When Kamen Rider Den-O ended on January 20, 2008, it was reasonable enough to believe that it would be a long time before we'd see Ryotarou and the Imagin again, if ever. However, the truth was virtually the complete opposite of that belief. It was not long after Den-O finished that the characters returned due to popular demand. In doing so, Den-O made history for the Kamen Rider franchise and helped move the Heisei Series forward towards the celebration of crossovers we have today.
KAMEN RIDER DEN-O & KIVA THE MOVIE: CLIMAX DETECTIVES
Original Theatrical Poster for Den-O's second film
Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva was the first large-scale crossover between two Heisei Riders (previously, the Kamen Rider Ryuki Hyper Battle Video featured a crossover with Agito, but that was only a dream sequence) and the first time a Kamen Rider starred in a second film since Kamen Rider Black. The film was originally conceived as a direct-to-DVD feature, but Toei decided instead that Den-O's popularity warranted its theatrical release. That move paid off: the film was a surprise box office success, opening at #1 in the box office and eventually grossing almost $7 million USD. This move was also devised as an easier way to advertise the newest Kamen Rider series Kamen Rider Kiva, which was already starting to struggle in ratings and toy sales. The film was advertised as being part of a "Kamen Rider Spring Festival", and ever since then a new Kamen Rider film has been released every Spring.
Den-O & Kiva, despite being a crossover, is instead more of a new adventure for Den-O with Kiva thrown in in what amounts to not much more than a cameo. The film follows the crew of the DenLiner forming a detective agency to track down any surviving Imagin. They learn of an Evil Organization headed by the powerful Imagin Negataros, who has the ability to transform into Kamen Rider Nega Den-O. Teaming up with Zeronos, a young detective trying to avenge his father, and Kurenai Wataru, the shy man who has the ability to become Kamen Rider Kiva, the DenLiner Police move out to stop this new threat.
Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of this film. Negataros was never a menacing villain, his only goal is simply to create this "Evil Organization". What does he plan to do with it? Who knows? The story with the young rookie detective is also cliched stuff, and Nega Den-O is a lazy re-coloring of a Den-O suit. Also, as previously mentioned, Kiva barely shows up in this film. This makes the entire premise of it being a crossover pointless, instead the film would have been better off if Kiva/Wataru weren't in it at all.
The film also came with another animated short called Momotaros's Let's Go, Kiva! This short is more memorable thanks to the Imagins' various parodies on movie genres, plus Kivat interacting with the four Imagin. This wouldn't be the last time that the Imagin would be seen in animated form however.
IMAGIN ANIME
Released on DVD a few weeks after the theatrical release of Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva, this series of 10 animated shorts features the six popular Imagin characters in SD form. The OVA proved to be popular, thanks to the clever comedy peppered in to appease older fans and the bright animation that drew in younger audiences. This first series of shorts were consistently funny, and are easy to re-watch thanks to their length (the episodes tend to be 5 minutes long at most) and the wonderful chemistry between these well-selected voice actors.
MOMOTAROS'S KING OF THE BURNING RED CASTLE
To help hype up the upcoming summer films of Kamen Rider Kiva and Enjin Sentai Go-Onger, Toei made four live-action shorts starring the Imagin where they get into more mishaps. The first three shorts aired after the three episodes of Kamen Rider Kiva leading into the release of the Super Hero Time double-feature, which was released on August 9, 2008. The Imagin take the Go-Ongers' Ginjiro out for a joyride, when Ryuutaros is kidnapped by Kamen Rider Rey, the villain of Kamen Rider Kiva The Movie: King of the Underworld's Castle. The final short ran after the credits of the Kiva movie, as the Imagin summarize both the Kiva and Go-Onger movies with their own unique spin. This all culminated in a surprise announcement at the end of the last short: Kamen Rider Den-O would get a third movie.
FAREWELL KAMEN RIDER DEN-O THE MOVIE: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Original theatrical poster for the third Den-O movie
Released on October 4, 2008, The Final Countdown was a true first for the franchise. It was the first time a Kamen Rider series had three original theatrical films (the original Kamen Rider also had three movies, but the first film Go, Go, Kamen Rider was just episode 13 formatted into widescreen). The film opened at #2 in the box office and made a little bit more money than Den-O & Kiva. In other words, it was yet another success for Toei.
The film begins with the Imagin being attacked by Shadow Imagins and a new Kamen Rider: Kamen Rider Yuuki. When they discover that Yuuki is none other than Ryotarou being possessed by an evil Imagin, they try to save him to no avail. However, another new Rider appears. Named Kamen Rider New Den-O, the new Rider is revealed to be Ryotarou's grandson from the future: Kotaro. New Den-O begrudgingly helps out the Imagin and Zeronos to find and rescue Ryotarou, as well as find out what the man running the Ghost Train, Shiro, is planning.
The Final Countdown is a decent film, certainly a step up from Climax Detectives. Kotaro and his personal Imagin, Teddy, are interesting characters who could easily hold a spin-off series of their own. Shiro is perhaps the strongest villain in a Den-O movie yet, he has a clear objective and is at times almost sympathetic. However, the film seems derivative of I'm Born when the climax takes place during the Edo period, a place covered extensively in the first film. Also, Ryotarou doesn't get nearly enough screentime; he is instead more of a supporting character in this film, making it clear that the Imagin have started to take the franchise over. The Final Countdown would have been better off as a solid place to launch a spin-off featuring New Den-O, but that was unfortunately not the case.
The film also came with yet another animated short called Imagin Anime The Movie: Momotaros Forever! The Imagin Terminal Station which serves as a bittersweet "finale" to Den-O as Urataros tries to console Momotaros over Den-O coming to an end. This short would later be parodied in the last episode of Imagin Anime 2.
The film was advertised as being the definitive final adventure for the DenLiner...but we all know that was far from the truth. Instead, it was the last time Takeru Satoh would appear as Ryotarou. Ready to move on with his blossoming career, Satoh left the franchise after this film and with him went the true heart of the series. Satoh was the glue that held the Imagin together, both literally and figuratively. The franchise has simply not been the same without him, and it's unlikely he will return anytime soon since he has become so busy.
IMAGIN ANIME 2
Another set of 12 OVA episodes featuring the SD Imagin was released on November 22, 2008. These shorts aren't quite as funny as the first set, with the most notable episodes being a "behind the scenes" look at the creation of Kamen Rider Den-O and the aforementioned parody of Momotaros Forever (called Be Forever Momotaros, a subtle nudge to the not-so-final ending of Space Battleship Yamato). The shorts also feature cameos from other Imagin, including the Ghost Imagin from The Final Countdown.
And thus ended 2008, the second year of Kamen Rider Den-O (sorry, Kiva). The Imagin characters continued to be extremely popular throughout the year, proving that Toei had created a truly memorable cast that could not be held to just one TV series. Naturally, more money was to be had and The Final Countdown proved to be not-so-final after all. Next time, I'll take a look at Den-O invading yet another Kamen Rider series, and the next stage of the Den-O franchise: Chou Den-O.
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