Yuto Sakurai

"Let me say this to start: I am fairly strong" -Yuto's pre-battle catchphrase

Kamen Rider Zeronos (仮面ライダーゼロノス) is the second Kamen Rider that appears in Kamen Rider Den-O.



Yuto Sakurai
Yuto Sakurai (桜井 侑斗) is a man who bears the same name as Airi's fiancé who mysteriously disappeared prior to the beginning of the series, but similarities do not go any further it would seem. It is later revealed that Yuto is the very same Yuto Sakurai, only a decade younger, sharing his future self's high knowledge of astronomy. Prior to the series, Yuto Sakurai encounters his future self, the older Yuto Sakurai of 2007, who revealed to him the situation relating to the Imagin. Provided with the Zeronos arsenal and Deneb, Yuto takes the ZeroLiner forward in time to May 20, 2007.

Unlike Ryotaro, Yuto claims that protecting the flow of time is not the same thing as protecting people. He says that saving people is unnecessary if it means disrupting the flow of time even if it means sacrifices must be made to save the future. He holds a very spoiled personality, and often acts like a child when things do not go his way and putting lots of sugar in his coffee before actually tasting it, hence earning him the nickname "Boku-chan" (僕ちゃん) by Urataros. Yuto is also the kind of figure who would use dishonest methods to get the job done, but has since abandoned this way of fighting. A running gag with Yuto is his hatred for shiitake mushrooms, going as far as a comic beating to make sure Deneb does not serve any.

After Yuto disappears in time (during the events of Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship), an even younger version of Yuto appears known only as "Yu". Yu possesses an artifact that the Oni Brothers Goludora and Shilubara need to complete their plan. Thus Ryotaro, Kotaro and the rest of the Den-Liner crew aid him and get the artifact to the past. To protect Yu, Deneb, not knowing he is actually Yuto, asks to form a contract with him, allowing him to gain a physical form. Yu's wish for the contract is for Deneb to see his contract holder, once more. The adult Sakurai and the ZeroLiner make a cameo appearance in the end, with the former reuniting with Deneb. Yuto returns once more when his relationship with Airi begins to be threatened by the actions of the Piggies Imagin (the events of Episode Red: Zero no Star Twinkle).

When possessed by Deneb, Yuto's hair grows out past shoulder length with two locks of hair on each side of his head. On the right side, the lock is a neon green with a darker green streak within it. His personality is also overwritten by Deneb's, who is much more polite and apologizes for Yuto's actions, often by giving out Deneb Candies and acting overly friendly. This usually gets Yuto angry thus forcing Deneb out of him and comically beating him. In one occasion, he was also possessed by Urataros. Although surprised and initially annoyed, he allowed the possession to happen for a short while.



Fictional character biography
Prior to the series, Yuto Sakurai encounters his future self, the older Yuto Sakurai of 2007, who revealed to him the situation relating to the Imagin. Provided with the Zeronos arsenal and Deneb, Yuto takes the Zero-Liner forward in time to May 20, 2007, where he makes himself known to Ryotaro Nogami after the Wolf Imagin is destroyed. He warns Ryotaro not to look for the mysterious man in the trenchcoat, the future Yuto Sakurai that Ryotaro knows as his sister's fiancé. Yuto also reveals that he is Kamen Rider Zeronos, chiding Ryotaro's flawed ideals as Den-O yet was unhinged when Ryotaro intended to keep fighting for what he believes in. Once he meets his near-future self, who abducts Ryotaro to prepare for an event known as the Climax Scene, Yuto begins to respect the boy chosen to be Den-O.

Yuto originally has ten Zeronos Cards, the items that allow him to become Zeronos, which are in turn are tied to the memories people have of the elder Sakurai. Each time a card is used up from a battle, the memories from normal people who knew Sakurai disappear as well. It is this reason that he tries not to become Zeronos very often, only doing so if it is necessary to help Den-O. After using up his second-to-last card in an attempt to save Deneb, only to learn it was a false alarm, Yuto is reluctant to use his final card until Airi is kidnapped by Fujishiro, one of her former suitors that has been possessed by the twin Anthopper Imagin. He uses his last card as Airi begins to remember him, making Fujishiro and Airi lose all memories of the Sakurai they knew. Unable to become Zeronos, Yuto is confronted by Sakurai himself, receiving another set of Zeronos Cards despite Deneb's protests. These new cards show that the older Sakurai is displaced from time and space during each transformation, as memories of him alone cannot power the cards. As Kai arrives, Kai sees fit to eliminate Yuto Sakurai, as he believes that Sakurai is the key to the Junction Point. Kai sends the female Snail Imagin to 1993 to kill Yuto before he could meet Sakurai, removing him from time.

However, the Zeronos Cards have created a time lag, allowing Yuto to return despite not being a Singularity Point like Ryotaro. He also uses red Zeronos Cards, which Ryotaro notices. Yuto tells him that the memories of the older Sakurai are no longer enough to support Zeronos' power, and now his memories in 2007 are being used as power to transform him into Zeronos Zero Form. Eventually, Kai starts to question his agenda and realizes that Yuto and his future self have been acting as a distraction from his true target: Airi, who is tied to the Junction Point. Once Ryotaro goes into the past, Yuto is forced to battle the numerous Imagin under Kai, fighting them and the Death Imagin to protect Airi until Ryotaro returns.

When Ryotaro does return, Yuto fights alongside him using the last card Deneb gave him, which severs his ties to his future self. After the battle is over, Yuto immediately returns to the Zero-Liner to find Deneb only to find nothing but the last meal Deneb prepared for him, which ironically has shiitake in it. Yuto willingly eats the meal as Deneb surprises him. Instead of comically beating him up as normal, Yuto instead hugs Deneb, crying tears of joy. After Yuto, Hana, and Ryotaro discuss their respective futures, Yuto gives Hana a pocket watch, which signifies a possible meeting in the future. Yuto and Deneb say their goodbyes to Ryotaro as the Zero-Liner departs into the time stream.

Later, Ryotaro finds Yuto having been investigating the crime lord Seiya Kuroki undercover and discovering his ties to Negataros. Yuto and Deneb manage to maintain his guise of being a villain in the ranks until Ryotaro's partner Suzuki gets himself caught by the evil organization. Attempting to save Suzuki, he gets caught in Negataros' trap to draw out the detectives pursuing him. In the ensuing battle, Yuto is revealed to be in possession of more regular Zeronos cards.

Yuto and Deneb later return to aid the Den-Liner Crew when Ryotaro is abducted by Shiro, joining the epic battle against the revived Imagin and the villains of the Phantom Train.

After a time anomaly (attributed to Kamen Rider Decade) causes Yuto to disappear in time, an even younger version of Yuto appears in the film Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade NEO Generations: The Onigashima Battleship, though the entire cast only know of him as "Yu". Yu-kun possesses an artifact that the antagonists wish to have. Thus Ryotaro, Kotaro and the rest of the Den-Liner crew aid him and get the artifact to the past. To protect Yu, Deneb, not knowing he was Yuto, asks to form a contract with him, allowing him to gain a physical form. Yu's wish for the contract is for Deneb to see his contract holder again. It is most likely that the Yuto from 2007 will return to Earth because as he is Hana's father and Hana still continues to exist, although having a younger body, so in the Den-O universe, he will definitely return from his displacement.

OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders
Kamen Rider Zeronos 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 Climax Heroes
Kamen Rider Zeronos appears in all Kamen Rider Climax Heroes series video game. In the first and Kamen Rider Climax Heroes Double, his Zero form only being used as special move and finishing move.

All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2
Kamen Rider Zeronos appears in All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2.

Kamen Rider Battride Wars
Kamen Rider Zeronos appears as a Second Rider in the video game Kamen Rider Battride Wars.

Forms
Unlike Kamen Rider Den-O, Zeronos uses a card system, using Zeronos Cards to activate the transformation process. A Zeronos Card disappears after use, which limits the number of times the Zeronos transformation can be achieved as each time a card disappears. At the beginning, Zeronos had multiple forms that he could assume in battle. On his own, Yuto could become Kamen Rider Zeronos Altair Form. When the Imagin Deneb possesses him, he is able to become Kamen Rider Zeronos Vega Form. Altair and Vega Form are based on the Summer Triangle, which is part of the myth that is the basis for both the Chinese legend of Qi Xi and the Japanese Tanabata Festival. A cowherd named Niu Lang/Hikoboshi (Altair) is separated from his lover and the mother of his children, the fairy Zhi Nü/Orihime (Vega), by the great river (the Milky Way) as punishment for the fairy having eloped with a mortal man. Every year, the magpies take pity on the two lovers and become a bridge at Deneb to allow the two lovers to be together once again.

Kamen Rider Zeronos' ending theme is entitled "Action Zero".

Zeronos Belt


The Zeronos Belt allows Yuto Sakurai to transform into Kamen Rider Zeronos. It uses the Up Set (アプセット, Apusetto) system and the Zeronos Card to transform and switch forms. There are several kinds of Zeronos Cards. The original cards had a green side (Altair Form) and a yellow side (Vega Form). A special variant of the Zeronos card had the original green side, but a red side in place of the yellow side in order to start the process of changing Altair Form into Zero Form. All subsequent cards thereafter replaced the Altair Form side with the Zero Form side, but retained the Vega Form side.

A Zeronos Card can only be used once; when Zeronos cancels the transformation, the card evaporates if it is the yellow or green Zeronos Card, but rusts and breaks if a red Zeronos Card. At his debut, Yuto possessed ten green sided Zeronos Cards in a card holder on the Zeronos Belt until he used up the last in Episode 32. These cards are based on Yuto, representing the memories of those who know him. When a card is used, the memory of the elder Yuto's existence in present time is erased from the memories of people who are not Singularity Points. In Episode 35, elder Sakurai offered Yuto a new full cardholder and one extra Zeronos Card. After some hesitation, Yuto accepted the offer and used the extra, displacing the elder Sakurai from the time they were in.

It is to be assumed that the new holder has infinite cards left as long as there are people to remember him. When Yuto used the red sided Zeronos Card, it used the memories of Airi as a catalyst to permanently change Altair Form into Zero Form. All subsequent red Zeronos cards now use the memories pertaining to Yuto instead of his future self. Although Yuto eventually uses up all of these new cards, in the finale, Deneb presents him with the last of the original green Zeronos cards. Through unknown means, Yuto eventually reappears with a new set of green Zeronos cards, allowing him to join Den-O in the fight against Negataros, most likely meaning that Sakurai is on the verge of returning to history.


 * Device: Up Set (Zeronos Belt)
 * Imagin: Deneb
 * Change system: For Altair Form, Yuto slides a switch on top of the Zeronos belt and insert a Zeronos Card with the green side facing forward and forming the letter A in green. For Vega Form, Deneb stands behind Yuto while in Altair Form, whom repeats the process, but instead inserts the Zeronos Card with the yellow side facing forward forming the letter V in yellow. After using the Red Zeronos card, Yuto inserted the card with the red side facing forward as he did with Altair Form previously, activating Zero Form.


 * Change announcement: ALTAIR FORM, VEGA FORM, CHARGE AND UP
 * Primary finisher: FULL CHARGE

ZeroHorn


The Machine ZeroHorn is Zeronos' personal motorcycle, similar in design to Den-O's DenBird, but with a different head design. Just like the Machine DenBird to the Den-Liner, the Machine ZeroHorn allows Zeronos to control the Zero-Liner in combat against the Gigandeath. It has a slot for a Rider pass as well, despite Yuto not possessing one, rather Zeronos cards can be inserted and used in place of one.

ZeroGasher
The Combination Armament ZeroGasher is Zeronos' primary weapon. It has two modes, Sabre and Bowgun, and both forms can access them. It has only two components, the blade and a triangular handle. Its components can be swapped with the Denebick Buster.
 * For Saber Mode, Zeronos attaches the handle to the blade with the tip of the triangle aligned to the blade. The blade would then almost triple in size.
 * For Bowgun Mode, Zeronos flips the handle around and attaches it to the Blade perpendicularly. He then pulls back on the blade to open up the 'bow' component of the weapon. The Bowgun then increases in size.

Zeronos Nova
The Zeronos Nova are a set of cannons mounted on the shoulders of Zeronos' Vega Form. They are actually Deneb's open hands switched (right hand goes to the left shoulder) with his fingers acting as the cannon barrels. The Zeronos Nova fires from the inner cannons outward.

Full Charge
Zeronos has three Full Charge finishing moves. For the Full Charge to take place, Zeronos presses a button on top of the Zeronos Belt to charge the Zeronos Card. He then takes the charged Zeronos Card and quickly slides it in and out of a slot in the ZeroGasher, transferring the energy in the process. For the Denebick Buster, the Zeronos Card is kept in the slot until Full Charge is finished. Each Zeronos Card can transfer enough energy for more than one Full Charge attack.


 * The Sabre Mode's Full Charge is used in conjunction with Splendid End. With the ZeroGasher charged up, Zeronos releases a powerful wave from the blade that flies to the target in the form of a green 'A' shape (in Altair Form) or a yellow 'V' shape (in Vega Form).
 * The Bowgun Mode's Full Charge is used in conjunction with Grand Strike. With the ZeroGasher charged up, Zeronos fires a powerful wave to the target in the form of a green 'A' shape (in Altair Form) or a yellow 'V' shape (in Vega Form).
 * The Denebick Buster's Full Charge is used in conjunction with Buster Nova, creating a powerful energy beam with great recoil.

Zero-Liner
Much like Den-O, Zeronos has his own time traveling train, called the Zero-Liner. The Zero-Liner, however, is based on a steam locomotive and not a bullet train like the Den-Liner. The Zero-Liner was thought to have been destroyed when the previous timeline was erased, but somehow arrived in the present to Airi and Sakurai, the later bestowing it for Yuto to use. Just like the Den-Liner, the Zero-Liner's cars can link in a different order or link up with Den-Liner itself. It can be used regardless of how many Zeronos Cards are left, even none.

Drill
Zero-Liner Drill is a train car with a bull motif and a green A on either side. When the bull's head is flipped around, a giant drill bit is revealed. Like Den-O's Rekkou, the Drill relies on close range attacks, using the horns as offensive weapons. The drill bit can also allow the Zero-Liner to travel underground as well as run through Gigandeaths. The drill bit can also spin fast enough to create a powerful whirlwind blast.

Naginata
Zero-Liner Naginata is a train car with a hawk motif and a yellow V on either side. On its back is a naginata called the Revolving Cutter (回転カッター, Kaiten Kattā). It can also function as a helicopter, proving to be very effective against aerial Gigandeath. Its most effective offense involves Zeronos flying the Zero-Liner towards the Gigandeath with the propeller slicing through the target.

Trivia

 * His Bull-Motif and green color is similar to Kamen Rider Zolda
 * A references of this is seen in the first episode of Kamen Rider Decade, that Kamen Rider Zolda is seen on top of ZeroLiner.
 * Kamen Rider Zeronos & Kamen Rider Birth have same effects: Zeronos use the Zero Cards to transform & Birth use Medals to transform, when they are done fighting; the Card & Medal evaporate. Bigger difference is that Zeronos has a limit on Zero Cards, while Birth has a large amount of Medals.