, he already has access to all of his base forms by the time we first see Wataru transform in the series proper.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: Wataru's hair becomes noticeably shorter and round later on.
  • Extreme Doormat: Wataru's often subscribed to magazines he doesn't want and buys things that he doesn't need because he doesn't like refusing others. Of course, Character Development has helped him for the better.
  • Evil Costume Switch: Subverted. He switched to the King's outfit when he declare himself the new Fangire King, but Wataru himself didn't turn evil.
  • Furo Scene: Wataru has a scene in a bath basically Once an Episode.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: When his Fangire nature takes over, either by manually evoked or by the Zanvat Sword.
  • The Good King: Subverted. He snatched the Fangire throne, all for the sake of protecting Taiga and the human race by keeping the Fangires under his reign, momentarily. Although it was never made entirely clear on the Fangire's side on whether they actually acknowledged Wataru, or whether they knew his mixed heritage.
  • The Hero: The identity of Kamen Rider Kiva, who reluctantly battles Fangires.
  • Heroic BSoD: Suffered mild ones throughout the series, when the Fangires he has to fight were nice to him. He has two major ones, first when Bishop, in an effort to bring out his full Fangire powers, makes him go berserk and attack his friends; he's badly traumatized and reverts to his old Hikkikomori state. It happens again when Mio dies, to the point where he tries to change the past and keep his parents from meeting so he won't ever be born.
  • Hero-Worshipper: Looks up to Nago, even begged to make himself to be his student.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Before the Blue Sky Group finds out his true identity, they revere him as a monster. When all this time, what he does is simply killing Fangires. It's justified as he share the same name with the other Kiva.
  • Her Heart Will Go On: Mio encourages Wataru to live on after her death, and, as indicated by the epilogue, in the future, Wataru has a son with an unknown woman.
  • Hikikomori: Bat pun aside, this is Wataru at the beginning of the series. He improves, then regresses after the death of a loved one, only to come back stronger.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: He unknowingly befriended a sheep Fangire who stalked Megumi, and followed him doing so. This can be caused to his lack of childhood parental figure.
  • How Do I Shot Web?: This moment happened when he and Kengo are trained to be Blue Sky Group warriors, he struggles to use the gun-whip Megumi uses.
  • Howl of Sorrow: Twice, and they're very unpleasant to listen.
    • He ran away with a hysteric one when he found out that both Taiga and Mio are Fangires.
    • And then a blood-curdling one after he accidentally killed Mio. Although, it wasn't him who land the killing blow.
  • Hunter of His Own Kind: A half-Fangire, half-human who fights full-blooded Fangires.
  • Hybrid Power: His Fangire side allows him to become Kiva and his human side prevents him from feeling the urge to drain human life energy. However, the fact that he is only half-Fangire also prevents him from being able to utilize the full power of Kiva. This is illustrated by the chains binding his Rider form. Furthermore, his human blood keeps his Fangire side in line; if let loose, Wataru becomes more or less an animal as shown in #39 and #40.
  • "I Want" Song: A meta example, "Destiny's Play" is the song that he sings in the small band called "Ikemens" he formed together with Kengo. The song is basically about Wataru motivates himself to go out there and embrace his destiny.
  • Meaningful Name: "Kurenai Wataru" literally translates to "crimson going over", which reference to his gradual self discovery as a half-Fangire.
  • Nice Guy: Another reason why he can't just spit it out about his relationship with Mio to Taiga.
  • Non-Action Guy: Subverted. When he's not transformed, he tend to not get into fights with other human beings. But when he has to, he's a rather competent fighter.
  • No Social Skills: Early episodes showed him stuttering when talking to people who are not Kivat and Shizuka. He gets better after he gained more friends.
  • Oblivious to Love: A very small one, but Wataru doesn't ever actually notice the rare moments of Shizuka having feelings for him.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: From the early start of the series, Wataru was very withdrawn and didn't want to get into battles, prefering to find peaceful solutions. However, when he discovers his new friend Kengo is being tricked by a Rhinoceros Fangire, who fools young people with dreams by acting as their manager then drain their life force and keep their treasured belongings as souvenirs, Wataru doesn't hesitate to fight back. He even declares that he would not forgive him.
  • Parental Abandonment: Otoya died, at the earliest, before he was born. Maya had to leave him at Otoya's old mansion when he was around elementary age to keep him safe, as she was still a fugitive from the Fangire hierarchy, not to mention to hide him, being a Dhampyr, and therefore, living proof of betrayal and taboo.
  • Parent-Child Team: Teamed up with Otoya/Dark Kiva to defeat King in 1986.
    • In the movie, they team up twice, both in 1986 and 2008 timelines to defeat the Legendorgas.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Had he communicate with Taiga regarding the state of relationship between him and Mio, Mio will probably never get killed. But then again, had he communicate, the love triangle would go in a gruesome route.
  • Reluctant Warrior: He became hesitant when the Fangires he has to fight were either nice or, at least, not really bad people. But then he became a severe one after Mio's death.
  • Shrinking Violet: He eventually grows out of it.
  • Talking with Signs: Wataru initially communicates with a notebook full of pre-written responses. At one point Megumi asks something like "You can't have a response for everything in there!" When Wataru starts actually looking for a response, she takes it away from him.
  • The Ghost: Much like his half-brother, his Fangire form - assuming he has one - is never shown in-series, but unlike his brother (who's heavily implied to be the Snake Fangire), there isn't even a hint as to what Fangire he is. The novelization of the series subverts this, since Kiva is his fangire form.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Besides the standard Next Tier Power-Up, he goes from a shut-in who thinks he's "allergic to the world" to a professional monster killer, and then takes it one step further by declaring himself the new Fangire King near the end.
  • Take Up My Sword: Subverted, he took the King's Zanvat sword with no permission nor iheritence rite, simply because the sword is just planted on the wall of the throne room.
  • Vampire Hunter: Basically what Kiva does as a Kamen Rider.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Kiva

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamenriderkiva.png
Gabu!
  • All Your Powers Combined: DoGaBaKi Form. The Hyper Battle DVD exaggerates this with DoGaBaKi Emperor Form.
  • Character Tics: Several subsequent appearances of Kiva post-series (movies, video games and stage shows) has him enter the scene in an upside-down position with X-shaped crossed arms over his chest.
  • Chained by Fashion: Has chains coiled on his shoulders and right leg.
  • Cool Sword: Garulu Saber and Zanvat Sword.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Kiva's powers are vampire-based, yet Wataru is decidedly one of the good guys.
  • Dual Wielding: In his DoGaBaKi form, Wataru can use two of his arm weapons at once.
  • Finishing Move:
    • Kiva Form: (Rider Kick) Darkness Moon Break
    • Garulu Form: (Rider Slash) Garulu Howling Slash
    • Basshaa Form: (Rider Shooting) Basshaa Aqua Tornado
    • Dogga Form: (Rider Thrust) Dogga Thunder Slap
    • DoGaBaKi Form: (Rider Kick) A stronger version of the Darkness Moon Break.
    • Emperor Form:
      • (Rider Kick) Emperor Moon Break
      • (Rider Slash) Emperor Howling Slash
      • (Rider Shooting) Emperor Aqua Tornado (While never shown in series, it was shown in Kamen Rider: Battride War)
      • (Rider Thrust) Emperor Thunder Slap
      • (Rider Slash) Final Zanvat Slash
    • Flight Style: Bloody Strike
    • DoGaBaKi Emperor Form: (Rider Kick) DoGaBaKi Emperor Break
  • Golden Super Mode: Emperor Form has gold dominating the color scheme, as opposed to the previous black.
  • Fun with Acronyms: Kiva is the short for "King of Vampires".
    • Punny Name: "Kiva" is written as "kiba" in Japanese, which translate to "fang".
  • Giant Flyer: His dragon form is appropriately named Flight Style.
  • Multiform Balance:
    • Jack of All Stats: Kiva Form, the default balanced form.
    • Fragile Speedster: Garulu Form, which has the fastest land speed and a stronger kick in exchange for lower arm strength and durability.
    • Squishy Wizard: Basshaa Form, which hits hard with his gun but isn't that durable.
    • Mighty Glacier: Dogga, the physically strongest but slowest form.
    • Super Mode: Three of them.
      • DoGaBaKi, which has higher kick power than the earlier forms but is otherwise slower and has weaker arm strength.
      • Emperor Form, which is superior to the basic forms in every way except speed (Garulu beats it there) and grants him access to all three extant weapons, plus a new one. It also lets him turn into Flight Style, a dragon-like bat monster.
      • DoGaBaKi Emperor, only appearing in a DVD special, which is essentially DoGaBaKi Form with Emperor Form's combat abilities.
  • Hour of Power: Dogabaki Form, which can only be used for five minutes before its power becomes lethal to him (hence why he only uses it once in the series, plus the non-canon Hyper Battle DVD special).
  • Making a Splash: Basshaa Form, which is based on a fish-like humanoid and can use water to attack.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: The Garulu Saber includes an acoustic gun in its jaws, letting Kiva use the Howling Shock attack and literally blow away enemies from the soundwave's sheer pressure.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: DoGaBaKi Form. Which gets used all of once due to its limits and Kiva getting Emperor Form just a few episodes later.
  • Mighty Roar: He lets out a loud howl/roar when he is shown to use Garulu form for the first time.
  • One-Winged Angel: His Flight Style, which is basically him turning into a freaking dragon.
  • Playing with Fire: The Garulu Saber uses fire in Emperor Form, which can either act like a rocket to send him into the sky, or a double-bladed sword with fire on both ends.
  • Power Limiter:
    • Emperor Form is actually Kiva's true form, his default form is actually a limiter because his Half-Human Hybrid nature meant his true power would've overwhelmed him originally, thus the chains on it that break off during transformation.
    • The Arms Monsters create one for the Zanvat Sword so its unstable powers won't trigger Wataru's Fangire blood and turn him into a berserker.
  • Pumpkin Person: Kamen Rider Decade's shorts revealed that his helmet design is based on Jack o' Lantern.
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Usually seen using these during bare-handed melee fights.
  • Shock and Awe: Dogga Form, which (being based on Frankenstein's monster) uses electrical power.
  • Superheroes Wear Capes: Emperor form sports a short cape.
    • Cape Swish: At the end of Emperor form transformation sequence.
  • Supernatural Gold Eyes: His vanilla eyes' visor color.
    • Red Eyes, Take Warning: His Emperor form eyes' visor color.
    • Hellish Pupils: Emperor's form crimson visor turns to stained glass visor, after Bishop evoked Wataru's Fangire nature.
  • Solar and Lunar: The Lunar foil to Ixa's Solar.
  • Southpaw Advantage: In Garulu Form, with his left arm being transformed by its power.
  • Weapon Specialization: Each of Kiva's forms provide a unique weapon. Garulu Saber for Garulu Form, Basshaa Magnum for Basshaa Form, and Dogga Hammer for Dogga Form. He can use all three in DoGaBaKi Form and Emperor Form, and later obtains the exclusive Zanvat Sword.

    Kivat-bat the 3rd 

Kivat-bat the 3rd

Portrayed by: Tomokazu Sugita (voice)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kivat_bat_3rd.png
Wataru's partner, of the Kivat race.

Tropes that apply to him

  • Adapted Out: In the novelization, the Third doesn't exist and Kiva serves as Wataru's Fangire form.
  • Cutlass Between the Teeth: In the first episode, he saved Wataru from getting impaled in the belly by biting the tip of the Horse Fangire's sword.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Kivat is one snarky fellow.
  • Declaration of Protection: In the extra of Kamen Rider Den-O and Kiva "Deka Climax" movie, it was hinted that Kivat first encountered Wataru when the latter was a baby. Kivat then said that he swore to protect the baby, before finally cut off by the Imagins crying.
  • Magic Music: Uses "fuestles" to summon Wataru's form-change weapons.
  • Like Father, Unlike Son: Is far less grim and downbeat than his father, being a much more lively and friendly being.
  • Transformation Trinket: His race is built for it, after all.
  • Vague Age: It's never stated how old he is - since it's never revealed if he was born before or after Watarunote , he could just as easily be Wataru's Older Sidekick, the same age as Wataru, or younger.

    Megumi Aso 

Megumi Aso

Portrayed by: Nana Yanagisawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/megumiaso.png

    Shizuka Nomura 

Shizuka Nomura

Portrayed by: Rina Koike

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shizukanomura.png

  • Ascended Extra: She has a much more important role in the novelization.
  • The Atoner: When Shizuka feels bad about causing a rift between Wataru and Mio, she tries her best to get them to make up.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Shizuka turns into a Green-Eyed Monster around Wataru and Mio.
  • Hidden Depths: She might not look like it, but she's good at drumming.
  • Jerkass to One: Acts inconspicuously mean towards Mio, and while she tried to patch things up with her and Wataru, she became mean to her again upon their relationship ending. In the deleted scenes, she eats the food Mio delivered for Wataru and acted vexed when she was in Wataru's home, only being held back by Megumi upon being told that maybe Mio's love could help Wataru, though Shizuka still felt tense towards the predicament.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: Only learns that Wataru is Kiva in the final episode, though she does know about Kivat, and even Tatsulot after he joins up.
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: She briefly goes through a Yandere period, marked by pseudo-Imagine Spots where she has devil horns, a pitchfork, and does the laugh as she attempts to break up Wataru and Mio. It gets weirder (and funnier) later on when she realizes that Mio does honestly love Wataru and tries to patch them up. Afterwards she muses that maybe her true role is to be Wataru's surrogate mother, followed by an Imagine Spot of her as an angel... still doing the laugh.
  • Parental Substitute: Shizuka considers herself to be Wataru's "mommy."

    Keisuke Nago 

Keisuke Nago

Portrayed by: Keisuke Kato

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keisukenago.png

The main user of the IXA system in 2008.

Tropes that apply to him

  • Adaptational Villainy: In the novelization of the show, Nago serves as the final villain.
  • Berserk Button: Anything involving the denial of the buttons, and he doesn't really like music.
  • Bounty Hunter: Worked as one before becoming IXA full-time, capturing criminals and taking a button from them as a memento.
  • Butt-Monkey: The temporary hiatus from being IXA has Nago being the source of comedy to his expense. From him receiving bad luck fortunes to an attempt of trying to get his gear from Kengo by using thumb tacks on the Knuckle but failing and ending in his face with said tacks being stuck, and even trying to be Kengo's "coach" with the dude disrespecting him. The net movies even have him being humiliated by Shiramine and getting easily pulverized by Shizuka.
  • Catchphrase: "Fangire, return that life to God!"
  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Nago is arguably characterized as an inversion of Masato Kusaka from Toshiki Inoue's previous work Kamen Rider 555. Both are the secondary Riders who were at odds with the main Rider and both possessed a warp sense of justice. However, unlike Kusaka, who remained a jerk and hostile towards Takumi from start to finish, Nago gradually developed into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold after learning of Wataru's identity as the current Kiva. For added bonus, his Rider name "IXA" is the 3 last letter of "Kaixa".
  • Establishing Character Moment: His first onscreen appearance has him confronting and taking down a German criminal holding Shizuka hostage, emphasizing him being a bounty hunter and his Knight Templar traits.
  • Good Is Not Nice: He's one of the good guys, but has a very rude personality early on.
    • Nago being at his worst is how he killed his own father. He was a police chief who committed procedural errors that got a criminal acquitted, errors that Nago himself exposed to the media with no pity, no less, and drove him to commit suicide out of shame.
  • Heroic BSoD: When Kiva beats him the first time. It takes a Fangire regarding him as Not Worth Killing to send him over the edge.
  • Jerkass: Oh boy, is he ever! It takes Nago finding out Wataru is Kiva to become more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After finding out that Kiva and Wataru are the same person, Nago comes off as more reasonable than he initially was, assuming that Wataru doesn't misuse his power. And when Wataru went back to being reclusive from having his Fangire blood being berserk, Nago and the girls try to enter and reason with him.
  • Knight Templar: Plays this trope so damn straight that, at times, he borders on self-parody. For example, as a young adult, he led his father to commit suicide when he reported a simple accounting error to the police as evidence of corruption, and when lambasted by an understandably furious Papa, he replied, "Sin is sin". He's also a member of a Fangire-hunting organization and believes that all Fangire are monsters to be slain - including those who are happy to co-exist peacefully with humans. He does get better, though. Bonus points for his rider form, IXA, sporting a heavy Paladin/Holy Knight motif.
  • Large Ham: Namely with Ixa-cise and him offering to be Kengo's coach in #38, especially with the shirts and holding the 3-digit signs of 193 and 753.
  • Never My Fault: Nago sees it as his duty to punish sinners, and refuses to accept any blame for ruining their lives when he exposes them. This greatly wanes down after going back in time in 1986.
  • Official Couple: With Megumi.
  • The Rival: To Kiva, at first. It gets a bit annoying when he's rather friendly to Wataru but initially antagonistic to Kiva.
  • Self-Made Orphan: He revealed to the media that his own father had accepted a bribe at one point, leading to the man's suicide.
  • Serious Business: To the extent that he'll memorize everyone's orders during the group date in #21, just because.
  • The Stoic: Becoming The Comically Serious on occasion.
  • Token Human: Downplayed, but he’s this among the three Riders in the 2008 portion of the story with The Reveal that Wataru is half-Fangire.
  • Vampire Hunter: An elite Fangire Hunter, as well as a bounty hunter.

    Kengo Eritate 

Kengo Eritate

Portrayed by: Kouhei Kumai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kengoeritate.png

  • Career-Ending Injury: When Kengo temporarily joins the Blue Sky Organization, a Fangire injures his arm severely to the point where he can no longer play the guitar and has to end his dreams of being a rock star.
  • The Idiot from Osaka: As a boisterous rockstar wannabe, he fits this trope to a T, until midseason when it is revealed that he was always a Tokyo native, taking on the Kansai accent to come across as more personable. He also goes through a major attitude overhaul at this point, losing the accent and the hair and shifting to full badass gear.
  • Important Haircut: When Kengo comes back to the show as a Jerkass.
  • Jumped at the Call: Kengo gets the opportunity to join the Blue Sky Organization when Megumi is arrested.
  • The Rock Star: He wants to be one of these.
  • Shipper on Deck: He's the first to notice Megumi and Nago's "amazing coordination" and "spirit of rock" in #19.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Following his Fangire encounter, which robbed him of his rock star dreams, he temporarily ended his friendship with Wataru for not telling him of his permanent hand condition sooner and decided to not trust him or Nago when the latter revealed that he never planned on taking him in as an apprentice, leading Kengo to be much more aggressive and distrusting. Shima confiscating Ixa from him made him upset and Wataru's return to being a shut-in after he went berserk made Kengo apologize to Wataru for how aggressive he was.

    Mio Suzuki 

Mio Suzuki/Pearlshell Fangire II

Portrayed by: Yuria Haga (live),Naoko Kamio (suit)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miosuzuki.png
WARNING: SPOILER 

  • Apologises a Lot: A given, considering her clumsy and shy nature.
  • Betty and Veronica: The Archie for Wataru's Betty and Taiga's Veronica.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Despite being just as shy and awkward as Wataru, Mio is still someone you don't want to mess with, especially since she's the Queen of Checkmate Four. A prime example is her obliteration of Ryo Itoya.
  • Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: She had her hands bloodied after she attempted to kill Taiga by stabbing him during their wedding.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: While working as a waitress, she managed to trip over herself, spilling food all over the customers.
  • Damsel in Distress: Subverted. There are times that she genuinely needed help, before The Reveal. After that, things got complicated.
  • Extreme Doormat: Tends to have trouble asserting herself. Something she has in common with Wataru.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: She took Kiva's finishing blow for Saga. This made Taiga finally decides to kill Wataru.
  • Hidden Depths: She maintained her nice girl persona in front of Wataru and Taiga for long enough, until she finally confessed her feelings for Wataru. After that, she started to take rather extreme measures to be together with Wataru.
  • Inadequate Inheritor: Was called out by the Moose Fangire for her reluctance in doing her tasks as the new Queen.
  • Kill the Cutie: Bishop killed her after he saw her obvious attempt to murder Taiga.
  • Manipulative Bastard: She embraces her role, this time for real, to convince Taiga and Bishop that she finally accepted her Fangire nature. She even started pretending to be enthusiastic when accepting presents from Taiga. This leads to her attempted murder of the new King during the wedding.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: She eventually shared the idea of killing Taiga together with Wataru, much to his horror.
  • Palette Swap: Her Pearlshell Fangire form is mostly blue and purple, as opposed to the first Pearlshell's pinkish tones.
  • Refusal of the Call: Naturally shocked after Bishop informed her that she's the new Fangire Queen.
  • Shrinking Violet: Is very awkward around people. Another thing she has in common with Wataru.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She's not very flattered with Kengo's method in trying to win her affection.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Ryo Itoya hurting Wataru made her angry. Which also marked the first task she ever carried as the Queen.
  • Yandere: A mild variant. She eventually progressed into this after being told to be together with someone she didn't love for long enough.

    Tatsulot 

Tatsulot

Portrayed by: Akira Ishida (voice)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tatsulot.png

    Taiga Nobori 

Taiga Nobori/Kamen Rider Saga/Kamen Rider Dark Kiva III

Portrayed by: Shouma Yamamoto (live), Eitoku (suit)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taiganobori.png
The king of the Fangires in the present day and the main user of Saga system.

Kamen Rider Saga was voted #4 Kamen Rider in the Kamen Rider Kiva franchise, #63 Kamen Rider in the Heisei era, and #93 Kamen Rider overall in NHK's All Kamen Rider Popularity Vote.

Tropes that apply to him in general

  • Anti-Villain: Compared to the other Fangires, he does what he's supposed to do only to ensure the survival of Fangire race.
  • Barrier Warrior: Pulls this on the '86 King as an infant.
  • Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Wataru's Betty for Mio's Archie.
  • Black Speech: His partner, Sagarc, is only able to speak Ancient Fangirish, with the exception of the words "Henshin" and "Wake Up".
  • Blue Blood: He has this trope work in two ways. He's the new Fangire sovereign, and he bleed blue-colored blood after getting stabbed by Mio.
  • Cain and Abel: Cain to Wataru's Abel. Their relationship went this route when he decides to kill Wataru after Mio's death.
  • Catchphrase: "This is the final judgment from the king: Death!"
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Dominates the battle with Emperor Kiva in their first encounter. He's on the receiving end of this once Wataru doesn't hold back.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Post Heel–Face Turn as Dark Kiva.
  • Deus Angst Machina: Let's see... you were born as the new sovereign of a certain race, and your race depends on that sovereignity to survive. You're set up to marry a girl, but she fell for someone else who's also your childhood friend. Later you find out that he's your half-brother. Now here's where the fun begin. Your half-brother doesn't share your worldview. The girl you're supposed to be with can't take it anymore, and she wants to be with your half-brother. So, she attempted to murder you. But because you love her, you stand to defend her and let her go. Oopsie, she got (albeit unintentionally) killed by your half-brother immediately afterwards. Later, your half-brother came back, kicked your ass, and technically seized the throne. Now the entire race sees you as an incompetent inheritor of the throne and they attempt to murder you. Yay.
  • The Evil Prince: At first, it seems like this trope is played straight - he's the son of the previous Fangire King and the first Fangire Queen, he's in line for the throne, and he's set up as a villain. However, the "evil" part is first downplayed (he's more of an anti-villain than an outright Big Bad), and eventually it's outright subverted, since he decides to work towards co-existence between humans and Fangires near the end of the series. Oh, and didn't we mention he indirectly caused his father's death?
  • Green-Eyed Monster: He once asked Mio harshly why would she love someone as weak as Wataru.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Eventually decides that Fangires and humanity can co-exist, and teams up with Wataru.
  • Humans Are Insects: When he refer humans as "livestocks" and "worthless" in his attempts to bring Wataru to the Fangires' side, Wataru isn't impressed.
  • I Just Want to Be Loved: The ideal life, to him, would be for him to be happily married and with his best friend Wataru at his side, and he works towards this life as his main goal (along with keeping humans from advancing and becoming a threat to his people). He's devastated when it turns out his intended loves Wataru instead, and that Wataru (whom he is surprised but happy to learn is actually his half-brother) would rather live a quiet life as himself rather than as either human or Fangire.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: The reason why he's patient enough to put up with Wataru and Mio's antics, until things went wrong.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Mio stabbed him with her hand during their wedding. He chose to defend her instead after Bishop found out what happened.
  • Long-Lost Relative: To Wataru - they were friends as children but had no idea they were half-brothers.
  • Love Makes You Dumb: Completely unaware of Mio's plan to murder him at the time of their wedding, despite her obvious preference towards Wataru in previous episodes.
  • Muggle Foster Parents: He was raised by Mamoru Shima for a while.
  • Oblivious to Hints: He never noticed anything wrong when Wataru and Mio don't act very enthusiastically whenever the three of them gathered.
  • Patricide: Twice with different circumstances.
    • Subverted case, with Mamoru Shima. After turning Mamoru Shima into Fangire to save his life, Taiga then killed him in order to provoke Wataru to fight him. Mamoru is later revealed to have survived the event, as it was never Taiga's intention to actually kill him.
    • Played straight, with King. Teams up with Wataru to kill his father, King/The Bat Fangire. Unlike most examples, there is no My God, What Have I Done?, mainly because King is a total bastard, plus the fact that the Bat Fangire they're fighting isn't really his father anymore, just a resurrected mindless monster with no trace of King's personality at all.
  • Rage Breaking Point: At first, he tries to be patient with Wataru to able to make him his right-hand man. But Mio's death changed his goal.
  • Royal Brat: Subverted for the 'brat' part. Although he behave maturely, his "Fangires are superior" worldview, sheltered origin combined with his feared powers as the new King makes up for this trope. Later in the story, after his brother fled, his Queen killed, the Fangires begun to share this view of him.
  • Self-Made Orphan: At first, it seems like he's played this trope straight, seemingly having killed both his mother and his father. Subverted when it turns out that he didn't kill his mother.
  • Snakes Are Sinister: His Fangire powers are snake-related, and we only see him using them a few times before he joins Wataru's side, and Sagarc is also snakenote -themed. We never learn how strong they are in comparison to the powers of Saga or Dark Kiva, since he never uses his Fangire Form once throughout the show.
  • Sucksessor: Him losing Mio to Wataru, both figuratively and literally, means that he can no longer uphold the foundational social structure of te Fangire race.
  • The Ghost: Not him, but rather, his Fangire form - it's clearly established that he is a full-blooded one, but he never transforms into one. However, throughout the show, it's heavily implied that he's the Snake fangire. Whether he simply prefers using the powers of Saga (and later, Dark Kiva), or said powers are stronger than his Fangire form, however, is never revealed.
  • Transformation Trinket: Sagarc as Saga; Kivat-bat the 2nd as Dark Kiva.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Subverted, as he's not truly evil. But he does suffer a major one after the Fangire race lost all sense of respect for him, after he lost his Queen and got his ass kicked by Kiva.
  • We Can Rule Together: He attempts to get Wataru to his side after he learned that they're half-brothers several times, but is rejected every time.

Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Saga

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamen_rider_saga.png

1986

    Otoya Kurenai 

Otoya Kurenai

Portrayed by: Kouhei Takeda (live), Jiro Okamoto (Ixa), Eitoku (Dark Kiva)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otoyakurenai.png
Wataru's father, a master violinist (and a thief) who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. He is the main Kamen Rider IXA in 1986. Eventually becomes the only human to become Dark Kiva, a feat he pulls off thrice before the resulting strain eventually killed him.
  • All for Nothing: Spends half the series trying to get Yuri to fall for him, but by the time he eventually succeeds in doing so, Otoya already ended up falling over heels with Maya.
  • Back from the Dead: In #19-20, though he does it by taking over Wataru's body.
  • Betty and Veronica: Originally the Betty to Jiro's Veronica for Yuri's Archie, then becomes the Archie for Yuri's Betty and Maya's Veronica.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: He's constantly seen as a lecherous person, with him being IXA seemingly the most serious he's willing to get. He also ends up becoming the second person to become Dark Kiva, and the only human in the show to do so.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Say what you will about how he spends his time, but Otoya's mastery over the violin cannot be denied.
  • Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Defied with Yuri, but played straight with Maya.
  • The Casanova: A rather notorious womanizer.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: A good amount of time he spends is attempting to impress women. However, as Jiro learned, if you threaten someone he has affections for, you'd better hope that he doesn't have the IXA system nearby.
  • Determinator: While transforming into Dark Kiva kills humans, Otoya manages to transform thrice and survive, if only barely.
  • Deuteragonist: A rare case in Heisei Kamen Rider, where the deuteragonist is not the main secondary Rider.
  • Expy: To Gai Yuki (Black Condor) from Choujin Sentai Jetman. Both of them are womanizers in their own right. Difference is, Otoya's no loner.
  • Foil: An indirect one to his son Wataru. Otoya's a confident, suave violinist who's very good at stealing and is pretty much over-the-top, while Wataru's an extreme Shrinking Violet who struggles with even basic social standards.
  • Friend to All Living Things: The puppy at Mal d'Amour takes a liking to him immediately, just like he would to Wataru 22 years later. Even flowers react well to Otoya's music...while Yuri just kills a whole pool of fish with hers.
  • Impossible Thief: One of his more underrated and overlooked skills. Not just stealing things, but even planting and replacing things.
  • Interspecies Romance: With Fangire Queen Maya.
  • Ladykiller in Love: Genuinely fell in love with Maya due to their shared interests in violins.
  • Large Ham: Otoya is rather bombastic and hysterical, in both speech and body language, for such a violinist.
  • Meaningful Name: "Oto" means "sound" or "note".
  • Mythology Gag: Otoya's transformation pose as IXA is a reminiscent to the Showa era Kamen Riders.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: He may be eccentric, but he uses his odd behaviors to make the people he steals from, human or otherwise, underestimate him.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Even if he's a womanizer, he doesn't take it well when anyone uses music for evil. The Octopus Fangire learned this the hard way as she uses music to lure her preys in.
    "You bastard, what the hell do you think a music is?"
  • Posthumous Character: It's hinted at early on, but for the majority of the show, it's never revealed if it's this or if he was just a Disappeared Dad for Wataru. It's later revealed that he died when Wataru was conceived at the earliest, if not born offscreen, late in the series. Becoming Dark Kiva—a total of three times—saw to that.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Jiro, often arguing with him over either Yuri or anything else, yet have shown to be very cooperative in dire situations.

    Yuri Aso 

Yuri Aso

Portrayed by: Yu Takahashi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuriaso.png
Megumi and Mitsuhide's mother.
  • Betty and Veronica: Originally the Archie for Otoya's Betty and Jiro's Veronica, then becomes the Betty to Maya's Veronica for Otoya's Archie.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: Starts out the show with an 80's 'do but eventually switches to tying her hair into a ponytail.
  • Faux Action Girl: Gets hit by the Distress Ball to become the designated Damsel in Distress quite often. Becomes an Action Girl after defeating Rook, having getting to become IXA a few more times.
  • Graceful Loser: When Wataru begged her to take Otoya back, Yuri told him that breaking up with the violinist was a death in the sense but she didn't regret doing so or meeting him. Her final interaction with Otoya even has her stating that she had many other guys fallen for her while bidding farewell to each other.
  • Irony: Was rather cold towards Otoya when he tried to confess his affections for her but by the time she started dating him, Otoya by this point also had affections for Maya.
  • Posthumous Character: By 2008. Exactly how is unrevealed, but her spirit appears in the finale to congratulate Megumi on her wedding.
  • Statuesque Stunner: She is portrayed by an actress who is nearly 1.77m, making her the tallest female Kamen Rider as of now
  • Tsundere: Big time.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She doesn't like... puppies.
  • You Killed My Father: Yuri is dead-set on getting Revenge on Rook because her mother became a victim to one of his murderous Time Plays.

    Kivat-bat the 2nd 

Kivat-bat the 2nd

Portrayed by: Tomokazu Sugita (voice)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kivat_bat_2nd.png
Kivat's father.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He switches sides from King to Otoya mid-fight over the way King treated Maya (rather than his ideology in general).”.
  • Foil: To his son, Kivat the 3rd, regarding their relationship with their respective wielder. Kivat communicates with Watatru inside and outside of battle, going from Kivat giving advice to Wataru for love and life, to Wataru treating Kivat quite comfortably like he does with any of his human friends. Kivat the 2nd, on the other hand, gives off the sense of having standards that are better than King, all while the latter considers his Kivat as nothing more than a tool to exterminate others with.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Granted, he was a Punch-Clock Villain at worst, but as mentioned above, due to King horribly treating Maya, he decided that King had gone too far and granted Otoya his power. He later joins Taiga, who's not really evil either.
  • Magic Music: Where do you think Kivat the 3rd got his power form?
  • Transformation Trinket: Much like his son and grandson.

Others

    Mamoru Shima 

Mamoru Shima

Portrayed by: Kazuhiko Kanayama

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mamorushima.png

    Akira Kido 

Akira Kido

Portrayed by: Houka Kinoshita

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akirakido.png

    Ryo Itoya/Spider Fangire 

Ryo Itoya/Spider Fangire

Portrayed by: Shoto (live)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryo_itoya.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spider_fangire.png
  • Beware the Silly Ones: His creepy nature and mannerisms belie how very vicious he is in being a stalker and a dangerous fighter.
  • Dirty Coward: Has no problem deceptively attacking weaker opponents, as in episode 12 where he tries to kill Wataru's body with a stone, believing the Rider was dead, before the latter's hand slowly moved, spooking out Ryo.
  • Entitled to Have You: Ryo's advancements of Megumi also meant to him that no one else has the right to yank that away from him, especially from the Sheep Fangire.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Has plenty of ham to showcase his creepiness.
  • Fatal Flaw: His lust on Megumi in 2008. Not only was Megumi able to trick him into getting kicked so the IXA gear would go back to Nago by pretending to reciprocate his feelings for her, but his last words of lamenting that he never got to kiss her ended up as partly why Mio executes him.
  • Hand Puppets: Has a mouse one on his right hand and a duck one on his left.
  • Karmic Death: Ryo's feelings for Megumi, including the times he tries to go after her, as well as following Bishop's orders to go after Mio comes back to bite him when Mio executes him for his unhealthy crush on someone that is human.
  • Idiot Ball: In episode 12, Ryo creepily gloated to Nago that he didn't finish Kiva, causing the latter to forcefully make him temporary work for him to lure out the latter Rider.
  • Love Makes You Dumb: Seeing Megumi in #25 distracts him from going after Mio with the Shark Fangire assisting him. Said Fangire has to hold Ryo by his arm to get him to continue their task. Also why Megumi managed to easily dupe him into giving up IXA by feigning feelings for him.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Is very creepy and childish.
  • Spiders Are Scary: Ryo's animal in Fangire Form, as well as his personality and methods fit this to a tee.
  • Stalker with a Crush: To both of the Aso women, in a very creepy and menacing degree.
  • Starter Villain: The first Fangire to appear in the series, being somewhat of a recurring character, and is ultimately the first of the major villains to die.
  • Wicked Cultured: Has a sense of fashion, whether on himself or the Aso women, as well as being able to do pedicures.

Arm Monsters

    General Tropes 
Survivors of the great Fangire massacre, a Wolfen, a Franken and a Merman must put aside whatever differences they had and band together for survival.
  • Big Damn Heroes: They assisted Kiva just in time when he was outnumbered by the Legendorgas in the movie.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Jiro (Blue), Ramon (Green), Riki (Purple)
  • Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: As mentioned before, they're all orphans with no higher purpose than revenge. If not for Otoya, they may have become a threat equal to the Fangire.
  • Expy: They share more than a few traits with Ryotaro’s additional Imagin partners. Gets something of a lampshade in Onigashima Battleship), where they make a gratuitous cameo.
  • Freudian Trio: Jiro, Ramon and Riki are the Id, Ego and Superego, respectively - see their entries for details.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: They turned themselves as the restrainer for the Zanvat sword when Wataru's Fangire blood was triggered by the sword.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: They spent some time eating humans for who knows how long. Otoya first caught their true nature when accidentally came across Jiro devouring a human woman.
  • I Owe You My Life: The main reason they help Wataru - they owe Otoya, since he allowed them to escape imprisonment.
  • Last of Their Kind: Due to fangire hunting efforts, the three are the only remaining members of their respective species.
  • Really 700 Years Old: They're all a lot older than they look. Ramon/Basshaa in particular is 105 years old (127 in '08), yet looks like a 13-year old boy when he's not in Rubber Suit form.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: All of their demon race forms has these eyes.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Late in the 1986 storyline, King/Bat Fangire turns them into the weapons-cum-Upgrade Artifacts we know of today.
  • Take a Third Option: King gave them the option to kill Otoya or be exterminated, they choose to flee instead after being unable to kill Otoya. Needless to say, they didn't end up too well.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: Subverted. The three of them are wanderers, years after their races have been exterminated by Fangire race. Later they found residence inside Castle Doran, thanks to Maya.

    Jiro 

Jiro

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jiro_04.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garulu.png

Portrayed by: Kenji Matsuda (live), Seiji Takaiwa (Garulu, suit), Jiro Okamoto (Kamen Rider IXA Prototype, suit)

The last surviving member of the Wolfen Race. Chronologically also the first user of the Ixa system.
  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: His claws are able to cleave the soul from the body.
  • Amazon Chaser: He told Otoya that he chose Yuri because she's strong and she'll surely produce strong descendants too.
  • And Then What?: Has sort of this epiphany mid-fight that killing Otoya to get Yuri won't solve his existential problem. Even if he managed to be together with Yuri, he won't be defeating Rook anytime soon as he's the last of the Wolfen race.
  • Anti-Hero: While he shares the same goal with the heroes, he doesn't give a damn about human life. Later, Character Development changed him into a more of an aloof father figure to Wataru.
  • Babies Ever After: His original plan for Yuri.
  • Best Served Cold: Has personal beef with Rook because Rook was the one who ended the rest of the Wolfen race. But it was made clear on the occassions where they meet, Jiro can never took him down on his own. Later, he teamed up with Ramon, Riki, Otoya and Yuri, and they took Rook down for good.
  • Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Otoya's Betty for Yuri's Archie.
  • Character Tics: When transforming, he tends to kneel down and draw a line on the ground with a finger. If he's wearing Cool Shades, he'll throw them down too.
  • The Charmer: In Zi-O, he's first seen onscreen flirting with a young woman on a cafe.
  • Cool Shades: The only part of his wardrobe that isn't magic.
  • Death Glare: This is his default look to Rook. Also, when he realized Otoya stole his IXA device, he gave this look to the camera.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: His life-time goal is to kill Rook and avenge the Wolfen race. He later succeeded with some help.
  • Did Not Get the Girl: He gave Yuri up to Otoya after he realized mid-fight that killing Otoya will not serve his priority of defeating Rook.
  • Extreme Omnivore: Played for laugh. When he lost a game to Ramon, in which Ramon immediately left afterwards because he was summoned, he simply ate his game piece.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: This is how his friendship with Otoya developed. Despite being not so friendly throughout the first half of the series, after they resolved the love triangle, they have earned each other's complete trust. Which continues, long after Otoya's death, by Jiro looking after Wataru's well-being.
  • Fur Against Fang: Technically speaking, he's a werewolf who has bad blood with a race of vampire. He has the trope played straight when he fought Rook and later King, none in which fights where he has the upperhand.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes glow everytime he's about to show his Wolfen nature.
  • Godzilla Threshold: He's very desperate to be able to kill Rook so much, that he gave up Yuri to Otoya. He need both of their strengths, because Rook is such a monster.
  • Good Is Not Soft: He never took the kindest route when showing his best interest.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Subverted. His rivalry with Otoya is technically not on a romantic term, at least not strictly. As he wanted Yuri to produce new descendants of the Wolfen clan.
  • Held Gaze: Shared this moment with Yuri in the swimming pool. They almost kissed, before Otoya interrupts.
  • Heroic RRoD: Collapses before Otoya and Yuri, who later found out that the cause is the IXA system. This put him to rest on the hospital bed for a while.
  • Hopeless Boss Fight: Encountered King out of nowhere, and got his ass kicked immediately.
  • If I Can't Have You…: Pulls this when Yuri leaves him for Otoya.
  • Image Song: "Shout in the Moonlight" by TETRA-FANG
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The reason why he didn't give IXA to Yuri is because he knows that the armor puts strain on the user's body. It helps partially that he's stronger than normal human. But it slowly caught up to him and he collapses in front of Yuri and Otoya.
  • The McCoy: The most emotional and hot-blooded of the trio.
  • Mr. Exposition: He indirectly informed the audience about the Legendorgas and the set-up of the movie after the prologue in the movie.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: Subverted. Although he attempted to kill Otoya on several occasions, ultimately, he changed his mind because he also need his strength.
  • Oh, Crap!: He lost his cool when Otoya stole Ixa from him and almost defeated him. Later King popped out of nowhere, and judging from his track record with Rook, the result is pretty much what you expected.
  • Playing with Fire: A mild example, as he generates flames while transforming into his Wolfen form. He's not shown actually using them in combat.
  • Power at a Price: Was the first character to learn the truth about the flaw in the prototype IXA system.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: If you look closely, his Garulu form has a flower decoration on each shoulder.
  • Shoulders of Doom: Has a huge chunk of furs that enlarge his shoulders. But because of what tokusatsu suits are made of, they looked like large spikes instead.
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Shares Kido's love of coffee and Onyanko Club as well.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Initially seemed aloof and stoic. As the story continues, he's shown to have more lenient personality.
  • Supernatural Gold Eyes: When his eyes glow in his human form, which is a huge departure from Garulu's actual eyes' color.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When the love triangle plot is still in full effect, this is how he works with Otoya.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Become more or less nicer as show progressed.
  • Undying Loyalty: Is the only Arms Monster who respected Otoya's wish and truly kept his promise by looking after Wataru once in while. Whereas Ramon and Riki almost pulled their plugs when they sees Wataru being unconscious. Justified by the fact that he was the closest friend to Otoya out of the Arms Monsters. Also, he happened to have a (wild) dog motif.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Otoya, often arguing with him over either Yuri or anything else, yet have shown to be very cooperative in dire situations.
  • Werewolf Theme Naming: The last syllable in his name contained the character for "wolf". While Garulu is taken from the Japanese onomatopoeic sound representation of a wolf's howl, "garuru".
  • Wolf Man: Even his Wolfen form has differently-colored legs to resemble Magic Pants.
  • The Worf Effect: He's used as an example to show just how powerful the Checkmate Four is, starting with Rook.

    Ramon 

Ramon

Portrayed by: Yuuki Ogoe (live), Naoko Kamio (suit)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ramon.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/basshaa.png
The last surviving member of the Merman Race.
  • Adapted Out: He and Basshaa don't appear in the novelization.
  • Character Tics: When he transforms, he spins around and does a cheerful pose.
  • Enfante Terrible: He is the most vicious of the Arms Monsters, despite looking like a young boy.
  • Image Song: "Innocent Trap"
  • The Kirk: The ego, or balance, between Jiro and Riki.
  • Making a Splash: Attacks by spitting high-pressure balls of water.
  • Our Mermaids Are Different: His Merman form looks more like a sea monster than the usual human/fish hybrid.
  • Older Than They Look: Applies to them all, but Ramon stands out for looking about 14. Also lampshaded: when he tells Yuri he's really 105 years old, she doesn't believe him.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Ramon looks and sounds like a kid, but is rather bloodthirsty, once suggesting that he, Jiro, and Riki kill Wataru to release them of their contract.
  • Sailor Fuku: Wears the male version.
  • Verbal Tic: Repeating words twice, particularly "Hey, hey."note .

    Riki 

Riki

Portrayed by: Eiji Takigawa (live), Eitoku (suit)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rikki_5.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dogga.png
The last surviving member of the Franken Race.

Checkmate Four

    General Tropes 
The most powerful members of the Fangire Race.
  • The Ageless: They're immune to be dethroned by age, but by any means of extermination. Even then, the last episode hinted that they can be resurrected to reclaim their former title.
  • Chess Motifs: Their titles appropriately alludes to King, Queen, Bishop and Rook pieces.
  • The Dreaded: Fangires and non-Fangires alike have all the good reasons to immediately leave the premise after even one of them is spotted.
  • Evil Wears Black: Black is the major color of their costumes.
  • Implacable Man: Once they received the duty to take out anyone, be it Fangires or non-Fangires, they will get it done sooner or later.
  • The Juggernaut: It takes several episodes and two generations before they can be taken down for good, figuratively for Queen and literally for the rest.
  • Lunacy: Though not consistently portrayed, their power includes summoning The Night to obliterate their opponent. This power is prominently shown by their successors to an extend, be it by blood or otherwise.
  • Modest Royalty: Wears otherwise surprisingly casual outfits, no blings on sight. King and Queen's are debatable but still, nothing extravagant.
  • Non-Residential Residence: Their residence, Caste Doran, is basically a half wyvern and a half castle.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Despite their appearances, it's hinted that they're much, much older. Maya herself claimed to have met the real Vivaldi.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Subverted for King who's off-screen for majority of the series, until the plot demands him to come out, and Rook who does his own thing. Bishop and Queen generally do have their hands down with their respective duties.
  • Scars are Forever: Rook and Queen have these. Rook got his scars from Yuri Aso, while Queen wears an eyepatch in 2008 although her scars are never visible.
  • Vampire Monarch: They are the government sustaining the Fangire race, but not necessarily straight up aristocrats.

    King/Bat Fangire 

King/Bat Fangire

Portrayed by: Shinya Niiro

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_0.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bat_fangire.png
The lord of Fangires.

  • Big Bad: Of the 1986 portion of the show.
  • Came Back Wrong: In the finale, he's revived as essentially a mindless zombie version of himself.
  • Evil Counterpart: Very much to Wataru, as both the live-action actor (who looks like an older Koji Seto) and his Dark Kiva armor (which itself more or less gives off the impression of being an Darker and Edgier Emperor form) disturbingly resemble our hero in more ways than one.
  • Final Boss: Twice - first Otoya and Wataru team up to defeat him in the past, then Taiga and Wataru team up to take him down in the present.
  • Foil: Being his immediate predecessor as Kiva, King serves as quite the contrast to Wataru, the former being everything the latter is not despite the similarities of their outer appearances.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Alienated Kivat the II and discarded the Zanbat Sword, allowing both to be used against him to kill him.
  • Hypocrite: In his initial appearance, he refused to kill Maya for cheating on him with Otoya, believing that doing so would prove that he loved her and that love was a proof of weakness. When he saw her genuine love for Otoya, he was emotionally devastated.
  • If I Can't Have You…: As he’s dying, he tries to kill Maya and Taiga to take them away from Otoya, believing that both of them belong to him.
  • Karmic Death: When his attempt to kill Maya was turned against him thanks to infant Taiga.
  • Predecessor Villain: He's killed off in 1986, leaving the rest of the Checkmate Four to drive the plot.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: A consistent color palette across all of his forms.
  • The Sociopath: Apart from his cruel enforcement of Fangire laws, King is definitely one regarding his "love" for Maya: he initially claims that he doesn't love her, but seeing her have feelings for Otoya made him very entitled to her being his, even trying to threaten her with Taiga's life, take her Fangire powers, claiming it to be worser than death, and attempting a Taking You with Me on them.
  • World's Strongest Man: The most powerful character of the series. His power as either Dark Kiva or his Fangire form easily allows him to defeat any enemy in a one-on-one. It really speaks volumes of his power that the only way he was defeated in 1986 and 2008 was by being attacked two-on-one against opponents who stole his Dark Kiva armor and his Zanbat sword and even then it was a close fight.
  • Worf Had the Flu: Bar none the strongest character of the series, his cruelty towards Maya led to his demise by weakening his powers. He purposely got rid of his Zanbat Sword, the strongest weapon in the series, to prevent himself from murdering Maya as a way to show that he didn’t love her and that her betrayal didn’t hurt him. This allowed Wataru to access his Emperor form in the future and assist Otoya in defeating him. Furthermore, his mistreatment of Maya was so extreme that Kivat abandoned him in favor of Otoya and later Taiga. Consequently, this forced him to fight at his base form in his final battles, giving the heroes the chance to beat him with his own weapons/powers. During the final battle in the present, he was also improperly resurrected as a mindless beast without any strategy or tactics.
  • Yandere: Despite his claims that he didn’t care that Maya cheated on him with Otoya, he was downright furious about it and tried to murder Otoya indirectly by sending people to kill him or having Castle Duran drain him of his energy. When Maya openly showed concern and love towards Otoya, he became heartbroken and later tried to kill her as he was dying, believing that she belonged to him and should follow him to Hell.

    Maya/Queen/Pearlshell Fangire 

Maya/Queen/Pearlshell Fangire I

Portrayed by: Saki Kagami

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/krkv_maya.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pearlshell_fangire.png
  • Best Served Cold: She's the target in this case. Back in '86, she offended a rat Fangire, who then swore revenge. Later, after she was rid of her powers and position, the rat Fangires are shown hunting her down in the present day. Wataru later found and saved her.
  • Broken Bird: By '08, when she's basically isolated herself from society due to having lost her lover and having to stay away from her sons. She keeps to the sidelines until after the final battle, when she finally approaches Taiga and Wataru to witness their final clash for the title of King.
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: It's not like she wanted to leave Wataru, but her status as a fugitive due to defecting from the King would make it difficult to raise Wataru, and thus left him so he'd be free of the danger.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her outfit was clearly inspired by this subculture.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: Any Fangire who fell in love with humans will certainly be obliterated by her.
  • Image Song: "Rainy Rose"
  • Riches to Rags: After she left Wataru, she ditched her original outfit with something too simple and wears no shoes.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Of the Checkmate Four, she's the only female member. Unless you count her successor as a member at the same time.
  • Sympathetic Adulterer: She never had King's best interest in the first place either.
  • Token Good Teammate: The only member of the 1986 roster of the Checkmate Four without any genuinely malicious qualities, while also feeling true love and redeeming herself.

    Rook/Lion Fangire 

Rook/Lion Fangire

Portrayed by: Tomohide Takahara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rook_4.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lion_fangire.png
  • The Brute: The powerhouse of the villains.
  • Dramatic Irony: The first time we see him, he's living peacefully with amnesia in the present, with good things happening to him, all while events of the past reveal his true nature. And his normal behavior seems to hint at having already taken head injury between '86 and the mass monster killings period.
  • Image Song: "Lightning to Heaven"
  • Made of Iron: He survives all of his self-inflicted punishment - though one Game-Breaking Injury in the past not only caused his amnesia in '08, but comes back to bite him fatally. Made Of Irony?
  • Panthera Awesome: His Fangire form is a humanoid lion.
  • Psycho for Hire: Rook is a sadistic, mentally-unstable, low-functioning sociopath who kills simply because he's good at it and doesn't even care for Fangire supremacy, and King still chose him to be his personal assassin.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Routinely makes up "games" for himself, basically boiling down to "kill a set amount of people sharing a common trait within 12 hours", with absolutely no other concerns than said game. Note also that he is pretty childish while he has amnesia.
  • The Sociopath: All Rook cares about is his Time Plays and his killing sprees that come with it. His attempts at good deeds at one point are less out of altruism and more of his Insane Troll Logic of "entering Heaven" for doing so.
  • Spree Killer: His modus operandi in a nutshell. Unlike the majority of Fangires, who prefer to hunt for people in a more organized manner, Rook deliberately kills several victims in the period of hours, and that's when he's not committing massacres under King's orders.

    Bishop/Swallowtail Fangire 

Bishop/Swallowtail Fangire

Portrayed by: Mitsu Murata

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bishop_0.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swallowtail_fangire.png
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: Despite King being the Final Boss, Bishop was the reason he appeared in 2008, making him this to the series alongside him.
  • The Dragon: He's the King's right-hand man.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: No matter what points he may bring up, his biggest flaw in killing Mio was that he ultimately failed to understand how much Taiga had still loved her, and that attacking him was how he would really react to the truth.
  • Evil Genius: He's the real planner and manipulator of the Checkmate Four.
  • Fish Eyes: In the lead-up to his and Nago's final battle, and afterward during his final minutes, he sports these, which are practically bulging out of his head and have widened irises and sclera.
  • Image Song: "Eternity Blood"
  • Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Zig-zagged. Taiga and Bishop had a professional, nearly friendly relationship before Mio’s death, which causes a schism between them. On one hand, he killed Mio and blamed Wataru for the deed against Taiga’s wishes, giving Taiga reason to try to murder him for hurting his loved ones. On the other hand, Bishop was doing his job by eliminating a traitor (Mio) and protecting his king from a possible usurper (Wataru), so he saw Taiga’s attempt to kill him as a betrayal and a sign that he wasn’t worthy of being a king, leading to his desire to resurrect King to serve him.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If he had just kept his mouth shut, or better yet, encouraged Taiga to kill Wataru, as opposed to doing what he actually did - reveal he was the one who killed Mio - he wouldn't have had Taiga turn on him.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: He sports them in his human form.
  • The Sociopath: Severe loyalty to King aside, Bishop values the Fangire law without any empathy for those he ends up hurting because of it, especially with Mio, refused to admit any of his wrongdoings, wanting to take Life Energy from people and overthrow Taiga out of mostly pettiness, and his final moments had him claim of being one with the reborn King to destroy everything.
  • Undying Loyalty: He’s completely devoted to the hierarchy of the Fangire royalty and served both King and Taiga faithfully. He murdered Mio because of her refusal to commit to her duties as a Queen, her affection towards Wataru, and her failed murder attempt against Taiga. He later turns against Taiga for beating him down out of grief for Mio’s death, so he decides to resurrect King to kill Taiga rather than try to rule over the Fangire by himself.
  • Villain Has a Point: Despite his horrible deeds in the series, he does have logical points that validate his actions:
    • He points out that Mio neglected her duties as a Queen by sparing any Fangire who fell in love with a human. She was also willing to betray and kill Taiga, so she could be with Wataru, even trying to encourage Wataru to defeat Taiga.
    • While his action of killing Mio was cruel, he did fulfill his role in ensuring that the aristocracy was fulfilling their roles by murdering a treasonous Queen.
    • He warned Taiga that Wataru was a threat to his power and Mio’s affections, but constantly ignored his advice and that led to Mio stabbing him and later Wataru declaring himself the Fangire King in the aftermath.
    • Lastly, while it might seem like he was being petty for betraying Taiga, the latter did beat him up for doing his job and constantly ignored his warnings, something that King, who is a far worse person that Taiga, never did.

Kamen Riders

     Kamen Rider Ixa 

1986 users: Jiro, Otoya, Yuri

2008 users: Nago, Kengo, Megumi (#31)

Suit actors: Jiro Okamoto (male users), Yuuichi Hachisuka (female users)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamen_rider_ixa.png
Fist on!
Voted #2 Kamen Rider in the Kamen Rider Kiva franchise, #42 Kamen Rider in the Heisei era, and #54 Kamen Rider overall in NHK's All Kamen Rider Popularity Vote.

     Kamen Rider Dark Kiva 

1986 users: King, Otoya

2008 users: Taiga

Suit actors: Seiji Takaiwa (King), Eitoku (Otoya, Taiga)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamen_rider_dark_kiva.png
Gaburi!
Voted #3 Kamen Rider in the Kamen Rider Kiva franchise, #49 Kamen Rider in the Heisei era, and #64 Kamen Rider overall in NHK's All Kamen Rider Popularity Vote.

Movie Exclusive Characters

    Legendorgas 

Legendorgas

A race of monsters sealed away by a Kiva from long ago before being released in modern times.

    Takashi Sugimura/Kamen Rider Arc 

Takashi Sugimura/Kamen Rider Arc

Portrayed by: Ken Horiuchi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takashi_sugimura.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamen_rider_arc.png
A prison convict who awakened Arc's spirit.

    Arc Kivat 

Arc Kivat

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arc_kivat.png

    Takato Shiramine 

Takato Shiramine/Kamen Rider Rey

Portrayed by: Shouma Yamamoto (live)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takato_shiramine.png
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamen_rider_rey.png
An agent working for the 3WA.
  • An Ice Person: As Rey, he has ice-based abilities.
  • Deadpan Snarker: In the Net Movies, he showed an embarrassing picture of Nago's old days (including wearing a T-shirt of said photo) to Megumi just to troll Nago. In general, he acts snarky to some of the cast, ranging from critiquing Wataru and Kengo on their magic act to doing so to Otoya and the Aso girls on what style would be best for the cafe.
  • The Dragon: To Arc and the Legendorgas as a whole.
  • Finishing Move: Blizzard claw Execution.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: He started as a human, but had himself made into a Legendorga so he could use the artificial Rey Kivat and become a Kamen Rider.
  • Meaningful Name: "Rey" is an older pronunciation of the kanji "冷", meaning "cold"
  • Transhuman Treachery: In exchange for being Rey, Takato's baptized devotion to the Legendorgas more or less resulted in this.

    Rey Kivat 

Rey Kivat

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rey_kivat.png

Others

    The visitor 

The visitor to the cafe

Portrayed by: Unknown

A character exclusive to the Kamen Rider Kiva: You Can Also be Kiva Adventure Battle DVD. They visit the Café mald'amour to learn how just to be like Kiva.

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