 This article is about an ally in Kamen Rider 555.
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Mari Sonoda (園田 真理, Sonoda Mari) is a supporter of Takumi Inui who accompanies him in his fight against the Orphnochs. Twenty years later, she would turn into the Wildcat Orphnoch (ワイルドキャットオルフェノク, Wairudokyatto Orufenoku).[1]
History[]
Kamen Rider 555[]
When Mari was a child, she lost her parents in a fire, and was brought to Ryusei School, which acted as an orphanage. When she was eight, she was close to Aki Sawada and both were almost childhood lovers. She also used to protect Masato Kusaka from bullies, and it's the main reason why she will always forgive him and Aki in the future.[Origami Tears]
Years later, Mari attended a reunion with other Ryusei School students, who have eventually been murdered by the Dragon Orphnoch, who planned the reunion to turn all of them into Orphnochs. The gentle Wolf Orphnoch was around, and was trying to save the students from the threat. After dying, she was revived by Smart Brain executors, but she didn't show signs of evolution into an Orphnoch, and her memory from that day was erased.[Restoring Memories]
Mari received the Faiz Gear at some point in time and the Auto Vajin from her father in Kyushu, which she was supposed to share it with other Ryusei School students in Tokyo. However, on the road to her mission she met Takumi Inui, who was secretly aware of everything and willingly helped her. They ended up meeting the evil Orphnochs who wanted to retrieve the Faiz Gear. Mari tried to use the Faiz Gear to fight them, but failed due to her having not evolved into an Orphnoch. Takumi takes the gear and manages to transform into Kamen Rider Faiz. [The Start of a Trip][The Belt's Power][The King's Sleep…][My Name]
Mari then met Keitaro Kikuchi, who works at his own dry cleaner shop. Both she and Takumi ended up working there, becoming close friends. Mari particularly used her cooking skills, but Takumi always found it too hot, with Mari mocking him about being a "cat-tongue". Her food also was a bit peculiar due to her adding a bit too much seasoning. As she dreams of becoming a beautician, she started to work part-time as a hair-styler in a beauty salon, with the late approval of her friends.[The King's Sleep…][My Name][The Power of Dreams][The Protector of Dreams]
The Kikuchi workers met with trio of Yuji Kiba, Naoya Kaido, and Yuka Osada, unaware that they were the rogue but gentle Orphnoch trio. While Kaido would show feelings towards her, constantly making a fool of himself while trying to seduce her, Mari developed feelings for Kiba. [Trio × Trio]
The trio began having problems because of Masato Kusaka, a hypocritical Ryusei School student who was the only one who survived the use of the Kaixa Gear, and the only one whose memories weren't altered by the revival. He joined the Kikuchi House, and started manipulating both Takumi and Mari as a scheme to seduce the latter and making the former leave. [Friend of Foe?]
Soon, Aki will return to the city, becoming a merciless killer as the Spider Orphnoch. Ignoring the warnings of Masato and Takumi, Mari would join Aki to his rendezvous point, thinking he's trying to redeem himself. However, it was part of his plan of killing the people he once loved, and Mari ends up being mortally injured, with Faiz and Kaixa failing to save her.[Intertwined Threads][Mari Dies]
Mari later discovered footage taken from the day the Ryusei School students were attacked, showing the Wolf Orphnoch trying to save them. But after Takumi's status as the Wolf Orphnoch has been revealed when she was deceased, she would think that Takumi killed her and all her friends and would begin avoiding Takumi.[True Form][The Resurrection Riddle]
Takumi would then go to Smart Brain to bargain Mari's life by becoming part of them. However, when Mari was revived once again, Takumi left Smart Brain, who would threaten Mari's life once again. Learning the truth about what actually happened, she ended up trusting Takumi, and even cheered him in the final battle against the Arch Orphnoch. Afterwards, she would continue to live peacefully with her friends and try to make her dreams come true.[Restoring Memories][My Dream]
D-Video Special: Kamen Rider 4[]
Duel! The True Identity of Shocker's Great Leader[]
Though not making an appearance, Takumi references Mari alongside the others when contemplating about his given situation as the Shocker Leader. [Duel! The True Identity of Shocker's Great Leader]
Kamen Rider Outsiders[]
At some point, an Orphnoch known as Smart Queen took Mari's appearance while she learned of Zein and their plans. She comes across a power drained Kuroto Dan and brought him to a Humagear charging station when upon his reactivation confused her with Smart Queen whom he had met earlier. She brings him up to speed on what the company Smart Brain is and that ZEIN views the Orphnochs and their leader the Arch Orphnochs as a threat. After Kuroto destroyed Smart Queen as Kamen Rider Genm Musou and Kamen Rider Delta respectively, she arrives at where they battled where then the Arch Orphnochs and Gai Amatsu with Rin appears. After a failed negotiation to work together, Mari was left alone when Joseph Rando appears behind her. [ep.0 End of Genms and the Start of the Project]
Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained[]
After the defeat of the Orphnoch King, Mari continues working at Keitaro’s dry cleaning business with Takumi. But when he leaves for a walk one day, he doesn’t return, causing Mari to wonder where he went. At some point, she also coordinates with Kaido to turn the west laundry shop into a ramen restaurant, creating a safe haven for Orphnochs and having them learn how to make ramen to control their powers. Eventually, Keitaro leaves the shop in the care of his nephew, Jotaro, and Kusaka mysteriously returns, despite Mari learning of his death before.
Years later, Mari and her friends get caught in a battle against Smart Brain’s Riotroopers led by Rena Kurumi as Kamen Rider Muez. Things turn for the worse when Takumi arrives and fights them as Next Faiz. After the death of the Delta user, Hisao, they quickly make their escape, with Mari heartbroken by Takumi’s betrayal. That night, following her rejection of Kusaka’s feelings, Mari encounters Takumi, who reveals that his body is decaying again and considers himself dead. Mari protests with the wish they once had for humans and Orphnochs to live in harmony with each other, but Takumi declares that the Orphnochs have no future and storms away. Before she can chase him, Mari is ambushed and knocked unconscious by Rena, who brings her to Smart Brain to activate the Orphnoch DNA inside her.
Mari returns to the laundry shop the next day with no memories of the experiments done to her. As she, Kusaka and Jotaro help out at the restaurant, the group is ambushed again by Smart Brain due to Kouta’s betrayal. But after witnessing Kouta’s murder by Nozomi Kitazaki, Mari’s anger activates the DNA and she transforms into the Wildcat Orphnoch. While viciously attacking the Riotroopers, Mari is made aware of what she has become by Rena, causing her to flee the battle. When her friends find her and try to calm her down, Mari suddenly turns berserk and attacks them until Takumi arrives, having sensed her Orphnoch awakening. Mari attacks and overwhelms Takumi, causing him to give up and offer her a chance to kill him. Before she does, however, she stops and reverts back into her human form, running away in horror for her actions.
Distraught over becoming an Orphnoch, Mari tries to commit suicide by falling off a tower but fails, and she is taken by Takumi who helps her recover. Mari rejects his words of comfort as she wanted to stay human, and has now lost her will to live and tries to storm off. But when Takumi desperately grabs hold of her, Mari realizes that he badly needs her for his own reason for living and embraces him back. They spend the night together affirming their love for each other.
Their romantic evening is cut short by Rena and Kitazaki, with the latter revealing himself to be an android. After Kitazaki kills Rena, Mari is led to safety by Kusaka while Takumi fights the android with Kaido and Kei. But suddenly, Mari is attacked by Kusuka, who also reveals himself to be a Smart Brain android and transforms into Kamen Rider Next Kaixa. Mari is easily overwhelmed by Next Kaixa but she later recovers and helps Faiz to defeat both Muez and Next Kaixa, slashing them in her Orphnoch form with Faiz finishing them with a Crimson Smash.
Despite the heroes’ victory and Takumi’s return to the laundry shop, the threat of Smart Brain looms over them. But Mari declares they will run the store that Keitaro entrusted to them.
Personality[]
Mari is not as good-willed as she initially appears, and will often agree with Takumi when Keitarou suggests they use Faiz to help more people. She always tries to believe the good in her friends, valuing the bonds she has with them. Due to her traumatic past though, Mari has a strong fear of Orphnochs, initially rejecting Takumi once learning of his identity as the Wolf Orphnoch. Eventually though, Mari becomes regretful of her actions and persuades Takumi to return home, not wishing to lose him. She dreams of becoming a beautician.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Hanagata/Goat Orphnoch: Adoptive Father
Friends & Allies[]
- Takumi Inui/Kamen Rider Faiz/Wolf Orphnoch: Despite their rocky start, Mari entrusts the Faiz belt to Takumi and they become close to each other. But after Takumi reveals his Wolf Orphnoch form, Mari pushes him away in fear as she falsely believed him to be the one responsible for the Ryusei School massacre. Eventually Mari tosses away her fear of Takumi and urges him to return as Faiz. 20 years later, Mari is heartbroken by Takumi's departure and betrayal but later relies on him for emotional support after she herself becomes an Orphnoch. The two of them officially become a couple after they spend a night together.
- Masato Kusaka/Kamen Rider Kaixa: Mari relies on Kusaka as Kaixa but constantly rejects his feelings for her. Even after Takumi runs away as the Wolf Orphnoch, Mari still turns down Kusaka's attempts to comfort her. But even after the rejections, Mari is devastated to learn of Kusaka's death from Takumi.
- Yuji Kiba: Mari is very friendly to Kiba and initially has a crush on him. Even after she learns that he is the Horse Orphnoch, Mari still considers Kiba a friend and shares his dream of harmony between humans and Orphnochs.
- Keitaro Kikuchi: Mari works for Keitaro in his dry cleaning business after he offers her and Takumi a place to stay in Tokyo. When Keitaro leaves for his long trip, Mari is placed in charge of the shop with his nephew, Jotaro.
- Yuka Osada: Mari is very friendly with Yuka, despite the latter being the Crane Orphnoch. After Yuka acknowledges her own feelings for Keitaro, Mari becomes even closer to Yuka, with them sharing a bath together and Mari designing Yuka's hair.
- Naoya Kaido: Mari initially finds Kaido off-putting and always rejects his advancements to her in hilarious ways. But they eventually become allies against Smart Brain and later coordinate to turn one of Keitaro's laundry stores into a ramen restaurant, providing sanctuary for Orphnochs and helping them in controlling their powers.
- Jotaro Kikuchi: When Keitaro leaves for his long trip, Mari takes care of the laundromat business with Keitaro's nephew, Jotaro. The two of them are really close to each other, with Jotaro calling Mari his aunt. But Mari is shown to easily tease Jotaro with the idea that he should also turn into an Orphnoch for more manpower against Smart Brain. He still follows her lead in calling Takumi an idiot for making them worry of his body decaying.
- Hisao, Kouta and Kei: Mari provides sanctuary for the three Orphnochs and has them work under Kaido at the ramen restaurant, with Hisao chosen to be the next Delta. Kouta's death serves as the catalyst for Mari to transform into the Wildcat Orphnoch.
Enemies[]
- Kitazaki/Dragon Orphnoch: Kitazaki is the one truly responsible for the Ryusei school massacre, with Mari fatally stabbed by the Dragon Orphnoch.
- Aki Sawada/Spider Orphnoch: In their earlier days at the Ryusei School, Mari and Sawada were very close despite his bullying. Even though her classmates claim that Sawada has betrayed them as the Spider Orphnoch, Mari trusts him and believes that he still has his humanity inside him. Sadly, Sawada betrays Mari's trust and kills her to throw away his humanity. But after her resurrection, Mari appears to bear no ill-will towards Sawada for killing her and sees that he has regained his humanity in his final moments.
- Rena Kurumi/Kamen Rider Muez: Rena is the one responsible for awakening Mari's Orphnoch form out of jealousy for Takumi's affection. Although Mari and Takumi are initially pursued by Muez, Rena ultimately spares them which leads to her murder by Nozomi Kitazaki.
- Masato Kusaka (Android)/Kamen Rider Kaixa/Kamen Rider Next Kaixa: When Kusaka mysteriously reappears, Mari welcomes him back to the laundromat store but still constantly rejects his affections for her. But after she is revealed to have become an Orphnoch, Kusaka betrays her and reveals that he is an android created by Smart Brain to kill Ryusei students when they turn into Orphnochs. Although he easily overpowers Mari as Next Kaixa, he ultimately fails in his mission to kill her as both he and Nozomi Kitazaki are destroyed by Faiz.
Wildcat Orphnoch[]
Wildcat Orphnoch
Wildcat Orphnoch (ワイルドキャットオルフェノク, Wairudokyatto Orufenoku) is the Orphnoch form that Mari Sonoda is able to transform into. This form was inactive until the Orphnoch Symbol embedded in her body was artificially activated by Smart Brain.
- Powers and Abilities
- Enhanced Agility and Speed
- Wildcat Orphnoch has the agility and speed of an actual wildcat, as she can maneuver swiftly in battle against her opponents.
- Hand-to-hand combat
- Despite the fact that Mari has no formal training in martial arts, Wildcat Orphnoch has impressive fighting capabilities, as she is able to hold her own for a time against advanced fighters like Kitazaki and Next Kaixa.
- Sharpened Claws
- Wildcat Orphnoch's main form of attack is her claws, which are sharp enough to tear through an android's human skin and can cause some damage to advanced Rider gears.
- Orphnoch Creation
- Wildcat Orphnoch can kill humans to increase the number of Orphnochs, but she has never used this ability.
- Human Mode
- As Mari still has her humanity, she can freely shift from Orphnoch to human form to blend into society.
- Weaknesses
- Berserk Mode
- After her initial transformation, Wildcat Orphnoch is overtaken by a voice in her head, which constantly urges her to kill her allies before they can kill her. This causes Wildcat Orphnoch to turn berserk and viciously attack her friends, blocking any pleas from them to stop. She only snaps out of her berserk mode when she was about to kill Takumi, the man that Mari loves.
Appearance: Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained
Behind the Scenes[]
Portrayal[]
Mari Sonoda is portrayed by Yuria Haga (芳賀 優里亜, Haga Yuria), who would later go on to portray Mio Suzuki in Kamen Rider Kiva, Yuki in Kamen Rider Decade and Smart Queen in Kamen Rider Outsiders.
Etymology[]
Mari's name means "truth" in Japanese, which is likely a reference to her inital goal in 555: to find her adoptive father and find out the truth of the Rider belts. Her family name, Sonoda, means "rice field farm", which can reference her start outside of the city.
Notes[]
- In the preview for the first episode, the trailer was edited to mislead viewers to believe that Mari would transform and fight as Kamen Rider Faiz.
- While Mari was implanted with the Orphnoch Symbol like the other Ryusei Students, she was still incapable of transforming into Faiz unlike the other Ryusei Students. This was later explained in Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained that the symbol was embedded, but was not activated during the main story.
- When writing Paradise Regained, the idea of turning Mari into an Orphnoch was the first thing on Toshiki Inoue's agenda.[2]
Appearances[]
Kamen Rider 555
- Episode 1: The Start of a Trip
- Episode 2: The Belt's Power
- Episode 3: The King's Sleep…
- Episode 4: My Name
- Episode 5: Original
- Episode 6: Trio × Trio
- Episode 7: The Power of Dreams
- Episode 8: The Protector of Dreams
- Episode 9: Enter, the President
- Episode 10: The Enigmatic Rider
- Episode 11: The Enigmatic Belt
- Episode 12: Ryusei School
- Episode 13: Friend of Foe?
- Episode 14: Takumi's Spirit
- Episode 15: The Fallen Idol ~ φ's vs. χ
- Episode 16: Human Heart
- Episode 17: Takumi, Revival
- Episode 18: Narrow Escape from Death
- Episode 19: Pure White Justice
- Episode 20: The Beautiful Assassin
- Episode 21: Accelerating Spirits
- Episode 22: Masato's Confession
- Episode 23: False Friendship
- Episode 24: The Door to Darkness
- Episode 25: The Dark Laboratory
- Episode 26: Enter, Delta
- Episode 27: Ryusei School Breaks Up
- Episode 28: Dark Clover
- Episode 29: Excellent Bike
- Episode 30: Masato's Trap
- Episode 31: Origami Tears
- Kamen Rider 555: Hyper Battle Video
- Episode 32: Intertwined Threads
- Episode 33: Mari Dies
- Episode 34: True Form
- Episode 35: The Resurrection Riddle
- Episode 36: Restoring Memories
- Episode 37: Kaixa's Justice
- Episode 38: The Wandering Spirit
- Episode 39: Faiz 2
- Episode 40: Proof of Humanity
- Episode 41: Capture Commences
- Episode 42: Broken Wings
- Episode 43: Red Balloon
- Episode 44: Final Mail
- Episode 45: King's Awakening
- Episode 46: A New President Appears
- Episode 47: King's Appearance
- Episode 48: Masato, Dying A Glorious Death
- Episode 49: A Sign of Destruction
- Episode 50/Finale: My Dream
- Kamen Rider 555 (comic)
- D-Video Special: Kamen Rider 4
- Episode 3: Duel! The True Identity of Shocker's Great Leader (mentioned)
- Kamen Rider Outsiders
- Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained
See also[]
- Yuri Tomoda - World of Faiz counterpart from Kamen Rider Decade