Kota Kazuraba

"This is my stage now!"

- Gaim's pre-battle quotes Kota Kazuraba (葛葉 紘汰) is one of the main characters and the main protagonist as well as the titular character of the Kamen Rider Series installment, Kamen Rider Gaim. When he accidentally found the Sengoku Driver and a pair of Lockseeds (Orange and Ichigo), he gained the ability to transform into Kamen Rider Gaim (仮面ライダー鎧武 [ガイム]).

Mysterious Forest and First Transformation
Kota was once the 2nd-in-command dancer for "Team Gaim" along with Mitsuzane Kureshima whom he sees as a little brother figure. But he eventually quit the team for two jobs in order to help provide for his lonely older sister, Akira Kazuraba as their parents have died. After some time of no contact with his old team, he saves his old friend Mai from a rampaging Inves released by the cheating ways of Team Baron's Peko. Later, Kota and Mai receive a message from Yuya Sumii about the Sengoku Driver, saying that the device will save Team Gaim's reputation.

When they arrived at the location Yuya mentioned, Yuya was nowhere to be found, but there was a portal to the mysterious Helheim forest. There, he found the Driver on the ground. He plucked a pair of unknown fruits from the trees in the forest. Witnessing the Inves eating it, Kota tried to do the same when suddenly, an Inves evolved due to overeating and chased them. Kota and Mai returned to the human world but the Inves pursued them. The fruits Kota picked had transformed into Lockseeds as a Mysterious Girl (whom he mistook as Mai) tells him about his fate using its power as he defeats the Inves.

Testing New Abilities and Pine Arms
Kota returns home upon defeating the Inves and begins trying to figure out how he can use his powers for his own benefit, posing in the mirror and transforming again and again in the mirror. He tries to use his new powers to aid in his part time jobs, but it causes a mess at his painting job, and it makes him crash his delivery cart. After that troubling day, Mai calls him about Yuya, telling Kota that he didn't return from the Helheim Forest.

They visit the area where they first entered the Helheim Forest, only to find the portal to the forest was gone, and the foliage that accompanied the portal was now replaced with dirt. Mai demanded Kota to return the Sengoku Driver to her, as he had no place on the team any more. To the shock of Kota and Mai both, when she tries to wear it, nothing happens. At Kota's suggestion, they then go to Druper to ask Sid about the Driver. Sid tells them that the Driver locks on the person who first wears it, and from then on will work for no one else, meaning that Kota is the only person who can use it. Sid offers up a Class-A Lockseed to the pair, something to help them to battle Team Baron, but they couldn't afford it.

After parting with Mai, Kota sees a child in a tree, and decides to use his powers to save him. However, before Kota can find his Lockseed, Kaito Kumon, leader of Team Baron, intervenes and coaxes the child out of the tree instead. Not long after, Kota receives a call from Mitsuzane that Team Baron is in Gaim's garage attempting to strike a deal with them. Kota arrives and offers the deal; if Gaim wins, Kota gets the Class-A Pine Lockseed. If Kaito wins, then Gaim loses their stage. Kota accepts, effectively stepping in for Yuya as leader of Team Gaim.

The battle begins, Kaito using three lower-class Lockseeds as Kota uses his Class A Ichigo Lockseed, earning Team Gaim an easy win. However, one of the members from Team Baron, Peko, shoots something at Kota's hand, causing him to drop the Lockseed, freeing the Shika Inves. The Inves attacks people, and in the panic, Kota loses track of the Lockseed that unleashed the creature. He realizes that his jobs went awry because he used his powers in selfishness, and that his powers were meant to protect people from the Inves. He transforms into Gaim and attacks the Inves. The Shika Inves, cornered, sees the Lockseed that freed it and eats the Ichigo Lockseed, changing the Inves into its monstrous Berserker form. Kota tries to fight it off, but it is too powerful for the balanced Orange Arms. Kaito charges in, only for Gaim to save him from certain death. Gaim tells Kaito to give him the Lockseed that he was promised, which Baron's leader reluctantly does. Gaim uses the new Lockseed to change into the powerful Pine Arms, destroying the Shika Inves with ease. Team Gaim celebrates, and the story of the Inves' defeat spreads like wildfire, earning Kota the name of Armored Rider Gaim.

Baron Enters the Fray
As he starts to become popular as Armored Rider Gaim, Kota rejoins his team after he quit his part-time jobs. Despite his teammates openly accepting him back, Mai doesn't really accept Kota is back, thinking they are relying too much on Kota. Also, Kota's sister rejects the money he got from Inves Games. She states that the money Kota got is just from playing and not from the real jobs she wanted.

When Kota is thinking about his sister's words, Kaito decides to duel him when he gets his own Sengoku Driver from Sid. Before they could battle, Sid changed the rules as he gives them both Lockseeds, which form their vehicles. As they ride their bikes, they started racing until a portal appears which sent them to the Helheim Forest. In the forest, they encounter some Inves. Gaim tries to run, but Baron decided to stay behind and fight them.

Encounter with Zangetsu
While Kota is trying to search for Yuya, he encounters some scientists in the forest. He tries to ask them about Yuya, but Zangetsu appears and attacks him. Kota transforms to fight Zangetsu, but he overpowers Gaim, only for the Rider to knock him off a ledge into a river where Kota de-transforms and then exiting from Helhiem Forest as he convince him that his Sengoku Driver was no good. He then goes to his home as he thinks about his defeat and experiences. Kota felt worried about using the Sengoku Driver, so he decides to quit Team Gaim once more by relinquishing the Sengoku Driver and the Lockseeds to Mai. Some time later, he sees that his team have another Armored Rider: Ryugen.

Transform as Gaim Once Again and Ichigo Arms
He then visits the garage as he knows about the new Armored Rider, which Mitsuzane reveals to him that he is the new Armored Rider. Kota tells him that the Sengoku Driver is like a curse and the true purpose of using the belt, but Mitsuzane thinks that he can fight his own battles with the Sengoku Driver. He then went to Mai and ask why did she didn't stop Mitsuzane from getting the Sengoku Driver. She replies to Kota that they can handle things by themselves and she will support him. Mai got a call from Chucky that Team Baron and his alliance are challenging Mitsuzane. As they arrive, Ryugen was getting hurt as Kota tells him to retreat. However, he refused to give up when Kota and Mai is watching him fight. Kota was curious until Mai tells him that he made Mitsuzane strong which inspired him. Kota decides to fight with his own power as he transforms into Gaim and helps Ryugen. While fighting, he tells Baron that people don't use strength to show off power, instead it can inspire others to get back up. Ryugen then throw the Ichigo Lockseed to Gaim, which change him into Ichigo Arms. With the new form, Gaim and Ryugen finishes off the two Inves. until Ryoji and Hideyasu appears and transform into Armored Riders Kurokage and Gridon respectively, which shock Gaim, Ryugen and the members of Team Gaim. After they transform into Gridon and Kurokage, they betrayed Baron and finishes him off. Gaim and Ryugen attack the new Armored Riders and finishes them which they gain their Lockseeds.

Meeting Kamen Rider Wizard
"Did somebody call for help?!!"

- Kota hearing the children's plea

Some time after the conflict with Team Baron, Kota hears two children crying for help and enters the portal, which takes him to the location of Wizard and Beast. When he arrives, he is immediately transformed and fights off the monsters. Afterwards, he introduces himself as Gaim to the other Riders.

Inheriting the "Kamen Rider" Name
After introducing himself to the Riders, Gaim goes back to his world just before the portal closes. He later re-appeared to help the Riders in the final battle with Amadum. During the battle, he learns of the Kamen Riders, and learns from Kamen Rider Wizard that he himself has inherited the title of Kamen Rider, promptly dubbing himself "Kamen Rider Gaim". After Amadum is defeated, Gaim, along with the other riders (except for Decade who is on a journey, while Wizard had an important business with his counterpart before leaving.) vanishes back to the main world.

Looking for a new job and the appearance of Bravo
While looking for a job, Kota finds a pastry shop called Charmant where he finds that they are hiring. He asked the chef about a job as a pastry chef. The chef calls the head chef Oren Pierre Alfonzo to assign Kota for employment. Kota is then teased by Oren for being a pretty boy with no style and due to his birthday being January 30th, making him an Aquarius, which Oren dislikes, thus he rejects Kota's candidacy for the position, which angers Kota. He comes home frustrated that Oren is being such a jerk. When Mai brought a box of cakes from Charmont where Kota originally planned to work, his hatred of the head chef causes him to drop his cake from his plate.

Exhausted from looking for a job, he heard there's an Inves Game between Kurokage and Gridon. However, they are actually training until Oren appears to confront Kurokage and Gridon. When Oren reveals his Sengoku Driver, it was originally from Team Red Hot, but was confiscated by Oren when they were being loud in his shop. After Bravo transformed ready to fight Kurokage and Gridon, Kota tells him that he is not even a Beat Rider and asked why he joined Inves Game. Bravo states that he does not care if he's not a Beat Rider and all that matters to him is to make the battle entertaining. When Bravo easily defeats Kurokage and Gridon, he sets his sights on Kota and his team, once he beat all Armored Rider packed Beat Rider team.

Battle against Bravo and Suika Arms
With Bravo gets an interviewed with the hotline, Kota even more annoyed by that person's attitude, he also learned that Mai gets manipulated by Oren's charm after it's cake. Kaito appears to tell Kota to beat Oren and get it over with. During Team Gaim's stage while patrolling, he hears a battle of the strongest between Baron and Bravo as Baron is defeated by Bravo. Oren appears stop his Team's dance stage for an argue and ask where are the Riders from Team Gaim and transformed to Bravo. Kota, joins afray with Mitch and transformed before Bravo announced to begin the battle then fights him. With Gaim and Ryugen knocked back, Bravo unleashed a multiple Inveses on rampage, by unlocking then dropping them, with Gaim calling him insane and Mai it's not even a regular Inves Game. With the monsters running amok, he soon got a Suika Lockseed from Ryugen, however it is too big for him from the start, but had no choice to use it as a real man. Thought to be squashed by a giant armor, Gaim is fine and finally transformed into 3 different versions of Suika Arms, thus destroying a rampaging Inveses and knocks Bravo out. However, one Inves still remained as it ate all of Oren's Lockseeds into a massive form. When the Inves loose its horns and ran away, Gaim gives Ryugen his Sakura Hurricane while he's in Suika Arms states to chase the Inves and destroys it. Bravo then re-appears as the Riders needs to settle their fight, however, Bravo's time is up and must leave to work, and not before telling Gaim and Ryugen to remember their unfinished fight with him to settle. With Team Gaim went to 1st rank, Mai brought the tart from Charmant again to celebrate their victory, but Kota, who is excited for a short while still despises Bravo.

Inves Outbreak Begins
While finding a job, Kota's is being refused at a position due to not seeing the sign stating that the position has been filled, while unknowingly getting a call from Mai. When he gets his phone after being kicked out from the restaurant, he finds out that Mai found a rip in space to Helheim Forest similar to the one from before that Kota and Mai entered. He is soon gets to Mai's location, at the same time when Mitch also got the same call from Mai. He must rescue Mai, but not before transforming into Gaim to go to that dimension on the Sakura Hurricane. Once there, he accidentally goes off a cliff and falls unconscious for a few minutes. Gaim soon woke up and began searching for Mai, but he must get through the Inves first until Ryugen appears with a Rose Attacker, which he got from Sid. Before going to Mai, Gaim asks Ryugen to try out picking the pre-matured Lockseed into matured form, which transformed into a Kiwi Lockseed for Ryugen's use. Both Gaim and Ryugen finally found Mai with Baron whom tries to protect her from an Azure Dragon Inves. When a portal back to the Human World begins closing, the Riders and Mai quickly escape from the forest, but the Dragon Inves follows them. While Gaim and Baron fought back the Inves, Gaim asks Ryugen to get Mai away from danger. With Azure Dragon's iron armor too storng for their base forms, Gaim used Pine Arms and witnesses Baron transformation into Mango Arms, the Inves is eventually destroyed with a combination of Pine and Mango Arms's finishers. When being told by Mai about why Kaito's attitude looks like a jerk in search for power, Kota and Mitch soon feel sorry for him about his dark past. When Mai speaks about being stuck in Helheim, Mitch informs them that some of Inves could break out into their world, and soon... the Inves Outbreak will begin as the Riders must be involved to hunt them down for good.

With Mitch confirming his worse fears with news of monster sightings, Kota resolves that the Beat Riders need to work together to stop the invading Inves. However, when they appeal to Team Baron, Kaito explains that none of the Beat Riders will help them. Later, Kota and Mai come to Bando's aid when he is attacked by a Bat Inves when it thought the fruit in Bando's truck he was picking up was Lockseeds. As Mai takes Bando to safety, using the Ichigo Lockseed to get an advantage, Armored Rider Gaim fights the Bat Inves before it escapes. During their search, Kota is scolded by Mai for scaring an old lady while in Rider form. Kota later meets up with Mitch in Drupers where they learn that the Inves can only fruit from Helheim Forest. Having an idea, Mitch goes to Helheim Forest with Kota to secure a premature fruit by entrusting Kota with his Sengoku Driver so not to mature it. After Gaim suffers some humiliating moments during their stake out, the Bat Inves arrives and the Armored Riders attack with Ryugen placing a tracer on the monster before it escapes. The tracer leads Kota and Mitsuzane to a factory where they find Helheim plants before being attacked the Bat Inves. Though the Armored Riders succeed in destroying the Bat Inves, they find more Inves have entered their world and witnesses them being destroyed by the white Armored Rider that almost killed Kota. Seeing the white Armored Rider's supporters proceeding to burn the plants away, Mitsuzane explains to Kota that they are concealing the dimensional rips and the wild Inves from the public by destroying all evidence of them. Kota snaps Mitsuzane out of his daze of shock to flee when the fire starts consuming the factory.

Upon the day of Christmas, Kota still thinking of the Helheim Forest and the white Armored Rider, but until he realized he has to work to entertain Christmas event. During work, he witnesses two Elementery Inves attacking a woman in the parking lot. Kota transformed into Gaim after saving the woman then finishes off the Inves. Upon would be wasting time for leaving a job, Kota goes to Mitch to get the Riders together to get the Inves out of the city, with Mitch has an idea to convince them by telling a lie to them about an Inves Game Christmas event. The Riders then goes to Sid for Lockvehicles for Ryoji and Hideyasu. Arriving in an abandoned factory during a meeting, Kota informs everyone on everything that's gonna happen, when Oren joins the fray. When Oren point Mitch with a metal stick then throw it, in reality, he witnesses the multiple Inves behind the crew of Armored Rider Beat Riders before they noticed. With the Riders leaving Mitch behind to battle the multiple Inves when they entered Helheim, Kota transform to Gaim tells him to follow them the Riders to Helheim with Gaim will catch up with them soon, but not before Mitch gave Suika Lockseed back to Kota to take the multiple inves down.

With all Inveses around the abandoned factory and around the skies has been eliminated, Kota goes to Helheim to get all the Riders to safety before the Riders meet their fate from the white Armored Rider, however, it's too late. He is soon discovered one of the white Rider's scientists also in the forest as well, taking Kaito, Ryoji and Hideyasu with them, with Kota still had a chance to learn a truth about the Inves game, the white Rider and the events, disguising as one of the scientists without being spotted. Now understands the truth that the Inves game is actually a set up for Yggdrasil's plan.

The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle
A battle royale is being held exclusively for the Armored Riders in Zawame City. Kamen Riders Gaim, Baron, Ryugen, Kurokage, and Gridon decide to enter the competition. While fighting, a crack opens in the sky and mysterious monsters pour out from it. One of the monsters captures Mai and returns to the crack, with the Riders giving chase. Soon, they find themselves in a Warring States Period-esque world where the Kamen Riders are called Bujin (武神) and are fighting each other. The confused Kamen Rider Gaim then gets attacked by the strongest Bujin Gaim (武神鎧武).

Kamen Rider Batton-Line
to be added

Kamen Rider Travelers Record
to be added

Personality
Similar to Eiji Hino, Kota is a cheerful person who concerns himself with helping and protecting everyone and due to this, "protecting people" is his very reason in fighting when it comes to his duty as a Kamen Rider.

But unlike Eiji, his world view is very limited and as such, he is very naïve and can be oblivious to consequences and the price that comes with having great power. Like Shinji Kido as well, he does not have any interest in battling other Riders, or anyone if he can avoid it for the matter.

Due to his inexperience and naïveté, he foolishly and recklessly used the power of Gaim for his own personal gain such as using it for his part-time jobs (and failed spectacularly to boot) and battling at the Inves Games, as he regards himself as nothing more than being lucky to have found the Sengoku Driver and sees the whole thing as little more than a game.

He only realizes the price that comes with such power after meeting Zangetsu, who went at him with murderous intent and came close to finishing him off.

Arms
Kamen Rider Gaim's forms are called Arms (アームズ).

Kamen Rider Gaim's ending theme is entitled "E-X-A (Exciting×Attitude)".

Devices

 * Sengoku Driver - Transformation device
 * Musou Saber - Standard side weapon
 * Lockseed-exclusive weapons:
 * Daidaimaru - Gaim Orange Arms' personal weapon
 * Pine Iron - Gaim Pine Arms' personal weapon
 * Ichigo Kunai - Gaim Ichigo Arms' personal weapons
 * Suika Sojinto - Gaim Suika Arms' personal weapon in Yoroi Mode
 * DJ Gun - Gaim Kachidoki Arms' personal weapon
 * WizarSwordGun - Gaim Wizard Arms' personal weapon
 * Lockseeds - Gives access to Gaim's form changes, depending on which arm the lock is

Vehicles

 * Sakura Hurricane - Gaim's Rider Machine
 * Dandeliner - Gaim's second Rider Machine

Quotes

 * "This is my stage now!" - Gaim's pre-battle quotes

List of Appearances

 * Kamen Rider Gaim
 * 1-8
 * Kamen Rider Wizard
 * Episode 52: The Kamen Rider Rings (debut)
 * Episode 53: Neverending Story
 * Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle
 * Kamen Rider Gaim: Sengoku Battle Royale
 * Sengoku Movie Battle

Portrayal
Kota Kazuraba is portrayed by Gaku Sano (佐野 岳), 2011 Junon Super Boy Contest Grand Prix winner. Sano said that he grew up wishing he could be the character from Kamen Rider Kuuga, and now that he will portray Kamen Rider Gaim he hopes that he will inspire a new generation of boys.

As Kamen Rider Gaim, his suit actor is Seiji Takaiwa (高岩 成二), who has been the suit actor for the majority of leading Heisei Kamen Riders (except Kuuga and Hibiki).