Michal Minato

Michal Minato (湊 ミハル) is a young man from the future who became the heroic Kamen Rider Aqua (仮面ライダーアクア). However he was possessed by a Greed named Poseidon, who took over his body and became Kamen Rider Poseidon (仮面ライダーポセイドン), corrupting his Core Medals. He appears in the OOO section of Movie War Mega Max.

He returns as a special guest star in Kamen Rider Zi-O shortly after the ramifications of Swartz becoming Another Decade had put his own timeline at risk, and was tasked with returning both Tsukuyomi and Geiz Myokoin back to their own timelines and prevent the rise of Oma Zi-O.

Movie War Mega Max
Hailing from the year 2050, Michal gained the Aqua Driver and the Aqua Miraider to fight monsters that appeared in his time, but ironically couldn't transform at first because he was afraid of water and his overall fear of being too weak to become a Rider. Receiving the Poseidon Driver from the elderly Kosei Kougami, Kougami believes that the Poseidon Driver can help Michal overcome his timidness and fear, and grant him more power. However this proved futile, and even as Poseidon, Michal couldn't win against the creatures of his time, lost, and Michal was knocked out of transformation. However, just as he was about to give up, the black hole that was created by Kiyoto Maki's death appears, and the Core Medals and Cell Medals from the past entered his body, resulting in a Greeed forming inside the Poseidon Medals. This new Greeed develops an intense desire to fight, and Michal is almost instantly overwhelmed by the new being. With Michal's personality subdued, Kamen Rider Poseidon fights in their home time period for a brief while, but after a time anomaly forms as a result of a meteor containing SOLU crashing into the ocean in the present day, the Poseidon entity sees it's chance and dives through, heading off to fight the Kamen Riders of the past.

It arrives in the era of Kamen Rider OOO, and easily overwhelms a small troop of Kougami's soldiers, but is quickly intercepted by Ankh and Eiji Hino, who take some of his Cores in order to fight back. Poseidon flees to recuperate. Without the extra Cores to stabilize him, Michal is gaining control. Eiji confronts the dark Rider, and suppresses the Greeed's personality, but it soon resurfaces. After Kamen Rider Poseidon loses more of the Core Medals in his body to Eiji and Ankh, the Greeed splits apart with Michal, gaining his own body in the form of Kamen Rider Poseidon. Michal profusely apologizes to Eiji and Ankh, telling his story to the two to Ankh's amusement. But Eiji tells him the true meaning of being a Kamen Rider, having the courage to see tomorrow no matter what it may bring. Just as the battle with Poseidon seems bleak, Michal arrives on his Aqua Miraider, and realizes that what he needed was not power, but courage, and transforms into the heroic Kamen Rider Aqua. He turns the tides quickly, and uses his Oceanic Break together with OOOs' Prominence Drop to finish Poseidon off. He thanks OOO for all he has done for him, then leaps through the time anomaly on the Aqua Miraider, to protect his time as a Kamen Rider.

During the final battle against Kannagi's forces, he returns to the present and gives Eiji the Super Core Medals. He then dashes off to aid the Seven Legendary Riders in battle against the eight Dummy Inhumanoids, going up against a recreation of Greeed Kazari and destroying it with his Aqua Vortex.

2019: Aqua Calls
Michal goes to the year 2019 in order to take Geiz Myokoin and Tsukuyomi back to 2068 due to a crisis caused by them, as well and the Time Jackers. He states that their staying in the present will cause a timeloop that is indirectly responsible for Oma Zi-O's advent. Initially, Geiz and Tsukuyomi are reluctant to believe him, the former even tries to assault him. Minato tells them that no matter how bleak a future is, one should never time travel and interfere with past events, beacuse such actions can lead to even more critical consequences.

He also reveals to Tsukuyomi that her real name is "Alpina". As Another Drive is terrorizing the city, he transforms into Kamen Rider Aqua to battle the monster.

2019: Eternal Party
After a crushing defeat at the hand of Swartz, Geiz decides to return to the future with Tsukuyomi, but Minato notes that Geiz and Tsukuyomi are from seperate timelines, and therefore cannot return together. Tsukuyomi still wishes to put and end to her brother's evil schemes, so Minato takes her to Swartz so that she can take her time power (and possibly his own power) back.

"I am from the future, and you are just a ghost from the past!"

- Aqua to Eternal

Minato encounters a Katsumi Daido - revived and summoned by Swartz - in battle. During the fight, he uses water to bind Swartz in place, creating an opening for Tsukuyomi to steal his power. However, his effort is for naught, as Swartz transforms into Another Decade, cancelling the absorption process. Aqua manages to take his fight with Eternal underwater to gain the upper hand. Nevertheless, Eternal generates a cyclone underwater to blow Aqua up on land. Aqua is then overpowered by the past Rider.

Super Hero Generations
Kamen Rider Aqua is a playable character with others Kamen Riders of the Neo-Heisei era in the video game.

Kamen Rider Battle Ganbaride
Kamen Rider Aqua appears as a playable character in this video game.

Kamen Rider Buttobasoul
Kamen Rider Aqua is a playable character in Kamen Rider Buttobasoul.

Personality
Michal is a very timid young man who was chosen to become Aqua, but was actually afraid of the water that powered the Driver. Because of this, it sapped his confidence and made him fear monsters. When Kougami offered him the stronger Poseidon Driver in the hopes of overcoming the fear in Michal, it did not work as Michal and decided to call it quits after losing. That would eventually cause Poseidon to turn into a Greed and possess him into doing its evil work.

Coming into the past, he admited to Eiji about his fears and did not understand how Eiji was able to become so strong and wished to become stronger. In the end, Michal came to the conclusion that what he needed wasn't power, but the courage to fight, something he lacked when he first became a Rider. Using this newfound courage, he defeats Poseidon and the rest of the dummies created by Kannagi.

In the eight years following his last appearance, he has taken up Eiji's habits of carrying extra underwear with him, upholding Eiji's promise to help people find their tomorrow.

Aqua

 * Aqua Driver: Transformation belt
 * O Medals: Transformation device
 * Aqua Miraider: Rider Machine
 * Time Mazine (Early Model): Rider Machine used by Aqua to travel through time.

Poseidon

 * Poseidon Driver: Transformation belt
 * O Medals: Transformation device
 * Deepest Harpoon: Personal weapon

Portrayal
Michal Minato was portrayed by Atsushi Arai (荒井　敦史). As Kamen Rider Aqua, his suit actor was Eitoku (永徳) while his suit actor as Kamen Rider Poseidon was Jun Watanabe (渡辺 淳). In Kamen Rider Zi-O his Suit Actor was Yasunari Tsukagoshi (塚越 靖誠).

Appearances

 * Icon-fourze.png Kamen Rider Fourze
 * Icon-ooo.png Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max
 * Icon-zi-o.png Kamen Rider Zi-O
 * Episode 44: 2019: Aqua Calls
 * Episode 45: 2019: Eternal Party
 * Episode 46: 2019: Operation Woz

Sea Also

 * Poseidon - Original Kamen Rider Poseidon