2018-2019 Kamen Rider

[SamuraiEchidna]

I mean, I definitely thought of Decade's Yuusuke if they wanted Zi-O to meet an actual Kuuga, and Ryouta Murai would probably be up for a return (looking at Wikipedia, it doesn't seem like he's been in anything major in a few years).

Although if Zi-O is time-travelling to meet the other Riders, I would think he'd time-travel to the time of the actual Kuuga. But who knows how they're going to handle this stuff.

I'm on the fence about that kind of thing. We know that the original actor for Kuuga is just not going to come back. I'd hate to see Zi-O time travel to an age where Decade was active, just for the sake of using all the recast Riders (like Decade's Kuuga/Onodera Yusuke), but it may be the only option we can get in some places if the TV show wants to gives some focus time to EVERY Heisei Rider. Granted not all the recasts were bad, I actually like Decade's Souji/Kabuto better than the original, that one actually had a likable personality. But I think the long-term audience would be happy if they kept recasts to a bare minimum.

If they HAVE to recast previous Riders, then I think Toei should forget about the ones that appeared in Decade, and recast the Riders all over again with new actors. Like I said before, they could enforce the idea that "the mere act of time travel changes things", as in time travel is a taboo thing that shouldn't ever be done, and it's making the past of the Kamen Riders a little unstable. In other words, Doc Brown logic, alternate timeline tangents, etc. At the very least, it might provide a good reason to have a Zi-O VS Den-O moment. And let's face it, with Kamen Rider doing the time travel gimmick *AGAIN*, it's bound to happen.

 

[Toku Prime]

Weirdly, I can't help thinking that - crazily enough - there were some developments in the latest episode of Build (ep. 46) that might just feed into SamuraiEchidna's musings above.

Crazy fan theory time (Obviously contains spoilers for Build, so I've hidden it behind a button):

Spoiler: CLICK TO REVEAL

So episode 46 begins with the creation of the white Pandora panel. Sento announces that this panel, when loaded with bottles, has the ability to transport the user between dimensions.

Sento then unveils this crazy scheme to use the white Pandora panel, the black Pandora panel (which when fully loaded has the ability to teleport anywhere within this dimension) and the energy stored in Evolt to crash this dimension into a neighboring one in order to merge them and create a single new dimension.

Tbh, I thought it was weird. Evolt may be a devourer of planets but the show still hasn't built him to the level where it seems that the only way to defeat him is to destroy reality itself. It seems like crazy levels of overkill.

Build has already traveled to another dimension, the World of Ex-Aid, which due to the returning past Riders could be taken as the "main" Rider continuity (insomuch as that idea has any meaning given how little Toei cares about such things).

But if Build's show ends by merging his dimension with that one, it completely re-writes Rider history and Zi-O can take place in this new dimension with free reign to recast and re-imagine who or whatever they want.

 

[NeonZ]

I'm on the fence about that kind of thing. We know that the original actor for Kuuga is just not going to come back. I'd hate to see Zi-O time travel to an age where Decade was active, just for the sake of using all the recast Riders (like Decade's Kuuga/Onodera Yusuke), but it may be the only option we can get in some places if the TV show wants to gives some focus time to EVERY Heisei Rider. Granted not all the recasts were bad, I actually like Decade's Souji/Kabuto better than the original, that one actually had a likable personality. But I think the long-term audience would be happy if they kept recasts to a bare minimum.

If they HAVE to recast previous Riders, then I think Toei should forget about the ones that appeared in Decade, and recast the Riders all over again with new actors. Like I said before, they could enforce the idea that "the mere act of time travel changes things", as in time travel is a taboo thing that shouldn't ever be done, and it's making the past of the Kamen Riders a little unstable. In other words, Doc Brown logic, alternate timeline tangents, etc. At the very least, it might provide a good reason to have a Zi-O VS Den-O moment. And let's face it, with Kamen Rider doing the time travel gimmick *AGAIN*, it's bound to happen.

I don't think they'd go after the Decade recasts again either way. They couldn't even bring Decade's Faiz back to Movie Wars 2010, and only the children actually had free schedule to appear on set, with the other ones just voicing the suits and getting one shot by themselves. Zi-O's plot also so far only seems to involve time travel, not parallel worlds. I can see parallel worlds and maybe Onodera popping up for a Decade homage episode, but I doubt it'd be part of Zi-O's core premise.

Anyway, if Zi-O actually meets the past Riders through time traveling rather than in the present, I'd guess they'll just be suit-only, aside from any stock footage from their own shows. Even if they have the past actors, some of them look fairly different nowadays (like Shinji's).

Weirdly, I can't help thinking that - crazily enough - there were some developments in the latest episode of Build (ep. 46) that might just feed into SamuraiEchidna's musings above.

Crazy fan theory time (Obviously contains spoilers for Build, so I've hidden it behind a button):

Spoiler: CLICK TO REVEAL

So episode 46 begins with the creation of the white Pandora panel. Sento announces that this panel, when loaded with bottles, has the ability to transport the user between dimensions.

Sento then unveils this crazy scheme to use the white Pandora panel, the black Pandora panel (which when fully loaded has the ability to teleport anywhere within this dimension) and the energy stored in Evolt to crash this dimension into a neighboring one in order to merge them and create a single new dimension.

Tbh, I thought it was weird. Evolt may be a devourer of planets but the show still hasn't built him to the level where it seems that the only way to defeat him is to destroy reality itself. It seems like crazy levels of overkill.

Build has already traveled to another dimension, the World of Ex-Aid, which due to the returning past Riders could be taken as the "main" Rider continuity (insomuch as that idea has any meaning given how little Toei cares about such things).

But if Build's show ends by merging his dimension with that one, it completely re-writes Rider history and Zi-O can take place in this new dimension with free reign to recast and re-imagine who or whatever they want.

Spoiler

I think that's just leading to Build being integrated into the same world as the other Riders (thus simplifying any future crossover appearances). I really doubt they really need any complex excuse for some weird recasting again. The movies never did it, only bringing back the actors that could return and leaving the others suit-only. I think something like that is more likely than attempting to go for recasts again, especially when it didn't even work well with Decade, when they had issues even bringing back the reimagined Riders during Decade itself.

 

[Toku Prime]

I don't think I can embed it here, so if anyone wants to hear an example of the Jiku/Ziku Driver's sound effects and screen display, a video from twitter of someone in a toy store triggering the transformation can be found at http://twitter.com/gtrvariedades/status/1024916760124903426 (sound is muted by default so you'll need to enable it). It's actually pretty cool IMO.

 

[RiderKing]

Here's a sneak peak at Zi-O's cameo from the Kamen Rider Build movie:

 

[ooo5]

Here's a sneak peak at Zi-O's cameo from the Kamen Rider Build movie:

I like how the belt flips.

So looks like we get a preview of the form before Zi-O kicks it and the parts latch onto his body?

 

[NeonZ]

And the press conference already happened, so we're getting trailers now

Low quality Zi-O trailer
https://twitter.com/ryo_kr91020/status/1026715191927431168

Bandai trailer with focus on the toys.

Anyway, it confirms we're getting past actors, including Banjo's, Sento's, Emu's and Hiiro's. Build, Cross-Z and Ex-Aid are all briefly shown transformed in the trailer too. Demon King Zi-O's suit is also shown, alongside Another Rider Build.

 

[Toku Prime]

Extended trailer:

Sougo Tokiwa is an 18 year old high school student. He lives with his great uncle (i.e. the uncle of one of Sougo's parents) Junichiro Tokiwa, who runs the Kujigojido watch shop. Sougo is a positive person who dreams of one day becoming a king.

50 years in the future, Sougo has accomplished his goal...kinda. He rules the world as the evil demon king. A resistance fighter called Geiz Myokouin (his name is pronounced "Gates") travels back in time to track down and kill Sougo before he conquers the planet. He is followed by a girl called Tsukuyomi, who manages to find Sougo first.

Upon realising what kind of person Sougo is, Tsukuyomi decides to help him to avoid becoming the demon king. She convinces Geiz to wait and see what Sougo becomes before killing him. The pair are both allowed to live in an upstairs room above Junichiro's shop.

In addition to these two, a mysterious prophet called Wars has traveled back in time. He always carries a book with him and will appear before Sougo to offer him hints about the future before suddenly disappearing.

The villains of the series are the Time Jackers. They are another resistance group from the future, but have travelled back in time to have their own selected individual become the demon king instead of Sougo. The Time Jackers select people and give them "Another Watches", which will transform them into "Another Riders", the series' monsters which look like twisted versions of the previous Heisei Riders (kinda like SIC figures really).

The three Time Jackers (initially) sent back in time are Wool, a young man who takes great joy in disrupting the timeline, Aura, a calm young lady, and Schwartz, an older guy who looks down on the other two. Wool and Aura must convince people to use the "Another Watches" while Schwartz can force them into transforming.

Sou Okuno as Sougo Tokiwa a.k.a. Kamen Rider Zi-O


Gaku Oshida as Geiz Myokouin a.k.a. Kamen Rider Geiz (Gates)


Shieri Oohata as Tsukuyomi


Katsuhisa Namase as Junichiro Tokiwa


Keisuke Watanabe as Wars


Rihito Itagaki as Wool


Ayaka Konno as Aura


Kentaro Kanesaki as Schwartz


Zi-O and Geiz battle the Build "Another Rider"


Sento (Build) and Ryuga (Cross-Z) pose with Sougo (Zi-O) and Geiz (err...Geiz).


Hiro (Brave) and Emu (Ex-Aid) pose with Sougo (Zi-O), Geiz and Tsukuyomi.

As NeonZ mentioned, these four previous Riders are confirmed to be making an appearance in Zi-O.
​

Descriptions and photos courtesy of The Tokusatsu Network.

 

[ooo5]

The main character's dream to be a King seems oddly specific, all the more so when it turns out he becomes a pretty terrible demon king in the future .

The Kaijin being monster versions of the Main Riders feels like it both accomplishes the need for a Kamen Rider to fight monsters, while also serving to approximate the classic Rider vs. Rider convention that has been a big part of modern Rider .

I wonder if they'll start mining Secondary Riders for monsters so they don't run out of the Main Riders so quickly into the show's run ?

I'm guessing we'll also get to a point where the Time Jackers in Zi-O's time turn themselves into Another Riders to fight Zi-O .

Looks like they're going for a Main Rider + Secondary Rider team-ups with Zi-O and Geitz/Gates, as indicated by the images with the past Riders and the Zi-O cast. I'll be curious to see who else they can get back, and if they're aiming for all the Main Riders and their Seconds (which...will kind of be impossible for Kuuga) .

 

[raden238]

I like the idea of having the monsters being evil-looking versions of past Riders. It's a nice touch to pay homage to the past 19 series but still making it different instead of simply re-using monster suits. Zi-O's dream of becoming a King in 2018 is weird (this isn't medieval times right?).

The Jikku Driver is pretty cool, its as close as we can get to a classic belt thats not overly clunky but still having a collectible (because of toy money) that doesn't ruin the aesthetics. I like how the belt spins to activate it and its a digitized version of the Decadriver .

I'm not too fond of the Main/Secondary Rider team format that's been happening a lot more often now. I wish they went back to the classic format of having the Main Rider doing solo missions and then second Rider comes in later (episode 17ish). Even the Multi-Rider format for the shows are starting to get stale on me.

I've give Zi-O a shot tho.