 This article is about a manga series in the Kamen Rider Series.
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WARNING: This manga series contains scenes of graphic violence, blood, body horror, nudity and body dismemberment. Viewer discretion is advised! |
- "When the era needs it, Kamen Rider will definitely revive."
- ―Shotaro Ishinomori[src]
Kamen Rider SPIRITS (仮面ライダーSPIRITS, Kamen Raidā Supirittsu) is a Japanese manga series based on the Kamen Rider franchise, with focus on the original ten Kamen Riders. The series temporarily ended following the shutdown of its original publication Magazine Z, but was revived and continued in Monthly Shonen Magazine under the new title Shin Kamen Rider SPIRITS (新・仮面ライダーSPIRITS, Shin Kamen Raidā Supirittsu, New Masked Rider SPIRITS). As of 2024, it currently holds the record of being the longest Tokusatsu manga adaptation in history.
Synopsis[]
Following the end of the Kamen Rider Super-1 television series, Kamen Rider Spirits begins by following the lives of the original Kamen Riders in various stand alone stories. The manga then introduces the tenth Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider ZX, ignoring the events of the Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! television special and making an alternate origin story. The manga also ties up loose story ends from the various TV series, such as how Riderman survived the Pluton Rocket Explosion and why Stronger's partner, Tackle, was never acknowledged as a Kamen Rider.
Arc summary[]
The series is composed of three different arcs, each focusing on different Kamen Riders:
- The first arc, titled The Legend of Masked Riders, focuses on each of the original nine Riders in their own standalone stories, who have gone their separate ways after disbanding. They get back together as a team after discovering a new evil is plaguing their world.
- The second arc, titled Forgotten Memories, reboots the events of Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!!, serving to tell an alternate origin story for Kamen Rider ZX, while introducing the Badan Empire.
- The third arc, titled Dragon Road, sees ZX joining the ranks of his predecessors to fight against the resurfaced Badan Empire.
Characters[]
The Riders in untransformed civilian states.
The Riders in their transformed Rider forms.
Kamen Riders[]
| Kamen Rider ZX | Ryo Murasame |
| Kamen Rider 1 | Takeshi Hongo |
| Kamen Rider 2 | Hayato Ichimonji |
| Kamen Rider V3 | Shiro Kazami |
| Riderman | Joji Yuki |
| Kamen Rider X | Keisuke Jin |
| Kamen Rider Amazon | Daisuke Yamamoto |
| Kamen Rider Stronger | Shigeru Jo |
| Skyrider | Hiroshi Tsukuba |
| Kamen Rider Super-1 | Kazuya Oki |
Debatable Riders[]
Allies[]
| Taki Rider | Kazuya Taki |
| Commando Roid | Ryo Murasame, Commando Roids |
| GanGan G | Kanji Yada |
| Electronic Wave Humanoid Tackle |
Yuriko Misaki |
Others[]
Three Ancient Gods
Three Ancient Gods's Vessel
| Susanoo | Great Leader JUDO |
| Tsukuyomi | Tsukuyomi ► Eisuke Mikage |
| Amaterasu | Amaterasu ► Amaterasu/Shizuka Murasame Revived Amaterasu |
| Kikaijin Tackle | Revived Tackle |
| Kikaijin Spark | Goro Numata |
| Evil Amazon | Zero the Great |
| Robot Super-1 | Robot Super-1 |
| Fake Taki Rider | Chameleon-Phantom |
| Fake 1 | Fake 1 |
| Fake 2 | Fake 2 |
| Fake V3 | Fake V3 |
| Fake X | Fake X |
| Fake Amazon | Fake Amazon |
| Fake Stronger | Fake Stronger |
| Fake Skyrider | Fake Skyrider |
| Fake Super-1 | Fake Super-1 |
| Fake ZX | Fake ZX |
Allies[]
- Annrietta Birkin
- Tobei Tachibana
- Genjiro Tani
- Ruriko Midorikawa
- The Junior Rider Squad
- Dr. Mami
- Dr. Hajime Kaido
- Rumi Ichijo
- Freya Bohmann
- Yoshitsune
- Masahiko Okamura
Badan Empire[]
- Main article: Badan Empire
- Colonel Gamon/Kurayami Taishi
- Dr. Lars Bohmann
- The Last Battalion
- Badan Vortex
- The Cyborg Elite
- Combatmen
Other Notable Villains[]
- Father Petrescu
- Shocker
- Gel Shocker
- Destron
- G.O.D.
- Geddon
- Garanda Empire
- Black Satan
- Delza Army
- Neo Shocker
- Dogma Kingdom
- Jin Dogma
Chapters[]
Kamen Rider SPIRITS Chapters[]
- Main article: List of Kamen Rider Spirits Chapters
Shin Kamen Rider SPIRITS Chapters[]
- Main article: List of Shin Kamen Rider Spirits Chapters
Official Books[]
- Kamen Rider Spirits: Inherited Soul
- Kamen Rider Spirits: Transcendent Apocalypse
- Cyborg: Kamen Rider Spirits Art Collection
- Cyborg Again: Kamen Rider Spirits Art Collection
Failed North American Release[]
Western fans of Kamen Rider have long desired for a U.S. release of Kamen Rider Spirits from a licensed publisher. Several attempts had been made with Vertical Comics (now known as Kodansha USA), but it ultimately fell through.
In 2013, Vertical held a fan poll on which manga titles fans wanted to be picked up under their label, with Kamen Rider Spirits being of the options. Despite a surge of interest from Kamen Rider and Tokusatsu fans trying to spread the word, the series was not picked up as the final results of the poll did not meet expectations.[1][2]
Later, a Kamen Rider fan from Wisconsin named Jordan Levells attempted a petition to get Vertical to reconsider, to which they responded saying it would require at least 30,000 signatures to even warrant such a request from their executive publishers. Despite his best efforts to spread chatter on social media platforms and forums, only 511 signatures were gathered before the petition's time limit had expired.[3] This resulted in heavily out-lash by fans, to which Vertical explained that ongoing series' would be too costly for sales in the long run, so they preferred shorter or finished titles instead to maintain their profits in the digital age.[4][5]
On September 24, 2013, a fan made an inquiry to Kodansha Comics, the US branch of the publisher who prints the manga in Japan. The publisher responded that they did not wish to translate or publish the book due to its inconsistent release scheduling and the sheer length of it.[6]
Notes[]
Kenichi Mureada's concept design for Shadow Moon.
- The first tankobon was released on April 20th, 2001, two weeks after the 30th anniversary of Kamen Rider (April 3rd, 2001).
- Amongst the Showa-era Riders in the series, Kohtaro Minami is the only one to not appear. This is due to Muraeda being denied permission to use said character in the series. Despite this, he does do artwork of characters from Kamen Rider Black, such as Shadow Moon, on request for fans at conventions.
External links[]
- Kamen Rider Spirits - Unofficial website of the manga which contains comic synopsis, information about its characters and kaijin and more.
- Kamen Rider Spirits Page at Japan Hero.
- Kodansha site
- Monthly Shonen Manga sub-page
References[]
- ↑ https://en-gb.facebook.com/Vertical.Inc/posts/10150985936694613
- ↑ http://news.tokunation.com/companies/vertical-publishing
- ↑ https://www.change.org/p/bring-kamen-rider-spirits-to-the-us
- ↑ http://vertical-inc.tumblr.com/post/77037885510/is-there-any-sort-of-concentrated-effort-fans-can
- ↑ http://isthistakenalready.tumblr.com/image/50390293761
- ↑ http://kodanshacomics.tumblr.com/post/59206791409/i-know-you-get-a-lot-of-will-you-license-x
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