Kamen Rider Blade

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Kamen Rider Blade

Series logo
Genre Tokusatsu
Created by Shotaro Ishinomori
Starring Takayuki Tsubaki, Hironari Amano, Ryōji Morimoto, Takahiro Hōjō
Narrated by Jūrōta Kosugi
Composer(s) Kazunori Miyake
Country of origin Japan
No. of episodes 49 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Jun Hikasa
Saeko Matsuda
Naomi Takebe
Takaaki Utsunomiya
Running time 24-25 minutes (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel TV Asahi
Original run January 25, 2004 – January 23, 2005
Chronology
Preceded by Kamen Rider 555
Followed by Kamen Rider Hibiki

Kamen Rider Blade (仮面ライダー剣（ブレイド） Kamen Raidā Bureido?, Masked Rider ♠ (Blade)), is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fourteenth installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It aired on TV Asahi from January 25, 2004 to January 23, 2005. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Along with the standard insect motif of the Kamen Rider series, Kamen Rider Blade also uses a playing card motif. Each Rider is assigned one of the suits from a deck of cards.

An English dub of Masked Rider Blade is currently being shown in Singapore on Mediacorp's Kids Central, starting from January 7, 2007. Its encore telecast was first shown on April 5, 2008. Also, continuing the Heisei Kamen Rider Series in order, after the success of Ryuki and 555 in the Philippines, it is currently being shown on local TV station in GMA 7 and started airing on March 24, 2007. It is also currently airing as Masked Rider Blade in South Korea.[1]

Blade was later released on DVD by Toei. There were twelve volumes released with the first eleven having four episodes per DVD and the twelfth volume with five episodes.[2]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Ten thousand years ago, a massive battle known as the Battle Royal was fought by fifty-two Undead, each representing a species fighting for dominance over all others. The winner was the Human Undead, known as Category Two of Hearts, giving dominion of the Earth to humanity. In the present day, archaeologists discover the sealed Undead, and accidentally set them free. Thus, a new Battle Royal begins.

Having developed the Rider System, based on the Joker's ability to copy sealed Undead, the organization BOARD equips two young men, who become Kamen Riders: Kazuma Kenzaki and Sakuya Tachibana fight together as Blade and Garren to protect humans from Undead and seal them. Also fighting Undead is the mysterious Chalice, a Kamen Rider whose purpose is unknown. In addition, a young man struggles to free himself from the control of the sealed Undead powering his own Undead-made Rider System, fighting as Kamen Rider Leangle.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Kamen Rider Blade characters
Kazuma Kenzaki/Kamen Rider Blade (剣崎 一真／仮面ライダー剣 Kenzaki Kazuma/Kamen Raidā Bureido?)
Chosen by the B.O.A.R.D. organization, Kenzaki uses the sealed Category Ace of Spades (Change Beetle) to become Blade. He has a good heart and believes in fighting to protect humanity.
Sakuya Tachibana/Kamen Rider Garren (橘　朔也／仮面ライダーギャレン Tachibana Sakuya/Kamen Raidā Gyaren?)
Chosen by the B.O.A.R.D. organization, 25-year-old Tachibana uses the sealed Category Ace of Diamonds (Change Stag) to become Garren.
Hajime Aikawa/Kamen Rider Chalice (相川　始／仮面ライダーカリス Aikawa Hajime/Kamen Raidā Karisu?)
Though he looks 23, Hajime is actually the Undead known as Joker using the sealed Category Ace of Hearts (Change Mantis) to become Chalice. In order to maintain human form, he uses the Category 2 of Hearts (Spirit Human) in order to take human form.
Mutsuki Kamijō/Kamen Rider Leangle (上城　睦月／仮面ライダーレンゲル Kamijō Mutsuki/Kamen Raidā Rengeru?)
As a weak-willed 17-year-old high-school kid, Mutsuki was chosen by the Category Ace of Clubs (Spider Undead) to become Leangle, though reluctantly at first. He gains a thirst for power as the Category Ace takes over his mind.

[edit] The Undead

Main article: Undead (Kamen Rider)

The Undead (アンデッド Andeddo?) are the series monsters in Kamen Rider Blade. There are 52 Undead organized into four suits with the Joker, making a common card deck.

The Undead are also divided by Category, with the "Royal" Undead being of a much higher power level than the rest. The Categories Jack, Queen and King are all capable of disguising themselves as humans, and are capable of much higher forms of thought than other Undead, forming plans of depth rather than just blindly attacking everything nearby. The Category Ace Undead, whose cards power the Rider Systems, are also very powerful, but lack the form-shifting abilities of the high-class Undead. Finally, the Joker can assume the form of any sealed Undead it possesses. More Jokers can be created if a human abuses the Rider System. In the movie Missing Ace, an additional white Joker is also present.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Kamen Rider Blade episodes
  1. The Indigo Warrior (紫紺の戦士 Shikon no Senshi?)
  2. The Mysterious Rider (謎のライダー Nazo no Raidā?)
  3. Their Secret… (彼らの秘密… Karera no Himitsu…?)
  4. Immortality's Mysteries (永遠の命の謎 Eien no Inochi no Nazo?)
  5. The Challenge to the Past (過去への挑戦 Kako e no Chōsen?)
  6. Chalice's True Identity (カリスの正体 Karisu no Shōtai?)
  7. The Trapped Two (囚われた２号 Torawareta Nigō?)
  8. The Revived People (甦った者たち Yomigaetta Monotachi?)
  9. A Fighter's Destiny (戦う者の運命 Tatakau Mono no Unmei?)
  10. The Manipulated Warrior (操られた戦士 Ayatsurareta Senshi?)
  11. The Whereabouts of Each (各々の居場所 Onōno no Ibasho?)
  12. Category Ace (カテゴリーＡ Kategorī Ēsu?)
  13. The Golden-Threaded Trap (金色の糸の罠 Kin'iro no Ito no Wana?)
  14. Ace Sealed! (エース封印！ Ēsu Fūin!?)
  15. Fate's Conformer (運命の適合者 Unmei no Tekigōsha?)
  16. Leangle's Power (レンゲルの力 Rengeru no Chikara?)
  17. The Evil Belt (邪悪なベルト Jaaku na Beruto?)
  18. Spirits That Manipulate Darkness (暗闇を操る魂 Kurayami o Ayatsuru Tamashii?)
  19. One Who Conquers Darkness (暗黒を征す者 Ankoku o Seisu Mono?)
  20. The Target is Kotarou (標的は虎太郎 Hyōteki wa Kotarō?)
  21. Battles That Feel for Friends (友を思う戦い Tomo o Omou Tatakai?)
  22. The Escape From Darkness (闇からの脱出 Yami Kara no Dasshutsu?)
  23. Who are You? (お前は誰だ？ Omae wa Dare da??)
  24. Mysterious Hunters (謎のハンター Nazo no Hantā?)
  25. A Traitor's Sprint (裏切りの疾走 Uragiri no Shissō?)
  26. The Power Which Moves Me (俺を動かす力 Ore o Ugokasu Chikara?)
  27. The Trembling Heart… (揺れ動く心… Yureugoku Kokoro…?)
  28. A Dangerous Gamble!? (危険な賭け！？ Kiken na Kake!??)
  29. The Two Chalices (２人のカリス Futari no Karisu?)
  30. Lost Memories (失われた記憶 Ushinawareta Kioku?)
  31. The 53rd Being (５３番目の存在 Gojūsanbanme no Sonzai?)
  32. The Destroyer's Secret (破壊者の秘密 Hakaisha no Himitsu?)
  33. The Targeted Kenzaki (狙われた剣崎 Nerawareta Kenzaki?)
  34. Category King (カテゴリーＫ Kategorī Kingu?)
  35. A Dangerous Henshin!? (危険な変身！？ Kiken na Henshin!??)
  36. Strongest Form (最強フォーム Saikyō Fōmu?)
  37. Towards a New Destiny (新たな運命へ Arata na Unmei e?)
  38. One Who Takes Hold of Destiny (運命を掴む者 Unmei o Tsukamu Mono?)
  39. Reunion… Father and Daughter (再会…父と娘 Saikai… Chichi to Musume?)
  40. Parting With the Past (過去との訣別 Kako to no Ketsubetsu?)
  41. A Desire to Get Stronger (強くなりたい Tsuyoku Naritai?)
  42. Leangle Revives (レンゲル復活 Rengeru Fukkatsu?)
  43. Foe or Friend? (敵か味方か？ Teki ka Mikata ka??)
  44. Four Cards (フォーカード Fō Kādo?)
  45. The New Card (新たなカード Arata na Kādo?)
  46. The Ruler's Seal (支配者の封印 Shihaisha no Fūin?)
  47. Garren Eliminated (ギャレン消滅 Gyaren Shōmetsu?)
  48. Prologue to Destruction (滅びへの序章 Horobi e no Joshō?)
  49. The Eternal Trump (永遠の切り札 Eien no Kirifuda?)

[edit] Missing Ace

Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace (仮面ライダー剣　ＭＩＳＳＩＮＧ　ＡＣＥ Kamen Raidā Bureido Misshingu Ēsu?) is the theatrical release, first in theaters on September 11, 2004.

Four years after an alternate ending to the series, in which Blade seals the Joker, the characters have moved on with their lives. Kenzaki is a garbage man, Mutsuki has graduated high school, and Kotarō has published a book about the Kamen Riders to great success. The Undead have been re-released, and a new trio of Kamen Riders—Glaive, Larc and Lance—have emerged from BOARD, now led by Tachibana. After recapturing two of the Category Aces, Kenzaki and Mutsuki join with the new Riders. When all the Undead are sealed once more, Glaive reveals himself to be the Albino Joker, a white version of the original Joker, and captures Kotarō's niece to obtain the ultimate power, sealing her in the vanity card. In order to free Amane from the card, Hajime is unsealed from the Joker Card and the four Riders are again united, intent on saving Amane and stoping the Albino Joker.

[edit] Specials

Kamen Rider Blade: Blade vs. Blade is a Hyper Battle Video, wherein a Trial-series cyborg pretends to be Kenzaki, who quickly discovers the fraud and fights him. During their battle, the other Riders bicker humorously about which Blade is the fake, which constantly results in their attacking the real Kenzaki. As with all Hyper Battle Videos, this serves as a device to exposit the Rider's various powers and abilities.

Kamen Rider Blade: New Generation is a television special made of a collection of vignettes which aired following certain episodes Blade, following the history of Kamen Riders Glaive, L'arc, and Lance. This is a direct tie-in to the movie Missing Ace.

[edit] Cast

  • Kazuma Kenzaki/Kamen Rider Blade: Takayuki Tsubaki (椿 隆之 Tsubaki Takayuki?)
  • Sakuya Tachibana/Kamen Rider Garren: Hironari Amano (天野 浩成 Amano Hironari?)
  • Hajime Aikawa/Kamen Rider Chalice: Ryōji Morimoto (森本 亮治 Morimoto Ryōji?)
  • Mutsuki Kamijō/Kamen Rider Leangle: Takahiro Hōjō (北条 隆博 Hōjō Takahiro?)
  • Shiori Hirose: Yumi Egawa (江川 有未 Egawa Yumi?)
  • Kotarō Shirai: Terunosuke Takezai (竹財 輝之助 Takezai Terunosuke?)
  • Haruka Kurihara: Kaori Yamaguchi (山口 香緒里 Yamaguchi Kaori?)
  • Amane Kurihara: Hikari Kajiwara (梶原 ひかり Kajiwara Hikari?)
  • Nozomi Yamanaka: Arisa Miyazawa (宮澤 亜理沙 Miyazawa Arisa?)
  • Kei Karasuma: Kazuhiro Yamaji (山路 和弘 Yamaji Kazuhiro?)
  • Sayoko Fukasawa: Urara Awata (粟田 麗 Awata Urara?)
  • Go Kiryu: Nozomu Masuzawa (増沢 望 Masuzawa Nozomu?)
  • Yoshito Hirose: Junichi Haruta (春田 純一 Haruta Jun'ichi?)
  • Hiroshi Tennōji: Kōji Moritsugu (森次 晃嗣 Moritsugu Kōji?)
  • Isaka/Peacock Undead: Yasukaze Motomiya (本宮 泰風 Motomiya Yasukaze?)
  • Miyuki Yoshinaga/Orchid Undead: Mika Hijii (肘井 美佳 Hijii Mika?)
  • Kougen/Eagle Undead: Yasufumi Hayashi (林 泰文 Hayashi Yasufumi?)
  • Daichi/Elephant Undead: Kairi Narita (成田 浬 Narita Kairi?)
  • Noboru Shima/Tarantula Undead: Kazunari Aizawa (相澤 一成 Aizawa Kazunari?)
  • Shinmei/Wolf Undead: Masashi Kagami (加々美 正史 Kagami Masashi?)
  • Azumi/Serpent Undead: Mio Fukuzumi (福澄 美緒 Fukuzumi Mio?)
  • King/Caucasus Undead: Makoto Kamijo (上條 誠 Kamijō Makoto?)
  • Hikaru Jō/Tiger Undead: Akane Hamasaki (浜崎 茜 Hamasaki Akane?)
  • Kanai/Giraffa Undead: Akira Kubodera (窪寺 昭 Kubodera Akira?)

[edit] Suit actors

  • Kamen Rider Blade: Seiji Takaiwa (高岩 成二 Takaiwa Seiji?)
  • Kamen Rider Garren: Yoshifumi Oshikawa (押川 善文 Oshikawa Yoshifumi?)
  • Kamen Rider Chalice: Makoto Ito (伊藤 慎 Itō Makoto?)
  • Kamen Rider Leangle: Jiro Okamoto (岡元 次郎 Okamoto Jirō?) and Jun Watanabe (渡辺 淳 Watanabe Jun?)

[edit] Songs

Opening themes
  • "Round ZERO ～ BLADE BRAVE"
    • Lyrics: Shōko Fujibayashi
    • Composition: Katsuya Yoshida
    • Arrangement: Akio Kondō
    • Artist: Nanase Aikawa
    • Episodes: 1-30
  • "ELEMENTS"
    • Lyrics: Shōko Fujibayashi
    • Composition: Miki Fushisue
    • Composition: RIDER CHIPS & Cheru Watanabe
    • Artist: RIDER CHIPS featuring Ricky
    • Episodes: 31-49
    After his performance in "ELEMENTS," Ricky was made RIDER CHIPS' permanent vocalist.
Ending themes
  • "Awakening" (覚醒 Kakusei?)
    • Lyrics: Shōko Fujibayashi
    • Composition: Cheru Watanabe
    • Arrangement: Akio Kondō
    • Artist: Ricky
    • Episodes: 2-23
  • "rebirth"
    • Lyrics: Shōko Fujibayashi
    • Composition: Yukari Aono
    • Arrangement: Cheru Watanabe
    • Artist: Sakuya Tachibana (Kōsei Amano)
    • Episodes: 23-31
  • "take it a try"
    • Lyrics: Shōko Fujibayashi
    • Composition & Arrangement: Cheru Watanabe
    • Artist: Hajime Aikawa (Ryoji Morimoto)
    • Episodes: 31-49

[edit] Video game

Main article: Kamen Rider Blade (game)

A video game based on the series was produced by Bandai for the PlayStation 2. It is an action game that featured many of the characters from the TV series. It was released only in Japan near the end of the TV series on December 9, 2004.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 가면라이더 블레이드 (Korean). Toei. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
  2. ^ DVD 仮面ライダー剣 特集 (Japanese). Toei. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
555		 Kamen Rider
2004 – 2005		 Succeeded by
Hibiki
Kamen Rider Blade
v • d • e
♠ ♦
♥ ♣
Kamen Riders: Blade (♠) • Garren (♦) • Chalice (♥) • Leangle (♣) • Glaive • Larc • Lance 剣
Others: Characters • Undead
Media: List of episodes • Blade vs. Blade • Video game
v • d • e
 
Kamen Rider Series
Created by Shotaro Ishinomori
Shōwa TV series:
Kamen Rider  • V3  • X  • Amazon  • Stronger  • Skyrider  • Super-1  • BLACK  • BLACK RX
Heisei TV series:
Kuuga  • ΑgitΩ  • Ryuki  • 555 (φ's)  • Blade (♠)  • Hibiki  • Kabuto  • Den-O  • Kiva
Specials:
Original films:
ZO  • J  • World  • THE FIRST  • THE NEXT
Heisei films:
Manga and books:
Spirits  • Card Warrior  • EVE -GAIA-
American series:
See also: