Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight

Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is the title of the American adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu series, Kamen Rider Ryuki, the twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It is being brought to television by Steve and Michael Wang. The series started on January 3, 2009 [ 3] and will play throughout the year, with a wide-release theatrical film expected to release the following year. [ 4] Adness Entertainment 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. [ 5] 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. Dragon Knight currently airs on The CW Television Network during its The CW4Kids programming block, airing a sneak preview of the series on December 13, 2008, with the world premiere on January 10, 2009.

Plot
The backstory of the show revolves around a group of thirteen individuals called the Kamen Riders, who are the protectors of Ventara, a mirror world opposite to our own. In battle against the wicked General Xaviax, the Riders were defeated and ten of them were stripped of their Advent Decks, special card decks that allow whoever wields them to transform into Kamen Riders and utilize unique weapons and powers. While searching for his missing father, Kit Taylor finds an Advent Deck that allows him to become Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. He eventually meets Len, who serves as Kamen Rider Wing Knight, and the pair join forces after Kit learns that General Xaviax has imprisoned his father in Ventara and is using him and the other humans that his monsters abduct to gain power and rebuild his homeworld. Furthermore, Xaviax begins using his shape-shifting powers to recruit corrupt humans to become Kamen Riders and aid him in his goal by destroying the Kamen Riders interfering in it. [ 4] It has thus far been revealed by Len in the course of the series that Xaviax was supposedly aided in his defeat of the original Kamen Riders due to the betrayal of the group by the original Dragon Knight. Of the thirteen Riders, one has been 'Vented' (essentially meaning he has been for all intents and purposes killed), leaving only twelve remaining Riders, though only four of them have been revealed, not counting the vented Incisor: Wing Knight, Torque, Camo, and the eponymous Dragon Knight.

Characters

 * Kit Taylor/Kamen Rider Dragon Knight: The main protagonist. Kit is a young adult who lost his father when he was a boy. Since then, he has been framed for many "misunderstandings" and has gained a reputation as a thief. He was placed in a foster home until he turned 18; from there, he makes his way to the apartment he spent his childhood in, and found an Advent Deck that opened his senses to the presence of the monsters abducting people. He would later meet Len, whom he agrees to help fight Xaviax's monsters in the hopes of finding his father. His Advent Beast is Dragredder, a Japanese Dragon.


 * Len/Kamen Rider Wing Knight: A mysterious figure who is fighting Xaviax's monsters, armed with a bat Advent Deck. He is aloof in personality and tries to keep the Riders' existence a mystery from the public. His Advent Beast is Black Wing, a bat.


 * Maya Young: A young woman who is investigating the mysterious disappearances and believes in conspiracies, getting caught up in the Kamen Rider battle. She is a member of the website WayAboveTopSecret.com, which is themed around conspiracy theories and strange anomalies, especially those centering around the Mirror Monsters. To this end, she enlists Kit's help in uncovering the mysteries surrounding Ventara and the Mirror Monsters, although Lacey thinks she's just trying to ask him out.


 * Lacey Sheridan: Maya's best friend. She takes an instant liking to Kit, as she thinks he's cute and approves of Maya trying to get with him.


 * Michelle Walsh: A reporter working under Maya's online editor who is intent to cover the truth, yet is too arrogant to realize what is going on.


 * Trent Moseley: A young teenager who works with Maya at the library she frequents. He has known Kit since he was in high school and does not trust him due to his past as a thief. His behavior around Maya seems to hint that he may have a crush on her, which only furthers his dislike of Kit, whom Trent believes has caught Maya's interest romantically.


 * Kamen Rider Siren: A female Kamen Rider armed with a swan Advent Deck who also fights Xaviax's monsters.
 * Chris Ramirez/Kamen Rider Sting: A Kamen Rider armed with a stingray Advent Deck.
 * Kamen Rider Axe: A Kamen Rider armed with a tiger Advent Deck.
 * Kamen Rider Spear: A Kamen Rider armed with a gazelle Advent Deck.
 * Kamen Rider Wrath: A Kamen Rider armed with a phoenix Advent Deck.
 * Kamen Rider Onyx: A Kamen Rider armed with a black Japanese Dragon Advent Deck.

Advent Beasts
Once a Mirror Monster is confined, it forms a Contract with the Rider who captured it. The Advent Beasts support their human partners through the Advent Decks, usually appearing when a Final Vent is used. Among the Advent Beasts are: [1]
 * Dragredder: A red mechanical Japanese Dragon which is Dragon Knight's Advent Beast. When Dragon Knight uses his Final Vent, Dragredder uses his fire attacks to boost up the Kamen Rider's Rider Kick.
 * Black Wing: A giant mechanical Vampire Bat which is Wing Knight's Advent Beast. When Wing Knight uses his Final Vent, Black Wing becomes his cape.
 * Volcancer: A mechanical humanoid Crab which is Incisor's Advent Beast. When Incisor uses his Final Vent, Volcancer heaves the Rider in midair to boost his kick attack. After Incisor's Advent Deck cracked, Volcancer faded into the Advent Void before Richie.
 * Magnugiga: A giant Minotaur robot which is Torque's Advent Beast. Its very body becomes a weapon of mass destruction when Torque executes his Final Vent.
 * Gigazelle: A humanoid Gazelle which is Spear's Advent Beast. A Gigazelle is first seen as a random Mirror Monster that Len battles until it is destroyed alongside its partner.
 * Biogreeza: A humanoid Chameleon which is Camo's Advent Beast.
 * Venosnaker: A giant mechanical Cobra which is Strike's Advent Beast.
 * Metalgelas: An armored humanoid Rhinoceros which is Thrust's Advent Beast.
 * Destwilder: An armored humanoid White Tiger which is Axe's Advent Beast.
 * Blancwing: A giant mechanical Swan which is Siren's Advent Beast.
 * Evildiver: A flying mechanical Stingray which is Sting's Advent Beast.
 * Goldphoenix: A Phoenix which is Wrath's Advent Beast.

Villains

 * General Xaviax: The primary antagonist, Xaviax is an alien who defeated the Kamen Riders to conquer Ventara before turning his attention to conquer Earth with his monsters gathering humans to set up his master plan of abducting all humans on Earth to be his slaves in rebuilding his home world. To that end, he uses his shape-shifting powers to find ideal pawns to aid him as his Kamen Riders, tricking some of them into believing they are doing the greater good or offering them something they desire. The first of his disguises is an attorney named Walter Conners which he uses recruit Richie to his cause. He later appeared as a mercenary named Race Mattock which he used to bring Camo to his cause.


 * Newt Monsters: Xaviax's Mirror Monster foot soldiers, armed with giant shurikens mounted on their backs when not in use. They sometimes support the other Mirror Monsters in their fight against the Kamen Riders.


 * Richie Preston/Kamen Rider Incisor (2-4): A man who comes from a rich family, Richie became a Kamen Rider when Xaviax assumed the guise of his family attorney and tells him that he was cut off from his family fortune. He is given a false promise of a million dollars for each Rider he defeats. Richie acquires the Incisor Advent Deck and Advent Beast Volcancer. When the Final Vents of Incisor and Wing Knight collide, Richie's Advent Deck cracked, causing him and Volcancer to disappear into the Advent Void.


 * Drew Lansing/Kamen Rider Torque (4-): A Kamen Rider armed with an ox Advent Deck given to him by Xaviax. He is well aware of Xaviax's plans, but helps him to take control of the world so he can become his second-in-command. Drew tried to convince Kit that Len was the one who stole the Advent Decks from Xaviax, but Kit wasn't convinced at first. Drew transformed and drove the Black-Headed Zebra away, convincing Kit during his fight with Len. He and Len ended up fighting each other following an attack by the Red Boar monster. Drew used his Final Vent in an attempt to take down Len but failed. He has also berated Kit for failing to aid in the destruction of Len/Wing Knight as well as Camo, leading Kit to begin to doubt his friendship with him and whether or not Torque is truly on the side of good.


 * Grant Staley/Kamen Rider Camo (8-): A Kamen Rider armed with a chameleon Advent Deck given to him by Xaviax. He is a devious martial artist recruited by Xaviax in the form of Race Mattock. He ran into Kit and Drew and fought them before being hit by Torque's Launch Vent. Camo used his Clear Vent to turn invisible and escape.


 * Kamen Rider Strike (8-): A Kamen Rider armed with a cobra Advent Deck. When Xaviax found out that Camo and Torque were fighting each other, he ordered Strike to send Thrust to take care of things.


 * Brad Barrett/Kamen Rider Thrust (8-): A Kamen Rider armed with a rhino Advent Deck. Under the orders of Xaviax, Strike sent him down to eliminate Wing Knight. He ambushed Len following the Green Shark monster's retreat.

Mirror Monsters
These are the monsters used by Xaviax, normally invisible to those who lack Advent Decks. They serve in dragging their prey into Ventara for Xaviax's research and masterplan.
 * Gold Spider Monster (1-2): The first of the Mirror Monsters Kit encountered, it uses its webbing and legs to grab people and pull them through reflective surfaces and mirrors. Though destroyed by Wing Knight's Final Vent, Xaviax reforms the monster from its remains modifying it into a drider version of itself. The monster is destroyed by Dragon Knight's first use of his Final Vent and Dragredder absorbed it's remains.
 * Red Beetle (4): A red, female, Longhorn Beetle monster. She was destroyed by Dragon Knight and Wing Knight when they combine their Final Vents.
 * Blue Beetle (5): A blue, male, Longhorn Beetle monster that wields a boomerang. He counters Kit's Sword Vent so Kit summons his Strike Vent as a diversion to get to his sword. Managing to escape Kit and Len later encounter the monster by the pier and followed him through the mirror, fighting the monster's cronies before destroying him with a Final Vent combo.
 * White-Headed Zebra (5-6): A white-headed zebra monster. Xaviax creates it to assist Drew Lansing in his plan. Kit took this monster on after fighting Xaviax's troops. Kit used his Final Vent to destroy the White-Headed Zebra monster.
 * Black-Headed Zebra (5-6): A black-headed zebra monster with extending ability. Xaviax creates it to assist Drew Lansing in his plan. Len took this monster on after fighting Xaviax' troops. It was driven away by Drew. Kit encountered this monster again in Ventara and fights it. The Black-Headed Zebra monster was destroyed by Kamen Rider Torque's Shoot Vent.
 * Brown Zelle (7): A brown version of the Gigazelle who aids it in fighting Len before the two are destroyed by Dragon Knight and Wing Knight.
 * Red Boar (7-): A red wild boar monster who uses charging attacks. It attacked Len when he was chasing after Drew, withdrawing when Torque goes on the attack.
 * Green Hammerhead (8):
 * Green Shark (8-):

Unaired pilot
A pilot episode of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight was produced and leaked online. It featured Matt Smith in the lead role of Kit Taylor and Kandis Erickson as Maya Young. It was removed in late December 2008. [ 6] [ 7] These roles were later recast to Stephen Lunsford and Aria Alistar, respectively. [ 8]

Cast

 * Stephen Lunsford as Kit Taylor/Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
 * Matt Mullins as Len/Kamen Rider Wing Knight
 * Aria Alistar as Maya Young
 * William O'Leary as Xaviax
 * Marisa Lauren as Lacey Sheridan
 * Taylor Emerson as Trent Moseley
 * Kathy Christopherson as Michelle Walsh
 * Tony Moras as Richie Preston/Kamen Rider Incisor
 * Christopher Foley as Drew Lansing/Kamen Rider Torque
 * Christopher Babers as Grant Staley/Kamen Rider Camo
 * Scott Bailey as JTC
 * Colette De la Croix as Mrs. Mowry
 * Jeff Davis as Frank Taylor
 * Reuben Langdon as Minion #1
 * Tadahiro Nakamura as Minion #2
 * Aaron Toney as Minion #3
 * Tony Sano [ 9]

Guest star

 * Kathleen Gati
 * Carrie Reichenbach [ 10]
 * Victoria Jackson as Aunt Grace

Official

 * Official Website
 * 4Kids TV
 * Adness Entertainment
 * Kamen Rider Productions

Interviews

 * Cold Coffee - Steve Wang Interview
 * Henshin Justice Unlimited - Nathan Long Interview
 * Kamen Rider Generations - Matt Mullins Interview