Kamen Rider Revice


Kamen Rider Revice is a Japanese tokusatsu drama and the 32nd entry of Toei Company's Kamen Rider metaseries. It is the third series to debut during the Reiwa period and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the franchise. The series premiered on September 5, 2021, joining Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger and later, Avataro Sentai Donbrothers in the Super Hero Time line-up following the finale of Kamen Rider Saber and was followed by Kamen Rider Geats after its own finale.
The series revolves around animals/dinosaurs/insects/birds/prehistoric creatures and demons. It also centered on the theme of deal with the devil, first introduced by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Faust, as well as motifs of genetic memory.
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Premise

In 1971, a military organization called NOAH led an expedition in Latin America and discovered the remains of the first devil Giff and an artifact from which they developed Vistamps. In the present, Giff's remains are in the possession of a NOAH splinter faction called Deadmans, a devil-worshiping cult who seeks to resurrect him by using Proto Vistamps to convert peoples' inner demons to their fold. Opposing Deadmans is an organization called Fenix, which has developed the Revice Driver for someone who has tamed their inner demon. Ikki Igarashi, who runs a sentō with his family, ends up acquiring the belt while forming a pact with his inner demon, Vice, to fight Deadmans together as Kamen Riders Revi and Vice.
Ikki's younger brother Daiji, a Fenix operative who was intended to become Revice but failed to out of fear, begins to avoid Ikki until he is possessed by his inner demon, Kagero, who obtains the means to transform into Kamen Rider Evil to defeat Ikki, who helps Daiji overcome Kagero's control and become Kamen Rider Live. Later, Ikki and Daiji's younger sister, Sakura, joins the fray after obtaining the means to become Kamen Rider Jeanne and awakening her inner demon, Lovekov, from the secret resistance group Weekend.

Production

The Kamen Rider Revice trademark was registered by Toei on May 6, 2021.
On July 27, 2021, Kamen Rider Revice was officially announced during an online production announcement conference alongside its cast.
The opening theme song "liveDevil" is performed by the vocal and dance group Da-ice collaborating with Subaru Kimura.
Kamen Rider Revi's main vehicle, a hoverbike that Kamen Rider Vice can transform into, is based on the real life XTurismo hoverbike developed by A.L.I. Technologies.
Initially, the original concept for Revice was that all of the past Kamen Rider series took place in their own TV series. However, due to Kamen Rider Revice guest starring in Kamen Rider Saber, the staff decided to create a new concept inspired by Kamen Rider Den-O and Kamen Rider Zi-O instead. Another concept considered for the series was a "post-COVID-19 pandemic road trip" story wherein Revi would explore a new era in the aftermath of the pandemic, with the idea of "moving forward" being a central theme. However, difficulties from the pandemic itself made it difficult to execute, resulting in it being changed to a family-themed drama, reflecting how lockdowns have allowed families staying together more opportunities to bond with each other.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Sakura Igarashi's actor, Ayaka Imoto, tested positive for COVID-19 on February 28, 2022 and recovered on March 7, 2022.

Controversy

One of Kamen Rider Revices assistant producers filed a complaint to the General Support Union, a trade union that fights for workers' rights, regarding her position in the Kamen Rider series as a whole ever since her promotion into her current position. Among the addressed problems are sexual harassment, unpaid overtime, and the chief producer overlooking her problems and not taking them seriously. Despite the hardships she endured, the assistant producer assured that Revices cast members are easy to work with and unrelated to her problems.

Films

Kamen Riders Revi and Vice made their debut in the crossover film Saber + Zenkaiger: [Super Hero Senki] and in a special film with the same title as the series double-billed with it. The events of the special film take place between episodes three and four of the series.

''Beyond Generations''

Kamen Rider: Beyond Generations is a crossover film released on December 17, 2021, starring the casts of Revice and Kamen Rider Saber. The film also features a new Kamen Rider from a possible future in the year 2071, 100 years after the debut of the first Kamen Rider television series, called Kamen Rider Century. Additionally, actors Akiyoshi Nakao and Arata Furuta portrayed Ryunosuke and Hideo Momose, while Maito Fujioka, the son of Hiroshi Fujioka, portrayed Takeshi Hongo's younger self. The film was written by Nobuhiro Mouri and directed by Takayuki Shibasaki. The theme song is "Promise" performed by Da-ice. The events of the film take place between episodes 13 and 14 of the series.

''Battle Familia''

Kamen Rider Revice the Movie: Battle Familia is a tie-in film released on July 22, 2022, double-billed with Avataro Sentai Donbrothers the Movie: New First Love Hero. Actors Norito Yashima, Haruka Tateishi, Issei Mamehara, and Kane Kosugi portrayed Masato Sotoumi, Yume Takeda, Nozomu Ōtani, and Azuma respectively, and comedian Shingo Fujimori voiced Chic. Additionally, the main character of Kamen Rider Geats made his first appearance. The film was written by Hanta Kinoshita and directed by Koichi Sakamoto. The theme song is "Dance Dance" performed by Da-ice feat. Subaru Kimura. The events of the film take place between Birth of Chimera and episode 47 of the series.

''Movie Battle Royale''

Kamen Rider Geats × Revice: Movie Battle Royale is a crossover film released on December 23, 2022, starring the casts of Revice and Kamen Rider Geats. Additionally, Takamasa Suga, Satoshi Matsuda, and Takashi Hagino reprised their respective roles as Shinji Kido, Ren Akiyama, and Takeshi Asakura from Kamen Rider Ryuki and appear as supporting cast members to commemorate their series' twentieth anniversary. The film was written by Yuya Takahashi and Hanta Kinoshita and directed by Takayuki Shibasaki. The theme song is "Change my future" performed by Koda Kumi.

Web-exclusive series

DVD and Blu-ray-exclusive series

  • Kamen Rider Revice: Koala vs. Kangaroo!! Crying Out Love in the Middle of the Wedding Ceremony!?: Televi-Kuns "Hyper Battle DVD".
  • Dear Gaga: A two-episode side story included as part of the Blu-ray releases of Kamen Rider Revice. It focuses on Hiromi Kadota and takes place in between episodes 21 and 29 of the series.
  • Kamen Rider Revice: Becoming Rider 2♪: Televi-Kuns "Hyper Battle DVD".

V-Cinema

Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons is a V-Cinema release which received a limited theatrical release on February 10, 2023, followed by its DVD and Blu-ray release on May 10, 2023. The events of the V-Cinema take place after the end of the main series. The V-Cinema was written by Nobuhiro Mouri and directed by Koichi Sakamoto. The opening theme song is "Come Alive" performed by Daiji Igarashi and Hiromi Kadota, and the ending theme song is "Love yourself" performed by #Nice FamiRiva, which consists of Kentaro Maeda, Wataru Hyuga, Ayaka Imoto, Noritaka Hamao, Yui Asakura, Hayata Seki, Kurodo Hachijoin, and Junya Komatsu.

Manga & Novel

  • Kamen Rider Revice: My Brother Is Kamen Rider: A one-shot manga included in the Kamen Rider Revice Secret Book, a bonus booklet distributed to the first 400,000 attendees of Saber + Zenkaiger: Super Hero Senki on August 7, 2021. The manga is composed by producer Taku Mochizuki and illustrated by Mugi and Waima Hino, and tells the story of the Kamen Rider Revice film from Daiji Igarashi's point of view.
  • From 2071/Record of a Certain 7 Days: A short story in the booklet included in the Collector's Pack Deluxe Edition of the Blu-ray release of Kamen Rider: Beyond Generations.
  • Novel: Kamen Rider Revice: One Possibility: A novel written by Hanta Kinoshita and scheduled to be released on February 2, 2026.

Cast

  • Ikki Igarashi: Kentaro Maeda
  • Vice, Himself : Subaru Kimura
  • Daiji Igarashi, Kagero: Wataru Hyuga
  • Sakura Igarashi: Ayaka Imoto
  • George Karizaki: Noritaka Hamao
  • Aguilera, Hana Natsuki: Yui Asakura
  • Orteca: Hayata Seki
  • Julio/Gō Tamaki: Kurodo Hachijoin
  • Hiromi Kadota: Junya Komatsu
  • Hikaru Ushijima: Tomoya Oku
  • Shōzō Irabu: Yutaka Saigoh
  • Vail, Demons Driver: Kenjiro Tsuda
  • Lovekov, Herself : Miku Itō
  • Masumi Karizaki: Shinshu Fuji
  • Giff: Kazuhiko Inoue
  • Yūjirō Wakabayashi, Chameleon Deadman: Kazuya Tanabe
  • Tasuke Ushijima: Toshihiro Yashiba
  • Hideo Akaishi: Jun Hashimoto
  • Yukimi Igarashi: Kurara Emi
  • Genta Igarashi: Shigeyuki Totsugi
  • Revice, Live/Evil, Jeanne, Destream Equipment Voice, Vistamp Voice: Oriental Radio
  • Giffard Rex Vistamp Voice: YOFFY
  • Juuga Equipment Voice, Himself : Ryō Horikawa

Guest cast

Theme songs

;Opening theme
  • "liveDevil"
  • *Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
  • *Composition: MUSOH, STEVEN LEE, SLIPKID, Sota Hanamura
  • *Arrangement: STEVEN LEE
  • *Add Arrangement: Hiroyuki Fujino
  • *Artist: Da-ice feat. Subaru Kimura
  • :Episodes 1, 18, 20, 42, 48, and 50 do not feature the show's opening sequence. This song is used as an insert song in episodes 1, 10, 18, 20, 42, 48, and 50.
;Insert themes
  • "Go with the flo"
  • *Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
  • *Composition: Kōtarō Nakagawa
  • *Arrangement: tatsuso
  • *Artist: Ikki, Daiji, & Sakura Igarashi
  • *Episodes: 16
  • "VOLCANO"
  • *Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
  • *Composition: tatsuso
  • *Artist: Ikki Igarashi & Vice
  • *Episodes: 17
  • "#GekiyaVice"
  • *Lyrics: Bintaro Cola
  • *Composition: tatsuo
  • *Artist: Vice
  • *Episodes: 29
  • "My dream"
  • *Lyrics: Shio Watanabe
  • *Composition & Arrangement: Go Sakabe
  • *Artist: Yukimi Igarashi
  • *Episodes: 42
  • "Mirage Mirror"
  • *Lyrics: Shoko fujibayashi
  • *Composition: Ryo
  • *Artist: Daiji Igarashi & Kagero
  • *Episodes: 44
  • "Cherry-ish!"
  • *Lyrics: Isa Takinoo
  • *Composition: tatsuso
  • *Artist: Sakura Igarashi & Lovekov
  • *Episodes: 46
  • "Kimi wa Sonomama de"
  • *Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
  • *Composition: tatsuo
  • *Artist: Ikki Igarashi
  • *Episodes: 50

Reception

In an online popularity poll for characters of Kamen Rider Revice, conducted by Japanese website NLab Media, Hiromi Kadota emerges as the first place victor with a total of 1845 votes out of 4528. His dedication as Kamen Rider Demons and the desire to move forward even after the loss of his leader and subordinates are cited by the voters as one of the good points behind his popularity.