Kotaro Nogami

"My strength...is for real."

- New Den-O's pre-battle catchphrase

Kotaro Nogami (野上 幸太郎) is Kamen Rider New Den-O (仮面ライダーＮＥＷ電王), a current fictional protagonist and character in the series of films for the 2007 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Den-O as a replacement of his predecessor. Kamen Rider New Den-O first appears in the 2008 film Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown and reappears in the Cho Den-O Series. Later, he appeared again with Kamen Rider OOO in OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders.

Character History
He is introduced as the grandson of Ryotaro Nogami (and is consequently Hana's second cousin and Airi's second nephew) and is the newest Singularity Point who can become a Kamen Rider. Originally impressed by Owner's stories of his grandfather's time as Den-O, Kotaro eventually entered a contract with the Imagin Neotaros (ネオタロス).

Because the time stream had been endangered, he was called by the past's Owner to fight the new threat, picking up the slack from his grandfather whom he has a grudge against for both naming him (his name considered an uncool "country boy" name in the future) and inheriting his bad luck (which, considering his name's meaning, "lucky child", is highly ironic). To further distance himself from Ryotaro, Kotaro renamed his Imagin partner Teddy. However, Kotaro regains respect for his grandfather as they restore the time stream.

Let's Go Kamen Rider
Using the DenLiner, Kotaro and Teddy pursued three Mole Imagin to April 1, 2011, where the Imagin trio was fought by the Kamen Rider OOO of that era, Eiji Hino. The three Imagin saw a boy and jumped into him to escape into time before the DenLiner suddenly appeared. Kotaro and Teddy emerged from the train to pinpoint the Mole Imagin's destination to be November 11, 1971, confused on how the boy's memories exceed that far in time. When Ankh demanded answers, Teddy explained who he and Eiji Hino are to Kotaro, who then introduced himself while explaining their mission to deal with the rogue Imagin who would disrupt the flow of time. Ankh has Eiji join him in getting on the DenLiner as it goes back in time, warned by Owner to stay on the train so not to disrupt time.

Once at 1971, as Kamen Rider New Den-O eliminated two of the Mole Imagin with the third one still on the run, Ankh managed to leave Shingo's body to get out of the DenLiner to enact his plan to steal the Core Medals from the other Greeed while they were still sealed. Realizing this, Eiji gone after Ankh before they ran into the Mole Imagin as New Den-O destroyed him. The Taros managed in capturing Ankh before taking him and Eiji back to the present. However, as the DenLiner departed, it turned out that one of Ankh's Cell Medals was dislodged from the Mole Imagin's death and was found by a Shocker Combatman as he presented it to General Black. The DenLiner arrived in the present to drop Eiji and Ankh off, with the latter feeling that something is off. The two then met the boy from before, Naoki, and his friend, Mitsuru.

Learning that the terrorist organization Shocker had taken over the world, the DenLiner arrived and picked Eiji and the children when they got into trouble. Eiji learned from Teddy that Shocker found a Core Medal in 1971 and modified it for their use. Though the created Shocker Medal was powerless on its own, the Cell Medal Ankh left behind enabled Shocker to create the Shocker Greeed, which swiftly defeated the first Kamen Riders so they would become Shocker members as originally intended. This act in turn negated the existence of all Kamen Riders after the first Kamen Riders and allowed Shocker to continue its evil. Though Eiji offered to help, Kotaro told him that he will correct the timeline, leaving him and Shigeru in the slums where they met the Hina Izumi of this timeline. Finding Mitsuru and Naoki still on the train, the gang found Ankh as well, putting a lease on him so Momotaros would make sure the Greeed would not mess up time any further.

Arriving one minute before their previous arrival, hiding until the events unfold, Kotaro recovered the Cell Medal. However, upon attempting to reclaim his Cell Medal, Ankh to causes four Cell Medals to fly out the window with the everyone jumping out. Though Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros managed to destroy three, the last one is found by a girl named Nokko, who mistook Kotaro, Momotaros, Teddy, and Ankh as Shocker agents. She proceeded to her fellow Kamen Rider Scouts before the Cell Medal dropped from her hands and was picked up by a Shocker Combatman who handed it over to General Black. Refusing to let history repeat itself, Kotaro became New Den-O as he and Momotaros battled the Shocker platoon while Mitsuru and Naoki ran off with the Kamen Rider Scouts covering them as they and Naoki made it to a warehouse. They were attacked by Shocker's Inhumanoids before Kamen Riders 1 and 2 arrived to cover the kids' escape while they took out the Shocker soldiers. At that time, General Black transformed into the Inhumanoid Hiruchameleon to overpower New Den-O and Momotaros until the first Kamen Riders and the children tricked Hiruchameleon into taking a fake Cell Medal with a transmitter so they could locate Shocker's headquarters and take out the organization's leader.

Before they proceed, New Den-O destroyed the real Cell Medal to prevent any further trouble. However, once there, the Double Riders, New Den-O, and Momotaros realized that they had fallen into a trap as General Black revealed that the Cell Medal that Kotaro stole was a fake as the Great Leader created the Shocker Greeed. General Black then called out Ikadevil, Garagaranda, and other revived kaijin before changing into Hiruchameleon and battling the Riders. As New Den-O and Momotaros had their hands full with the Shocker Greeed, the Double Riders disposed of the revived kaijin and unmasked the Great Leader. Outside, Turtle Bazooka fired at the DenLiner, forcing the Owner to order a retreat. The Double Riders told Kotaro, Momotaros, and the boys to jump onboard while they covered their escape. Still wanting to help the Double Riders, Naoki jumped off the heavily damaged DenLiner with Teddy following him before it headed back in time.

On April 2, 2011, as the damaged DenLiner returned, Shocker initiated its mass extermination as Kamen Rider OOO fought them off before seeing the train. Assuming Tajadol Combo, Kamen Rider OOO took Mitsuru to safety as Kotaro, Momotaros, and Ankh jumped out of the train as it exploded. Losing his OOO Driver in the explosion, Eiji realized that the DenLiner crew had failed in their mission and the train's destruction meant the event couldn't be undone. Soon after, Eiji and Kotaro were captured as Ankh and Momotaros (reduced to a floating left arm) covered everyone's escape. Arriving at the kids' spare hideout, the group soon found Teddy in his Macheteddy form as a grave marker along with a time capsule. Other than the Kamen Rider Scouts' uniforms and Core Medals, there was a letter from Naoki which detailed how he and the Kamen Rider Scouts became fugitives with Teddy sacrificing himself so they would escape. Surrounded by Shocker soldiers, Momotaros took over Shingo's body and used the Macheteddy to keep them busy while Hina and the children ran off with the OOO Driver. However, M-Ankh was captured as well and was taken with Eiji and Kotaro for public execution.

However, with his group wearing the Kamen Rider Scout uniforms, Shigeru attempted to deliver the OOO Driver back to Eiji. By then, the Double Riders appeared and reveal that a Shocker scientist had recently released them from their brainwashing, and they pretended to still be under Shocker's control until they crossed paths with the Shocker Greeed again. This turned into a revolt among the human audience as Eiji, Kotaro, and M-Ankh were freed. Receiving his OOO Driver from a mysterious man in white, Eiji changed into Kamen Rider OOO while Kotaro became New Den-O with the Momotaken sword. Though the four Kamen Riders were outnumbered at first, the playing field was changed with the sudden appearance of Kamen Riders V3, Riderman, X, Amazon, Stronger, Skyrider, Super-1, ZX, Black, and Black RX.

General Black demanded the meaning of this as the Owner revealed that while the Kamen Riders were erased from time, they could not be erased from the human heart. Soon, the DenLiner arrives with Kamen Riders Shin, ZO, J, Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Kiva, and Decade. As Shotaro and Philip arrive to join the fight as Kamen Rider Double, Teddy appeared with Momotaros tagging him in while becoming Kamen Rider Den-O. As Den-O assumed Climax Form to take out the grunts, Kamen Rider OOO destroyed General Black with the Tatoba Kick.

While the Double Riders destroyed the Shocker Greeed, Kamen Rider OOO arrived to the other Kamen Riders' aid as they were unable to attack the Great Leader. However, upon receiving the Shocker Medal from Ankh, who used Momotaros to create the Imagin Core Medal, Kamen Rider OOO became Kamen Rider OOO Tamashii Combo and knocked the Great Leader over a far distance with the Tamashii Bomber. But as King Dark was about to fight the Kamen Riders, the Great Leader assumed his true form as titanic Rock Great Leader, using his power to attack the Kamen Riders while causing a fissure that consumed King Dark and the other surviving villains. The Kamen Riders are joined by Kamen Rider Birth and all of the extra Riders to battle the new menace, jumping onto their motorcycles to execute the All Rider Break to destroy the Great Leader once and for all. In the end, after the Kamen Riders took their leave, the man in white appeared before the group as Mitsuru identified him as his father. Furthermore, the man was revealed to be Naoki and had lived in the past and married Nokko. He eventually became a Shocker scientist so he could undo the Riders' brainwashing. As the Imagin and Shocker Medals dissolved, much to Ankh's dismay, Eiji bid Kotaro farewell before the DenLiner embarked on its next destination.

Imagin Possessions Of Kotaro In Rider Form (New Den-O) & Personal Form

 * When possessed by Momotaros, Momo is in Kotaro's body. His hair spikes up slightly with a single red streak and he gains more muscular definition and the physical strength to go with it.
 * When possessed by Urataros, Ura is in Kotaro's body with the right words to woo women and convince almost anybody. His hair is straight and calm and has a single blue streak going through it. He also wears a pair of black rimmed eyeglasses.
 * When possessed by Kintaros, Kin is in Kotaro's body. His hair grows such that he has a ponytail with a golden yellow streak through it. However, his increased strength often results in self-injury due to Kintaros' clumsiness.
 * When possessed by Ryutaros, Ryuu is in Kotaro's body, incorporating dancing into everything he does. He grows one long purple and black streak of hair and is always seen wearing a brown cap.
 * Although Kotaro was possessed by Deneb, he was never seen outside of his transformed state. It can be assumed however it is similar to Deneb's possession of Ryotaro, with his hair growing out past shoulder length with two locks of hair on each side of his head and a lock of neon green with a darker green streak within it on the right side.

Kamen Rider: Battride War
Kamen Rider New Den-O appears as a Movie Rider in the video game Kamen Rider: Battride War. Here, he originally help the Rider (player), but later kidnapped by Callas and brainwashed as part of his servants. He was defeated by Kamen Rider Double HeatJoker's Joker Grenade in the ending scene. With the battle is over, he was sent back to his world.

Forms
Like the other Riders in Kamen Rider Den-O, New Den-O has access to multiple forms. The first is seen in Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown, and his second is first seen in Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade NEO Generations: The Onigashima Battleship. However unlike the original Den-O, when Kotaro is possessed by any of the Tarōs, he does not change form; the Imagin instead becomes a weapon based on their abilities. But if possessed by Deneb, New Den-O will automatically assume his own version of Vega Form, presumably because Deneb already has a weapon form.

Kamen Rider New Den-O's ending theme is entitled "Double-Action Strike form".

Device

 * New Den-O Belt: Transformation belt
 * Rider Pass: A device to scan on the belt

Vehicles

 * New Den-Liner: New Den-O's personal train
 * New Den-Bird: New Den-O's Rider Machine

Original

 * Combination Armament New DenGasher - New Den-O's primary weapon, taken the form of Sword Mode whenever Teddy is occupied.

Portrayal
Kotaro Nogami is portrayed by Dori Sakurada (桜田 通). As Kamen Rider New Den-O, he has had several suit actors.
 * Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown: Seiji Takaiwa (高岩 成二), Shinichi Kaneda (金田 進一)
 * Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship and Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho Den-O Trilogy: Makoto Itō (伊藤 慎)
 * OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders: Jun Watanabe (渡辺 淳), Shinichi Kaneda (金田 進一), Masashi Takada (高田 将司)

Appearances

 * Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown (2008)
 * Kamen Rider Decade episode 15, Here Comes Super Momotaros! (2009)
 * Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship (2009)
 * Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy Episode Blue: The Dispatched Imagin is Newtral (2010)
 * OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders (2011)