Shuichi Kitaoka

Shuichi Kitaoka (北岡 秀一) is Kamen Rider Zolda (仮面ライダーゾルダ), a character in the production Kamen Rider Ryuki. He is the fourth of the 13 Kamen Riders the story revolves around. However, he served as the third main Rider in the series.

History
He is a self-proclaimed "Super-lawyer", tends to only help someone if he has something to gain. Because he has a terminal case of cancer and was given only several more months to live, Kitaoka accepted Kanzaki's offer to join the Rider war. His prize is to be immortal so that he could continue his extravagant lifestyle. Because of his illness, he suffers from frequent dizzy spells and fainting.

He first meets Shinji Kido after he clears the Sakura Company of its credit fraud charges and is later pursued by its bookies after taking their dirty money as added payment for his services. Though Shinji was unaware of this at first, he attempts to save Kitaoka only to be rescued by his apprentice Goro Yura. Shinji later meets Kitaoka again when he and Reiko wanted permission from the Kawazu Pharmacy to inspect their factory for environmental violations. Interested in Shinji, Kitaoka allows Shinji to hang around with him and understand his ideology until Shinji hit a nerve of Kitaoka's thought to live for one's own desire seemed hollow made Kitaoka kick him out.

Later, after attacking Kamen Rider Ryuki just as Ryuki kills a Zebraskull, Kitaoka learns that Shinji is in jail for suspected kidnapping and agrees to help him on the condition that Reiko writes a special article to boost his positive image. However, learning that Shinji's Ryuki with seeing the wound he inflicted in their fight, Kitaoka goes to Atori Cafe to get his pay from Ren. However, when a Wildboarder attacks, Kitaoka exposes himself while learning that Ren is a Rider - Kamen Rider Knight - as well. After fighting him, Kitaoka questions Ren's reasons for not killing Shinji. Kitaoka had intended to frame Shinji for kidnapping but after being fired as Shinji's lawyer when his intentions were revealed, Kitaoka is annoyed that Shinji is freed because of a girl named Yukari whom he brushed off while refusing to aid her. But after learning that her mother is hospitalized, Kitaoka secretly pays for her mother's surgery and earns the girl's respect. However, Zolda manages to sneak attack Ryuki and Knight while they were fighting the Wildboarder with Magnugiga, killing the monster while giving Ren memory loss in the overkill attack.

Kitaoka later gives Goro use of Zolda for a while to conceal himself, until get sets up a scheme of having Shinji believe he accidentally killed Goro to have him quit being a Rider. But his arrogance of barring ORE from a press conference to spite Reiko led to her helping Ren expose the lawyer as the real Zolda. After bailing out the son of one of his clients, Jun Shibaura, Kitaoka drops his long time client Takeshi Asakura out being tired of the man's attitude, leading Asakura receiving aid from Kanzaki. Eventually the two found out they were both Riders and they began a personal feud against each other. Though Shinji would attempt to warn him of this while under the effect of Kamen Rider Odin's Time Vent, Kitaoka faked helping Shinji and later states that fulfilling his wish to win the Rider War is more important than Asakura staying behind bars.

As the war goes on, Kitaoka becomes weaker and weaker. He begins to have doubts whether he can truly win the war. He also grows to care for Shinji, unwilling to fight him when he saw that, while Shinji requested to fight, his heart wasn't in it.

Kitaoka was the only Rider to voluntarily give up the fight rather than be killed, realizing that while his life was a short life, it was a good one. While he died in peace at his home, Goro went to fight against Ouja in his place as Zolda; Goro, not used to Zolda's long-range style, died with Asakura learning too late that he is denied taking Kitaoka's life himself. After Kanzaki restored time to its proper course after Yui's death, Kitaoka and Goro were both given a second chance at life, though it was never revealed if Kitaoka still has cancer or not.

13 Riders
In the 13 Riders alternate special, Kitaoka went to see Asakura, knowing he was a Rider and bumped into Shinji who revealed he was another Rider. By accident, Asakura succeeds getting his card deck back and transforms, escaping prison. Kitaoka later joins the other Riders and traps Knight and Ryuki in a fight. He with the other remaining Riders activated Final Vent on Shinji, then as Kamen Rider Knight Survive.

Episode Final
In the movie: Episode Final (alternate ending), Kitaoka puts his grudge against Asakura on hold out of guilt for his actions of defending him when he murdered the sister of Miho Kirishima, who became a Rider to get revenge on her sister's murderer. Though he attempted to protect her from Ouja, Zolda gets the full blunt of her Blanc Visor, injuring his wrist. He later decides to end fighting, stating that he is tired of it. He then calls Reiko out for dinner, and goes with Goro to purchase flowers (at first he decided to just send Goro to do the purchase), forfeiting.

Kamen Rider Decade
In the special version of episode 31, Kamen Rider Zolda is seen on top of Zero-Liner, using his Final Vent against Decade's Final Attack Ride. Unfortunately, the attack fails, and he dies.

OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders
Kamen Rider Zolda was part of a group of reinforcement riders led by Akira Date/Kamen Rider Birth to aid the primary riders in defeating the Rock Great Leader. All the Kamen Riders got on their bikes and performed the All Rider Break attack which destroyed the Great Leader.

Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen
He, along with Kamen Rider Knight, Kamen Rider Black, Kamen Rider G3, Kamen Rider Hibiki and Kamen Rider Gatack were the Kamen Rider team to be defeated by the hands of Gokai Red. It's unknown if he reappeared or not during the final battle.

Chou Super Hero Taisen
An iteration of Shuichi Kitaoka/Kamen Rider Zolda was selected to join Team Ex-Aid, formed and led by Emu Hojo to fight for the title of Kamen Sentai Gorider in the Chou Super Hero Taisen tournament. Facing the in the first round, Zolda bested. Ultimately, Team Ex-Aid faced off against Team Genm, led by Kamen Rider Genm Zombie Gamer Level X, in the final round. Zolda engaged and defeated Kamen Rider Ryugen, with the team prevailing as Ex-Aid bested Genm. Upon completing the tournament, Zolda became Mido-Rider, as Team Ex-Aid were granted the form of Kamen Sentai Gorider, allowing them to use the Rider Hurricane together to destroy the Andor Genesis mothership. Their objective achieved, Momotaros and the other Game World teammates returned to their card forms and left while Emu's Aka-Rider transformation as he was left to face the Chou Shocker Taisen.

During the final battle against the Shocker army from the Game World, Kamen Rider Brave, who had acquired the cards from his Game World counterpart, summoned Ex-Aid's teammates again to back him up in his fight against the Oogumo Great Leader. Unfortunately, the quartet did not last long before being defeated, however, Ex-Aid would ultimately vanquish Shocker Leader III alongside the.

Fighting Style
Zolda is a master of ranged combat, and the only one whose forte is ranged combat. He uses his Magna Visor and Strike Vent on closer enemies, while destroying his opponents with his heavy artillery in two different Shoot Vents: A bazooka and twin turrets. His defense surpasses even Ryuki, as he has two Guard Vents: Twin pauldrons called the Giga Tector and a shield called the Giga Armor, leading to a total of three shields.

However, Zolda is weaker in close range, and his Final Vent may be spectacular, but its long charge time prevents it from reliably killing Riders. His far-range style also cannot be duplicated, as proven when Goro, Kitaoka's butler, died battling Ouja, while when Kitaoka was Zolda, Ouja could barely touch him.

Equipment

 * Advent Deck - Advent Card holder, also used as a key to transformation. As long as Shuichi holds one, he can detect the presence of other Riders and Mirror Monsters inside the Mirror World, as well as being able to survive for decent periods of time within the Mirror World without disintegrating.
 * V-Buckle - Transformation belt materialized from a mirror reflection.
 * Advent Cards - Trading cards that supply the user powers, weapons and Mirror Monsters (if they catch any).

Weapons

 * Magna Visor - Loadgun/Visor used by Zolda to summon the Advent Cards' powers to him and other Riders if he used their cards.
 * Giga Horn - Gauntlet modeled after Magnugiga's head. Never used in series but featured in Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes OOO and so on.
 * Giga Armor - Shield modeled after Magnugiga's chest.
 * Giga Tector - A pair of shields modeled after Magnugiga's knee pads. Never used.
 * Giga Cannon - Bazooka modeled after Magnugiga's right arm.
 * Giga Launcher - Shoulder Cannons modeled after Magnugiga's legs.

Portrayal
Shuichi Kitaoka is portrayed by Ryohei (涼平). As Kamen Rider Zolda, his suit actor was Yoshifumi Oshikawa (押川 善文), Yasuhiro Takeuchi (竹内 康博 Takeuchi Yasuhiro).

On the other media

 * Zolda's V-Buckle and Visor toy were used in one chapter of the World God Only Knows in the Swimming Girl Arc.