Kamen Rider SPIRITS
Cover of Volume 1 by Kodansha
仮面ライダーSPIRITS
(Kamen Raidā Supirittsu)
Created byKenichi Muraeda
Based on Kamen Rider by Shotaro Ishinomori.
Manga
The Legend of Masked Riders
Written byKenichi Muraeda
Published byKodansha
MagazineMagazine Z
DemographicSeinen
Original run20012002
Volumes3
Manga
Forget Memories
Written byKenichi Muraeda
Published byKodansha
MagazineMagazine Z
DemographicSeinen
Original run20022004
Volumes4
Manga
Dragon Road
Written byKenichi Muraeda
Published byKodansha
MagazineMagazine Z
DemographicSeinen
Original run20052009
Volumes9
Manga
Shin Kamen Rider Spirits
Written byKenichi Muraeda
Published byKodansha
MagazineMonthly Shōnen Magazine[1]
DemographicShōnen
Original run2009 – present
Volumes31

Kamen Rider Spirits (仮面ライダーSPIRITS(スピリッツ), Kamen Raidā Supirittsu, trans. Masked Rider Spirits) is a manga adaptation of the popular Kamen Rider franchise by Kenichi Muraeda. The story focuses on the ten original Kamen Riders with shifting focus on main characters. The original series ended when Magazine Z ceased publication and was then revived in the Monthly Shōnen Magazine under the title Shin Kamen Rider SPIRITS (新・仮面ライダーSPIRITS, Shin Kamen Raidā Supirittsu, New Masked Rider SPIRITS).

Plot

Taking place after the end of the Kamen Rider Super-1 television series, Kamen Rider Spirits is composed of three different arcs, each focusing on different Kamen Riders. The manga also ties up loose ends from the various TV series, such as how Riderman survived the Pluton rocket explosion and why Stronger's partner, Tackle, was never acknowledged as a Kamen Rider.

The first arc, known as The Legend of Masked Riders (仮面ライダーSPIRITS —THE LEGEND OF MASKED RIDERS—(ザ レジェンド オブ マスクド ライダース), Kamen Raidā Supirittsu: Za Rejendo obu Masukudo Raidāsu), is composed of several stand-alone stories that focus on the original nine Kamen Riders who have gone their separate ways. After discovering suspicious activity going on all over the world, the Kamen Riders realize that a new evil is rising.

The second arc, known as Forget Memories (仮面ライダーSPIRITS —FORGET MEMORIES—(フォーゲット メモリーズ), Kamen Raidā Supirittsu: Fōgetto Memorīzu), focuses on the tenth Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider ZX, and gives the character an alternate origin story, ignoring the events of the Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! TV special. The second arc also introduces the Badan Empire, the story's main villains.

The third arc, known as Dragon Road (仮面ライダーSPIRITS —DRAGON ROAD—(ドラゴン ロード), Kamen Raidā Supirittsu: Doragon Rōdo), focuses on Kamen Rider ZX joining the original nine Kamen Riders and facing the evil Badan Empire together.

Volumes and chapters

The first three series of Kamen Rider Spirits follow the same continuous volume/chapter count.

The Legend of Masked Riders (3 volumes)

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 April 20014-06-349054-8
01. Skyscraper Gale
02. The Lone Battlefield I
03. The Lone Battlefield II
04. Pride of the Hot Sand I
05. Pride of the Hot Sand II
2 October 20014-06-349073-4
06. Memories of a Right Arm
07. Sea of Destruction I
08. Sea of Destruction II
09. Tears of God I
10. Tears of God II
3 June 20024-06-349096-3
11. The Stray Thunderbolt I
12. The Stray Thunderbolt II
13. Promises of the Sky I
14. Promises of the Sky II
15. Legend of the Stars I
16. Legend of the Stars II
17. Legend of the Stars III

Forget Memories (4 volumes)

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
4 February 20034-06-349117-X
18. Assault
19. Darkness
20. Encounter
21. Escape
22. Rage
23. Rumi
5 September 20034-06-349144-7
24. Attack
25. Thorn
26. Demon
27. Contact
28. Redemption
29. Target
30. Flash
6 May 20044-06-349168-4
31. Henshin
32. Secret
33. Battle
34. Judo
35. Remembrance
36. Separation
37. Lies
38. Revenge
7 February 20054-06-349195-1
39. Cult
40. Rescue
41. Conquest
42. Invasion
43. Coup
44. Shinjuku
45. The Greater Leader

Dragon Road (9 volumes)

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
8 September 20054-06-362047-6
46. Arrival
47. Sacrifice
48. Clash
49. Name
50. Prologue
51. Syndrome
52. Participation I
53. Participation II
9 May 20064-06-349244-3
54. Union
55. Journey
56. Unit
57. Capital
58. Shield
10 August 20064-06-349255-9
59. Spirit Union
60. Number Fourth
61. Rush
62. Ice Fang
63. Graveyard
11 November 20064-06-349265-6
64. Light Fang
65. Labyrinth
66. Hell Car
67. Teacher
68. Training
12 April 2007978-4-06-349282-8
69. Whirlpool
70. New Finisher
71. Ocean Battle
72. Belt of Life
73. Immortal Man
13 September 2007978-4-06-349309-2
74. Inherit
75. Get Back
76. Moving
77. Evolution
78. Next Evolution
79. Final Evolution
14 April 2008978-4-06-349354-2
80. Warrior's Essence
81. Surpassing Greed
82. Return
83. Fiery Giant
84. With the Soul
85. Setup
86. Father
15 December 2008978-4-06-349398-6
87. Shift
88. The Shadow's Trump Card
89. Friend
90. Garanda
91. Love
92. Strength
16 April 2009978-4-06-349426-6
93. Warrior of Justice
94. The One Who Will Rule
95. Mixture
96. The Fang of Dual Sovereignty

Shin Kamen Rider Spirits

Starting from Shin Kamen Rider Spirits the series volume/chapter count is reset.

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
01 (17) November 2009
02 (18) April 2010
03 (19) September 2010
04 (20) April 2011
05 (21) November 2011
06 (22) April 2012
07 (23) November 2012
08 (24) August 2013
09 (25) May 2014
10 (26) November 2014
11 (27) May 2015
12 (28) October 2015
13 (29) May 2016
14 (30) October 2016
15 (31) March 2017
16 (32) August 2017
17 (33) December 2017
18 (34) June 2018
19 (35) October 2018
20 (36) January 2019
21 (37) April 2019
22 (38) July 2019
23 (39) October 2019
24 (40) January 2020
25 (41) April 2020
26 (42) July 2020
27 (43) November 2020
28 (44) March 2021
29 (45) August 2021
30 (46) December 2021
31 (47) April 2022

Characters

Main

Supporting

  • Yuriko Misaki / Electro Wave Human Tackle (in flashback)
  • Kazuya Taki / Taki Rider - An FBI agent and an old friend of several Kamen Riders, including the first. The lack of a Kamen Rider in America causes Kazuya to take matters into his own hands by donning a motorcycle outfit and skull-logo helmet.
  • Annrietta Birkin - An Interpol agent and member of an anti-Destron task force, she supports the ten Kamen Riders. She is attracted to Yuki. Taki calls her "Anri".
  • Tobei Tachibana - The mentor of Rider 1, Rider 2, V3, Riderman, X, Amazon, Stronger and ZX.
  • Kanji Yada / GanGan G - Skyrider's sidekick.
  • Genjiro Tani - Skyrider and Super-1's mentor.
  • Junior Rider Team - Super-1's child sidekicks.
  • Dr. Mami - Hayato's companion in a civil war-torn country called the Republic of Gamon. She works as a doctor in charge of a hospital for injured people.
  • Dr. Kaido - Ryo's mentor and a friend of his father.
  • Rumi Ichijō - The daughter of a doctor who was killed by the Badan Empire.
  • SPIRITS (Saving Project Incorporate with Kamen Riders on ImmorTal Soul) - a mercenary group formed to fight the Badan Empire. They act as backup for the ten Kamen Riders and are led by Kazuya and Annrietta.

Villains

  • Father Petrescu - A seemingly kindly preacher dedicated to ridding the world of sin. He is actually a vampire and a serial killer. He is killed by Kamen Rider 1's Denko Rider Kick.
  • Marshal Armor - A former Destron officer who transferred his consciousness into a massive crab-like beast. He attacks his old enemy, Riderman, in the jungles of Oceania. He is eventually killed by Riderman after being hit in the same spot on his shell one too many times.
  • Dead Lion - a former high-ranking member of Black Satan.

Badan Empire

  • Great Leader JUDO (大首領 JUDO, Dai Shūryō JUDO) - The main antagonist, he is the same "Great Leader" who was the supreme leader of all of the evil organizations the nine previous Kamen Riders faced in the past. He leads the Badan Empire and is worshiped like a god by his followers. He possesses the ability to transform into the nine Kamen Riders and a golden version of ZX called Susanoo (スサノオ). He has his own language, which he can telepathically compel others to understand.
  • Colonel Gamon / Ambassador Darkness - The nominal leader of the Badan Empire and twin brother of Ambassador Hell of Shocker. The two brothers were once known as General Damon and Colonel Gamon. They fought for the independence of a small Southeast Asian nation later christened "Gamon" after the supposedly deceased Colonel joined Badan. Far more powerful than his brother, Ambassador Darkness cannot be killed by physical means, and can regenerate wounds as grievous as being cut in half in a short period of time.
  • Dr. Lars Bohmann - A renowned Norwegian geneticist and former scientist for Badan. In his younger days, he deliberately injured his two children in a plane crash and modified them with cybernetics. When his son, who became Mothroid, discovers this, he uses his poison to burn his father's skin from his body.
  • The Last Battalion - A variety of cybernetic monstrosities kept by Badan on various floating islands. Only the Cyborg Elite can control them.
  • Badan Vortex - A black hole-like construct used by Badan to suck up "sinners", sparing the Cyborg Elite. The only known way to destroy one is to attack the magic runes used to summon it; doing so appears to cause Ambassador Darkness pain.
  • The Cyborg Elite - The self-styled "chosen ones" of the Badan Empire, they believe that they will inherit the Earth once JUDO cleanses it of "sinners". Each is a human given cyborg enhancements that allow them to change into a monster at will.
    • Needle / Yamaarashiroid - Leader of the Cyborg Elite. In human form, he is a mild-mannered, bespectacled man with blond hair. He possesses the ability to produce quills to attack as well as various other effects. After most of the Cyborg Elite fail, he goes after ZX himself, only to be defeated. Afterward, he quits Badan, believing Ambassador Darkness now wants his head for his failure.
    • Combatroids - The lowest-ranked of the Cyborg Elite, often used as grunt fighters. They are led by commanders in all black.
    • General Nguyen / Kumoroid - A celebrated military man of the Republic of Gamon, he seemingly leads the defense of the country against guerillas but in reality is playing both sides of the war; the guerillas are Combatroids in disguise. Killed by Kamen Rider 2, after which peace returns to Gamon.
    • Vega / Takaroid - A young Egyptian street punk who became a cyborg in exchange for Badan aid to his destitute family. He now rules a Badan cyborg factory in the form of a black pyramid. After he makes the largely innocent robot in charge of the factory cry, he is killed by V3.
    • Rosa / Bararoid - Rosa was once a young flamenco dancer who, with her husband, was chased off a cliff by superstitious villagers. She was made into a cyborg by a silver skull in the ocean and returned to haunt the village where she died—especially her father-in-law Greco. She possesses the ability to manifest a person's worst fear out of a pool of water; for the final battle with X, the water takes the form of King Dark. Both she and the silver skull are killed by X, though the skull is later found and reassembled by the Combatroids.
    • Salamander / Tokageroid - One of Needle's three chief lieutenants. In human form, he is a Peruvian assassin codenamed "Salamander". He is sent to kidnap a young cyborg, Victor, and lure him to Badan with promises of command over the Last Battalion. When that plan fails, he is turned into a mindless monster by Needle and killed by Amazon.
    • Eisuke Mikage / Tigeroid - Interpol detective and later henchman of the Badan Empire. He believes that there is no point in saving the world, and so only works to further himself. After taking a grievous wound protecting Ryo Murasame, the future ZX, both are modified by Badan. Mikage becomes Tigeroid, with the ability to produce a wide variety of artillery from his body.
    • Freyr "Poison" Bohmann / Dokugaroid - An effeminate male cyborg who is one of Needle's lieutenants. He is actually Dr. Lars Bohmann's son, who injured him in order to upgrade him with cybernetics. He was modified to secrete the most powerful poison in the world. He is killed by Skyrider after killing his father for using him. He is named for the Norse god Freyr.
    • Freya Bohmann - A good-natured female cyborg and sister to Freyr. She was injured in the same accident engineered by their father and modified to secrete the most powerful antidote in the world. Though she admits she is a monster, her monster form is never seen. Named for the Norse goddess Freya.
    • Asuma / Amenbaroid - A large cyborg and Needle's final lieutenant who attacks Super-1 when he discovers a mysterious crater made by Badan on the moon. In his effort to safeguard the secret, he massacres all but a small squadron of the crew of Super-1's moon base. He is killed by Super-1.
    • LaMoore / Chameleonroid - A Badan assassin sent after ZX when he defects. His human form is that of a grubby street person. Like the animal he is based on, he can climb walls and blend into backgrounds, and he has a long sticky tongue he uses as a weapon. After killing a homeless man befriended by ZX, he is seemingly killed by ZX himself. Although he survives, he is shattered both physically and mentally. After threatening Rumi, he is killed by ZX for good.
    • Jigokuroid, Kamakiroid, Kaniroid - The personal attendants of Ambassador Darkness. Though they have human forms, appearing as a motorcycle gang, they do not interact with humans and thus do not have human names. Antlionroid, the leader, is a stereotypical rebellious teenager. He is attracted to Mantisroid and sees Ambassador Darkness as a father figure to be revolted against. He can create sand pits and survive grievous wounds, but afterwards he takes on a naked and vulnerable form for a time. Mantisroid appears as a beautiful woman in her twenties and is attracted to Ambassador Darkness. She can release a chemical from her fingernails that immobilizes people. Crabroid appears as a little old man with a walking stick. He never speaks, apart from an insane cackling while in monster form. The three can combine with each other, and in this form they are dismembered by ZX after JUDO's influence is purged from their body. A backbone from each of them survives, but they are killed by Needle before they can regenerate.

References

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