The S.I.C. Official Diorama Story: S.I.C. Hero Saga is a line of stories based on tokusatsu series, mostly the Kamen Rider franchise but also other Toku heroes under Toei's umbrella.. Published in Monthly Hobby Japan magazine, these prose stories are mainly used to promote Bandai's line of Super Imaginative Chogokin die-cast metal figures, and use the figurines as illustrations.
Stories
- Kamen Rider: Missing Link (July 2002 - October 2002)
- Kamen Rider Agito: Heaven's Door (October 2003 - March 2004)
- Kamen Rider Ryuki: World of If (June 2005 - August 2005)
- Kamen Rider 555: Lost World (October 2005 - January 2006)
- Akumaizer 3: ~Before and After~ (March 2006 - April 2006)
- Kamen Rider OOO: OOZ (February 2013 - January 2014)
- Kamen Rider: Episode 99 (March - July 2014)
- Kamen Rider Decade: World of OOO (December 2015 - March 2017)
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: A lot of Hero Saga stories tie up loose ends or flesh out certain details about their respective series. For instance, the Kamen Rider 555 Hero Saga "Lost World" explains why Shuji Mihara wasn't present in Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost (he was killed by Kusaka allowing him to perish by one of Murakami's blue flower petals.)
- The Akumaizer 3 Hero Saga contains a lot of backstory that isn't stated at all in the series, such as the story of Xavitan's father and the true origins of the Akuma Clan. Specifically, the Akuma Clan are the descendants of a group of humans who migrated to the center of the Earth long ago to avoid natural disasters and modified themselves with machinery to survive in its climate, giving them their monstrous forms and earning them the label "demons" from surface dwellers. Xavitan's father discovered the truth and rebelled against Mezalord when he began leading hunts of humans.
- The Kamen Rider Amazon Hero Saga shows us what Ten-Faced Demon Gorgos would have looked like
if he had gotten both Armlets. The giant head encompassing his lower torso getting a huge body to match.
- Canon Immigrant:
- The Kamen Rider SIC Hero Saga "Missing Link" features Shocker Riders 7-12, who originally appeared in the Kamen Rider manga, though only Shocker Riders 1-6 appeared in the Toku series.
- In an inverse of this, the designs of SIC's Akumaizer 3 figures would later make their way into an official Toku series, when they were used for their villainous inversions, the Akumaizer, in Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum.
- Darker and Edgier: The main appeal of SIC figures is their more intricate and realistic designs. The stories themselves also tend to have darker themes than what was present in their respective shows.
- "Everyone Dies" Ending: World of If contains the worst possible ending for Ryuki, caused by a What If? scenario where Odin wins. The key word is that Odin wins. Not Ren, who was possessed by the deck at the time, and definitely not Shiro, since he never "uses" the suit for himself. As a result, he cannot grant his own wish to save Yui or be with her, and the Rider War is now trapped in an unwinnable limbo where the 13 Advent Decks are left to rot and the 13 Riders (except Ren) and countless others remain dead. It is implied Shiro will have to live with the unimaginable guilt of killing so many people All for Nothing for the rest of his life.
- Toyline-Exclusive Character: Several SIC figures aren't darker re-imaginings of pre-existing characters, but entirely original characters created for the SIC Hero Sagas themselves, such as Xavitan Sr. (a white Palette Swap of his son with wings) or the Dog Lord in the Kamen Rider Agito Hero Saga "Heaven's Door".
