Mitsuzane Kureshima

Mitsuzane Kureshima (呉島 光実), referred to as "Mitchy" (ミッチ) by his friends, is a member of the Kureshima Family and is the younger brother of Takatora Kureshima. Mitsuzane, initially a member of Team Gaim and a close friend of Kouta Kazuraba becomes Kamen Rider Ryugen (仮面ライダー龍玄 [リュウゲン]) to protect his team and his friends during the Inves Games.

Hidden from his friends is his Kureshima background where he was forced to live in an environment with a heavy burden from his brother, who wants him to exceed in life, likewise the same from his father, Amagi Kureshima. Mitsuzane eventually joins his brother's goal of trying to save humanity from the Helheim Invasion through Project Ark, but when his brother allies himself with Kouta, he becomes a victim of a coup d'état causing Mitsuzane to blame Kouta for his brother's "death" and causing his crush, Mai Takatsukasa to lash out at him. Through Kouta and Mai's "death", Mitsuzane is unable to see his other friends eye to eye and views himself as someone who is incapable of their friendship.

For a short time, Mitsuzane takes up the mantle of Kamen Rider Zangetsu Shin (仮面ライダー斬月 真 [ザンゲツ シン]) until it is destroyed by Ryoma Sengoku and also became the lethal Kamen Rider Ryugen Yomi (仮面ライダー龍玄・黄泉 [リュウゲン・ヨミ]). In the seven months after Helheim's eradication, Mitsuzane is the last person with a Sengoku Driver and strives to become a hero in Kouta's stead now that he and Mai are gone.

Character History
As a young child, Mitsuzane was raised by his older brother, Takatora Kureshima. His parents were typically overseas, causing him to never have any bond with his parents. Growing up, Takatora tried his best to have Mitsuzane go down a path of education and success in hopes that Mitsuzane will not learn of the Helheim conspiracy.

He and his brother met Touka Akatsuki, who his father brought from the orphanage as their maid and befriend with her.

Mitsuzane in his teenage years was a member of Team Gaim becoming Armored Rider Ryugen to protect his team alongside Armored Rider Gaim in the Inves Games. Quickly, they rise to the top of the rankings and Mitsuzane learns firsthand of a conspiracy going with the White Armored Rider, the "forest", and the Inves. He learns that the White Armored Rider is in fact Takatora.

When Inves starts to attack humans in broad daylight, Mitsuzane quickly realizes that Yggdrasill has made the Beat Rider Teams scapegoats in the Helheim conspiracy and chooses to discard his Sengoku Driver. However, he is forced to pick it up once more to save Kouta and Kaito when they are captured by Yggdrasill and accidentally shows on the camera feed to his brother that he is an Armored Rider as well.

Takatora confronts Mitsuzane and reveals to him the truth of Helheim, causing Mitsuzane to prioritize his friends happiness by leaving them in the shadow. This ultimately causes him to betray his friends numerous times and results into his crush, Mai to lash out at him for attempting to blame Kouta for an Inves attack (planned by Mitsuzane on his own friends to prevent confidential information from being leaked).

Before his full downfall, and after he clear the Beat Riders' names, Mitsuzane and Takatora meet a grown up Touka again, and soon learned that their father Amagi has passed away, much to Kureshima brothers' mourn to their father's death. On the next two days when finally goes home, he spots the Helheim plants are everywhere around their home, and being ambushed by an Armored Rider assassin who can produce Helheim's power, such as opening the Crack. Until he is saved by Takatora, in a same time the Armored Rider stole Takatora's Melon Energy Lockseed before he could transform, leading Takatora to follow the Rider alone, and being told to stay in the home safe, and clean the plants out of their house.

Mitsuzane takes the mantle of New Generation Rider Zangetsu Shin when his brother is forcefully stripped of his rank and thrown into Helheim by his peers when the latter decides to ally himself with Kouta. Mitsuzane blames Kouta for all of the "miserable" things that have been happening to him and decides to use Zangetsu Shin as a way to destroy the bond between Takatora and Kouta. Though this fails, Mitsuzane allies himself with the Over Lords once Project Ark fails and becomes more sadistic as everyone continues to protect Kouta.

When his brother turns out to be alive, Takatora and Mitsuzane clash with the former being defeated and thrown into the water with his Sengoku Driver being permanently destroyed. After this battle, Mitsuzane suffers from hallucinations of his brother taunting him as Mitsuzane believes that he's nothing more than his brother's shadow. He later learns after the death of the last Over Lord, Rosyuo, that Mai is now the bearer of the Forbidden Fruit and rushes to her side with Ryoma Sengoku.

He is tricked by Ryoma on a suicide mission to kill Kouta and returns victorious, but realizes that Ryoma dissected Mai alive to steal the Forbidden Fruit and breaks down with the revelation that Kouta and Mai are both "dead". In the aftermath, Takatora returns alive, helping his brother cope.

Mitsuzane, after the Helheim Invasion, strives to be a hero in Kouta's stead as the last Sengoku Driver user in Zawame City. Kouta temporarily returns helping Mitsuzane defeat Kougane, but shortly leaves afterwards.

The Golden Fruit Cup Event
Set sometime after Ryoma Sengoku presents to Kouta a way to enter the Yggdrasill Tower through a back entrance, Mitsuzane's tragic memory of defeating Takatora is kept after the world is transitioned into the Soccer World, prompting him to realize that the current world he's in is fake, even though its really peaceful having no Inves invasion. He did remember that his brother has never been married. He acts alone for most of the film, such as after witnessing Takatora becomes insane and Sid's demise, investigating the disappearance of Ryoma Sengoku, and most luckily, noticed and kills the small hopper that causes all Riders to go insane like his brother and Sid had. Once he watches the last record, he goes to Lapis and confronts him. At the same time, all the Riders are eliminated which leaves Mitsuzane as the last surviving Rider. He suspects Lapis as a threat until Sagara reveals the true mastermind behind the recent event, and what will happen to Kouta. When Kouta is brainwashed by Kougane, Mitsuzane steps up to snap him out of it, with the help of Lapis. Later, surviving Riders Marika and Baron helpget Mai away from their brainwashed friend and Kougane. The Riders gather to stop Kougane once and for all. However, Kougane survives his encounter and returns to the real world seven months later.

Movie War: Full Throttle
Set sometime after the events of the finale episode, Mitsuzane has finally reconciled with his brother Takatora and redeemed from his past sins. However, when Megahex's invasion and Ryoma's return threatens the peace, Mitsuzane becomes Ryugen once again, fighting alongside his brother to protect Zawame.

In the final portion of Movie War, Mitsuzane later teams up with Gaim, the returning Baron, Zangetsu Shin and Drive to fight Megahex ZZZ and the mecha Roimudes and Inves.

Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Knuckle
Mitsuzane is revealed by Peko to have graduated from his school and helps Takatora with his work somewhere abroad. He appears to fight two of Neo Baron's Kurokage Troopers as Ryugen to save Zack before giving him a new Sengoku Driver along with the Kurumi and Marron Energy Lockseeds as he still remembers that the original Team Baron still possess Kaito's Genesis Driver. He tells Zack that Neo Baron has stolen precious data about Lockseeds and Sengoku Drivers which are now being produced again by Yggdrasill and Mitsuzane is on the chase for getting them back. When giving Marron Energy Lockseed, he tells Zack that it can be activated with the core from the Genesis Driver which Zack remembers that it is busted.

Personality
Initially a member of Team Gaim, Kouta views Mitsuzane as a younger brother. Mitsuzane is the son of the director of the Yggdrasill Corporation and attended an elite high school, a side of himself that he keeps hidden. Living under his brother's shadow, he wants to live freely and break free from the path established for him, as such he sees Team Gaim as family due to him being able to be himself while there once. Because of this, he falls in love with Mai Takatsukasa, the co-leader of Team Gaim.

During the Beat Riders Saga, Mitsuzane eagerly follows Kouta into dangers and shapes his own beliefs around Kouta's to always wanting to help others if possible. By doing so, after discovering Yggdrasill's goals and the only logical option to save humanity, he focuses less time with his friends to a more calculated person to ensure that his best friend Kouta doesn't interfere with humanity's overall safety. In addition to this, Mitsuzane hid from Kouta the truth about Yuya because he couldn't bear to see his friend crushed and expose his identity as the younger brother of the White Armored Rider.

During the Yggdrasill Saga to the Forbidden Fruit Saga, Mitsuzane transitions from the safety of humanity to focus on eliminating Kouta for involving Mai into getting in harm's way. As a logical thinker, Mitsuzane uses his status as a Kureshima to his advantage to coerce and manipulate others to achieve his own ends. This ultimately plays the downfall of many, including his loved one: Mai Takatsukasa and temporarily Kouta as Mitsuzane stabs him. As he adopts this more crude and sinister outlook on life when faced with the end of humanity, Mitsuzane appears in a suit for the remainder of the Helheim Invasion, and swears to eliminate those who also interfere with his desires, such as Kaito Kumon. After seemingly murdering Kouta, and having Mai fall into the wrong hands twice with Rosyou fusing the Golden Fruit on her and Ryoma apparently killing her to extract the Golden Fruit, all he accomplished was meaningless for siding with the villains. Additionally, what Mitsuzane hadn't realized was that he was turning into a ruthless, uncaring person willing to sacrifice everything for his own gain.

Nearly a year after the end of the Helheim invasion, Mitsuzane attempts to atone for his sins as the last Armored Rider in Zawame City and vows to protect it from enemies in Kouta's stead. In a final confrontation against Kougane, Mitsuzane stands alone against Kougane's attack on the city.

In Movie War Full Throttle, Mitsuzane is still struggling with his past behavior as he worries about being unable to save Mai during his infiltration into Megahex's cocoon. Mitsuzane is shaken when Takatora asks him shoot Megahex alongside Takatora, but decides to trust in his brother's plan.

Arms
Like with the other Armored Riders and New Generation Riders, Kamen Rider Ryugen/Ryugen Yomi/Zangetsu Shin's forms are called Arms (アームズ). His personal Lockseeds are styled either dividing into three parts or ending with a fighting grunt ("Ha-Ha-Ha" or "Sei-ya Ha"). As Ryugen, all of Mitsuzane's Chinese Soldier-themed Arms' helmets share the suffix Men (面) as their title, while his visors are called Ryugan (龍眼).

As Armored Rider Ryugen/Ryugen Yomi, Mitsuzane's Sengoku Driver plays Chinese erhu & gong music and announces "Hai" (ハイー) before every transformation. By pressing the Sengoku Driver's Cutting Blade down on the Lockseed after transforming from one to three times, he can activate one of three finishing moves based on his current Arms form: Squash (スカッシュ), Au Lait (オーレ), or Sparking (スパーキング).

As New Generation Rider Zangetsu Shin, Mitsuzane's Genesis Driver announces "Soda" (ソーダ) before every transformation. By pushing the Genesis Driver's Seaboll Compressor into the Energy Lockseed after transforming from one to two times, he can activate one of two finishing moves based on his current Arms form: Squash (スカッシュ) or Sparking (スパーキング). In addition to the Genesis Driver's finishing moves, Zangetsu Shin can perform a Sonic Volley (ソニックボレー) finishing attack by inserting an Energy Lockseed into the Energy Drive Bay of his Sonic Arrow.

Devices

 * Transformation devices:
 * Sengoku Driver - As Ryugen/Ryugen Yomi
 * Genesis Driver - As Zangetsu Shin (disabled by Professor Ryoma's self-destruct fail-safe)
 * Lockseeds - Gives access to Ryugen (Yomi)/Zangetsu Shin's Arms changes, depending on which lock is used

Weapons

 * Arms Weapons - Weapons that come with the Arms:
 * Ryugen:
 * Budou Ryuhou - Ryugen Budou Arms' personal weapon
 * Kiwi Gekirin - Ryugen Kiwi Arms' personal weapons
 * Melon Defender - Ryugen Melon Arms' personal weapon
 * Banaspear - Ryugen Banana Arms' personal weapon
 * Pine Iron - Ryugen Pine Arms' personal weapon
 * Trigger Magnum - Ryugen Double Arms' personal weapon
 * Faiz Edge - Ryugen Faiz Arms' personal weapon
 * Rocket Module - Ryugen Fourze Arms' personal weapon
 * Daidaimaru - Temporary weapon loaned to him by Gaim Kiwami Arms against Jam
 * Kagematsu - Temporary weapon stolen from a Mecha Kurokage
 * Musou Saber - Temporary weapon loaned to him by Gaim Kiwami Arms against Mecha Roidmudes and Mecha Elementary Inves
 * Ryugen Yomi:
 * Budou Ryuhou - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons
 * Kiwi Gekirin - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons
 * Sheimu (Demushu's sword) - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons (Arms Change only)
 * Dau (Redyue's halberd) - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons
 * Joeshuimu (Rosyuo's greatsword) - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons (Arms Change only)
 * Dimubu (Shinmugurun's axe) - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons
 * Zangetsu Shin:
 * Sonic Arrow - Zangetsu Shin Melon Energy Arms' personal weapon
 * Storm Halberd - One of Zangetsu Shin Agito Arms' personal weapons
 * Flame Saber - One of Zangetsu Shin Agito Arms' personal weapons

Vehicles

 * Lock Vehicles - Vehicles that unfold from special Lockseeds:
 * Sakura Hurricane - Borrowed Rider Machine from Gaim
 * Rose Attacker - Ryugen's Rider Machine

Lockseed
Ryugen Lockseed (龍玄ロックシード): Allows the user to transform into Ryugen Arms. The core image depicts Ryugen's Sengoku Driver in Budou Arms while the lid backside image depicts the Budou Lockseed.
 * Transformation: Ryugen Arms: Bu-dou, Ha-Ha-Ha!
 * Squash: Ryugen Kyaku (龍玄脚)
 * Au Lait: Budou Ryuhou (ブドウ龍砲)
 * Sparking: Dragon Shot (ドラゴンショット)

List of Appearances

 * Kamen Rider Gaim
 * 1-36, 38-47
 * Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle
 * Kamen Rider Gaim: Sengoku Battle Royale
 * Sengoku Movie Battle
 * Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai
 * Ressha Sentai ToQger Vs. Kamen Rider Gaim Spring Vacation Combining Special
 * Kamen Rider Gaim: Great Soccer Battle! Golden Fruits Cup!
 * Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Drive & Gaim: Movie War Full Throttle
 * Kamen Rider Gaim Gaiden
 * Kamen Rider Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Zangetsu
 * Kamen Rider Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Knuckle

Portrayal
Mitsuzane Kureshima is portrayed by Mahiro Takasugi (高杉 真宙). He was also a guest star in Episode 10 of .

His suit actor is Daisuke Satō (佐藤 太輔), Yasuhiro Takeuchi (竹内 康博 Takeuchi Yasuhiro). who was previously the suit actor for in ' and  in '.

Legend Rider Lockseeds

 * The following Legend Rider Lockseeds are styled for Ryugen:
 * V3 - "Chikara, Waza, Double Typhoon!"
 * Skyrider - "Sky, Henshin, Sail-ing Jump!"
 * Super-1 - "Seki, Shin, Sho-rin Ken!"
 * Kuuga - "Chō Henshin, Ha-Ha-Ha!"
 * Double - "Cyclone, Joker, Ha-Ha-Ha!"
 * Double CycloneJokerXtreme - "Cyclone, Joker, Xtreme!"
 * Joker - "Joker, Kirifuda, Sei-ya Ha!"
 * Meteor - "Hwacha, Ha-Ha-Ha!"
 * Ryugen - "Bu-dou, Ha-Ha-Ha!"