, is a 2009-2010 Japanese

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, war, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is som ...

drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the

Kamen Rider Series The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media general ...

and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''

Kamen Rider Decade is the title of the first installment of the 2009 editions of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. ''Decade'', as its title suggests, is the tenth of the Heisei Rider special anniversary Series, having begun with ''Kamen Rider ...

'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside ''

Samurai Sentai Shinkenger is the title of Toei Company's thirty-third entry in its long-running Super Sentai metaseries of Japanese tokusatsu television series. It premiered on February 15, 2009, the week following the finale of ''Engine Sentai Go-onger'', and ended on F ...

'' in

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

Super Hero Time is a programming block on the Japanese television network TV Asahi featuring new episodes of tokusatsu television series from the Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and Metal Heroes. Both series have decades of history and have been intertwined in the ...

programming block. Following ''Shinkenger's'' finale, it aired alongside ''

Tensou Sentai Goseiger is the title of Toei Company's 34th entry in its long-running ''Super Sentai'' franchise. It follows an angelic motif as well as a trading card theme. It joined '' Kamen Rider W'', and later '' Kamen Rider OOO'', as a program featured in TV Asah ...

'', until ''W'' concluded on August 29, 2010. The series is described as the . In the first episode of Kamen Rider Fourze, W is revealed to be in the same continuity as the original Showa timeline, making it the first series to do so since ''

Kamen Rider Agito , is the eleventh installment in the popular Kamen Rider tokusatsu franchise. The series represented the 30th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series. The series was also a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei and was shown ...

''. The series is notable for being the first installment in what's popularly viewed as Heisei era Kamen Rider's second phase by fans. A sequel manga series, '' Fuuto PI'', began serialization in August 2017 and an

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

adaptation began airing in August 2022.

Promotion

Advertisements throughout the months of May, June, and July 2009 built up to the debut of Kamen Rider W, who first appeared at the 10th Anniversary Project MASKED RIDER LIVE & SHOW event, and also featured in '' Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker''.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...

is a self-admitted fan of ''Kamen Rider W'', in June 2010 made a new costume designed after Kamen Rider W FangJoker's design and wore it at a match in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

on June 19. Rin Asuka also appeared at the match to promote the show.

Production and casting

The Kamen Rider W trademark was registered by Toei on March 27, 2009. The series' main writer is

Riku Sanjo is a Japanese manga writer and screenwriter. He works as a story writer for manga, anime and live-action film. Sanjo graduated from Meiji University. '' Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai'' (1989–1996), which he created with illustrator Ko ...

and the main director is

Ryuta Tasaki is a Japanese film director from Tokyo. Tasaki is most known for directing episodes of '' Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon'', '' Cutie Honey: The Live'', and the ''Super Sentai'', ''Power Rangers'', and '' Kamen Rider'' series. Filmography * seri ...

. The theme song titled " W-B-X ~W-Boiled Extreme~" is performed by Aya Kamiki with former

JUDY AND MARY Judy and Mary (often stylized as JUDY AND MARY) was a Japanese rock band formed in 1991 in Japan by bassist Yoshihito Onda and vocalist Yuki, with drummer Kohta Igarashi and guitarist Taiji Fujimoto completing the lineup in 1992. Guitarist Taku ...

guitarist TAKUYA as the unit . The creature designer is

Katsuya Terada , is a Japanese illustrator and cartoonist from the town of Tamano, Okayama. His alias is the portmanteau . Terada's prolific visual arts practice uniquely straddles the lines between manga, fine art, and digital design. His work ranges wide ...

, previously the character designer for '' Blood: The Last Vampire'', the designer of

Monster X is a 2004 Kaiju, ''kaiju'' film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Isao Kiriyama and Wataru Mimura, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. An international co-production between Japan, Australia, the United States, and China, the film was produce ...

for '' Godzilla: Final Wars'', the designer of Cutie Honey's costume for ''

Cutie Honey is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who trans ...

'', and the mechanic and character design refinement for ''

Yatterman is a Japanese anime television series broadcast from January 1, 1977 to January 27, 1979, comprising 108 episodes. It is the second and longest show in the ''Time Bokan'' series by Tatsunoko Productions. The series succeeded ''Time Bokan'' a ...

''. Newcomer

Masaki Suda , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor and singer. He won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. His debut song is "Mita Koto mo Nai Keshiki". Personal life Suda is a close junior to ...

portrays the mysterious Philip. Drama actor Renn Kiriyama, who made his acting debut as Bunta Marui in ''Musical Prince of Tennis: Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku ~ First Service'', joins the cast as Shotaro Hidari.

Hikaru Yamamoto is a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture. After winning the Amuse Ohimesama Audition, she was signed onto the Amuse, Inc. talent agency. She starred as the female lead in ''Kamen Rider W , is a 2009-2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the elev ...

, who made her acting debut in ''

Watashitachi no Kyōkasho is a Japanese television drama that began airing on April 12, 2007 on Fuji TV. The series stars Miho Kanno and Atsushi Itoh. In the United States, it aired on AZN Television AZN Television (formerly called International Channel) was a cable TV ...

'' as Chiharu Nobue, portrays the female lead Akiko Narumi. Comedian and actor

Takeshi Nadagi Takeshi ( in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings *武, "warrior" *毅, "strong" *猛, "fierce" *健, "healthy" *剛, "sturdy" *彪, "spotted" *威, "intimidate" *壮, "robust" *丈, "length" *雄, "mascu ...

portrays Mikio Jinno and veteran actor

Minori Terada is a Japanese voice actor and actor. Life and career Terada was born in Tokyo, as first son of Masaaki Terada, a famous painter. In 1961, Terada begun to be an actor. Terada is known as a villain, such as Alien Metron in ''Ultraman Max'', an ...

, known for his leading role in '' The Human Bullet'', portrays Ryubee Sonozaki.

Story

Many people live in peace and harmony in , an ecologically-minded and

wind-powered Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically, w ...

city. However, this peace is undermined by the Sonozaki Family, who sell mysterious

flash drive A flash drive is a portable computer drive that uses flash memory. Flash drives are the larger memory modules consisting of a number of flash chips. A flash chip is used to read the contents of a single cell, but it can write entire block of cell ...

-like devices called Gaia Memories to criminals and other interested parties. These individuals use the Gaia Memories to become Dopants, committing crimes with the police force powerless to stop them. To make matters worse, the Gaia Memories can cause their users to go insane, to the point where they could die from using the devices unrestrained. After the death of his boss Sokichi Narumi, the self-proclaimed hard-boiled (actually half-boiled) detective Shotaro Hidari works with the mysterious Philip, who possesses a set of purified Gaia Memories, to investigate Dopant-related crimes in Fuuto. With their Gaia Memories and the Double Driver belts, Shotaro and Philip transform and combine into Kamen Rider W to fight the Dopant menace and keep Fuuto safe. While joined in their fight by investigator Ryu Terui, who transforms into Kamen Rider Accel, the mystery of Philip's past, his relation to the Sonozaki Family, and their Museum organization are revealed.''Telebikun'' August 2009

Episodes

All episodes of ''Kamen Rider W'' have two titles: the first indicates a story arc while the second indicates the episode's title. The letter of the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...

in the story arc title has a

double meaning A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

: it represents a major character (Kamen Rider, Dopant, or otherwise) that is featured in the arc and another English word that indicates the theme of the arc.

Wind Wave Internet radio

To tie into the show, TV Asahi, Toei, and Avex Trax have produced the Wind Wave FM

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

station. Only one of the shows, , also exists within the fiction of ''Kamen Rider W''. The other programs, DJ Hurry Kenn's ''FU-TO Hit on Groove'' music show and

Tsuyoshi Tsuyoshi is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Tsuyoshi can be written using different kanji characters. Here are some examples: *剛, "sturdy" *剛史, "sturdy, history" *剛志, "sturdy, will" *剛士, "sturdy, gentleman/samura ...

and Ayano's show, treat the television series as fiction, explicitly referring to the songs they play as theme songs (as part of a mail in request, DJ Hurry Kenn played AAA DEN-O form's " Climax Jump", and referred to it as the theme song for '' Kamen Rider Den-O''). All of ''W''s theme songs have been played as part of the various radio shows, several of which were first heard on the "radio" before being utilized as part of an episode's soundtrack. On March 7, a new radio show featuring Queen & Elizabeth titled began "airing", but was discontinued a month later. To mirror the current events in the show's story, ''Healing Princess'' was cancelled on June 13, 2010.

Films

''All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker''

Kamen Rider W, voiced by Kiriyama and Suda, made his debut in ''

''s first film '' Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker''. During the movie, W arrives to fight Shadow Moon, before heading back to Fuuto.

''Movie War 2010''

As part of the triple feature, ''W''s film opened in Japanese theaters on December 12, 2009. The film expands on the origins of Kamen Rider W, featuring guest star Koji Kikkawa as Shotaro's mentor and Akiko's father Sokichi Narumi. The events of the movie took place between episodes 14 and 15.

''A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate''

In addition to the ''Movie War 2010'' films, ''W'' also has a feature film titled . Filmed in 3-D, it was released in theaters on August 7, 2010. Mitsuru Matsuoka, lead singer of Sophia served as the film's primary antagonist. It also features the first on-screen appearance of the 12th Heisei Kamen Rider:

Kamen Rider OOO is a 2010-2011 Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the twelfth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-first overall. It began airing on September 5, 2010, the week following the conclusion of '' Kamen Ri ...

. The events of the movie took place between episodes 44 and 45.

''Movie War Core''

The second Movie War film to primarily feature W, titled , was released in theatres on December 18, 2010, with the main ''W'' section titled .

''Let's Go Kamen Riders''

Kiriyama and Suda made cameo appearances, reprising their roles as Shotaro Hidari and Philip in the 40th-anniversary film .

''Movie War Mega Max''

Kiriyama and Suda reprised their roles as Shotaro Hidari and Philip in the 2011 film , released on December 10, 2011. The third out of the 5 parts of this Movie War, , took places in Fuuto and featured Kamen Rider W continuing his battle against Foundation X.

''Kamen Rider Taisen''

made its theater debut on March 29, 2014. Masahiro Inoue, playing ''

'', alongside many other lead actors of other series appeared in the film, including

Gaku Sano is a Japanese actor, best known for his role as Kouta Kazuraba, the main character of the Kamen Rider series ''Kamen Rider Gaim''. He was the winner of the '' Junon Super Boy Contest 2011''. Biography From an early age, Sano took part in the '' ...

of ''

Kamen Rider Gaim is a Japanese television series, a tokusatsu drama that is in the Kamen Rider Series; it is the 15th series during its Heisei period, Heisei run and 24th overall. The series, written by Gen Urobuchi, directed by Ryuta Tasaki and produced by Naomi ...

'', Renn Kiriyama of ''Kamen Rider W'', Kohei Murakami and Kento Handa of '' Kamen Rider 555'',

Shunya Shiraishi is a Japanese actor, best known for his role as Haruto Soma, the main character of the ''Kamen Rider Wizard'' tokusatsu series. He finished second at '' Junon Super Boy Contest 2007''. He is also known for his role as Hisashi Uehara in the Net ...

from ''

Kamen Rider Wizard is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's '' Kamen Rider'' franchise, being the fourteenth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-third overall. It began airing on TV Asahi on September 2, 2012, joining ''Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters' ...

'', Ryo Hayami of '' Kamen Rider X'', and

Hiroshi Fujioka , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor known for playing the hero Takeshi Hongo in the tokusatsu superhero series '' Kamen Rider'', and later the Sega Saturn mascot Segata Sanshiro (jokingly revealed to be Takeshi Hongo himse ...

of the original '' Kamen Rider''. The Sentai teams' '' Ressha Sentai ToQger'' and

Ryo Ryusei is a Japanese actor. He is signed with Ken-On. Career Ryusei was scouted on his way to a hair salon on Takeshita Street in Harajuku in the summer of 2009, and officially joined Ken-On in January 2010. In April 2010 he made his acting debut as ...

as Daigo Kiryu from ''

Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger is the Toei Company's 37th entry in its long-running ''Super Sentai'' metaseries of Japanese tokusatsu television series following '' Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters''. ''Kyoryuger'' aired on TV Asahi from February 17, 2013 to February 9, 2014, joini ...

'' were also in the movie.

Shun Sugata is a Japanese actor. Career Sugata was born in Yamanashi Prefecture. He starred in the 2006 film ''Confessions of a Dog''. He appeared in Amir Naderi's 2011 film ''Cut''. Filmography Film * ''Seiha'' (1982) as Nakahara * ''Kita no hotaru'' ...

playing Kamen Rider ZX from the '' Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!!'' TV special returned, also performing as Ambassador Darkness. Itsuji Itao of ''

Kamen Rider The First is a 2005 Japanese tokusatsu superhero film. The film is a reboot adaptation of the television series '' Kamen Rider'', though there are many differences between the film and the original programme; some of these, however, are due to a closer rel ...

'' played Ren Aoi, Kamen Rider Fifteen, a main antagonist of the film.

Video games

* A second port of '' Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes'' titled for the Wii was released on December 3, 2009. It features Kamen Rider W as a playable character and also features Dopants and other kaijin as characters in the game. * '' Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez'' is a 3D action game, which was released on October 29, 2020 for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. It features the cast from ''Kamen Rider W'', '' OOO'' and '' Zero-One'', whereas Kamen Riders W (including Joker and W FangJoker) and Accel as playable characters, though with Yoshimasa Hosoya,

Koki Uchiyama is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Saitama Prefecture. affiliated with Himawari Theatre Group. He won Best Male Rookie at 5th Seiyu Awards. He also received one of Best Voice Actors at Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2015. Filmography Telev ...

, and

Makoto Furukawa is a Japanese voice actor and singer previously affiliated with Space Craft Entertainment. He became a freelancer in September 2018. He joined the record label, Toy's Factory, in December 2018. He made his solo singer debut under Lantis in Ju ...

voicing them instead of Renn Kiriyama, Masaki Suda, and Minehiro Kinomoto respectively.

Mini-dramas

As part of the special features on the DVD releases, a series of short films are included called in which Shotaro

daydream Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...

s about what life would be like if he, Akiko, or Ryu acted differently. These feature a Dopant from the DVD volume in a completely different role than it had in the series proper. These are then followed by members of the cast discussing their favorite parts of the episodes included in the DVD volume. These mini-dramas appear again in Fuuto PI. ;Volume titles # # # # # # # # # # # #

Planetarium film

At several

planetaria A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

throughout Japan, Toei had produced a film called to teach children about

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

(with narration by

Hirohiko Kakegawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Biography Kakegawa was born on October 11, 1959, in Saitama Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University.''Talent Who's Who in Japan'', Section 92, VIP Times Inc., ...

). Shotaro Hidari (portrayed by Kiriyama) and Philip (portrayed by Suda) who transform into Kamen Rider W, alongside Kamen Rider 1 (voiced by

Tetsu Inada is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. Biography Filmography Anime Films Video games Tokusatsu Dubbing Drama CDs References External linksOfficial agency profileTetsu Inadaat Ryu's Seiyuu Infos * * ...

), Kamen Rider 2 (voiced by

Takahiro Fujimoto is an actor and a retired male medley swimmer from Japan, who represented his native country in two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. His best Olympic result was the 8th place (4:23.86) in the Men's 400m Individual Medley event ...

), and the ten previous Heisei Riders, fight Shocker led by its President (

Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. Shibata is married to fellow voice actor Akiko Sekine. He ...

) and Gelshocker's Leechameleon (voiced by

Yasuhiro Takato Yasuhiro Takato ( ja, 高戸靖広, Takato Yasuhiro, born January 23, 1968 in Okayama) is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production. Filmography Television animation *'' Sailor Moon'' (1992) - Artemis *'' Ping-Pong Club'' (1995) - ...

) who plan on destroying the Earth by having it succumb to global warming. Airings first began at the

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

Science Museum on June 5, 2010, and later at Kagawa Prefecture's Sanuki Kid's Land, Chūō, Tokyo's Time Dome Akashi, the Seki Manabi Center, the

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

Municipal Science Center, the Tondabayashi Subaru Hall, and the Sendai Astronomical Observatory in Aoba-ku, with shows starting later in the year at the Kobe Science Museum in

Chūō-ku, Kobe is one of 9 wards of Kobe, Japan. It has an area of 28.46 km², and a population of 127,602 with 74,814 households as of January 31, 2012. The ward was formed from the 1980 merger of the former Fukiai-ku () and Ikuta-ku (). The Consu ...

, and the Saitama Municipal Youth's Astronomical Science Museum in

Urawa-ku, Saitama is one of ten wards of the city of Saitama, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is located in the northeastern part of the city. Urawa-ku is the governmental center of Saitama City and houses most of the city's administrative offices including ...

''Televi-Kun'' DVDs

The Hyper Battle DVD for ''W'' is titled . It features a cooking contest between Ryu Terui, Akiko Narumi, and Shotaro Hidari, in order to best figure out what the contents of the Donburi Dopant are, to eventually discover that he is the Oyakodon Dopant. The Hyper Battle DVD features guest stars

Hiroshi is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

as the OmuriFu Shop's Master ,

Reina Fujie , is a Japanese idol who is a former member NMB48's Team BII and former member of AKB48. She is a cousin of Berryz Kobo was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members cons ...

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...

as his daughter , and Shinichiro Ohta of ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bui ...

'' fame as the voice of the Frog Pod who comments throughout the cooking contest (Ōta also served as the narrator in ''

GoGo Sentai Boukenger is the 30th series in Toei's Super Sentai series, a metaseries of Japanese tokusatsu programming. It was the first installment to be broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio. It premiered on February 19, 2006, at 7:30 JST on TV Asahi's 2006 ''Super ...

''). The is a DVD packaged with the August 2010 issue of '' Televi-Kun'' magazine. The issue also comes with a short book with the information described in the DVD. The DVD is set shortly after the Hyper Battle DVD, and features the content normally found in the Hyper Battle DVD (explaining the powers and weapons of the Kamen Riders), explained as Philip having come down with temporary amnesia after slipping on an egg shell and hitting his head.

''W Returns''

is a set of two

V-Cinema Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

releases that focus on side stories of Ryu Terui as Kamen Rider Accel and Katsumi Daido as Kamen Rider Eternal. Both releases are named after their primary character.

''Playback''

''W''s S.I.C Hero Saga side story ''Kamen Rider W: Playback'' commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series with Shotaro Hidari and Philip leading

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as '' Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), ...

through the events following his creation of the television series in 1971. The first episode was published in ''Hobby Japan'', July 2011. Each episode is named after a different story written by Raymond Chandler. # # # # # # #

''The One Who Continues After Z''

, written by

, is part of a series of spin-off novel adaptions of the Heisei Era Kamen Riders. Phillip takes up Shotaro's job in solving cases after he becomes sick. Phillip uses Kamen Rider W Fang Joker and fights alongside Kamen Rider Accel, however the Dopants get tougher and force Philip to become a Kamen Rider himself: Kamen Rider Cyclone. The novel was released on November 30, 2012. The novel takes place between episodes 32 and 33.

''Fuuto PI''

is a manga sequel that has been serialized in ''

Big Comic Spirits is a weekly Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan. The first issue was published on October 14, 1980. Food, sports, romance and business are recurring themes in the magazine, and the stories often question conventional va ...

'' weekly magazine since August 7, 2017. Riku Sanjo, the main writer for the original series, was in charge of the manga's scripts, Masaki Sato drew the manga, Toei producer Hideaki Tsukada supervised the manga, and Katsuya Terada was credited for creature designs. An

adaptation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the ''Kamen Rider'' series and began airing in August 2022. The story is set after '' Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Accel''. The series will be streamed in English by

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

. Some of the cast who has previously voiced their characters in the video game '' Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez'' reprises their roles.

Cast

* : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * Narration, Gaia Memory Voice:

Guest cast

* : * : * : * : * : * Teacher (7, 8): * : * : KOJI * Young girl (12): * : * : * : * : * : * * TAKUYA (23, 24) * : * DJ Hurry Kenn (Voice; 23, 24) * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * :

Songs

;Opening theme * " W-B-X (W-Boiled Extreme)" ** Lyrics:

Shoko Fujibayashi is a Japanese lyricist who has written the lyrics for several tokusatsu television series' theme songs. Most recently, Fujibayashi has worked with Shuhei Naruse on the soundtracks of '' Kamen Rider Den-O'', ''Kamen Rider Kiva'', and their films. S ...

** Composition:

Shuhei Naruse is a Japanese musician, composer, and music arranger from Kyoto Prefecture. Naruse attended Ritsumeikan University. His major debut as a musician was in the rock band DEVELOP=FRAME where he played keyboards. He has since worked on the compos ...

** Arrangement: TAKUYA, Shuhei Naruse ** Artist: *:Read as "Double-B-X ~Double Boiled Extreme~", the song is written by Fujibayashi and Naruse, who have contributed to the production of the highest peaking Heisei Kamen Rider Series theme songs " Climax Jump" (#2), "Break the Chain" (#3), and "

Journey through the Decade "Journey Through the Decade" (stylized "Journey through the Decade") is a song by Japanese pop singer Gackt, serving as his thirtieth single released on March 25, 2009. It is his first song performed for ''Kamen Rider Decade'', used as the televis ...

" (#2) on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

charts, performed by Kamiki and TAKUYA and was released on November 11, 2009. In its first week of release, it peaked at #8 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. *:Episodes 28 and 49 used the song as the ending theme. ; Insert themes * "Cyclone Effect" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi ** Composition: AYANO (of

FULL AHEAD Full may refer to: * People with the surname Full, including: ** Mr. Full (given name unknown), acting Governor of German Cameroon, 1913 to 1914 * A property in the mathematical field of topology; see Full set * A property of functors in the mathe ...

) ** Arrangement: Labor Day ** Artist: Labor Day ** Episodes: 3–6, 9, 21, 23, 24, 25, 45 *:The first of the ''Kamen Rider W'' ending themes "Cyclone Effect" was released on November 25, 2009, on a

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...

. While the song is intended to be the theme for Kamen Rider W CycloneJoker, the song is also played during other forms' fight scenes. The vocalist is of Utayacco with AYANO of

on guitar. * "Free your Heat" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi ** Composition & Arrangement: Ryo (of

defspiral Defspiral (stylized as defspiral, and briefly existing under the name Wilma-Sidr) is a Japanese visual kei rock band composed of most of the former members of the Underneath. When the Underneath disbanded in 2010,everset, with on vocals, tatsuo on guitar, and on bass. * "Finger on the Trigger" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi & Otoko Usagi ** Composition & Arrangement: Junichi "IGAO" Igarashi ** Artist: Florida Keys ** Episodes: 7, 8, 14, 16, 18, 23, 30, 39 *:This theme for Kamen Rider W LunaTrigger was featured briefly on the Wind Wave internet radio shows shortly before premiering in the series. This song was released on CD on December 16, 2009. The band is composed of members of the band , featuring vocals by Yosh and U-Sagi with IGAO on keyboard. * "Naturally" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi ** Composition & Arrangement:

** Artist: Wakana Sonozaki ( Rin Asuka) ** Episodes: 13, 14, 17 *:Wakana Sonozaki ( Rin Asuka) also has her own single titled "Naturally" that debuted during her talk show. It was later featured in the television series during a story arc that focused on her (Shotaro and Philip, as fans of her show, know all the lyrics and the accompanying dance). "Naturally" was released on CD on January 27, 2010. * "Leave all Behind" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi ** Composition: Ryo (of

defspiral Defspiral (stylized as defspiral, and briefly existing under the name Wilma-Sidr) is a Japanese visual kei rock band composed of most of the former members of the Underneath. When the Underneath disbanded in 2010,Wilma-Sidr ** Episodes: 22, 44 *:This new song premiered on the ''FU-TO HIT on GROOVE'' show which marked the day of

Kamen Rider Accel , is a 2009-2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the Kamen Rider Series and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''Kamen Rider Decade'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside '' S ...

's appearance in the series. In episode 22, it is first used as Kamen Rider Accel's ending theme. It was released on CD on April 28, 2010. The members of Wilma-Sidr are the current line up of

Tomomi Itano is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled " Dear J", which wa ...

Tomomi Kasai is a Japanese singer, actress and a former member of the idol group AKB48, belonging to Team A. She had a recurring role on ''Kamen Rider W'' as Elizabeth, alongside group member Tomomi Itano. Together, they make up the sub-unit Queen & Elizab ...

) ** Episodes: 23, 24 *:As part of their involvement in the ''Kamen Rider W'' production,

and

released the song "Love♡Wars" on March 31, 2010, as four different CDs, three of which contain DVDs with a music video, trading cards, and a special bonus track. The fourth is a CD-only release without the bonus track(s) available on the other three discs. The song debuted in the show during episodes 23 & 24 in which their characters Queen & Elizabeth are performing in a competition akin to ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'' to get a major release. In its first week of release it sold over 21,000 copies, reaching #4 on the

Weekly Rankings. *"Nobody's Perfect" ** Lyrics:

Gorō Matsui is a Japanese lyricist born 11 December 1957 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, though he considers Tokyo to be his hometown. Beginning with participation in the Yamaha Popular Song Contests, he made his debut writing the lyrics for the 1981 Chage and ...

** Composition: Sokichi Narumi ( Koji Kikkawa) ** Arrangement: Hiroaki Sugawara ** Artist: Sokichi Narumi ( Koji Kikkawa) ** Episodes: 32, 38, 41, 42 & Movie War Core *: Koji Kikkawa recorded "Nobody's Perfect" as

Kamen Rider Skull , is a 2009-2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the Kamen Rider Series and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''Kamen Rider Decade'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside ''Sa ...

's theme song. A single (as a CD single and a CD+DVD version) was released on June 30, 2010. Although it is not used as an ending theme, the song is featured in several episodes and was used as the instrumental theme for the final episode preview. The song's music video, directed by

, tells a side story with Philip finding a book entitled "Nobody's Perfect". He views a number of flashbacks involving Sokichi Narumi and his past as Kamen Rider Skull, taking on a case with Shotaro. * "Extreme Dream" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi ** Composition: AYANO (of

) ** Arrangement: Labor Day ** Artist: Labor Day ** Episodes: 46, 48 *:On the June 13, 2010 episode of ''FU-TO HIT on GROOVE'', Labor Day debuted their newest song for the series: "Extreme Dream". The song was not featured in the television series until 2 months later. * "Cyclone Effect (acoustic edit.)" ** Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi ** Composition: AYANO (of

) ** Arrangement: Labor Day ** Artist: Labor Day ** Episodes: 48 *:This variation of "Cyclone Effect" is first heard in the background of episode 21. The song is later used as the ending theme for episode 48. During the events of episode 8, the song by Florida Keys was played within the show by a character. During episodes 23 and 24, the character Jimmy Nakata performed an original song titled ; this song was included as a bonus track on the standard DVD release version of the "Love♡Wars" single. During episode 23, Shotaro and Philip cover "Finger on the Trigger" in the ''Fuuuuuutic Idol'' contest. In addition to these songs, ''Head Wind One-Game Match!!'' DJs have written and performed the song "WIND WAVE" as a theme song for the fictional radio station. This song, as well as "Glorious Street (Eikō no Michi)", and "Extreme Dream" have been included in the complete CD box set. The bands that perform the series' ending themes are also featured in the programs as being local bands in the fictional city of Fuuto:

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Labor Day's "Cyclone Effect", heavy metal/ hard rock band Galveston 19's "Free Your Heat", and hip-hop group Florida Keys' "Finger on the Trigger". Each of these bands is named after a major early 20th century

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

: the

1935 Labor Day hurricane The Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record by pressure, with winds of up to 185 mph (297 km/h). The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and sec ...

, the

1900 Galveston hurricane The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and the third-de ...

, and the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane. The newest group, the

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Some ...

band Wilma-Sidr, is named after

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part o ...

and

Cyclone Sidr Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Sidr was a tropical cyclone that resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in Bangladesh. The fourth named storm of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and q ...

. * "FINALLY" ** Artist: Melissa (hikaru yamamoto) * "Love♡Wars acoustic edit" ** Artist: Queen & Elizabeth * "Finger on the Trigger (heisei best Re-edit Ver.) ** Artist: Shotaro Hidari & Philip * "Glorious street 〜栄光の道〜" * "fuuto tower" * "WIND WAVE" * "HEART∞BREAKER" ** Artist: Daikichi (maki oguro & koji kikkawa) * "W" ** Artist: Mitsuru matsuoka * "cod-E ～Eの暗号～" ** Artist: Shopia

Parodies

Episode 295-A of '' Sgt. Frog'' titled features the members of the

Keroro Platoon The following is a list of various characters in the fictional universe of the anime and manga series '' Sgt. Frog'' and related works. Keroro Platoon The is led by Sergeant Keroro. While most platoons contain thirty or forty soldiers, the ...

finding an artifact that allows two of them to combine into a single Keroro, each with new powers. The episode title is based on ''Kamen Rider W''s catchphrase and the resultant transformation resembles that of Kamen Rider W (the characters appear to be split down the middle, with one side being, for example, Keroro and the other Tamama).

References

External links

*
Official website
at

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

Official website
at

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

* {{Kamen Rider W Detective fiction 2009 Japanese television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings Japanese supernatural television series Japanese crime television series Fiction about murder Television shows about psychic powers Sentient objects in fiction