Chihiro

"I want to live!"

- Chihiro to Jin

Chihiro (千翼) is the main protagonist of the second season of Kamen Rider Amazons. He uses the Neo Amazons Driver to become Kamen Rider Amazon Neo (仮面ライダーアマゾンネオ). He is also the son of Jin Takayama and Nanaha Izumi.

History
Chihiro was born five years prior to the start of the series, having been born sometime after the events of Operation Tlaloc from Season 1. His father was Jin Takayama, a former genetic researcher at Nozama Pharmaceuticals who infected himself with Amazon Cells shortly after the test subjects were freed from their captivity, and his mother was Nanaha Izumi, Jin's helper in his quest to eliminate all the test subjects. When he was conceived, Nanaha went into hiding with her son to protect him from his father, who wanted to kill the baby as part of his mission to eliminate all Amazonz.

Two years before the start of the story, Chihiro, having discovered his transformation into an Amazon for the first time, accidentally ate his mother in shock. The action weighed heavily on his mind, and thus to cope with the action, his memories were twisted into believing that it was an Amazon who murdered and devoured her. Sometime afterwards, he was found by 4C during a raid; when 4C took him in, they were bewildered by his physiology: despite having human DNA, the boy had accelerated growth and cannibalistic tendencies typical of an Amazon. At first, Chihiro was against them and resisted any and all attempts to gleam information from him, even biting one of the medical scientists' arm when they were placing an Amazon Register on his arm.

Meeting Iyu
At an unspecified point in time, Chihiro somehow managed to escape from 4C and wandered the streets until he was found by Hiroki Nagase and his friends. The teens had managed to somehow bond with Chihiro, and convinced the owner of a bar to allow Chihiro to stay. Sometime later, they discovered the existence of Amazons, and Chihiro's ability to both sense and fight them. This led to Nagase and his crew to start up "Team Kiss," and upload videos of Chihiro fighting any Amazon they find, which leads to them gaining both popularity and a large income of money.

After hunting down a Cheetah Amazon, Chihiro becomes angry when Nagase and his friends compare him to the Amazons, due to him only eating out of food packs. This, of course, angers Nagase, and the two nearly fight until the owner, Shido, walks in. The next day, Chihiro senses a new Amazon that has emerged at a chapel. He then discovers it devouring a groom, and transforms. He is overwhelmed at first, but receives the unlikely help from Team Kurosaki, an extermination team apart of 4C, and their own Amazon, Iyu. Chihiro is immediately stunned, as he cannot sense her as an Amazon, even stating that, for the first time, he's met someone whom he doesn't want to eat. Three new Amazons appear shortly after, with Iyu and Team Kurosaki eliminating them. Kurosaki then knocks out Chihiro with a tranquilizer, and brings him back to 4C.

Awakening Iyu's "Human Side"
When he awakens, Tachibana converses with him, asking why he had left when there was much they could benefit with their cooperation together, even studying Chihiro's unique biology. Chihiro quickly rebukes Tachibana's statement of him being an Amazon, caliming he is human, though Tachibana brings up the fact that Chihiro had mentioned eating humans, something which only an Amazon would feel. This leaves Chihiro feeling conflicted, and Tachibana leaves, asking Kano to feed him. After being provided with water and a food pack, Chihiro asks about Iyu. Kano reveals to Chihiro that Iyu is actually a human who was implanted with Amazon Cells after their death; her father had become an Amazon, and devoured her whole family, including her. Chihiro then realizes why he never felt the urge to devour Iyu, and though visibly showing disappointment, he resolves to stay by her side, in order to fully prove himself as "human." He agrees to work for 4C, but only on the condition that Iyu be treated as a human being, not as a tool.

After aiding Team Kurosaki in defeating the Porcupine Amazon, Chihiro, albeit briefly, causes Iyu to feel something, which results in her singing the same song her father taught her. Unfortunately, the moment is ruined by the arrival of Haruka Mizusawa, who attacks Iyu without explanation. Chihiro tries to defend her, but is quickly overwhelmed and is swiftly defeated. Kurosaki orders Fukuda to use the Scattershot, which has enough firepower to kill an Amazon in a single shot, but he hesitates, allowing Mizuki Misuzawa to grab it and aim it at Haruka. Haruka then leaves.

The next day, Chihiro reports to Team Kurosaki, who he is now asked to work alongside with. Chihiro makes it clear he wants to stay by Iyu's side, which Kurosaki allows. They then go on their next hunt. When Chihiro arrives, he finds two Amazons feasting. The Elephant Amazon, unaware why is there, tells him that there is not enough for three. Chihiro then transforms and attacks them. Iyu then enters the scene. At first, Chihiro is unable to coordinate with Iyu, leading to them to fight their opponents separately. Chihiro is overwhelmed, and is overcome by the live human body next to him. Seeing his hunger, the Elephant Amazon tells him he can have the body and then leaves. Due to exhibiting the desire to eat a human, Iyu sees him as a target and attacks, leaving a fatal injury.

Chihiro is then rushed to the 4C medical ward. To Tachibana's surprise, Chihiro's wound has already begun to rapidly heal to the point where it looks to be a minor wound. When he awakens, Tachibana expresses his disappointment with Chihiro, and tells him that he is limiting his contact with Iyu, who will be operated on at another location. Chihiro, angered, claims that he is going back on their promise, but Tachibana refutes him by saying that he treats Iyu humanely for a corpse. Chihiro then refuses the improved armlet, which would inhibit his cannibalistic desires sufficiently and increase his fighting capabilities. He then takes Iyu and flees, hoping to try and awaken her human emotions again.

On their "date," Chihiro tries and fails to have her remember her "human" aspects, but still persists. At one point, when trying to have her remember how to enjoy food, he remembers his mother being eaten alive by Amazons, which causes him to throw up. As their "date" ends, Chihiro notices her staggering, realizing that simply eating food isn't enough to provide her the protein necessary. When he notices a woman walking by, he once again feels the urge to eat, causing Iyu to once again deem him a threat. Chihiro, however, is content with her wanting to kill him, since it is the only time she truly looks at him. Kurosaki then arrives, claiming that Chihiro's actions, while good, mean nothing. He then tells Iyu to not attack Chihiro. Afterwards, Chihiro and Team Kurosaki hunt down the Elephant Amazon once again, and successfully eliminate it. When Chihiro's feeding urge comes up again, he is shocked and overjoyed when Iyu says that Chihiro is a target that she must not hunt.

Reunion of Neo and Alpha
Sometime later, Chihiro tries to give Iyu a balloon animal, but is flustered when he sees her nearly naked. One of the members of Team Kurosaki, Ichiro Futamori, tells Chihiro that while it is sweet of him, it is useless as Iyu, while remembering everything in her life, feels no emotion from them, thus depressing him. Team Kurosaki is then called in to defeat the Rose Amazon after it kills several 4C operatives. At first, Chihiro and Iyu have trouble defeat it until the former comes up with a plan. Just as they are about to defeat it, Mamoru intervenes, saving the Rose Amazon and telling him to flee. Chihiro and Iyu then fight Mamoru, which is then postponed with Haruka arriving to defend Mamoru. When they return, Chihiro comes with Iyu when Kano questions her about Haruka, as he had apparently been acquainted with her father. Annoyed by Chihiro's interference when he asks her if she remembers anything fun, he asks him to leave. Chihiro then reunites with Nagase, who regretfully informs him that Takumi, who became a New Type Amazon, had to be put down, and Kenta, who had his leg severely bitten by Takumi, had to undergo amputation despite surviving the ordeal. Depressed at first, Chihiro is surprised to learn from Nagase that he was once classmates with Iyu, and inquires about her, learning that she used to be quite cheerful and loved making cakes.

Later, Chihiro and Iyu once again fight the Rose Amazon, though Iyu is incapacitated. To Chihiro's confusion, however, Haruka arrives with the former members of Nozama Peston Services and aids him in defeating the Rose Amazon. The two successfully kill it by beheading it, though Chihiro is quickly defeated by Haruka, who then proceeds to try and kill Iyu, claiming that she deserves to rest rather than be used as a tool any longer. To his surprise, however, Chihiro stops him - in human form with glowing blue eyes and black veins. He successfully repels Haruka and injures him in the process, something which surprises even Haruka as he was still in his Amazon Omega form. He then retreats, allowing Chihiro to check up on Iyu. Remembering that he had bought a cake for her, he goes to grab it, only to find in disappointment that it has been ruined during the fight. Futamori once again tells him his actions are useless, as the only reason Iyu began to protect him was simply because she adapted to the strategy that they had come up with. After accidentally hitting Iyu in the face with the cake after falling, he hears her mention the word "fun," as she remembered once making cake for her classmates.

Unknown to Chihiro, Kano reports to Tachibana that they have examined the "arm" of the Origin Sample responsible for tainting the water source of the water company. To Tachibana's surprise, the Origin Sample had Lysogenic Cells as well as premature Amazon Cells - identical to those of Chihiro.

After returning and given the day off, Chihiro asks Mizuki if she knew any good place to take a girl, which she easily guesses as Iyu, much to Chihiro's embarrassment. Mizuki wonders what Iyu would want and Fukuda states that she would want to be with her father, telling Chihiro that he and his comrades had to kill one of their friends who became a Sigma Amazon before taking his leave. As the others leave and another team occupies the room, Chihiro asks Iyu if that is what she really wants and wonders what she is always looking at, since she always stares at the wall. He then tells her he ran into a school friend, who told him how she used to be. He then asks if she would want to go anywhere, such as her home or school, though he is taken away by medical examiners, at first believing them to be looking for Iyu.

To Chihiro's confusion, the examiners wear heavier garments and strap him to the table, stating that they are using different drugs this time and are wearing them for their protection. Kanou then arrives, showing Chihiro the Scattershot bullet and asking him if he knew what it was before asking the examiners to administer a fraction of the dose inside the bullet into Chihiro, much to his shock. After it is administered, Chihiro screams in pain from the damage and is left incapacitated. Sometime later, his body tries to heal the damage. Kanou then informs him that Iyu has engaged an Amazon, but before he can leave, Kanou then tells him that a similar armlet containing the same amount of power is attached to her arm, which will activate unless Chihiro tells him everything about his past.

When Chihiro arrives, he is surprised to see Nagase with Iyu before transforming into Amazon Neo, only to be overwhelmed due to the effects of the Scattershot. However, he is saved by the timely appearance of a man carrying an Amazon Driver, who Chihiro seems to recognize as well as Team Kurosaki. The man then proceeds to transform into a red Amazon, though he is apparently blind, relying on sound and allowing himself to be hit by the Amazons before he brutally kills them. Chihiro then approaches the man, much to the confusion of the others, especially when the man calls Chihiro by name. Chihiro then calls him "Dad," much to the shock of everyone present.

The Reawakening of Origin
In a flashback, Chihiro was revealed to be the first ever natural-born Amazon/human hybrid - an existence similar to Haruka, albeit the latter is artificial. According to the tests performed by Professor Hoshino, Iyu's father, Chihiro possessed unique Amazon cells. Prof. Hoshino theorizes that these cells are a result of human DNA acting as a catalyst, and similar DNA is found in both Haruka and Jin, further implying this. Due to Jin's mentality in that all Amazons should be killed, Nanaha fled with Chihiro and raised him away from his father. Due to his cells, Chihiro grew at a rapid rate, and showed the cannibalistic tendency that Amazons exhibit. It is implied that Chihiro ate Nanaha and infected her. Her corpse is then revealed to be the Origin Sample that Mamoru and his group have been using to turn ordinary humans into New Type Amazons.

In the present, the others notice Jin's eyesight has been lost, though he casually remarks that it hasn't affected him much. He notes that Chihiro smells a lot like Nanaha, then casually proceeding to tell his son that he has come to kill him, much to his horror. Jin then asks Chihiro what happened to Nanaha, but was unable to answer. He then fled with Team Kurosaki, avoiding contact with him. Chihiro then learned, to his surprise, that Iyu had wanted to go someplace fun, and Nagase obliged. He is visibly hurt when Iyu says she wants to team with Nagase. When they return to 4C, Tachibana speaks with Chihiro, expressing his disappointment with him. He then proceeds to tell Chihiro the truth that he has been ignoring for the past two years; he was the one who murdered his mother, eating her and infecting her, and is, in truth, the source behind the Amazon infections. Chihiro tries weakly to denies this, but is unable to. Tachibana then decides to have him put into suspended animation. Kano then tells him not to resist, if only for Iyu's sake, reminding Chihiro that her armlet is outfitted with a fraction of the Scattershot's dosage.

When Chihiro is about to be put into his cell, he speaks with Iyu one last time, asking if she had anything to say. He puts the picture they took on their "date" on the wall she stares at, saying it was fun before he is placed into his cell. As he is being extracted, he looks back on his memories and suddenly realizes how much he needs Iyu. At this moment, his Amazon self takes over completely, and effortlessly breaks out of the cell, proceeding to then slaughter nearly everyone in the room - including Kano and Tachibana. Kurosaki tries, and fails, to eliminate Chihiro with a grenade. However, during the ordeal, Chihiro unintentionally wounds Iyu with one of his tentacles, causing her blood to drop. Hearing the dripping sound, Chihiro finally returns to his senses before falling unconscious.

Hiroki then later discovers him. When he awakens, seeing the bloodshed around him and the blood on his hands, he leaves in horror of his actions.

Hunting him and prepare kill all humans
After Chihiro fled, 4C has already begun measures to try and capture him, though his transformation into Amazon Origin has damaged his armlet and has prevented them from tracking him. When Chihiro crashes into a car, he vaguely remembers the damage he caused and hurting Iyu, and Tachibana's words return to haunt him, now realizing that he is an Amazon who ate his mother. Sometime later while resting, he sees a woman passing by and his hunger begins to overwhelm him, stating in a trance that he no longer needs to hold himself back. However, Iyu's voice returns him to reality, but is forced on the defensive when she and Team Kurosaki attacks him. He transforms into Amazon Neo, but cannot bring himself to hurt Iyu, even saying in distress that he is now the kind she hunts. After forced back, Iyu rushes to attack him, but is stopped by Nagase, who tells him to run.

After escaping Team Kurosaki, Chihiro heals from his wounds, though his reprieve is short lived by the appearance of his father, Jin Takayama. Chihiro is unable to answer him when Jin asks why he smells like so much blood, but then realizes it means nothing. He then tells Chihiro something that Nanaha "told" him, much to his horror; should he ever abandon his humanity, Jin would have to kill him. Chihiro, horrified and stunned by this, wonders if she truly told him that before being attacked by his father. Wanting to live, Chihiro fights back and tells Jin as much, though the latter rebukes him and tells him means nothing. At first gaining the upper hand, Chihiro, in an emotional wreck, asks his father why he's doing this, but Jin doesn't answer. He is then overpowered and nearly killed by Jin before he transforms into Amazon Origin and manages to force Jin out of his transformation, using the opportunity to escape.

After managing to escape his father, Chihiro wonders if his mother truly told Jin that before noting he is hungry. Unknown to him, Team Kurosaki and Jin are still hunting him, as are the members of Nozama Peston Services, under orders from Reika Mizusawa after seeing the image of Chihiro in his Origin form sent to her by Kano before his death. After escaping from Jin, Chihiro tries to find something to eat, though once he manages to grab himself a hamburger, he finds himself spitting it out, unable to eat anything due to the trauma of his mother's death. He then returns to Shido's bar, gathering the protein food packs when Nagase finds him, initially mistaking him for Shido. Nagase asks if he came back for the food packs, to which Chihiro answers that he was so hungry that he might eat someone. Nagase then asks him if he is the point of Origin. Distraught, Chihiro answers that he had eaten his mother, and blames himself for the Amazon infections, including Iyu becoming one herself after being killed by her father, but also states that he wants to live and be with her.

Just then, Jin enters the bar. He notes that it feels weird for Chihiro to call him father, but then asks if he killed Nanaha. Chihiro is unable to answer, but Jin takes his silence as his answer, telling him that he wasn't at fault. Rather, Jin blames himself for Nanaha's death. He then notes that his eyes are much like Nanaha's. The two then transform and fight, with Nagase scrambling around to avoid the crossfire before noticing a gun case being knocked down during the fight. When Chihiro is knocked out of his transformation and nearly killed, Nagase shoots Jin at point blank range, forcing him back. He then tells Chihiro to run. As he flees on his bike, he finds that the road has been blockaded by 4C, forcing him to find another route. He eventually comes across a small field, taking the moment to drink from one of the protein packs before he finds Iyu.

As she approaches, Chihiro tells her that if she wants to kill him, they will have to fight. He tells her that he wants to live, and be with her. Unaffected by this declaration, Iyu transforms into the Crow Amazon, forcing Chihiro to become Amazon Neo and engage her. Iyu initially has the advantage with her agility, but she is eventually forced out of her own transformation by Chihiro, who is left on the ground. As she gets up to attack him again, Jin comes up from behind her, stopping to look at her face. Seeing her as Prof. Hoshino's daughter, he tells her she's done enough and throws her aside. Due to his injuries, Chihiro is utterly overwhelmed by Jin, and is once again forced out of his transformation, about to be killed when Iyu suddenly comes up from behind him, stabbing his back. He then falls down the hill, seemingly dead. To Chihiro's shock and joy, Iyu asks if his injuries hurt.

Game World
An iteration of Amazon Neo from the Game World ambushed Emu Hojo, and Poppy Pipopapo with Amazon Omega and Amazon Alpha. Transforming into Ex-Aid Double Action Gamer Level X, Emu held off the three Amazon Riders, allowing Poppy and Naga to get away, only to be left at a disadvantage as he was unable to split into Level XX due to his Rider Gauge running low. However, by eluding the Amazons long enough, Ex-Aid was able to reach a Reverse Energy Item which had the effect of revitalizing Ex-Aid while weakening the Amazon Riders, allowing the Double Action Gamer to quickly defeat the trio by stomping on them.

Personality
Chihiro is generally quiet and meek, keeping away from humans due to his inherent blood lust. However, as he sees himself as human instead of Amazon despite all facts stating otherwise, he comes to loathe Amazons as a whole and often fights with a feverish demeanor, a trait which is the opposite of his father, who hunted Amazons out of obligation for their creation rather than hate. In an effort to suppress his urge to feed on humans, he refrains from consuming anything but specialized food packs and water, to the point of the notion of eating sickens him; a result of watching his mother being eaten alive by Amazons as a child. Due to all these physiological and psychological oddities, he suffers from serious identity crisis. However, his memories of his mother being eaten are actually a mental block in order to cope with the fact that he was the one who ate his mother and infected her, and not witnessing her being eaten by other Amazons.

Although perceived as cold and aloof, it is shown that he is indeed capable of compassion and behave like a regular human. This "salvation" comes in the form of Iyu, who he claims to be the first and only human he can look at and even touch, without feeling any urge to eat her. Despite being mildly disappointed when it was revealed to him that Iyu is nothing more than a walking corpse, he nonetheless insists on sticking around her, claiming that he can truly be a human when Iyu is around. His attachment to her is so strong that he agrees to join 4C with demand that they treats her as a human instead of an Amazon or just a weapon, and repeatedly tries to awaken her humanity.

Upon being revealed to be the original source of infection turning humans into Amazon, and subsequently assuming his true form and massacring 4C staffs attempting to put him in cryogenic stasis, he experiences total mental breakdown, now seeing and hating himself to be nothing more than a human-eating monster. However, true to any Amazons, his intense will to survive prevents him from killing himself or turning himself in to 4C, and has instead deciding that despite being a monster, he will survive by whatever means possible.

Powers and Abilities

 * Amazon Tracking: With his Amazon DNA, Chihiro has the ability to detect other Amazons within a certain range. However, his abilities extend only to live Amazons. As such, he couldn't detect Iyu's presence nor her status as an Amazon, due to her being a dead body.
 * Accelerated Growth: Chihiro has accelerated growth, aging from a young boy to a late teen within the span of five years. It is currently unknown if he has a shorter lifespan as a result.
 * Accelerated Healing: Chihiro heals faster than humans and better than most Amazons, to the point of completely healing from a near-fatal wound within a day. His healing ability is so advanced that it is suggested that he can completely regrow lost limbs within a short amount of time.
 * Lysogenic Amazon cells: The most fearsome feature of Chihiro. As the first and only natural born Human-Amazon hybrid, his Amazon cells contain Human DNA, studies shows that this combination of cells can easily mutate humans into New Type Amazons. These cells survive well in water-based environment, enabling them to entering bloodstream of humans and infecting them.
 * Pseudo-Origin Awakening: Chihiro possesses the ability to subconsciously access the strength and power of his Amazon Origin form in his human state, which provides an impressive healing factor and an incredible boost of strength; he healed nearly in moments after receiving a debilitating wound from Haruka, and managed to deliver a wound to him while he was still in his Amazon Omega form.

Weaknesses

 * Urge to feed on humans: Due to his Amazon nature, Chihiro has an innate hunger for human flesh. This hunger is worsened by the fact that regular food makes him sick, rendering him to rely on specialized food packs to survive. His hunger is worsened when he does not receive food for a while, or if he senses exposed flesh and blood.
 * Berserker Rage: When in Origin form, Chihiro becomes a mindless and violent beast that kills almost everything near him that his instincts perceive as a threat. This leads to many people either dying during his rampages or in very rare cases, critically injured and/or near death.

Devices

 * Neo Amazons Driver
 * Dreidal Ladie - Neo's personal weapon
 * Unnamed Hook Arm
 * Unnamed Arm Mounted Needle Gun

Vehicles

 * Junglaider

Portrayal
Chihiro is portrayed by You Maejima (前嶋 曜). As Kamen Rider Amazon Neo, his suit actor is Kohei Matsuoka (松岡 航平). As a child, Chihiro is portrayed by Rui Takahashi (高橋 琉晟) and as a teenager, Chihiro is portrayed by Shota Taguchi (田口 翔大), who also portrayed in . ''

Etymology
The Kanji character in his name, Hiro (翼), sounds similar to "hero" and is also related to his parents' names: the Kanji Taka (鹰) and Ha (羽).

Within the show, it is explained that Nanaha named Chihiro based on the phrase "a thousand wings" (千の翼).