Kamen Rider 555

Kamen Rider 555

Title screen.
Genre Tokusatsu
Created by Shotaro Ishinomori
Written by Toshiki Inoue
Directed by
  • Ryuta Tasaki
  • Takao Nagaishi
  • Hidenori Ishida
  • Naoki Tamura
  • Nobuhiro Suzumura
Starring
Narrated by Takehiko Kano
Opening theme "Justiφ's" by ISSA
Ending theme
Composer(s) Hayato Matsuo
Country of origin Japan
Original language(s) Japanese
No. of episodes 50 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)
  • Chika Hamada (TV Asahi)
  • Shinichiro Shirakura
  • Naomi Takebe
  • Takaaki Utsunomiya (Toei)
Running time 24-25 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s) Toei Company
Distributor Toei Company
Release
Original network TV Asahi
Original release January 26, 2003 (2003-01-26) â€“ January 18, 2004 (2004-01-18)
Chronology
Preceded by Kamen Rider Ryuki
Followed by Kamen Rider Blade
External links
Website

Kamen Rider 555 (仮面ライダー555（ファイズ） Kamen Raidā Faizu, officially Masked Rider Φ's, also read Kamen Rider Faiz or Phi's) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the 13th installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was broadcast on TV Asahi from January 26, 2003 to January 18, 2004. And it was the first series to use TV Asahi's current logo. The catchphrase for the series is "Racing Instinct." (疾走する本能 Shissō Suru Honnō).

Story

The Smart Brain corporation, the world's most powerful corporation, is trying to take over the world using Orphnoch, the "next stage in humanity's evolution", to covertly kill off the human population. In pursuit of this, they develop three suits of power armor, called Rider Gears (each for Delta, Faiz, and Kaixa), to find and protect the Orphnoch King, who can fix a defect within Orphnoch DNA which causes their genetic structure to break down, leading to death.

The Rider Gears are stolen by Hanagata, the Goat Orphnoch and former chief of Smart Brain. He sends them to his foster children (dubbed the "Ryuseiji", after the school they attended) so they can stop the Orphnoch from achieving their goal. However, Rider Gears were designed to be worn by Orphnoch, and humans are unable to activate the systems without undergoing genetic modification.

A young loner, Takumi Inui, is unwittingly drawn into the conflict between the Orphnoch and humans and becomes Kamen Rider Faiz to save the life of Mari Sonoda, one of the Ryuseiji. Smart Brain begins targeting him in an attempt to retrieve the Faiz Gear.

However, there is division amongst the Orphnoch, as those who wish to co-exist with humans rather than kill them, begin resisting the Smart Brain, who in turn targets them as well. Most of these "renegade" Orphnochs are either killed, remain neutral or begin siding with the Ryuseiji against the Smart Brain.

When the Tokyo police discover the Orphnoch are behind a series of bizarre murders, they begin operations to defeat the creatures, largely unaware of the various factions involved. They even begin performing experiments on captured Orphnoch in an attempt to find ways of destroying them, though this does not go well.

The Orphnoch King eventually awakens within a young boy named Teruo Suzuki, whom Naoya Kaido and Keitaro Kikuchi saved and befriended. Now, it is up to the holders of the Rider Gears to band together and fight for humanity's survival.

Rider Gears

Rider Gears
Belt Greek letter Notable wearer
TV Series
Faiz Gear Φ Takumi Inui
Kaixa Gear Χ Masato Kusaka
Delta Gear Δ Shuji Mihara
Riotrooper Gear Ο Naoya Kaido
Movie
Psyga Gear Ψ Leo
Orga Gear Ω Yuji Kiba
Stage Show
Alpha Gear α Female Performer
Beta Gear β Male Performer
Gamma Gear γ Male Performer

The equipment used in the series to transform is referred to as Rider Gear. It was created to be worn by the Orphenoch to protect their Orphenoch King. Each Rider Gear contains a belt known as a Driver used to form armor that protects the wearer and amplifies their strengths and abilities. The armor's theme is based on a letter from the Greek alphabet, and contains the letter somehow within the aesthetic design. The Gears also have a method to input command codes, a cell phone number keypad for most, which can activate armor and various weapons. The sound effects of a dialing in any of the Rider Gear phones were later referenced in episode 17 of Kamen Rider Kabuto.

The TV series focused on three sets of Rider Gear: Faiz Gear, Kaixa Gear, and Delta Gear. During the TV series, Hanagata, the foster father of the Ryuseiji and former chief executive of Smart Brain, attempted to create several new Rider Gears, using two lost people to test out the first two. The two belts failed to create Rider armor, resulting in the wearer’s deaths. When Itsuro Takuma of Lucky Clover wore the third one it disabled him for a few seconds before it dissolved. The fourth dissolved without ever being worn. The Kamen Rider 555 movie, Paradise Lost, introduced two additional sets of Rider Gear: Psyga Gear and Orga Gear

Riotrooper Army

The show featured a series of mass-produced transformation belts called Smart Buckle, which enabled the wearer to transform into a generic Riotrooper. The Riotroopers were introduced in the movie, and later added at the end of the TV series.

Live Stage-Show

A live stage-show of Kamen Rider Faiz featured three unique riders named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.

Naming Conventions

Each set of Rider Gear is code-locked, in addition to being only usable by Orphenoch. These codes, input through the phone of each Gear, are a set of numbers that relate to the theme of each Gear. For the Faiz Gear, the code is 5-5-5, or "fives", phonetically similar to the word Faiz. For the Kaixa Gear, the code is 9-1-3, which is read in goroawase as "Ka-I-Sa". Delta Gear's phone was voice-activated, yet nonetheless also was coded with 3-3-3, a reference to the Greek letter delta, a triangle.

The goroawase system was also used for the Psyga Gear, where the code 3-1-5 is read as "Sa-I-Go". The Orga Gear, patterned after Greek Omega, the final letter, is code-locked to 0-0-0.

Orphnoch

Main article: Orphnoch

The series kaijin; they are humans who are resurrected either naturally or by the Smart Brain, with enhanced physical attributes and the ability to transform into monsters. Their goal is to annihilate humanity either by turning other humans into more Orphnoch or killing them off completely. However, there are those who believe they can still live peacefully alongside humans; those who possess that mind set quickly become targets for elimination by the Smart Brain.

Episodes

Ep# Title Original airdate
1 "The Start of a Trip"
"Tabi no Hajimari" (旅の始まり) 		January 26, 2003
2 "The Belt's Power"
"Beruto no Chikara" (ベルトの力) 		February 2, 2003
3 "The King's Sleep..."
"ÅŒ no Nemuri..." (王の眠り･･･) 		February 9, 2003
4 "My Name"
"Ore no Namae" (おれの名前) 		February 16, 2003
5 "Original"
"Orijinaru" (オリジナル) 		February 23, 2003
6 "Trio × Trio"
"Sannin × Sannin" (３人×３人) 		March 2, 2003
7 "The Power of Dreams"
"Yume no Chikara" (夢の力) 		March 9, 2003
8 "The Protector of Dreams"
"Yume no Mamoribito" (夢の守り人) 		March 16, 2003
9 "Enter, the President"
"Shachō Tōjō" (社長登場) 		March 23, 2003
10 "The Enigmatic Rider"
"Nazo no Raidā" (謎のライダー) 		March 30, 2003
11 "The Enigmatic Belt"
"Nazo no Beruto" (謎のベルト) 		April 6, 2003
12 "Ryūsei School"
"RyÅ«sei-juku" (流星塾) 		April 13, 2003
13 "Friend of Foe?"
"Teki ka Mikata ka" (敵か味方か) 		April 20, 2003
14 "Takumi's Spirit"
"Takumi no Iji" (巧の意地) 		April 27, 2003
15 "The Fallen Idol ~ φ's vs. χ"
"Ochita GÅ«zō ~ Faizu Tai Kai" (落ちた偶像~ φ's vs χ) 		May 4, 2003
16 "Human Heart"
"Ningen no Kokoro" (人間の心) 		May 11, 2003
17 "Takumi, Revival"
"Takumi, Fukkatsu" (巧、復活) 		May 18, 2003
18 "Narrow Escape from Death"
"KyÅ«shi ni Isshō" (九死に一生) 		May 25, 2003
19 "Pure White Justice"
"Junpaku no Seigi" (純白の正義) 		June 1, 2003
20 "The Beautiful Assassin"
"Utsukushiki Shikaku" (美しき刺客) 		June 8, 2003
21 "Accelerating Spirits"
"Kasoku Suru Tamashii" (加速する魂) 		June 22, 2003
22 "Masato's Confession"
"Masato no Kokuhaku" (雅人の告白) 		June 29, 2003
23 "False Friendship"
"Itsuwari no YÅ«jō" (偽りの友情) 		July 6, 2003
24 "The Door to Darkness"
"Yami e no Tobira" (闇への扉) 		July 13, 2003
25 "The Dark Laboratory"
"Yami no Jikkenshitsu" (闇の実験室) 		July 20, 2003
26 "Enter, Delta"
"Deruta Tōjō" (デルタ登場) 		July 27, 2003
27 "Ryūsei School Breaks Up"
"RyÅ«seijuku Bunretsu" (流星塾分裂) 		August 3, 2003
28 "Dark Clover"
"Ankoku no Yotsuba" (暗黒の四葉) 		August 10, 2003
29 "Excellent Bike"
"Chōzetsu Baiku" (超絶バイク) 		August 17, 2003
30 "Masato's Trap"
"Masato no Wana" (雅人の罠) 		August 24, 2003
31 "Origami Tears"
"Origami no Namida" (折り紙の涙) 		August 31, 2003
32 "Intertwined Threads"
"Karamiau Ito" (絡み合う糸) 		September 7, 2003
33 "Mari Dies"
"Mari, Shisu" (真理、死す) 		September 14, 2003
34 "True Form"
"Shinjitsu no Sugata" (真実の姿) 		September 21, 2003
35 "The Resurrection Riddle"
"Fukkatsu no Nazo" (復活の謎) 		September 28, 2003
36 "Restored Memories"
"Yomigaeru Kioku" (蘇る記憶) 		October 5, 2003
37 "Kaixa's Justice"
"Kaiza no Seigi" (カイザの正義) 		October 12, 2003
38 "The Wandering Spirit"
"Samayoeru Tamashii" (彷徨える魂) 		October 19, 2003
39 "Faiz 2"
"Faizu TsÅ«" (ファイズ２) 		October 26, 2003
40 "Proof of Humanity"
"Ningen no Akashi" (人間の証) 		November 9, 2003
41 "Capture Commences"
"Hokaku Kaishi" (捕獲開始) 		November 16, 2003
42 "Broken Wings"
"Oreta Tsubasa" (折れた翼) 		November 23, 2003
43 "Red Balloon"
"Akai FÅ«sen" (赤い風船) 		November 30, 2003
44 "Final Mail"
"Saigo no MÄ“ru" (最後のメール) 		December 7, 2003
45 "King's Awakening"
"ÅŒ no Mezame" (王の目覚め) 		December 14, 2003
46 "A New President Appears"
"Shin Shachō Tōjō" (新社長登場) 		December 21, 2003
47 "King's Appearance"
"ÅŒ no Shutsugen" (王の出現) 		December 28, 2003
48 "Masato, Dying A Glorious Death"
"Masato, Sange" (雅人、散華) 		January 4, 2004
49 "A Sign of Destruction"
"Horobiyuku Shu" (滅びゆく種) 		January 11, 2004
50 "My Dream"
"Ore no Yume" (俺の夢) 		January 18, 2004

Films

Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost

Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost (劇場版　仮面ライダー555　パラダイス・ロスト Gekijōban Kamen Raidā Faizu: Paradaisu Rosuto), was released during the run of the series, as a double feature alongside Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger: Abare Summer is Freezing! on August 16, 2003. The film was 81 minutes long. A few new characters and Rider Gears were introduced in the movie.

Kamen Rider Taisen

A trailer for Heisei Rider vs. Shōwa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai (平成ライダー対昭和ライダー 仮面ライダー大戦 feat.スーパー戦隊 Heisei Raidā Tai Shōwa Raidā Kamen Raidā Taisen fīcharingu Sūpā Sentai) was shown in theaters with The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle. The film's website reveals that it will be released in Japanese theaters on March 29, 2014. Kohei Murakami and Kento Handa are confirmed to reprises their respective roles from Kamen Rider 555.

Hyper Battle Video

Kamen Rider 555: Hyper Battle Video (仮面ライダー５５５（ファイズ）　ハイパーバトルビデオ Kamen Raidā Faizu Haipā Batoru Bideo) features a boom box called the Faiz Sounder developed by the Smart Brain corporation appearing at the laundromat where Takumi, Mari, and Keitaro work at, causing them and everyone else to break into song and dance. The Faiz Sounder was created as a result of a contest for Televi Magazine for a new weapon for Kamen Rider Faiz.

Lost World

The S.I.C. Hero Saga side story for 555 published in Monthly Hobby Japan magazine was titled Masked Rider 555: Lost World (MASKED RIDER 555 -ロスト・ワールド- Kamen Raidā Faizu -Rosuto Wārudo-). It serves as a prologue to the alternate story that was 555: Paradise Lost, and features the new character Riotrooper Ver. 2 (ライオトルーパーver.2 Raiotorūpā ver.2). The story ran from October 2005 to January 2006.

Chapter titles
  1. Faiz (ファイズ Faizu)
  2. Kaixa (カイザ Kaiza)
  3. Delta (デルタ Deruta)
  4. Psyga (サイガ Saiga)

Video game

A video game based on the series was produced by Bandai for the PlayStation 2. It was a fighting game which featured many of the characters from the TV series. There were several modes of gameplay for either a single play and two players. It was released only in Japan near the end of the TV series on December 18, 2003.[1]

Blu-ray release

In 2014, 555 will receive a three-part Blu-ray release. To promote the release, the cast reunited after 10 years, but they remarked that not much has changed, other than Yoshika Kato changing her stage name to Leilani Gaja and her new life in Hong Kong and series lead Kento Handa's recent popularity on the variety show Tamori Club where he has surprised guests with his knowledge of high-rise buildings and kayōkyoku.[2]

Cast

Guest actors

Songs

Opening theme
Ending themes

References

  1. ↑ "Kamen Rider 555 Info". GameFAQs. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  2. ↑ "「仮面ライダー555」主要キャストが10年ぶり集結！ブルーレイ化が決定！ - シネマトゥデイ". Cinematoday.jp. Retrieved 2013-10-28.

External links

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