Kamen Rider Den-O


 * This article is about the television series. For the series' main character Den-O, see Ryotaro Nogami.

Kamen Rider Den-O (仮面ライダー電王) is the seventeenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. It premiered January 28, 2007 on TV Asahi, and concluded airing on January 20, 2008. It aired alongside Juken Sentai Gekiranger for Super Hero Time 2007. Its lead actor Takeru Satoh is the first Kamen Rider Series lead born in the Heisei period of Japanese history.

Along with the usual film adaptation that Heisei Kamen Rider series have released during the late summer of their broadcast run, Den-O had a second film released in the spring following its broadcast run which grossed 730 million yen (approximately US$6.8 million) and a series of ten OVA shorts, both of which are firsts for any Kamen Rider. Continuing the trend, Kamen Rider Den-O also had a third film released in October 2008, the first for any Kamen Rider series and a second series of 12 OVA shorts was released in November 2008. Takeru Satoh claims that the reason that Den-O has amassed such popularity is because of its comedic timing. A fourth film was released on May 1, 2009, and three more released in the summer of 2010.

The catchphrases for the series are "Traveling through time, here I come!" (時を超えて 俺、参上!) and "The time train, DenLiner! Will its next stop be in the past or the future?" (時の列車デンライナー!次の駅は過去か?未来か?).

Synopsis
Ryotaro Nogami is a young man with a lot of bad luck. One day, he finds a strange pass and things got stranger from a mysterious girl and a large time-traveling train to being possessed by an entity called an Imagin, beings from an alternate future whose kind are attempting to change the past. Though slightly confused about the nature of the crisis, Ryotaro, along with the aid of the hot-headed, violent Imagin, dubbed Momotaros, becomes Kamen Rider Den-O, traveling to different times on the DenLiner to battle the evil Imagin to prevent them from altering the past to affect the present and future. During his adventure, Ryotaro is joined by other Imagin who aid him as well; the lying, manipulating and womanizing Urataros, the herculean (and narcoleptic) Kintaros, and the childish yet powerful Ryutaros. He later meets the mysterious Yuto Sakurai and his bumbling Imagin partner Deneb. Yuto is not only Kamen Rider Zeronos but is the younger incarnation of Ryotaro's older sister Airi's fiance, Sakurai, who mysteriously disappeared and is tied to the mysteries involving the Imagin and a person known as the Junction Point.

Singularity Point
Some of the humans in Kamen Rider Den-O are called a Singularity Point (特異点, Tokuiten?). The primary ability of Singularity Points is that they are able to exist outside of time itself, such that changes in their past timeline will not alter their current state. In some instances, Singularity Points have had their timelines destroyed by the actions of the Imagin, yet still exist in a physical form with their memories intact, unaffected by the changes. The Singularity Points revealed are Ryotaro, Hana, Kai, and the Owner of the Den-Liner. These individuals also have the ability to resist the Imagin's ability to use their body as a host, even control them if powerful enough.

Imagin
Imagin (イマジン) are creatures from the future who have come to the year 2007 in hopes of changing the past to alter their future to their liking. To reach this goal, Imagin grant the wishes of weak-hearted humans and then go back in time to that individual's most precious memory. When they lose control of their humanoid forms, Imagin grow into massive proportions known as Gigandeath.

Films
A rarity for the Kamen Rider Series, Kamen Rider Den-O has had multiple theatrical releases, the most recent being a trilogy of films released on May 22, June 5, and June 19, 2010.

I'm Born!
Kamen Rider Den-O The Movie: I'm Born! (劇場版　仮面ライダー電王　俺、誕生！) premiered on August 4, 2007. This is the second Heisei era film in the Kamen Rider Series to be part of the storyline of its television series since Kamen Rider Agito. The film features scenes from the birthing of Kamen Rider Den-O, Zeronos, Gaoh and Decade. Alongside I am Born!, the Juken Sentai Gekiranger movie Juken Sentai Gekiranger: Nei-Nei! Hō-Hō! Hong Kong Decisive Battle was shown as double feature. A short animated feature called Momotaros's Summer Vacation was shown along with the films, as well.

Climax Deka
A movie titled Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva The Movie: Climax Deka (劇場版　仮面ライダー電王＆キバ　クライマックス刑事（デカ）) appeared in theaters on April 12, 2008. It features a meeting between the characters of Den-O and the characters of Kamen Rider Kiva. The animated short Momotaros's Let's Go Kiva! (モモタロスのキバっていくぜ！) was shown as double feature. Climax Deka grossed 730 million yen in box office and DVD sales.

Final Countdown
A third film adaptation of Kamen Rider Den-O titled Farewell Kamen Rider Den-O The Movie: Final Countdown (劇場版　さらば仮面ライダー電王　ファイナル・カウントダウン) was released in Japanese theaters on October 4, 2008 The film features characters such as Kamen Rider New Den-O (仮面ライダーＮＥＷ電王), Kamen Rider Yuuki (仮面ライダー幽汽), the Imagin Teddy (テディ), and the Ghost Imagin (ゴーストイマジン), the Phantom Imagin (ファントムイマジン), and the Shadow Imagin (シャドウイマジン). The animated short Imagin Anime: Be Forever Momotaros -Imagin Terminal Station-/The Movie (イマジンあにめ「モモタロスよ永遠に　－イマジン終着駅－／劇場版」) was shown as double feature.

Cho-Den-O Series
Initially, a press release from Toei Company released on January 29, 2009, announced that there will be a fourth film for Kamen Rider Den-O. It was in production as of January 29, 2009, and was scheduled to be released in April 2009. On February 9, 2009, Toei revealed that this film was to be the first in the "Cho-Den-O" Series (「超・電王」シリーズ), a new multimedia franchise featuring the cast and characters of Kamen Rider Den-O and its films.

The Onigashima Warship
The first of the films in this series is titled Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations The Movie: The Onigashima Warship (劇場版 超・仮面ライダー電王＆ディケイド ＮＥＯ ジェネレーションズ 鬼ヶ島の戦艦), featuring the cast and characters of I'm Born!, Final Countdown, Kiva, and Kamen Rider Decade.

Cho-Den-O Trilogy
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho-Den-O Trilogy (仮面ライダー×仮面ライダー×仮面ライダー　THE MOVIE 超・電王トリロジー) is the name given to a series of three films released in a four week period between May 22 and June 19, 2010. The films, Episode Red, Blue, and Yellow, each focus on a different Kamen Rider's story. Episode Red is Kamen Rider Zeronos's chapter, and Yuichi Nakamura reprises his role for the film. Episode Blue is Kamen Rider New Den-O's chapter, and Dori Sakurada reprises his role for the film. Episode Yellow is Kamen Rider Diend's chapter, and Kimito Totani reprises his role for the film.

Kamen Rider 40th anniversary film
OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders (オーズ・電王・オールライダー レッツゴー仮面ライダー), set for release on April 1, 2011, will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series featuring the cast and characters of Kamen Rider Den-O, Kamen Rider OOO, and other characters from the past franchise series.

Shin-chan special
Crayon Shin-chan aired a special episode on August 3, 2007, where Shin-chan meets Ryotaro, Hana, Naomi, the Owner, and Momotaros on the DenLiner. This special is titled "Crayon Shin-chan Midsummer Night: Here I Come! The Storm is Called Den-O vs. Shin-O 60 Minute Special!!" (クレヨンしんちゃん　真夏の夜に　オラ　参上！　嵐を呼ぶ　電王ＶＳしん王　６０分スペシャル！！).

In a later rerun of the special, Shin-chan and Nene meet up with Den-O, again, although to act as a teaser for the final episodes of Kamen Rider Den-O and to introduce Kamen Rider Kiva along with Ryotaro Nogami (Takeru Satoh) and Wataru Kurenai (Koji Seto). The live action Shin-chan also meets with the cast of Juken Sentai Gekiranger for the teaser of their final episodes and later with the cast of Engine Sentai Go-onger to air the trailer for their series.

Manga
A manga adaptation by Takayuki Sakai (坂井 孝行) appeared in the November 2007 issue of Shōgaku Ichinensei (小学一年生). It features a series of events involved with Hana's upcoming birthday and an evil Kamen Rider appearing with an army of Imagin at his disposal.

Hyper Battle DVD
Taking place between episodes 44 and 45, Kamen Rider Den-O: Singing, Dancing, Great Training!! (仮面ライダー電王 うたって、おどって、大とっくん!!) is a series of exercises that Ryotaro Nogami, Kohana, Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, Ryutaros, Deneb, and Sieg join in to get Ryotaro into shape so he can fight. But when the additional help (the Spider Imagin, the Wolf Imagin, and Ari the Anthopper Imagin) go rogue, Ryotaro becomes Kamen Rider Den-O Liner Form to use his training against the evil Imagin.

Imagin Anime
Animate in conjunction with Ishimori Productions, TV Asahi, ADK, and Toei, have produced a series of OVA shorts for Den-O titled Kamen Rider Den-O: Collection DVD: "Imagin Anime" (仮面ライダー電王 コレクションＤＶＤ「イマジンあにめ」) featuring super deformed versions of the main Imagin that have been used in Animate's products for the series. A second set of animated shorts called Imagin Anime 2 (イマジンあにめ 2) was released for sale on November 22, 2008, including cameos by the Wolf and the Ghost Imagin. A third set of animated shorts called Imagin Anime 3 (イマジンあにめ 3) was to be released in December 2009, but has been pushed back to Spring 2010 and then again to October 21, 2010. This miniseries made more references to other Toei shows and included Ultraman Taro making a cameo appearance.

Shorts

 * Imagin Anime
 * 1) Momotaros's Momotarō (モモタロスのももたろう)
 * 2) Urataros's Deceitful Vacation (ウラタロスのずるやすみ)
 * 3) Kin-chan's First Love (キンちゃんの初恋)
 * 4) Ryutarō's Secret (リュウタローのひみつ)
 * 5) How is Deneb Candy Made? (デネブキャンディができるまで？)
 * 6) Maagi Magi: Masieg (マージマジ・マジーク)
 * 7) Momotaros's Momotarō: Part 2 (モモタロスのももたろう・パート２)
 * 8) A Letter from Sis (お姉ちゃんからの手紙)
 * 9) Super Doctor Momo (スーパードクター・モモ)
 * 10) Imagin Space Travel (イマジン宇宙旅行)
 * Imagin Anime 2

Teru-teru Ryuta (てるてるリュウタ) Kin-chan's Tufts (キンちゃんのふっさり) Momotaros' Flower Fortune Telling (モモタロスの花占い) Let's Decide Upon a Catchphrase (決めゼリフを考えよう) Ura-san is a Great Detective! (ウラさんは名探偵！) Best of Luck Wolf! (がんばれウルフ！) Imagin Mart (イマジンマート) Sieg is Oookaaay (ジークはだいじょうぶだぁ) Stupid Momo vs. Nosy Woman (バカモモVSハナクソ女)</li> Document: The Bullet Train Rider (ドキュメント・ザ・電車ライダー)</li> Urashima Taro (ウラ島太郎)</li> Be Forever Momotaros: Imagin Terminal Station (モモタロスよ永遠に　～イマジン終着駅)</li> </ol>


 * Imagin Anime 3

Momotaros's Pudding Shop (モモタロスのプリン屋さん)</li> Imagin in Wonderland (イマジン イン ワンダーランド)</li> Search on Google! Kintarō (ぐぐれ！金太郎)</li> I'm Contagious! (俺、伝染！)</li> Kamen Rider Secret Room (仮面ライダー秘密部屋)</li> Episode Red: Yuto's Life (EPISODE RED ユートの一生)</li> Episode Blue: Teddy-san is a Great Detective (EPISODE BLUE テディさんは名探偵)</li> Episode Yellow: Imagin Anime 3D (EPISODE YELLOW イマジンあにめ3D)</li> Imagin Family Drifting Story (イマジン一家漂流記)</li> Ryutaros and an Autumn Flower (リュウタロスと秋の花)</li> J-MEN's Pudding Shop (J-MENのプリン屋さん)</li> You Will Find the Ultra Planet (きみにも見えるウル○ラの星)</li> </ol>

Momotaros's King of the Castle in Burning Red
As a tie in with Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World, the Tarōs starred in a series of four short episodes called Momotaros's King of the Castle in Burning Red (モモタロスのまっかっか城の王), where they get into another crazy adventure as they take the Ginjiro out for a spin. The first three episodes are one-minute-long, airing from July 20 to August 3 after Kamen Rider Kiva, depicting the Taros in reviewing the Go-onger and Kiva movies before Ryutaros is kidnapped by Kamen Rider Rey. The fourth two-minute-long episode showed in theaters after Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World and Engine Sentai Go-onger: Boom Boom! Bang Bang! GekijōBang!!, with Ryutaros found by Momotaros as reenactments of the two movies by the Taros are played on the movie screen. Toshihiko Seki will reprise his role as the Imagin Momotaros and Kōji Yusa, Masaki Terasoma, and Kenichi Suzumura also reprise their roles as Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros, respectively. There was a "Burning Red Ver." (まっかっかVer.) and a "Yellow Ver." (まっきっきVer.) of the short film, shown at specific theaters based on the announcement that Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown would be playing at that theater.

Mini episodes

 * 1) The Castle in the Demon World Mystery is Solved! (魔界城の謎を解け！)
 * 2) Samurai World's Warriors (サムライワールドの戦士)
 * 3) Fight! Kaijin Army (戦え！怪人軍団)
 * 4) Momotaros's King of the Castle in Burning Red (モモタロスのまっかっか城の王)

April 3, 1971
The S.I.C. Hero Saga side story published in Monthly Hobby Japan magazine for Den-O is titled Kamen Rider Den-O: April 3, 1971 (仮面ライダー電王 -1971年4月3日-). Running from December 2008 to October 2009, the story expands upon the events of Climax Deka and Kamen Rider Nega Den-O's travel through time joining forces with the Great Leader of Shocker, with Den-O and Zeronos joining forces with the original Shōwa Kamen Riders to fight them. It features original characters Negataros Spirit Form (ネガタロス精神体) and Negataros's form as Great Leader Ganseki (岩石大首領).
 * Chapter titles
 * 1) Imagin Revival (復活のイマジン)
 * 2) Negataros Army (ネガタロス軍団)
 * 3) Shocker Leader (ショッカー首領)
 * 4) The Capture of Yuto Sakurai (囚われの桜井侑斗)
 * 5) Five Plus One (５＋１)
 * 6) Comrade (仲間)
 * 7) True Form (正体)
 * 8) Great Leader Ganseki (岩石大首領)
 * 9) Seven Riders (７人ライダー)
 * 10) Ten Riders (１０人ライダー)
 * 11) From the Window of the Den-Liner (デンライナーの車窓から)

"DenLiner, Into Space!"
"Kamen Rider Kiva & Den-O: DenLiner, Into Space!" (仮面ライダーキバ＆電王 デンライナー、宇宙へ！) is a planetarium show using the cast of Kiva and Den-O to teach children about the universe. It is being shown at the Kagoshima Municipal Science Hall's planetarium between January 2 and March 30, 2009.

Parodies
Kamen Rider Den-O has been parodied and referenced in recent episodes of various anime.
 * Part A of episode 169 of Sgt. Frog (ケロロ軍曹) was titled "Urere: King of the Trains" (ウレレ 電車の王様 であります) and featured the Keroro Platoon piloting various frog-themed bullet trains similar to the control of the DenLiner. The episode featured phrases such as "Here I come!" (僕、参上！), "I am from the start, at the climax" (僕は最初からクライマックスだよ), and "My finishing attack…" (僕の必殺技…) spoken by Urere (Urere replaced Momotaros's boastful "Ore" (俺) with the more humble "Boku" (僕)). Urere is also voiced by Toshihiko Seki, who also provides the voice of Momotaros in Den-O. The phrase "It's good! It's great! It's awesome!" (いーじゃん！いーじゃん！スゲーじゃん？！) is spoken by Giroro, as these are the lyrics of "Climax Jump", the opening theme song of Den-O. Keroro also re-enacts the opening sequence of Den-O on his "KeroLiner" (ケロライナー).
 * Episode 16 of Hayate the Combat Butler (ハヤテのごとく!) featured "guest" appearances of the DenGasher Sword, Rod, and Ax Modes as well as cameo appearances of the Owner, Momotaros, and Hana on a train very similar to the DenLiner Gouka.
 * In episode 65 of Gintama, Okita uses Ryutaros' catchphrase "Is it okay if I beat you? Your answer doesn't matter!" (倒してもいい？答えは聞いてないけど！) and his eyes flash purple while battling Kagura. Episode 89 of Gintama also features this visual gag. Kenichi Suzumura, who voices Ryutaros in Den-O, voices Okita in Gintama.

Cast

 * Ryotaro Nogami (野上 良太郎): Takeru Satoh (佐藤 健)
 * Hana (ハナ): Yuriko Shiratori (白鳥 百合子)
 * Kohana (コハナ): Tamaki Matsumoto (松元 環季)
 * Naomi (ナオミ): Rina Akiyama (秋山 莉奈)
 * Owner/Opening Narration, Station Master (オーナー／オープニングナレーション、駅長): Kenjirō Ishimaru (石丸 謙二郎)
 * Airi Nogami (野上 愛理): Wakana Matsumoto (松本 若菜)
 * Seigi Ozaki (尾崎 正義): Akira Nagata (永田 彬) of RUN&amp;GUN
 * Issē Miura (三浦 イッセー): Ryo Ueno (上野 亮)
 * Yuto Sakurai (桜井 侑斗): Yuichi Nakamura (中村 優一)
 * Past Man (過去の男): Tomonobu Okano (岡野 友信)
 * Kai (カイ): Hideo Ishiguro (石黒 英雄)

Voice actors
For the portrayals of the Tarōs by Toshihiko Seki, Kōji Yusa, Masaki Terasoma, and Kenichi Suzumura, Kamen Rider Den-O was given the Synergy Award at the second Seiyu Awards.
 * Momotaros (モモタロス): Toshihiko Seki (関 俊彦)
 * Urataros (ウラタロス): Kōji Yusa (遊佐 浩二)
 * Kintaros (キンタロス): Masaki Terasoma (てらそま まさき)
 * Ryutaros (リュウタロス): Kenichi Suzumura (鈴村 健一)
 * Deneb (デネブ): Hōchū Ōtsuka (大塚 芳忠)
 * Sieg (ジーク): Shin-ichiro Miki (三木 眞一郎)

Suit actors

 * Kamen Rider Den-O/Momotaros: Seiji Takaiwa (高岩 成二), Motokuni Nakagawa (中川 素州)
 * Urataros: Eitoku (永徳)
 * Kintaros: Jirō Okamoto (岡元 次郎)
 * Ryutaros: Toshihiro Ogura (おぐら としひろ)
 * Kamen Rider Zeronos: Makoto Ito (伊藤 慎)
 * Deneb: Yoshifumi Oshikawa (押川 善文)
 * Sieg: Naoki Nagase (永瀬 尚希)

Guest actors

 * Yū Yamagoshi (山越 佑) (3-4): Kazuki Namioka (波岡 一喜)
 * Yumi Saitō (斉藤 優美) (7-8): Hitomi Kurihara (栗原 瞳)
 * Masaru Honjō (本条 勝) (9-10): Kenta Uchino (内野 謙太)
 * Shūji Toyama (戸山 秀二) (13-14): Shun Ueda (うえだ 峻)
 * Shūjirō Hakamada (袴田 秀次郎) (15-16): Hayato Ōshiba (大柴 隼人)
 * Yuka Sawada (沢田 由香) (17-18, 33): Hikari Mitsushima (満島 ひかり)
 * Gaoh (牙王) (25-28): Hiroyuki Watanabe (渡辺 裕之)
 * Masashi Aoki (青木 雅史) (25-26): Kōhei Yamamoto (山本 康平)
 * Machida (町田) (29): Takuma Sugawara (菅原 卓磨)
 * Tooru Terasaki (寺崎 トオル) (30): Tsuyoshi Hayashi (林 剛史)
 * Yamaguchi (山口) (35-36): Yōichi Furuya (古屋 暢一)

Guest voice actors

 * Bat Imagin (バットイマジン): Kiyoyuki Yanada (梁田 清之)
 * Crust Imagin (クラストイマジン): Kyousei Tsukui (津久井 教生)
 * Crow Imagin (クロウイマジン): Rintarō Nishi (西 凛太朗)
 * Rhino Imagin (ライノイマジン): Tsuyoshi Koyama (小山 剛志)
 * Owl Imagin (オウルイマジン), Albinoleo Imagin (アルビノレオイマジン): Takaya Kuroda (黒田 崇矢)
 * Wolf Imagin (ウルフイマジン): Nobuyuki Hiyama (檜山 修之)
 * Jelly Imagin (ジェリーイマジン): Ryūsei Nakao (中尾 隆聖)
 * Tortoice Imagin (トータスイマジン), Panda Rabbit Imagin (パンダラビットイマジン): Kōji Ochiai (落合 弘治)
 * Molech Imagin (モレクイマジン): Hidenori Tokuyama (徳山 秀典)
 * Kraken Imagin (クラーケンイマジン): Tetsu Inada (稲田 徹)
 * Leo Imagin (レオイマジン): Kazuhiro Yamaji (山路 和弘)
 * Death Imagin (デスイマジン): Hiroshi Yanaka (家中 宏)

Songs
The initial songs for the series, opening theme "Climax Jump" and ending theme "Double-Action", had multiple rearrangements to be used for other characters that were featured in the series. For all information on musical releases for Kamen Rider Den-O, see Kamen Rider Den-O discography.
 * Opening themes
 * "Climax Jump"
 * "Climax Jump DEN-LINER form"
 * Ending themes
 * "Double-Action"
 * "Double-Action Rod form"
 * "Double-Action Ax form"
 * "Double-Action Gun form"
 * "Action-ZERO"
 * "Real-Action"
 * "Double-Action Wing form"
 * Insert songs
 * "Climax Jump HIPHOP ver."
 * "Double-Action Piano form (1-4)"
 * "Double-Action Coffee form"
 * "Climax Jump Dark HIPHOP ver."
 * Other songs
 * "Yume de Aeta Nara…" (夢で逢えたなら…)
 * "Double-Action GAOH form"
 * "DEN-O VOCAL TRACKS LINER (C-J D-A nonstop re-connection)"
 * "Action-ZERO Piano form"
 * "Double-Action CLIMAX form"
 * "Climax Jump the Final"
 * "Cho Climax Jump" (超 Climax Jump)
 * "Action-ZERO 2010"
 * "Double-Action Strike form"
 * "Climax-Action ~The Den-O History~" (Climax Action ~The 電王 History~)

International broadcasts
In 2009, South Korean broadcasters began airing Den-O under the title Masked Rider Den-O (가면라이더 덴오 Gamyeon Raideo Deno).

In 2011, the dubbed version of the series also aired on Indonesian's free-to-air TV channel Trans 7 on Sunday mornings at 9:30am.

Trivia

 * Den-O is the only series that has so many movies as primary role or major role.
 * After the events of Den-O Trilogy movies, the power of Den-O is being used by Imagin (New Den-O is an exception and mostly Momotaros as the main form rider is Sword Form).