Kamen Rider Den-O

Synopsis

Ryotaro Nogami, a perpetually unlucky young man, finds a strange pass and encounters a mysterious girl and a large time-traveling train. He becomes possessed by an Imagin, a being from an alternate future, and with the aid of the hot-headed Imagin Momotaros, transforms into Kamen Rider Den-O. Traveling through time on the DenLiner, Ryotaro battles evil Imagin who seek to alter the past. He is joined by other Imagin: the manipulative Urataros, the herculean Kintaros, and the childish Ryutaros. Later, he meets Yuto Sakurai, Kamen Rider Zeronos, who is the younger incarnation of his sister's missing fiancé.

Films

Kamen Rider Den-O had multiple theatrical releases, a rarity for the Kamen Rider Series. Kamen Rider Den-O the Movie: I'm Born! premiered on August 4, 2007, as the second Heisei era film to be part of its television series' storyline since Kamen Rider Agito; its events take place between episodes 27 and 28. It was shown as a double feature with the Juken Sentai Gekiranger movie and the animated short Momotaros's Summer Vacation.

Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka appeared on April 12, 2008, featuring a crossover with Kamen Rider Kiva, and grossed 730 million yen. Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O the Movie: Final Countdown was released on October 4, 2008, introducing Kamen Rider New Den-O, Kamen Rider Yuuki, and the Imagin Teddy. A fourth film was announced on January 29, 2009, and later revealed as the first in the Cho-Den-O Series, titled Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations the Movie: The Onigashima Warship. A trilogy of films was released on May 22, June 5, and June 19, 2010.

Other visual media

A Crayon Shin-chan special aired on August 3, 2007, titled Crayon Shin-chan Midsummer Night: Here I Come! The Storm is Called Den-O vs. Shin-O 60 Minute Special!!, in which Shin-chan meets Ryotaro, Hana, Naomi, the Owner, and Momotaros on the DenLiner. A later rerun featured Shin-chan meeting Den-O again as a teaser for the final episodes and to introduce Kamen Rider Kiva.

The audio of Momotaros as Kamen Rider Den-O performing a finishing move is audible in the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi. A manga adaptation by Takayuki Sakai appeared in the November 2007 issue of Shōgaku Ichinensei, featuring events around Hana's birthday and an evil Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Den-O: Singing, Dancing, Great Training!! is a series of exercises taking place between episodes 36 and 37. Animate, with Ishimori Productions, TV Asahi, ADK, and Toei, produced OVA shorts titled Kamen Rider Den-O Collection DVD: Imagin Anime, with a second set released on November 22, 2008, and a third set delayed to October 21, 2010, which included a cameo by Ultraman Taro.

Songs

The series' opening theme is Climax Jump and the ending theme is Double-Action, both of which had multiple rearrangements for different characters. Other songs include Action-ZERO, Real-Action, and various forms such as Double-Action Rod form, Ax form, Gun form, and Wing form. A full list of musical releases is covered in the Kamen Rider Den-O discography.

Did You Know?

• Takeru Satoh is the first Kamen Rider Series lead born in the Heisei period of Japanese history.
• Along with the usual film adaptation, Den-O had a second film released in the spring following its broadcast run which grossed 730 million yen (approximately US$6.8 million) and a series of ten OVA shorts, both of which are firsts for any Kamen Rider.
• A fourth film was released on May 1, 2009, and three more were released in the summer of 2010.
• The Kamen Rider Den-O trademark was registered by Toei on November 10, 2006.