After The Final Countdown proved to be yet another success for Toei, it had become inevitable that Toei would once again dive into the Den-O well for another adventure. Instead of just bringing the Den-O gang back together; however, Toei and Bandai decided that the series needed to evolve now that Takeru Satoh was gone. It was decided that the next stage of Den-O was to be a multimedia event, and Den-O needed a new form to reflect this. With some clever wordplay, Sieg's wings were added to Climax Form and the new form was called Chou Kamen Rider Den-O (chou is Japanese for super, but can also mean wings).
KAMEN RIDER DECADE EPISODES 14 AND 15
Promotional picture for Kamen Rider Decade
After Kiva ended its run in late January 2009, the next Rider series was ready to be launched. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Heisei Kamen Rider series (plus an ingenious move to boost lagging ratings; Kabuto, Den-O, and Kiva were watched by fewer viewers than the last), it was decided that the next series would be one long crossover that would attempt to tie all of the shows together. The protagonist, Tsukasa Kadoya, would be a traveler between worlds who would encounter various "alternate universe" versions of the Heisei Riders, while trying to find his home and figure out why he is being targeted by the Riders themselves.
When a fourth Den-O film was announced, Toei timed the corresponding episodes where Decade would travel to Den-O's world to air in the weeks leading up to and after the release of the new movie. Strangely enough, the Den-O world is the only world among the Heisei Riders that is not an alternate universe. Instead of recasting the actors like the other Heisei Worlds had done up to that point, the entire crew of the DenLiner; including the Imagin, Naomi, and Owner, returned for a completely canonical entry in the Den-O universe.
Thanks to the two-parter actually being written by Den-O's head writer Yasuko Kobayashi, it is one of the rare occasions when Decade does the series it's paying tribute to justice. The two-parter is mostly used as an excuse to see the cast of Decade act like the Imagin since they all happen to be Singularity Points (people who can travel through time, and thus are capable of being possessed by the Imagin) and ultimately as not much more than an advertisement for the next Den-O film, as seen by Sieg's surprise appearance at the end of episode 15.
CHOU KAMEN RIDER DEN-O & DECADE THE MOVIE: NEO GENERATIONS - THE ONIGASHIMA WARSHIP
Original theatrical poster for the fourth Den-O film
Released on May 1, 2009, the fourth theatrical adventure of Den-O is similar in structure to the Den-O & Kiva crossover. The film is mostly a new story for Den-O, with Decade's cast thrown in for not much more than a lengthy cameo. Decade's role is lengthier than Kiva's, so it does feel like more of a legitimate crossover (DiEnd even appears); however, the movie would probably have been better off again if Decade weren't present.
The film begins with the Imagin mysteriously vanishing after the events of the Decade two-parter without a trace. Then, we are introduced to a young boy in 1980 who is discovered by Deneb, and for some reason Deneb can possess this boy. When both of them are targeted by monsters, New Den-O arrives and rescues them. As it turns out, the boy carries a stone that two legendary Oni warriors, Goldara and Silvara, are seeking. When Ryotarou (who has been transformed into a young boy after being affected by distortions in time, while Yuuto has gone missing) explains what Goldara and Silvara are after, the young boy is reluctant to help since he's not very brave.
When he decides to board the DenLiner after all, the crew sets off to find the Imagin who have been scattered across time, and ultimately stop Goldora and Silvara from getting their hands on the magic stone and awaken a giant flying warship that could be used as a super-weapon. Meanwhile, the DenLiner once again gets help from Decade to fight alongside them in this epic battle.
The plot for this film is incredibly light and predictable; ultimately making it a rather forgettable film. It's not necessarily bad, but it's far from the best Den-O has had to offer. The villainous brothers are interesting since they definitely fight for each other and are willing to die for one another, it's thankful that they have that family dynamic to set them apart from past Rider villains. Diend shows up just to add confusion to the final fight, something Diend is especially good at since he's one of the most worthless characters ever invented in the franchise (more on him later). Diend does; however, lead us to a memorable scene where the Riders he summons become possessed by the Imagin. This leads to simply brilliant moments such as the usually murderous Kamen Rider Ouja acting like a hyperactive child thanks to Ryuutaros possessing him.
Later in 2009, Momotaros would appear in a brief cameo, who has now somehow gained the ability to transform into Den-O without Ryotarou, in Kamen Rider Decade's summer movie: Kamen Rider Decade The Movie: All Riders Vs. Great Shocker. When he leaves, he tells Tsukasa to stop calling him, claiming he's "SUPER busy". This would be a not-so-subtle hint that there would be more Den-O to come very soon. What no one expected; however, was just how much Den-O they would be getting.
KAMEN RIDER X KAMEN RIDER X KAMEN RIDER: CHOU DEN-O THE MOVIE TRILOGY
The original theatrical poster for the fifth, sixth, and seventh (sigh) Den-O films
Instead of just holding Den-O to one movie during the spring (or to make up for the fact that Den-O wasn't a main player in Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider: W & Decade Movie War 2010), Toei began production on THREE Den-O movies with an interconnecting story to be released two weeks apart from the last. Each film would follow a different Rider: the first film Episode Red would feature Zeronos as the lead, Episode Blue would follow New Den-O, and Episode Yellow would feature (of all Riders) Kamen Rider Diend as well as introduce a new Rider.
This experiment turned out to be pretty moderately successful for the most part, with each film averaging at about $4.5 million USD. However, it was at this point that many fans began to call out Toei for overexposing Den-O, and as a result these films are often considered the weakest of the franchise. But let's go ahead and look at each one individually.
EPISODE RED: ZERONOSTAR TWINKLE
Blu-ray cover of Episode Red
The first installment of the trilogy was released on May 22nd, 2010 in 2nd place before quickly being replaced by Episode Blue in theaters two weeks later. The film brought Wakana Matsumoto back as Airi Nogami for the first time since the end of the TV series, and a major emphasis was placed on the strange romance between Yuuto and Airi.
The film begins with the DenLiner having been hijacked once again and child Ryotarou called into action. On the way, he stops thugs from attacking his sister and spots Yuuto leaving the scene. Ryotarou gets to the DenLiner, which is running out of control throughout time, before it is eventually anchored in May 2010. Meanwhile, it is discovered that a man infatuated with Airi has been sending thugs after her to force her to love him, with Yuuto appearing to stop them the second time. This jealous man makes a contract with an Imagin, and Den-O moves into action. Meanwhile, Yuuto tries to convince Airi from moving on from her fiancee, the future Sakurai, and fall in love with his present self instead. When Airi is eventually kidnapped, it's up to both Zeronos and Den-O to save her.
The biggest problem with this film is just how ridiculously boring it is. The film is only 72 minutes, but it runs for an eternity since it's clear the plot can't work as a feature film. The acting is also surprisingly dull; everyone in the film acts half-asleep, robbing Den-O of its usual energy. Several scenes go on forever (namely the romantic bike ride), and the villain is way too lame to justify this getting a special movie treatment. Oh, and that whole DenLiner being hijacked storyline? Never resolved.
EPISODE BLUE: THE DISPATCHED IMAGIN IS NEWTRAL
Blu-ray cover of Episode Blue
The second film of the trilogy was released on June 5th and was a huge step-up from the dull Episode Red. The film puts the friendship between Kotaro and Teddy in the limelight.
The film begins at the Time Terminal as Den-O intercepts a time ticket thief. The thief escapes, but New Den-O arrives to investigate. However, Owner tells Kotaro that his contract with Teddy is complete and Kotaro reluctantly gives him to Owner. Owner starts using Teddy, now called Aleksandrovic, as a servant and Kotaro begins to start running into bad luck again. Owner warns Ryotarou that Teddy cannot return to Kotaro because that would risk destroying Teddy due to him breaching his new contract. Meanwhile, Kotaro tries to track down the ticket thief, when he comes across a girl who has a doppelganger. The two girls are trying to vie for their grandmother's affection, and Kotaro tries to figure out the relationship between the two girls.
Episode Blue is probably the most touching Den-O film to date. Kotaro and Teddy's bond is very well developed in this film, something that had been unfortunately overlooked in the previous adventures with New Den-O. The story behind the doppelganger is also extremely heartwarming, and leads up to a satisfying conclusion. The villain of the film is no big deal, but that doesn't change the fact that once again this movie proves how much potential New Den-O has to carry his own series.
EPISODE YELLOW: TREASURE OF DIEND PIRATES
Blu-ray cover of Episode Yellow
The third and final installment opened on June 19th. The film serves as the latest crossover with Den-O and Decade, with Kaito returning as Kamen Rider Diend. The result, written by Decade showrunner Shoji Yonemura instead of Den-O head writer Yasuko Kobayashi, is a complete mess.
Ryotarou and the Imagin are tracking down a thief possessed by the Spider Imagin. They follow the Imagin to 2008, but the DenLiner is stolen (yet again) by the thief from earlier. It turns out that the thief was Daiki Kaito, who is trying to steal time. When Owner tells him that is impossible, he changes his plans and searches for more treasure. However, Diend is intercepted by the new Rider: Kamen Rider G Den-O. G Den-O is actually a member of the Time Police called Kurosaki, and he is equipped with the A.I. Imagin called Eve. G Den-O successfully defeats and arrests Diend. He also arrests the Imagin for messing around with time, and all of the characters are thrown into prison. After tricking the Time Police, Kaito and the DenLiner crew escapes and discover G Den-O's real motive. Meanwhile, Eve begins to grow out of control.
This plot-hole riddled film is without a doubt the worst Kamen Rider Den-O film to date. Kaito's objective and motives constantly changes throughout the film, which makes him one of the most frustrating Riders to even attempt to try to understand. Kurosaki's plan makes little sense and is very trivial. Eve's turn into the main villain comes almost out of nowhere, and Diend's new power-up is one of the ugliest suits ever designed for a Kamen Rider. Finally, the "overarching" story arc hinted at in the first two films is paid off in the most underwhelming matter imaginable, ultimately making the whole trilogy concept a waste of time.
IMAGIN ANIME 3
This third set of 10 OVA episodes was originally meant to come out in November 2009 but was ultimately pushed back by almost a whole year, finally coming out in October 2010. This set of shorts is a strong improvement over the last series of shorts, featuring more in-jokes that could make older fans chuckle. These include an episode featuring an appearance from Ultraman Taros (get it?) and an entire short where the Imagin are voiced by the suit actors themselves. Characters from the Chou Den-O Trilogy appear in these shorts as well, including Eve and Teddy.
That about sums it up for Chou Den-O. The following year, Toei dropped the idea and every appearance featuring Den-O was just basic Den-O. Over the next two years, Den-O's appearances were relegated to only the super crossovers Toei had begun producing thanks to the success of Decade's summer film. Next time, the final part in this series will take a look at the two films prominently featuring the Den-O cast, and the Net Movie tie-ins.
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