Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Kamen Rider Ghost is the 17th Heisei-era Rider (the series of Riders beginning with the 2000 reboot Kamen Rider Kuuga), and follows his predecessor, Kamen Rider Drive. While Drive did things differently by trading in the typical bike for a car, Ghost goes back to the classic bike motif---called the Ghostriker---while throwing in a new twist. You see, Kamen Rider Ghost is dead.
Shun Nishime is our titular Kamen Rider, Takeru Tenkuuji. A young, reckless individual with a burning desire for life, Takeru find himself protecting his friends from an evil monster named Ganma---and screws up and dies. BUT, all is not lost! Thanks to his heroic sacrifice, a mysterious hermit revives him and grants him the ability to become Kamen Rider Ghost!
Now, in 99 Days, Takeru must collect 15 Ghost Icons---containing the souls of Famous Men---or disappear forever. Along the way, he must follow the path of his father and protect the world from the evil Ganma by becoming a Ghost Hunter.
Hikaru Osawa is the series' lead heroine, Akari Tsukimura. Takeru's childhood friend (and probable love interest), Akari is the show's Agent Skully, a science-minded individual who tries to find a logical explanation for all the paranormal occurrences surrounding her. Yeah, good luck with that.
Takayuki Yanagi is the Last Air---I mean, plays the role of Onari, the head priest of the Tenkuuji Temple who Takeru is the heir too. Compared to Akari, Onari is a spiritualist who has a strong belief in spirituality and the supernatural. Normally serious, fulfilling his duty to watch over Takeru as a favor to his deceased father, he finds himself often serving as the mood maker of the group.
Ryosuke Yamamoto is Makoto Fukami, a rival Kamen Rider who is also after the Ghost Eyecons, and transforms into the mysterious Kamen Rider Spectre. A cool, level-headed individual with honed combat skills, will he end up helping Ghost, or will he merely serve as an obstacle to overcome?
Hayato Isomura is the man known only as "Alan", who works alongside a Ganma Summoner to collect Ghost Eyecons. Although he works with the Mystery Summoner (played by Morishita Yoshiyuki), he does not serve him and perhaps has his own motives...
Naoto Takenaka is the mysterious Hermit, who revived Takeru and gave him the power to become Kamen Rider Ghost. A friend, uncle-figure to Takeru, nevertheless he seems to know more than most people about the surrounding circumstances, yet often disappears when he's needed the most. What secrets does he hold?
The Ghost Driver is the name of Takeru's Belt, and grants him the power to become Kamen Rider Ghost by inserting a Ghost Eyecon in the center. The default Ghost Icon is the "Ore (My) Ghost Icon", and allows Ghost to assume his default, orange form. The other Ghost Eyecons, however, contains the souls of history's greatest men...Musashi Miyamoto, Thomas Edison, Sir Isaac Newton, Robin Hood, Billy the Kid, Ludwig van Beethoven, Benkei, Oda Nobunaga, and Tutankhamen. Spectre presumably also has his own Ghost Driver, capable of using Ghost Eyecons as well...he is the one who utilizes the Nobunaga and Tutankhamen Souls, as well as his default Soul, the Spectre Soul.
When Ghost switches Ghost Eyecons, his "hood"---the Soul---is switched and he can transform into a variety of different forms! Shown here are his four beginning forms---his default "Ore Soul", the red "Musashi Soul" which can dual-wield for swashbuckling action, the yellow "Edison Soul" which specializes in electricity and utilizes a gun for long-range combat, and the "Newton Soul" which apparently fights like a boxer while also utilizing the power to manipulate gravity.
Ghost's personal weapon is the GanGan Sabre, which can be changed to a Naginata Mode, a Nitouryou (two-swords) Mode for Musashi, and a Gun Mode for Edison. Furthermore, Takeru is armed with three robotic helpers---the Telephone Condor, the Clock Bat, and the Lantern Spider---who can also be attached to the GanGan Sabre to create form Arrow Mode for Robin Soul, Rifle Mode for Billy the Kid Soul, and Hammer Mode for Benkei Mode.
Spectre, of course, will also be able to take different forms including Tutankhamen Soul and Nobunaga Soul, and presumably Ghost and Spectre can use one another's Ghost Eyecons if they so choose. Spectre also has his own personal weapon, the GanGan Hand, which can be transformed into a Gun Mode for Nobunaga Soul, or attach to his own robot buddy---the Mobile Cobra---to transform into Sickle Mode for use by Tutankhamen. Spectre's appearance, however, is still shrouded in mystery and has yet to be revealed beyond silhouettes. His default Soul, though, seems to be blue and has two horns instead of a single one like Takeru.
Oh, and Takeru also has some sort of Phantom Ghost Ship called "Captain Ghost" which can combine with the Ghostriker to form the Iguana Ghostriker---which is literally a giant Iguana that he can ride upon.
The band Kishidan will be singing the yet-unknown theme of the series, while manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto, who worked on G Gundam, as well as helping finish Ishinomori's (the creator of Kamen Rider) Skull Man and Cyborg 009 manga, is reportedly in charge of designing the monsters known as the Ganma.
Kamen Rider Ghost will begin airing 10/4, although it is said to have a special crossover special with Kamen Rider Drive in September that will serve as a bridge between the two shows. Kamen Rider Ghost also makes a cameo appearance in Kamen Rider Drive's Summer Film "Surprise Future", which is now showing in theaters in Japan. Like usual, there will also be a full-fledged cinematic crossover---the annual Movie Wars---between Drive and Ghost in December.
F.A.Q.
Where can I watch this?: Unlike Sentai (Power Rangers), Kamen Rider is virtually ignored in the West except for two small attempts to localize it with Masked Rider and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. The recent Ultraman X series, however, is being broadcasted on Crunchyroll, but there is no guarantee and it's highly unlikely Ghost will receive the same treatment. Kamen Rider outside of Japan is dependent on fan-subbing efforts.
Are these shows good?: I can't answer that, as there are now 17 modern Kamen Rider series, and many of them have different themes and structure. But, if you like the idea behind Power Rangers---live-action super-heroes fighting guys in rubber suits---you'll probably like Kamen Rider. While still a kid show, it tends to aim a bit higher in terms of plot, character development, and such, and I find them to for the most part be solid shows. The newer series, as you can probably tell by the listed Power Ups, are definitely more toyetic, but I sort of enjoy the crazy shit Toei creates and puts out based on a motif.
What's Heisei mean?
In Japan, their calendar is divided into eras based on the current Emperor of Japan---as of 1989, they are in the Heisei Era. Kamen Rider took a hiatus from full series in 1989 after Kamen Rider Black RX, instead going for stand-alone films such as Kamen Rider Shin, ZO, and J---until 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga.
Toei officially acknowledges all the Riders from Kuuga on up as "Hesei Riders", while all the Riders before him are deemed Showa Riders (the Era preceding Heisei), including Shin, ZO, and J, even though technically they aired at the beginning of the Heisei Era. Last year even had a film entitled "Showa vs. Heisei" which had the two factions fight it out.
Thematically Showa and Heisei are quite different, although within itself the same can be said about Heisei. Most of the Showa series are quite formulaic with a man turned into a Kamen Rider by a mysterious organization, and then fights said organization. Heisei Series tend to stray from that (except one key theme is the Kamen Rider's power is usually always linked to the bad guys---such as the same power source) and have different circumstances for becoming a Kamen Rider. But, in most cases throughout both eras, the Kamen Rider often sacrifices their normal life in order to fight, and they are linked to the same monsters they fight, such as being a more "pure" version of the monsters who still maintain their human-side, or using the same power source as the villains but for good rather than evil.
I wanna watch Kamen Rider. What should I watch?
When considering the modern, Heisei-Era Kamen Rider, I'd say there are five shows I'd probably recommend first---
* Kuuga: The first of the 2000 Hesei Revival, it's probably the best written of the shows due to very tight plotting, and some interesting ideas that subvert the usual Kamen Rider formula, as it's more of a cop drama. While it introduces some ideas that carry on to later Riders---mainly the idea of the Hesei Riders using multiple Form Changes---it's different from anything before, and after it, and that's its greatest strength. Just don't go into Ghost thinking it'll be like Kuuga.
* Agito: Following Kuuga, it's dark like its predecessor---feeling like a J-drama at times and having some pretty violent moments for a kid's series---but is more traditionally set-up like a Kamen Rider, and introduces a lot of elements that become common in following shows, mainly the idea of having multiple Kamen Riders who tend to battle with one another. It's not as tightly plotted---written by the infamous Inoue, who often goes a bit off the rails with drama and misunderstandings---but is very entertaining, funny with great characters, and is still unique in its own right.
* Kabuto: This series came after Kamen Rider Hibiki---a show that wasn't intended to be a Kamen Rider and suffered various behind-the-scene problems---and was meant to be a return to Kamen Rider's roots, homaging the classic Kamen Rider Stronger by having bug-themed Riders, the lead being one based off a Kabuto Beetle. With one of the most powerful, over-the-top protagonists in Kamen Rider, and very strong suit designs and fight scenes utilizing slow-motion effects, Kabuto is a fan favorite. I recommend it also because it's really a bridge between the old and new as well---the first part is very dramatic and dark, while the second part gets very silly and light-hearted, but overall the whole show is enjoyable. Personally, I think the fact it goes totally off-the-rails at the end is one of the reasons I like it so much.
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* W: The first of the fan-dubbed "Neo-Heisei Era" shows, although don't say that among certain groups, reportedly the official term is "Phase 2 Heisei". W dropped a lot of the gloomier, J-drama elements of the earlier shows and went with a more live-action anime feel, as well as got more toyetic, with more Form Changes than ever before and a multitude of collectible gimmick toys distributed via Gashapon Machines. However, W is generally considered one of the best Kamen Riders, for having a very cool "detective" theme, funky jazz music, great suits that hearken back to the Showa-era, especially Kamen Rider Black, and a novel concept with interesting characters. Most people will tell you to start with this show, and indeed, Kamen Rider Ghost will probably take after this show quite a bit.
* Gaim: Written by a guest writer---Urobuchi---that will either tell you this is a great show, or the worst show ever, based on what you think about the Butcher. With a bizarre gimmick---warriors transform through the power of locks shaped like fruit---Gaim is a show that seems to be enjoyed by a lot of people who aren't normally Kamen Rider fans, and has a different plot trajectory than most of the other shows. Personally, except for the end fucking up a bit (which isn't new for Rider, few endings are that great), I loved Gaim, and it was amazing watching it as it aired. I don't have any experience with Butcher though outside of Gaim, so I didn't know what to expect. Give it a shot, and don't let the first few episodes---with street dancing and Pokemon battles---fool you because shit hits the fan soon after.
Anyway, or just choose a Kamen Rider whose design appeals to you and give it a shot! Oh, but Kamen Rider Decade is one you might wanna hold off on---not because of quality, but because as an anniversary show celebrating the first 10 years of Hesei it has a bit of spoilers. Generally, only Kamen Rider Kiva and Kamen Rider Wizard are considered straight-up bad by the majority of fans (and I like Kiva myself), but I watched all the Hesei Riders last year and didn't regret it. If you want to watch the classic Showa Riders, that's a bit harder as many of those haven't been subbed to completion, or at all. Last time I checked, only V3, Black, and Black RX were done. And overall with Kamen Rider, the subs are of varying quality to okay to "baka-chan-tachi" bad. Thankfully, all the Kamen Riders since W have received very strong, professional subs---and Ghost will no doubt receive these as well since the community is larger than it was in the past.
For more information, feel free to join TokuGAF in the Community, where we discuss shows like Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, GARO, and---uh, Power Rangers too. Sometimes.
