Kamen Rider Agito (Japanese: 仮面ライダーアギト, Hepburn: Kamen Raidā Agito, stylized in English as Masked Rider ΑGITΩ), is the eleventh installment in the popular Kamen Ridertokusatsu franchise. The series represented the 30th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series.
The series was also a joint collaboration between Asatsu-DK and Toei and was shown on TV Asahi from January 28, 2001, to January 27, 2002. The series served as an indirect sequel to Kamen Rider Kuuga, which this show is set in the same universe as the previous show, and the first Kamen Rider series to not have an ending sequence. The series aired along with Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger. The series is airing on Toku after being added to the network in November 2020.[1]
Story
Two years have passed since the Unidentified Lifeform case concluded, a series of mysterious and impossible murders are taking place across the city carried out by unknown beings. A man named Shouichi Tsugami has no memory of who he was, where he came from, or how he came upon his peculiar circumstances to transform into a powerful superhuman, Kamen Rider Agito, whenever in the presence of the beings referred to by the police as the "Unknown". Known as the Lords, these powerful monsters perceived themselves as humanity's defenders and kill certain people in a series of murders that force the police department to make Makoto Hikawa the user of the Kamen Rider G3 powersuit which was modeled after Kamen Rider Kuuga. Shouichi and Makoto, both initially hesitant of the other at first, are joined by Ryō Ashihara, who becomes a pre-Agito known as Kamen Rider Gills and seeks the truth behind his father's suicide. These mysteries and many others collide as the true nature of Agito would ultimately determine the fate of humanity.
Episodes
Movies and specials
TV Special: A New Transformation (仮面ライダーアギト スペシャル 新たなる変身, Kamen Raidā Agito Supesharu Aratanaru Henshin)
They were originally aired on October 1, 2001, between Episodes 35 and 36, the special features all three Riders plus the first appearances of G3 Mild and Agito Shining Form. Shouichi encounters psychologist Azuma Kunieda, who had once nursed him back to health, fights an Unknown at night and reaches Burning Form, but goes out of control. Then, Kunieda helps him control it. All three Riders fight against the Beetle Lord. The story ended with a mysterious girl stalking G4 and was to be continued in the movie.
There is a difference between the series' plot and the special's plot: in the latter, Tōru Hōjō eavesdrops on Shōichi and Kunieda's conversation behind a window and finds out Shōichi is Agito; in the series, however, Hōjō ambushes Agito as he flees from a battle scene, sees as he reverts back to Shōichi and arrests him.
Kamen Rider Agito the Movie: Project G4 (劇場版 仮面ライダーアギト PROJECT G4, Gekijōban Kamen Raidā Agito Purojekuto Jī Fō)
Released in theatres on 22 September 2001, Project G4 was a double bill with Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger the Movie: The Fire Mountain Roars. Shouichi encounters a teenage girl called Sayaka Kahara, who ran away from a military facility because of an attack by the Ant Lords. Sayaka has a supernatural ability to foresee the future. Risa Fukami, of the military group GA, wants to use that power to enhance the newly made G4 System, which was based on designs stolen from Ozawa. Now, Agito and Gills must fight to stop the Ant Lords' attack, as G3 and G4 settle their score. The events of the movie happen in the late 30s–early 40s after the special.
The film grossed over ¥1 billion at the Japanese box office.[2]
Kamen Rider Agito: Three Great Riders (仮面ライダーアギト 3大ライダー, Kamen Raidā Agito San Dai Raidā)
Three Great Riders is the Hyper Battle Video for Agito. The events of the video show Teleppi (てれっピ, Tereppi), the Televi-Kun mascot, calling upon Kamen Riders Agito, G3, and Gills to help fight several Unknowns that have invaded his world. Still, he will only trust the "Ultimate Rider". The video featured exclusive finishing moves for the three Riders. G3's special weapon that appears in the video, the Antares, was later featured in the television series.
Production
The Kamen Rider Agito trademark was registered by Toei on October 16, 2000.[3]
Video game
A video game based on the series, developed by KAZe and published by Bandai, was released in Japan on November 29, 2001, for the PlayStation. It is a fighting game.
S.I.C. Hero Saga
Agito featured two S.I.C. Hero Saga side stories published in Monthly Hobby Japan magazine. The first was titled Masked Rider ΑGITΩ: Heaven's Door (MASKED RIDER ΑGITΩ -HEAVEN'S DOOR-) and featured a crossover with Kamen Rider 555. It introduces the new characters Mirage Agito (ミラージュアギト, Mirāju Agito) and the Dog Orphnoch (ドッグオルフェノク, Doggu Orufenoku). The story was published from October 2003 to March 2004. Later, in the S.I.C. Hero Saga Vol. 2 book, the elements of 555 were removed from the story and the Dog Orphnoch was changed to the Dog Load (ドッグロード, Doggu Rōdo).
The second S.I.C. Hero Saga story titled Masked Rider ΑGITΩ: Project G1 (MASKED RIDER ΑGITΩ -PROJECT G1-) expands on the story told in Project G4 in showing the G-Series suits Generation 1, Kamen Rider G4-X (仮面ライダーG4-X, Kamen Raidā Jī Fō Ekkusu), Generation 2, and the Road Chaser (ロードチェイサー, Rōdo Cheisā) vehicle. It also features the Hydrozoa Lord (ハイドロゾアロード, Haidorozoa Rōdo) Hydrozoa Tegula (ヒドロゾア・テグラ, Hidorozoa Tegura). The story was published from October 2007 to January 2008.
Heaven's Door chapter titles
Outset (発端, Hottan)
ΑgitΩ (アギト, Agito)
Operation (操作, Sōsa)
Conceit (奇想, Kisō)
Psychic (能力者, Nōryokusha)
The Alpha and the Omega (ΑにしてΩ, Arufa ni shite Omega)
Project G1 chapter titles
GENERATION 1
G4-X
V1
ΑGITΩ
Novel
Kamen Rider Agito (仮面ライダーアギト, Kamen Raidā Agito), written by Naohiro Okamura and supervised by Toshiki Inoue, is part of a series of spin-off novel adaptions of the Heisei Era Kamen Riders. The novel was released on January 31, 2013.
In the United States, the series aired in its original Japanese audio with English subtitles on the Toku TV channel and streaming service in November 2020.[4]
Two decades later, Toei commissioned a Latin-Spanish dub in 2021, produced by Olympusat with dubbing work by Mexican studio, Meliorem for digital streaming. This was dubbed remotely online during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was licensed and released in Latin America on April 24, 2021, on and May 23, 2023, in North America on FreeTV respectively, and DistroTV for Latin American users in March 2023.
References
^Pineda, Rafael Antonio (November 2, 2020). "Toku HD Adds Kamen Rider Agito Series". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^Clements, Jonathan; Tamamuro, Motoko (2003). The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953. Stone Bridge Press. p. 182. ISBN 9781880656815.
^"スーパー戦隊、仮面ライダー、プリキュアの各シリーズにおける新作タイトルの商標登録出願についてまとめてみた". 8 May 2013.
^Pineda, Rafael Antonio (November 2, 2020). "Toku HD Adds Kamen Rider Agito Series". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
External links
Official website at TV Asahi at the Wayback Machine (archived August 2, 2002)
Official website at Toei Company at the Wayback Machine (archived June 5, 2002)