 This article is about an actor and singer in Kamen Rider W.
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Koji Kikkawa (吉川 晃司, Kikkawa Kōji) is a Japanese actor and singer who portrayed Sokichi Narumi/Kamen Rider Skull in Kamen Rider W.
Biography[]
Kikkawa's family were survivors of the Hiroshima bombing during World War II, where his grandmother's inn was heavily impacted. His father was an aspiring actor who later quit to help his grandmother. As a child, Kikkawa grew up as a film and music fan, and saved up money to buy an electric guitar before he entered high school. Wanting to get scouted, he sought out Watanabe Productions and had a representative watch him perform. Aspiring to go into entertainment against his father's wishes, Kikkawa dropped out of high-school and moved to Tokyo.
Kikkawa debuted in 1984 with his debut single "Monica" (later remade in Cantonese sung by Leslie Cheung) and he won 8 music awards in the same year. After taking a short break in 1988, he came back as a lead singer in the band Complex with Tomoyasu Hotei (former guitarist of Boøwy) and "Be My Baby" was released. Complex remained as one of the most popular bands in Japan until 1990.
After "Complex", Kikkawa released series of hit singles such as "Setsunasa O Korosenai", "Kiss Ni Utarete Nemuritai" and "Boy's Life". Kikkawa completed a "20th Anniversary Tour" at Budokan on February 1, 2005. That same year, he teamed up with popular Japanese DJ TWINS to release a single "Juicy Jungle", which was included on his album DISCO K2. In April 2007, a new single "BABY JANE" was released.
Kikkawa made a return to Kamen Rider in 2022 through a music contribution, where he collaborated with Mitsuru Matsuoka and released the song Tsumi to Batsu to Angura for the anime series Fuuto PI. In 2024, he performed Niau Otoko ni Nare for Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull. Also in the same year, he voiced Maestro Vento in Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony, with the movie also featured Gotchard-star Kanji Ishimaru.
Personal Life[]
- Kikkawa was offered the role of Sokichi by the producers, who felt he could embody the role of "hard-boiled". After he accepted it, he portrayed the character with passion and even now considers it to be one of his many masterpieces of his career.[1]
- While filming Movie War Core, Kikkawa's voice cracked in an attempt to make himself sound younger as the film took place before his previous appearance in Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010, causing him to be unable to continue filming certain scenes.
- Kikkawa has been married to a non-celebrity woman since 2011, with a child.[2]
Filmography[]
Film[]
- Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010 (2009) - Sokichi Narumi, Sokichi Narumi (A.R. World)/Kamen Rider Skull
- Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core (2010) - Sokichi Narumi/Kamen Rider Skull
Television[]
- Kamen Rider W (2010) - Sokichi Narumi/Kamen Rider Skull
Discography[]
- ONE WORLD (2006) - Ending Theme of Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love
- Nobody's Perfect (2010) - Insert Theme of Kamen Rider W
- HEART∞BREAKER (2010) - Ending Theme to Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core (as part of the duo DaiKichi, with Maki Ohguro)
- Tsumi to Batsu to Angura (2022) - Composer and producer, ending theme to anime Fuuto PI
- Niau Otoko ni Nare (2024) - Ending theme of Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull