Kamen Rider Hibiki

Kamen Rider Hibiki (仮面ライダー響鬼（ヒビキ）, Kamen Raidā Hibiki, Masked Rider Hibiki) is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Kamen Rider Hibiki first aired on January 30, 2005 and aired its final episode on January 22, 2006. This series is noted for introducing new themes and styles yet unseen in other shows. The catchphrase for the series is "To us, there are heroes." (ぼくたちには、ヒーローがいる, Bokutachi ni wa, hīrō ga iru).

Synopsis

An 8 Hours of Suzuka Honda Bike with Kamen Rider Hibiki sponsorship

The Kamen Riders, known as Oni, battle man-eating beasts called Makamou with "pure sound". One of the Oni, a man named Hibiki, ends up having a "teacher-and-apprentice"-like relationship with Asumu Adachi. A young boy unsure of himself and is at a crossroads in his life as he transitions to high school, Asumu learns to be an adult through watching Hibiki and the other Oni as they all train together to hone their skills in fighting the Makamou and the homunculi aiding them. However, the sudden raise of Makamou numbers proves to be a prelude to an upcoming calamity.

Staff changes

Kamen Rider Hibiki began with Shigenori Takadera as the Toei producer, however, Shinichiro Shirakura, who though having participated in other Heisei Kamen Rider series, had no involvement whatsoever in the Hibiki production, was appointed producer of the movie Kamen Rider Hibiki and the Seven War Demons, eventually replacing Takadera in the TV production from episode 30. The writing staff also changed; Tsuyoshi Kida and Shinji Ooishi were replaced by Toshiki Inoue and Shoji Yonemura, who had worked with Shirakura in Sh15uya and other Heisei Kamen Rider series.

In addition, personalities such as Sensha Yoshida, a renowned manga artist; Hiroshi Yamamoto, a video-game designer; Masao Higashi, a seasoned television and movie critic; and many others published severe criticisms in their personal blogs because of this. Even the show's star, Shigeki Hosokawa, who portrayed Hibiki, stated in his personal website that Inoue’s scripts "needed adjustments" and that this whole staff change was "fraudulent". With the first production staff, Hosokawa would join the writers meetings and give suggestions, however Hosokawa could not give his opinion in the second production staff meetings due to time restraints.

In an interview published on TV Asahi's main website, Hosokawa stated that the script for the final episode was rewritten on the final day of filming. He later said that the script was sent in so late that it arrived on set as the final battle was being filmed. This finale was scrapped and then a new ending that, according to Hosokawa, was nothing like the intended ending, was filmed. Later in the interview, Hosokawa said that the Oni suit used by Kiriya was a kitbash of two new suits made especially for the characters of Asumu and Kiriya. Hosokawa said that this was the most upsetting change to him as the final script had been rewritten six times at that point and all but the filmed version contained both Asumu and Kiriya becoming Oni.

In January 2006, at the Kamen Rider Super Live, Hosokawa stated that the series was "essentially an incomplete process" and that "it should not have ended that way". Mitsu Murata, who portrayed the Douji characters, declared on his blog: "I cannot forgive them, I want to continue his idea", complaining about the removal of Takadera as producer. These declarations caused an unprecedented storm within the professional tokusatsu market and many of Toei's executives were berated for allowing a series to be handled in such a manner.

There has never been any official statement from Toei, but many critics point out several facts might have caused it, the main reason being the low toy sales. It is not usual for a Toei production to have two different producers for the TV series and the movie. It is likely that a different producer was appointed for the movie because Toei was suffering from schedule problems with Takadera.

Changes

• Asumu's opening narration at the start of every episode was removed starting with episode 30.
• A new opening was introduced in episode 34 and following.
• The use of kanji being flashed on screen during scenes was removed altogether by episode 30.
• The ending sequence was removed altogether.
• The characters of Kyousuke Kiriya and Shuki were introduced to the series.
• Originally Eiki and Shōki were both supposed to be main cast members, but had their parts completely removed.
• The fire breathing (Onibi) and the Oni claws (Onizume) abilities' sequences were completely removed along with Ibuki opening his mouth for his attack. The Makamou that opened their mouths too wide or spurted liquids were also removed. There had been complaints about these sequences from parent advocacy groups who claimed that they scared children.
• Things as complicated-to-animate CG Makamou and shooting in mountains were almost entirely reduced probably due to cost issues, leading critics to believe that Takadera was forcefully removed from the project due to his unwillingness to change his script to adapt to these changes.

Oni Kamen Rider

The combatant agents of Takeshi are known as Oni. They have been around for hundreds of years, protecting humans and fighting against the Makamou. The title of every Oni bears the -ki suffix (鬼), which is semantically identical to "Oni" in Japanese. It also has some resemblance with the real name of the Oni. Among making many changes to the Kamen Rider look, Kamen Rider Hibiki introduced Kamen Rider Shuki, the third officially recognized female Heisei Kamen Rider in a Kamen Rider series after Kamen Rider Femme from Ryuki and Kamen Rider Larc from Blade.

Makamou

The regular antagonists of the series; an assortment of monstrous creatures that usually dwell in the rural areas and consume human beings as food.

Takeshi Gear

Takeshi is the name of the group that works with the Oni Kamen Riders. They create many items for use in battle, from weapons to Disc Animals.

Novel

A set of six novels published under the title "Kamen Rider Hibiki: Compass to Tomorrow" (仮面ライダー響鬼 明日への指針（コンパス）, Kamen Raidā Hibiki Asu e no Konpasu) was released shortly after the end of the series. The novels followed relatively the same plot as the TV series but added new characters and enemies towards the end of its run.

Video game

Kamen Rider Hibiki (仮面ライダー響鬼, Kamen Raidā Hibiki) was released by Bandai for the PlayStation 2 on December 1, 2005. It featured a unique cross compatibility with the Taiko no Tatsujin Tatacon controller, where the taiko-like controller could be used in the rhythm game-like sections of Hibiki. It was also released alongside a special edition of the Taiko no Tatsujin series which included the theme songs of the Kamen Rider Hibiki TV show ("Kagayaki" and "Shōnen yo"). A release for the Nintendo GameCube was planned, but ultimately scrapped.^[1][2]

Episodes

Hyper Battle DVD

In Kamen Rider Hibiki: Asumu Henshin! You can be an Oni, too!! (仮面ライダー響鬼 明日夢変身！キミも鬼になれる！！, Kamen Raidā Hibiki: Kimi mo Oni ni nareru!!), Asumu Adachi imagines if he could be like Kamen Rider Hibiki, and are approached by talking Disc Animals who teach him how to be like Hibiki, eventually allowing Asumu to transform into Kamen Rider Armed Hibiki. Kamen Rider Sabaki also appears in the DVD.

Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Senki

The movie spin-off of the 2005 Kamen Rider series, entitled Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Senki, takes place in the Warring States Period. The film serves as a prequel to the Makamou war and features five movie-only Oni known as Kabuki, Kirameki, Habataki, Nishiki, and Touki.

Seven Ogres

The S.I.C. Hero Saga side story for Hibiki is titled Masked Rider Hibiki: Seven Ogres (MASKED RIDER HIBIKI -SEVEN OGRES-, Kamen Raidā Hibiki: Sebun Ōgāzu), which is an alternate telling of the film Hibiki & The Seven Senki. It features the original character Kamen Rider Armed Hibiki (Sengoku Period ver.) (仮面ライダー装甲響鬼（戦国時代ver.）, Kamen Raidā Āmudo Hibiki (Sengoku Jidai ver.)). The Seven Ogres storyline ran in the June through September 2006 issues of Monthly Hobby Japan magazine.

Chapter titles

1. Takeshi (猛士)
2. Kabuki (歌舞鬼)
3. Kurenai (紅)
4. Orochi (オロチ)

Cast

• Hibiki (響鬼（ヒビキ）, Hibiki): Shigeki Hosokawa (細川 茂樹, Hosokawa Shigeki)
• Asumu Adachi (安達 明日夢, Adachi Asumu): Rakuto Tochihara (栩原 楽人, Tochihara Rakuto)
• Ibuki (威吹鬼（イブキ）, Ibuki): Joji Shibue (渋江 譲二, Shibue Jōji)
• Todoroki (轟鬼（トドロキ）, Todoroki): Shingo Kawaguchi (川口 真五, Kawaguchi Shingo)
• Zanki (斬鬼（ザンキ）, Zanki): Kenji Matsuda (松田 賢二, Matsuda Kenji)
• Kasumi Tachibana (立花 香須実, Tachibana Kasumi): Mayu Gamou (蒲生 麻由, Gamō Mayu)
• Hinaka Tachibana (立花 日菜佳, Tachibana Hinaka): Miyuki Kanbe (神戸 みゆき, Kanbe Miyuki)
• Hitomi Mochida (持田 ひとみ, Mochida Hitomi): Erika Mori (森 絵梨佳, Mori Erika)
• Ikuko Adachi (安達 郁子, Adachi Ikuko): Kaoru Mizuki (水木 薫, Mizuki Kaoru)
• Ichirou Tachibana (立花 勢地郎, Tachibana Ichirō): Atomu Shimojo (下條 アトム, Shimojō Atomu)
• Akira Amami (天美 あきら, Amami Akira): Nana Akiyama (秋山 奈々, Akiyama Nana)
• Midori Takizawa (滝澤 みどり, Takizawa Midori): Masako Umemiya (梅宮 万紗子, Umemiya Masako)
• Douji (童子, Dōji): Mitsu Murata (村田 充, Murata Mitsu)
  • Parent Douji : Sei Ashina
• Hime (姫, Hime): Sei Ashina (芦名 星, Ashina Sei)
  • Parent Hime : Mitsu Murata
• Kyousuke Kiriya (桐矢 京介, Kiriya Kyōsuke): Yuichi Nakamura (中村 優一, Nakamura Yūichi)
• Danki (弾鬼（ダンキ）, Danki): Makoto Itō (伊藤 慎, Itō Makoto)
• Shōki (ショウキ, Shōki): Yoshifumi Oshikawa (押川 善文, Oshikawa Yoshifumi)
• Konosuke Kogure (小暮 耕之助, Kogure Kōnosuke): Akira Fuse (布施 明, Fuse Akira)
• Shuki (朱鬼（シュキ）, Shuki): Reiko Kataoka (片岡 礼子, Kataoka Reiko)
• Tsutomu Tsumura (津村 努, Tsumura Tsutomu): Kento Shibuya (渋谷 謙人, Shibuya Kento)
• Kamen Rider Sabaki (仮面ライダー裁鬼, Kamen Raidā Sabaki, Voice): Katsumi Shiono (塩野 勝美, Shiono Katsumi)
• Next Preview Narrator (次回予告ナレーター, Jikai Yokoku Narētā,): Kazuya Nakai (中井 和哉, Nakai Kazuya)
• Junction Narrator (ジャンクションナレーター, Jankushon Narētā): Koji Nakata (中田 浩二, Nakata Kōji)

Songs

Opening themes

• "Kagayaki" (輝, "Radiance")
  • Composition & Arrangement: Toshihiko Sahashi
  • Episodes: 1-33, 48
• "Hajimari no Kimi e" (始まりの君へ, "To the Original You")
  • Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
  • Composition & Arrangement: Toshihiko Sahashi
  • Artist: Akira Fuse
  • Episodes: 34-47

Ending theme

• "Shōnen yo" (少年よ, "Boy!")
  • Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
  • Composition & Arrangement: Toshihiko Sahashi
  • Artist: Akira Fuse
  • Episodes: 1-33, 48

Character and insert songs

• "Kiwamareba Ongeki!!" (極めれば音撃！！, "Reach the Extreme Ongeki!!") performed by Jin Hashimoto
• "Fūga Yūden" (風雅勇伝, "Refined Brave Confidant") performed by Tomokazu Seki for Kamen Rider Ibuki
• "Raibu Gōgō" (雷武轟々, "Thunderous War Rumblings") performed by Eizo Sakamoto for Kamen Rider Todoroki
• "Hibiki Kenzan!!" (響鬼見参！！) performed by Masatoshi Ono for Kamen Rider Hibiki

International broadcasts

In the Philippines, the series is broadcast on TV5 as Masked Rider Hibiki and also on Teleasia Filipino via Cignal Digital TV.

References

External links

• Official website from TV Asahi
• Official website from Toei TV
• Official 2005 Teaser Web Site
• Official Game Web Site