2018-2019 Kamen Rider

[Toku Prime]

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Episodes 33 and 34 (April 28th and May 5th) will be based around Kamen Rider Hibiki, but the character himself will not appear. Instead Yuichi Nakamura (perhaps now better known as Kamen Rider Zeronos from Den-O) will once again play Hibiki's apprentice Kyosuke Kiriya, and Shingo Kawaguchi will return as Todoroki.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Episodes 33 and 34 (April 28th and May 5th) will be based around Kamen Rider Hibiki, but the character himself will not appear. Instead Yuichi Nakamura (perhaps now better known as Kamen Rider Zeronos from Den-O) will once again play Hibiki's apprentice Kyosuke Kiriya, and Shingo Kawaguchi will return as Todoroki.​

Well, it's a shame we won't see the return of Shigeki Hosokawa or Rakuto Tochihara, but I guess this will be picking up where the Hibiki TV show's story left off. I wonder what those two actors are doing these days...

 

[Kamen Rider IXA]

I think Asumu's actor is retired now.
Hibiki's actor doing games, so him not appearing is likely Shirakura-related thing. I wouldn't want to work with the guy who ruined my show either.

 

[Hangyakuno]

Kiriya here as Hibiki, is like mockering them even further. But if they somehow can get Rakuto plays Asumu once again, actually they can make redemption with Asumu win this rivalry to get Hibiki's title.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I'd prefer to see Hibiki's original actor, Hosokawa, make a return. I know he'll probably never return since he took the changing of the show's direction personally and probably still holds a grudge. I just want to see some thicc Rider daddy action again.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but there was also some controversy a short time ago about Hosokawa being let go by his agency for basically being a demanding, harassing diva.

And while some actors will come out of retirement to appear in a new crossover or whatever, usually they've been away from showbiz for a while -- Tochihara only retired last year, I think, so I didn't expect him to show up in Zi-o.

Kiriya was obnoxious, and his becoming Hibiki's apprentice went against everything the show was supposed to be about, but Zi-o has a chance at redeeming the character. Show how he's grown, show how he's become more Zen like Hibiki. Just a line where he compliments or acknowledges Asumu would be good enough, IMO.

 

[Shogun_Master]

Well, at least they went another way with it-

Spoiler

Kiriya wasn't Hibiki, but was claiming to be the entire episode. It was kind of weird that no one ever said what he was actually called, either, because I'm pretty sure he has a name, even if it was never in the show itself. They just called him "Some other Oni." Still haven't seen any sign of the actual Hibiki armor yet.

 

[Toku Prime]

With the conclusion of the Hibiki two-parter it's time to move onto the next. It's time for the overlord to encounter the King of the Vampires!

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There's no sign of Wataru himself, but we will see the return of Kenji Matsuda as Jiro/Garuru and Yu Takahashi as Yuri Aso. The episodes are also being written by Kiva's head writer, the infamous Toshiki Inoue.

Also debuting in this two-parter will be the future Rider Kamen Rider Ginga, who will seemingly not appear out of suit. However, he is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, who voiced Kivat the Third in Kamen Rider Kiva.

Also worth mentioning is that Another Kiva's true identity is a woman being played by Yumiko Shaku, who was previously the love interest in Kamen Rider G. The director of that short, Naoki Tamura, will also be directing these episodes.

 

[Kamen Rider IXA]

I suspected the Wataru wasn't happening, but I would have liked them to at least try bringing Nago and Otoya back (remember that Dark Kiva Otoya from Decade? Always seemed like a wasted opportunity for a villian to me. Takeda was perfect in that).
Btw, right now Koji Seto is the only main Heisei Rider whose stance on his Rider past I don't know. Did he say anything recently? Or after Decade in general.

 

[Toku Prime]

So episode 36 has now aired in Japan, which means it's once again time for the big reveal of who is coming back for episodes 37 and 38. It seems a number of meteorites crash down in the city and Worms begin to emerge from the craters. Yup, it's a Kabuto tribute, but the man himself isn't appearing. Instead we're getting Gattack and the Hell Brothers (a.k.a. KickHopper and PunchHopper).

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