Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight

thumb|300px|right Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is the Daytime Emmy Award-winning American adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Ryuki, the twelfth installment of the Kamen Rider Series. It was brought to television by Steve and Michael Wang and produced by Jimmy Sprague through Adness Entertainment. The series had a sneak premiere on December 13, 2008, but started official broadcasting on January 3, 2009 and played throughout the year. Adness chose to adapt Ryuki over the other Heisei Rider shows as it has a large number of characters (Ryuki had 13 Riders in total) as well as a female Rider. It is also the first tokusatsu adaptation of a Kamen Rider Series since Saban's Masked Rider, which was adapted from Kamen Rider Black RX. The show first aired in the United States on The CW Television Network during its The CW4Kids programming block. Statements by director Steve Wang and lead Stephen Lunsford show that The CW had dropped Dragon Knight at the end of the year before its final two episodes aired in the US. However, all 40 episodes have aired in English and Spanish on Televisa in Mexico. The final episodes were uploaded to the 4Kids TV website on December 18, 2009. In 2012, all of the episodes were removed from the 4Kids TV website.

In the early licensing information for the series, Adness Entertainment had intended to also film a feature-length movie for Dragon Knight. In an interview, Steve Wang stated that they had written a story for a film, but Adness was raising money to bring over another Kamen Rider for broadcast in the US rather than a film or a second season of Dragon Knight.

To date, the company has not released any announcements regarding any other Rider shows or any intention to begin production of the script written for the Dragon Knight film. This leaves Dragon Knight's fate uncertain. Though Adness still presumably retains the rights to the series proper within the United States, it may not have the rights to the footage or suits due to not having made use of either for the last two years. There appear to be no current plans to release Dragon Knight on domestic DVD within the United States itself, though it has seen international release, as detailed elsewhere in this article. This includes a release in Japan by Toei, the company which holds the rights to Kamen Rider in Japan.

In 2010, Dragon Knight was nominated for and won the Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination", a new category for the Daytime Emmys.

Plot
While searching for his missing father, Kit Taylor finds an Advent Deck – a special card deck that allows the carrier to transform into a Kamen Rider and utilize unique weapons and powers – and uses it to become Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. He butts heads with Len, who serves as Kamen Rider Wing Knight, but the pair join forces after Kit learns that an alien warlord named General Xaviax is responsible for his father's disappearance and intends on using him and the entire human race, which he plans to abduct to gain power and rebuild his homeworld. Xaviax tricks people on Earth to work for him by promising them whatever they want, or in some cases, by exploiting their fears and desperation. Kit wonders why Xaviax has to trick them and why he doesn't just find bad guys to do the work for him. Len tells Kit that the decks were only made for one person, and that only a person with an exact DNA match as the original Ventaran rider could use it. This is why Kit is able to use the Dragon Knight Deck. He is the exact Mirror Twin of Adam, the original Dragon Knight, who betrayed the original team. One of the new Earth Riders, Chris Ramirez (serving as Kamen Rider Sting and tricked by Xaviax believing he is working in a special ops government program to fight alien invaders), joins forces with Kit and Len when he discovers he has been deceived, but is Vented along the way. Kit vents Albert Cho, brother of Danny Cho in retaliation. This leads to a personal hatred between Danny and Kit, as Danny seeks to avenge his brother against Xaviax's orders.

Later on Kase, a fellow survivor of Ventara like Len, joins forces with Len and Kit to fight Xaviax. In addition to training Kit as a Kamen Rider, Len and Kase tell Kit all about the twelve Riders who banded together as the protectors of Ventara – a world opposite to our own – to take Xaviax down. However, due to the unintentionally traitorous actions of Kit's predecessor, Adam, General Xaviax destroyed most of the Riders via a process called Venting – which traps defeated Riders in the "Advent Void" between dimensions forever – and stole their Advent Decks. Furthermore, Xaviax continues to send out his Riders who fight to eliminate Kit, Len, and the other Riders who oppose him. After Kit is Vented, Xaviax recruits Adam to once again become Dragon Knight. Unlike previously when Xaviax convinced Adam to 'betray' the Riders by playing to his desire to remain with the girl he loves, Xaviax uses a combination of blackmail and using Adam's girlfriend as a hostage in order to force Adam to work for him.

Meanwhile, Len uses his Advent Deck to awaken the Advent Master Eubulon, who brings back the Ventaran Kamen Riders from the Advent Void as well as Kit, who becomes Kamen Rider Onyx. He also brings back Kase, though Eubulon is forced to briefly reassign the Advent Deck to Maya Young while Kase is trapped in the Advent Void. Once Kase is better, Maya gives back the deck and the Riders head for Xaviax's base to destroy him.

Kamen Riders
Created by the "Advent Master" Eubulon, the original twelve Kamen Riders were the chosen defenders of the "mirror world" known as Ventara. With the exception of Wing Knight (and later Siren), they were "banished to the advent void" (referred to as being "vented") in battle with Xaviax when one of their own (the original Dragon Knight) betrayed them and their Advent Decks were stolen.

Since the Decks were designed to work with only one person, each deck only functions again when given to humans on Earth that are "mirror twins" of their Ventaran counterparts, with matching DNA or when Eubulon reassigns the deck. To access the powers, the chosen deck wielder holds the Advent Deck carrier in front of them to activate a burst of energy that creates the Advent Deck holder for the cards while calling out the words "Kamen Rider". The deck is then inserted in the belt and spins, further activating a pair of rings that surround the bearer and creates the armor for the specific Kamen Rider. The energy emitted from those rings can be used to repel others away while transforming.



Each Kamen Rider has a special sense that can detect Mirror Monsters and other Kamen Riders. The decks also give the Riders the ability to travel from one place to another instantly by traveling through any mirror or reflective surface and traversing the mirror world to end at their intended (or at times unintended) destination(s), be it in their Rider armor or human form. They can also travel with other humans or push them through a reflective surface to the other world as long as they keep in contact with them while traveling.

If either side of the mirror is blocked or destroyed, they cannot travel through that mirror. Riders usually travel through the dimensions with a specialized motorcycle parked in between the dimensions called an Advent Cycle. A Rider may also travel with their own motorcycle which, upon transforming, will change the motorcycle's appearance as well.

The Kamen Riders will be assisted by their own Advent Beast. Once a Mirror Monster is confined via their contract cards, it forms a Contract with the Rider who captured it. This changes the Rider's armor based on the Advent Beast confined. The Advent Beasts support their human partners through the Advent Decks, usually appearing when an Attack Vent or a Final Vent is used. Should the Advent Deck be destroyed or damaged in combat, the Advent Beast and its owner will disappear to the Advent Void. The Advent Beast can only return if the contract card is reactivated. Because of the nature of the contract, once it is established, a Rider cannot simply quit being a Kamen Rider unless the Advent Master unlinks them from the deck.

The Riders use their powers (via the advent cards) to battle either the Mirror Monsters or each other. Each card can be slotted into a device the Rider wears to access a "Vent" attack or ability such as Sword Vent, Strike Vent or Copy Vent. Most equipment based cards are based on that Rider's respective Advent Beast for example Dragon Knight's Sword Vent is based on Dragredder's tail. Each Rider has his own deck designed for that Rider only, even if a Rider slots a card belonging to another Rider, it still goes to the card's owner rather than the one who slotted it. Each Rider possesses a card to summon their respective Contract Monster (Attack Vent) and another card for their Final Vent, a devastating attack that involves using the Advent Beast's power to finish off their opponent.

Depending on the power of the attack and the strength of the target, the opponent may either be just defeated, or the attack can possibly "vent" them. A vented Kamen Rider and Advent Beast are sent directly to the Advent Void, a world between the mirrors where they are trapped and are never seen again, leaving only their Advent Deck behind. The Advent Void was designed as a fail safe in case a Rider has been badly damaged leaving them there to recover until Eubulon could retrieve them, this allows them to fight without having to worry about being taken out phycially. However, since Eubulon was inactive, the Advent Void ended up trapping Riders rather than simply saving them thus making the war thus far a fight for survival.

In addition to their normal cards in their Advent Deck, one more powerful card can be used called Survive. This allows the Riders to use the powerful Survive Mode. With it, they acquire new armor, new Visor Slots and new cards to accomidate the new form. However, it uses too much energy and therefore, a Rider cannot access the Survive Mode for too long. As a result, it is used in emergencies and taken out of the deck beforehand. Kase only manages to obtain the Survive cards for Dragon Knight and Wing Knight before initially escaping. Thus Kit and Len are the only Riders who can use Survive Mode.

Kamen Riders
All the Ventarran Riders regained their Advent Decks at the end of the series, while the Terran Kamen Riders, with the sole exception of Kit, were returned to their normal lives after having their memories erased.

Allies

 * Trent Moseley
 * Lacey Sheridan
 * Michelle Walsh
 * Frank Taylor
 * Agent Phillips
 * Sergeant Dan Ramirez
 * Brandon
 * Fish
 * Sara

Villains

 * Xaviax
 * Minions
 * Sheerghosts
 * Mirror Monsters

Other Civilians

 * Grace Kiefer
 * Detective Grimes

Episodes

 * 1) Search for the Dragon
 * 2) Contract with the Dragon
 * 3) Kamen Rider Incisor
 * 4) A Rider's Challenge
 * 5) The Power of Two
 * 6) Kamen Rider Torque
 * 7) Friend or Foe
 * 8) Kamen Rider Camo
 * 9) Kamen Rider Thrust
 * 10) Battle Club
 * 11) Vent or Be Vented
 * 12) Kamen Rider Sting
 * 13) Thrill of the Hunt
 * 14) Xaviax's Promise
 * 15) The Many Faces of Xaviax
 * 16) The Hero of Gramercy Heights
 * 17) The Power of Three
 * 18) The Brothers Cho
 * 19) Semper Fi
 * 20) Letter from the Front Line
 * 21) Strike's Ultimatum
 * 22) A Rider's Resolve
 * 23) Kamen Rider Siren
 * 24) Dark Temptation
 * 25) Dropping the Axe
 * 26) Kamen Rider Wrath
 * 27) Attack of the No-Men
 * 28) A Dragon Caged
 * 29) Calm Before the Storm
 * 30) Swan Song
 * 31) Xaviax's Wrath
 * 32) Advent Master Returns
 * 33) Out of the Void
 * 34) Back In Black
 * 35) A Hero's Fall
 * 36) Dark Deception
 * 37) The Enemy Within
 * 38) For Ventara and Earth, Part 1
 * 39) For Ventara and Earth, Part 2
 * 40) A Dragon's Tale

Unaired pilot
A pilot episode of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight filmed in 2007 featuring Matt Smith in the lead role of Kit Taylor and Kandis Erickson as Maya Young was produced and was later leaked online before being taken down in December 2008.

Main cast

 * Kit Taylor, Adam: Stephen Lunsford
 * Len: Matt Mullins
 * Kase: Carrie Reichenbach
 * Maya Young: Aria Alistar
 * Xaviax: William O'Leary

Recurring cast

 * Lacey Sheridan: Marisa Lauren
 * Trent Moseley: Taylor Emerson
 * Michelle Walsh: Kathy Christopherson
 * Richie Preston, Ian: Tony Moras
 * Drew Lansing, Chance: Christopher Foley
 * Grant Staley, Van: Christopher Babers
 * James Trademore, Pryce: Scott Bailey
 * Brad Barrett, Cameron: Keith Stone
 * Chris Ramirez, Quinn: Michael Cardelle
 * Danny Cho, Hunt: Mike Moh
 * Albert Cho, Chase: Tony Sano
 * Vic Frasier, Nolan: Mark Cameron Wystrach
 * Frank Taylor: Jeff Davis
 * Detective Grimes: James Patterson
 * Agent Phillips: Jamison Jones
 * Eubulon: Mark Dacascos
 * Sarah: Camila Greenberg

Guest stars

 * Kit's foster mom: Kathleen Gati
 * Grace Kiefer: Victoria Jackson
 * Grant's Master: T. J. Storm

Suit actors/stunt crew

 * Hiroshi Maeda
 * Reuben Langdon
 * Mark Musashi
 * Dorenda Moore
 * Tadahiro Nakamura
 * Aaron Toney
 * Hideki Sugiguchi
 * Sam Looc
 * McKay Stewart

International broadcasts
Dragon Knight was shown in Brazil on Rede Globo during its TV Globinho programming block, and has been replaced by a re-run of Dragonball as of September 2009, and was only being shown on Cartoon Network in that country, until it came back to TV Globinho as a part of its Saturday Morning timeblock as of January, 2010, in Mexico on Televisa, and in Venezuela on Venevisión. It also aired in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein on RTL II. However, RTL II cancelled the show after 17 episodes due to low ratings. The dubbed version of the series also aired on Indonesia's free-to-air TV channel Indosiar on Sunday mornings at 6:00 am (UTC+07:00). There are currently plans to air the series in Colombia on Caracol TV, in Italy on Mediaset, in Latin America on Cartoon Network, and on other Cartoon Network affiliates in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Australia. On the Australian digital free-to-air channel GO! the show airs on Tuesday mornings at 7:30am.

It was also broadcast in Japan on Toei's satellite subscription channel Toei Channel in the fall of 2009 as part of the Heisei Kamen Rider series 10th Anniversary project. Voice actors brought onto the project include Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Kit/Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Hiroki Takahashi as Richie Preston/Kamen Rider Incisor, Hiroshi Kamiya as Chris Ramirez/Kamen Rider Sting, Hideo Ishikawa as Vic Frasier/Kamen Rider Wrath and Takahiro Sakurai as Danny Cho/Kamen Rider Axe. The dub was then aired again on TV Asahi in 2010.

Previous actors from the Kamen Rider franchise who lend their voices to the cast (presumably in the Japanese Dub of Dragon Knight) include:
 * Satoshi Matsuda (Ren Akiyama/Kamen Rider Knight in Ryuki) as Len/Kamen Rider Wing Knight.
 * Yuria Haga (Mari Sonoda in 555 and Mio Suzuki in Kiva) as Maya Young.
 * Kōji Yusa (Urataros in Den-O) as Drew Lansing/Kamen Rider Torque.
 * Tomokazu Sugita (Kivat-bat the 3rd in Kiva) as JTC/Kamen Rider Strike.
 * Kenji Matsuda (Kamen Rider Zanki in Hibiki and Jiro/Garulu in Kiva) as Grant Staley/Kamen Rider Camo.
 * Shouma Yamamoto (Takato Shiramine/Kamen Rider Rey in Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World and Taiga Nobori/Kamen Rider Saga in Kiva) as Brad Barrett/Kamen Rider Thrust.
 * Ryouta Murai (Yuusuke Onodera/Kamen Rider Kuuga in Decade) as Albert Cho/Kamen Rider Spear.
 * Miyuki Sawashiro (Kiva-la in Decade) as Kase/Kamen Rider Siren.
 * Hōchū Ōtsuka (Deneb in Den-O) as Xaviax/Kamen Rider Wrath.
 * Tsuyoshi Koyama (Kamen Rider Odin / the Visor Voice in Ryuki) as Eubulon.

On TV Asahi affiliate broadcasts of the Japanese-dubbed Dragon Knight, the song "Dive into the Mirror" by defspiral, is used as the opening theme. The group also performed as Wilma-Sidr for Kamen Rider W. The song "ANOTHER WORLD", sung by Tatsuhisa Suzuki and Satoshi Matsuda under the pseudonym "Kit×Len", was used as the ending theme.

International DVD releases
In addition to airing outside the United States, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is available on DVD in certain countries. In Brazil, 13 DVD Volumes of all 40 episodes were released by PlayArte Home Video even though their site only lists the first two. In Germany, Season 1 – Vol. 1 and Season 1 – Vol. 2 were released on DVD by EuroVideo and m4e (Made For Entertainment) in February 2010., but no other volumes were released due to the show's cancellation over there. On July 21, 2010, Toei released the first DVD boxset of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight containing the first 20 episodes along with a DVD release of the Special Event that took place on January 2010 in Japan. Throughout the summer of that year, Toei released 10 DVD Volumes of all 40 episodes as well as a second boxset with the last 20 episodes. In most parts of Asia, 10 DVD Volumes and 2 DVD boxsets of all 40 episodes were released by MediaLink.

Video game
A fighting game based on the series was released for the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms by D3 Publisher on November 17, 2009, despite the official trailer announcing a December 2009 release.

Nintendo DS version
The Nintendo DS version was developed by Natsume. In this game, you use your Advent Cards to perform special attacks, depending on how much your Advent Gauge is filled up, with the Final Vent being used when all three bars are full. You can charge your Rider's Advent Gauge by touching and holding your Rider until all three bars are full. You are also able to select two more different cards before starting a battle.

The game's "Ventara Mode" is a series of missions where you fight Advent Beasts and other Kamen Riders, with a chance of unlocking them (as well as more Advent Cards) in a certain mission. Xaviax is the final boss and has a different ending for each of the playable Riders except for Wrath who fights Dragon Knight as the final boss due to Wrath being possessed by Xaviax as in the show. Xaviax himself becomes a playable character in "Duel Mode" once all 13 Riders are unlocked and the player has defeated every mission (including defeating Xaviax himself) available in the "Ventara Mode" for each Rider.

Despite being a fighting game, it only supports single player.

Wii version
The Wii version was developed by Eighting and uses a modified engine based on Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes for the PlayStation 2, which was also developed by Eighting. It even uses the same stages and music. Dragon Knight and Onyx's character models were even recycled from Ryuki and Ryuga's character models. However, the gameplay was changed significantly. The Rider Gauge (now Advent Gauge) does not charge anymore. You can only fill it up by attacking your opponent without special attacks. Depending on how much your Advent Gauge is filled up, you can perform special attacks by using an Advent Card, with the Final Vent being used when your gauge is full. You can also select any Advent Card you want before you fight.

Unlike the DS version, you can only play as the 13 Riders. You unlock the rest of the Riders in Arcade Mode and "Mirror World" mode. Xaviax is only a non-playable boss in both Arcade and "Mirror World".

The game's "Mirror World" mode is a feature not in Climax Heroes and is also a series of missions where you not only fight Riders in one-on-one battles, but also defeat Advent Beasts in beat 'em up-like stages, which were not featured in the Climax Heroes series until Climax Heroes OOO for the PSP and Wii, with more stages and kaijins. As you progress, not only are you able to unlock other Riders, but you gain Rider Points to buy more Advent Cards in Card Mode.

Unlike the single player-only DS version, the Wii version supports up to two players.