Kamen Rider OOO

Kamen Rider OOO (仮面ライダーオーズ／ＯＯＯ, Kamen Raidā Ōzu) is a 2010-2011 Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the twelfth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-first overall. It began airing on September 5, 2010, the week following the conclusion of Kamen Rider W, joining Tensou Sentai Goseiger and then Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger in the Super Hero Time lineup, until its conclusion on August 28, 2011. The series' titular Kamen Rider made a cameo appearance in the film Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate.

Production

OOO is written by Yasuko Kobayashi, known for the screenplays of Seijuu Sentai Gingaman, Mirai Sentai Timeranger, Kamen Rider Ryuki, Den-O, and Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. The creature designers are Yutaka Izubuchi, known for his work on the Lords in Kamen Rider Agito, and Tamotsu Shinohara, known for his work on the Mirror Monsters of Ryuki, the Orphnoch of Kamen Rider 555, and the Fangires of Kamen Rider Kiva.

Unlike several previous Heisei Rider Series, no alternate name has been given yet for the three O's in the title (Ｗ（ダブル） read as "Double" and 555（ファイズ） read as "Φ's/Phi's/Faiz") aside from an alternate spelling of the name of the main Kamen Rider: Ooz. Both "OOO" and "Ooz" are intended to be read as "O's", referring to the multiple uses of the letter O in the title as well as "multiple kings" (王ｓ, Ōzu). The title OOO signifies the three medals that the main Kamen Rider uses to transform as well as being representative of the infinity symbol () with an additional circle.

Kamen Rider OOO (character)

Kamen Rider OOO (仮面ライダーオーズ, Kamen Raidā Ōzu) is the primary and eponymous protagonist of the 2010-2011 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider OOO. The name "OOO" is pronounced similarly to both "O's", referring to the three O's in the television series' title which represent the character's transformation items, and "multiple kings" (王ｓ, Ōzu). The three O's also represent the infinity symbol with an additional circle, stating that Kamen Rider OOO is Over ∞ (infinity).

Kamen Rider OOO makes his debut appearance in Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate where he faces off against and defeats the Luna Dopant. An alternate spelling of the character's name is "Kamen Rider Ooz", which comes from Hyper Hobby magazine's September 2010 issue.

Eiji Hino

Eiji Hino (火野 映司, Hino Eiji, portrayed by Shu Watanabe) is the son of a politician who travels the world with his grandfather, thus growing up in a lavish environment. While in Africa a year prior to the beginning of the series, Eiji attempted to use his fortune to help out a small village. However, his money was used to fund a civil war that cost the life of a little girl Eiji befriended, whose death he was unable stop, forced to looked on helplessly. Though the Hino family used his sob story to get the people's support, the ordeal peculiarly caused Eiji to lose all selfish desires, resulting him being a vagabond with no permanent job, no home, almost penniless and no life. He became willing to help those in need, often going so far as to risk his life for complete strangers. Eiji's rationale for helping people is if someone reaches their hand out to him and he does not reach back, he will regret it for the rest of his life.

Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー, Kamen Raidā, Masked Rider) is a tokusatsu superhero television series and weekly science fiction manga created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted on television on April 3, 1971, and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV (now TV Asahi). The manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine around the same period. The series has evolved into a franchise with many subsequent annual iterations. The cultural impact of the series in Japan resulted in astronomer Akimasa Nakamura naming two minor planets in honor of the series: 12408 Fujioka, after actor Hiroshi Fujioka, known for his portrayal of Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1, and 12796 Kamenrider, after the series itself.

Story

The series takes place in a world plagued by Shocker, a mysterious world-wide terrorist organization. To further its plans for world domination, Shocker recruited its agents through kidnapping, turning their victims into mutant cyborgs and, ultimately, brainwashing them. However, one victim named Takeshi Hongo escaped just before the final brainwashing. With his sanity and moral conscience intact, Hongo battled Shocker's minions as the grasshopper-themed altered human (改造人間, kaizō ningen) superhero Kamen Rider. Another victim of the altered human process, freelance photographer Hayato Ichimonji, became Kamen Rider 2 after Kamen Rider, who renamed himself as "Kamen Rider 1", saved him from Shocker's brainwashing. Assisted by motorcycle race team manager Tobei Tachibana and FBI agent Kazuya Taki, the Kamen Riders fought in both solo and partnered missions against Shocker and its successor organization, Gel-Shocker.

Kamen Rider 1

Kamen Rider 1 (仮面ライダー１号, Kamen Raidā Ichigō) is a fictional henshin superhero character featured in Japanese tokusatsu. He first appeared in the television series Kamen Rider, the first in the famous Kamen Rider franchise of tokusatsu programmes. The primary protagonist of the series, Kamen Rider 1 is a motorcycle-riding superhero modeled upon a grasshopper. One of the most recognizable and iconic characters in Japanese entertainment, Kamen Rider 1 is as easily distinguished as the series itself.

In the original series, he was portrayed by Hiroshi Fujioka, who also performed most of his own stunts. He was briefly replaced by Rokuro Naya in episodes 9 and 10, due to Fujioka's motorcycle accident during a stunt. Later, he was portrayed by Masaya Kikawada in the film Kamen Rider The First and its sequel, Kamen Rider The Next, as well as making a cameo of the character on the Cyclone in an episode of Kamen Rider Kabuto. In the movie, Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker, Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max, Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen and Kamen Rider × Super Sentai × Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z, Rider 1 is voiced by Tetsu Inada. Kamen Rider 1 appeared again as a main character, alongside Kamen Riders Den-O, New Den-O and OOO, in the 40th anniversary film OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders, Fujioka reprised his role as the voice of Kamen Rider 1.

Kamen Rider 555

Kamen Rider 555 (仮面ライダー555（ファイズ）, Kamen Raidā Faizu, officially Masked Rider Φ's, also read Kamen Rider Faiz or Phi's) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the 13th installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was broadcast on TV Asahi from January 26, 2003 to January 18, 2004. And it was the first series to use TV Asahi's current logo. The catchphrase for the series is "Racing Instinct." (疾走する本能, Shissō Suru Honnō).

Story

The Smart Brain corporation, the world's most powerful corporation, is trying to take over the world using Orphnoch, the "next stage in humanity's evolution", to covertly kill off the human population. In pursuit of this, they develop three suits of power armor, called Rider Gears (each for Delta, Faiz, and Kaixa), to find and protect the Orphnoch King, who can fix a defect within Orphnoch DNA which causes their genetic structure to break down, leading to death.

The Rider Gears are stolen by Hanagata, the Goat Orphnoch and former chief of Smart Brain. He sends them to his foster children (dubbed the "Ryuseiji", after the school they attended) so they can stop the Orphnoch from achieving their goal. However, Rider Gears were designed to be worn by Orphnoch, and humans are unable to activate the systems without undergoing genetic modification.