Category:Bugsters

The Bugsters (バグスター), otherwise described as game illness (ゲーム病), are a type of computer virus and the main antagonists of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid.

Background
The Bugster virus is a variety of computer virus. It was born from the glitches in the 10 games that Genm Corp. had in development five years ago, and most Bugsters seem to be based on characters from these games. Unlike most malware, the Bugster infects human beings, replicating until they take over their host's bodies, eventually causing the host to disappear and be completely taken over. The only way to treat the victim is to use the Gamer Driver to remove the Bugster from the host and then destroy it before the virus completely takes over.

Many patients appear to be singled out and infected directly, often by Graphite using the Gashacon Bugvisor. The growth of the virus withing the patient is triggered by stress, leading to a weakening of the patient's immune system. When it first flares up, the infection takes over its host's body, transforming it into a giant virus-like Bugster Union monster. Bugster Unions can only be defeated by a Kamen Rider in Level 1; the reason why is unexplained, though it may be because other Levels are too strong and may injure the patient inside the Union. Once the Union is defeated, the Bugster itself manifests from the virus debris, and can call Bugster Virus foot soldiers to help them fight. The patient begins fading away, eventually will fade completely and die, letting the Bugster become a complete being.

There are two ways to cure the patient from Game Disease: The only currently known complete Bugster is Graphite. If a patient dies from some other means first, it appears as if the Bugster connected to them will also eventually die.
 * 1) Defeat the Bugster who infected the patient.
 * 2) Perform a "GAME CLEAR" according to the rules of the game that the Bugster infected, so the Bugster may survive depending on the rules.

Most Bugsters don't have their original personas. Instead, some of the characters from the video games that they have infected will manifest as Bugsters' persona while the Bugster act as their bodies.

As hinted by Parad, unlike humans/riders who will be "Game Over" if killed, Bugsters can always "Continue" to infect more victims. It was demonstrated by the reappearance of Salty Bugster.

Bugsters can also "Level Up" like game characters,in a similar manner of the mutation of general virus to against vaccines.

History
The first Bugster outbreak took place five years before the series. Not much is known about the incident at this time, designated "Zero Day". CR was founded by the joint efforts of the Ministry of Health and Seito University Hospital to fight the Bugsters.

In the present day, the Bugster virus re-emerged. The first known victim was a boy named Sota Suyama, who was infected by the Salty Bugster. Hoping to make the boy feel better (and not realizing the severity of the condition), his doctor Emu Hojo brought him to the release of Mighty Action X, where the Bugster took over Sota's body. In the resulting chaos, Emu was able to use the Gamer Driver and become Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, removing the Salty Bugster and defeating it, saving Sota.

The next known case was Rensuke Natori. The progression of the Bugster may have been provoked by the stress of his fiancé calling off the wedding.

Major Bugsters

 * Parad (Kamen Rider Para-DX)
 * Graphite Bugster
 * Dark Graphite Bugster

Minor Bugsters

 * Salty Bugster
 * Aranbura Bugster
 * Revol Bugster
 * Motors Bugster
 * Collabos Bugster
 * Collabos Bugster (Gekitotsu Robots)
 * Collabos Bugster (DoReMiFa Beat)
 * Collabos Bugster (Giri Giri Chambara)
 * Collabos Bugster (Jet Combat)
 * Collabos Bugster (Legend Rider Stage)
 * Hatena Bugster
 * Burgermon Bugster
 * Gatton Bugster
 * Vernier Bugster

Combatmen

 * Bugster Virus

Other Bugsters

 * Emu Hojo
 * Poppi Pipopapo/Asuna Karino
 * Genomes
 * Robol Bugster
 * Giril Bugster
 * Doral Bugster

Gallery
Generals=