Ren Akiyama

Kamen Rider Knight (仮面ライダーナイト, Kamen Raidā Naito?) is a fictional character in the tokusatsu production Kamen Rider Ryuki. He is one of the main protagonists and the first of the 13 Kamen Riders the story revolves around. His true identity is Ren Akiyama and is portrayed by Satoshi Matsuda.

As the name implies, Knight is a melee-range Kamen Rider designed for chivalrous 1-on-1 combat. His armor is rather simplistic compared to the other riders. The only weapons Knight uses are either his rapier (which is also his card-reader) or his Sword Vent, which resembles a short-lance. Aside from DarkWing, Knight lacks any sort of far-range weaponry. He only has a cape while DarkWing is mounted onto his back, usually for his Final Vent "Flying Slash" which involves being wrapped up in his cape and slamming into the enemy like a drill. Once he obtains the Survive Card from Tezuka, Kamen Rider Raia, he still uses his sword and has a Shoot Vent for ranged combat.

Kamen Rider Knight's name, ナイト (Naito, ナイト?) also sounds like the English "Night", which could also refer to his color scheme which reflects darkness and nighttime (his color is dark navy). Also, his monster's motif is based on a nocturnal creature. While in his Survive form he has a cape on constantly, making him one of the few Kamen Riders in the entire franchise to wear a cape.



biography
Ren Akiyama is a cold loner who fights constantly and is frequently unemployed. He received his Advent Deck before the start of the series. He accepted Kanzaki's offer to join the Rider war to give his fiancé, Eri Ogawa, a full recovery, who has been in a mysterious coma ever since an encounter with Dark Wing. Ren later contracted with Dark Wing and became Kamen Rider Knight.

After meeting Shinji Kido, Kamen Rider Ryuki, he would still persist to fight any and all Riders. Over time he eventually softened up and slowly came to return Shinji's constant offers of friendship. He and Shinji would often fight Mirror World monster together, mainly to protect the innocent. Throughout the series they formed a somewhat of a rivalry, which Ren took more seriously than Shinji because of the Rider War.

Shiro eventually declares him as the last Rider. All the other Riders had died, but it was Shinji's death in Episode 49 that devastated him, as he had finally accepted Shinji as his best friend. Ironically enough however, Shinji's dying words galvanized Ren into bringing the war to an end. Shiro Kanzaki brought him to fight the remaining Rider, Kamen Rider Odin. As Ren was about to lose, Shiro Kanzaki was tormented by his sister Yui Kanzaki's words, and self-destroyed Odin, making Ren the final rider. The wish appeared, and Ren used it to save Eri's life as he had originally intended. Returning to the hospital where Eri laid, she wakes up to see Ren's engagement ring on her finger, and a loyal Ren, appearantly sleeping on the floor. Unbeknownst to her at the time, the battle with Odin had proved too much, and though it is not clearly stated, its suggested that he died. After Shiro restored time to its proper course after Yui's death, Ren and Shinji had no memory of being Riders, thus they are unable to recognize each other in one of the final scenes of the series.

In the TV Special, he pushed Ryuki out of the way and took Verde's Death Vanish Final Vent. He shook the damage long enough to kill Verde with his Flying Lancer Final Vent. This was similar to how Kamen Rider Raia died in the series, pushing Ryuki out of the way to receive the Final Vent. Shortly afterwards, he died on Shinji's arms after giving him the Knight deck, making Shinji Kido the first character to be two separate Riders in the same series.

Forms
Knight Form

This is Kamen Rider Knight's standard form that he uses throughout most of the series.

* Sight: ~10km * Hearing: ~25km radius * Speed: 80km/h * High jump: 40m * Punch: 200 Attack Points * Kick: 300 Attack Points

Survive Form

This is Knight's Ultimate form. He can obtain this form by using his Survive card.

* Sight: ~15km * Hearing: ~30km radius * Speed: 85.7km/h * High jump: 50m * Punch: 300 Attack Points * Kick: 450 Attack Points

Contract Monster
Darkwing

Modelled after a bat, Darkwing was the first Mirror World Monster to have entered the real world. Compare with Kamen Rider Femme's Blancwing. Its specifications are:

* Length: 1.15m * Breadth (with wings spread): 3.90m * Height: 0.35m * Weight: 85kg * Flight speed: 900km/h

Darkraider
The "Survive" version of Darkwing. Darkwing could transforms into this form after Knight uses his Survive card. Could transform into a motorcycle

Darkraider

* Length: 1.30m * Breadth (with wings spread): 3.90m * Height: 0.90m * Weight: 100kg * Flight speed: 950km/h

Motorcycle

* Length: 3.70m * Breadth: 0.90m * Height: 1.23m * Weight: 100kg

Advent Cards
Knight Form

Dark Visor

* Knight's card reader in the form of a sword.Compare with Femme's Blanc Visor.

Darkwing (4,000 Attack Points)

* Summoned Darkwing.

Sword Vent (2,000 Attack Points) - Wing Lancer

* A lance. Compare with Femme's Wing Slasher.

Guard Vent (3,000 Guard Points) - Wing Wall

* The wings of Darkwing turned into a cloak of protection. Compare with Femme's Wing Shield.

Nasty Vent (1,000 Attack Points) - Sonic Break

* A sonic attack from Darkwing, causing disorientation to the target(s).

Trick Vent (1,000 Attack Points) - Shadow Illusion

* Knight replicated himself.

Final Vent (5.000 Attack Points) - Hishou Zan (飛翔斬, Hishou Zan? lit. Flying Slash)

* With Darkwing as a cloak, Knight wrapped himself with the cloak and descended in the form of a drill using Wing Lancer as the tip.

Survive Shippu (Left wing)

* Upgraded Knight to his Survive form and Darkwing to Darkraider. Possessed the power of wind. Originally intended for Miyuki Tezuka, Kamen Rider Raia, but he passed it to Ren. Shippu (疾風, Shippu?) means "Violent Wind" or "Gale" in Japanese.

Kamen Rider Knight Survive Form
Dark Visor Zwei

* The "Survive" version of Dark Visor, Dark Visor Zwei was the card reader of Knight Survive. It was mounted on the Rider's left forearm as a scabbard. "Zwei" means "two" in German, which is used to refer to his visor being in its second form.

Darkraider (6,000 Attack Points)

* Summoned Darkraider.

Sword Vent (4,000 Attack Points) - Dark Blade

* A sword. Could vary in length.

Shoot Vent (3,000 Attack Points) - Dark Arrow

* Dark Visor Zwei became a crossbow.

Guard Vent (3,000 Guard Points) - Dark Shield

* Dark Visor Zwei became a shield.

Blast Vent (2,000 Attack Points) - Dark Tornado

* Darkraider emitted 2 streams of air turbulence from its wings. "Blust" was probably a misspelling of "Blast".

Trick Vent (2,000 Attack Points) - Shadow Illusion

* Knight produced more replicates of himself.

Final Vent (8,000 Attack Points) - Shippu Dan (疾風断, lit. Gale Cut?)

* Knight and Darkraider (in its motorcycle form) turned into a missile and crushed their opponent.