Words of a MavericK

ライダー大戦: Rider War

A single dishevelled girl wandering across a barren, seemingly forsaken land, with no idea of her location.
Without warning, an explosion from behind brought her down to her knees, and the world around her was thrown into chaos.
Warriors emerged from all directions, on land and in the air. It was difficult at first, but it became clear that the Kamen Riders were all fighting against a common enemy, though it remained well hidden from sight. All the girl could do was watch in horror as the Riders were felled one by one, and in no time, the war ended as quick as it had started.
With a final explosion, the girl’s attention shifted to a rustle among the bodies of Riders and beasts.

A human-like entity hovered above the strewn bodies, emitting an aura which blinded the girl to its features. Straining her eyes, she could only see a belt on the entity’s waist, and as she read the only word on it, ‘DECADE’…
…the dreamscape fades.

Hikari Natsumi (光 夏海) awakes, with visions from her dream still resonating with reality. It seems it wasn’t the only time she has had the dream; she wonders aloud about the repeated dream while wiping tears off her face. Natsumi is shaken back into the real world by one of the many ballistic customers of her grandfather, Hikari Eijirou (光 栄次郎), who runs the Hikari Studio (光 写真館). Trying to intervene before thing went out of hand, Natsumi learns from the customers that all of their failed photos were taken by a man named Kadoya Tsukasa (門矢 士). Leaving her grandfather to fend for himself, she storms off in search of Tsukasa.
On her way, she gives a brief introduction on Tsukasa; an enigmatic man who came to their studio one day, without letting his origin nor his ideas be known to people. Natsumi senses something strange when at an alley, but is unaware that she had been watched by a Kamen Rider (Ryuki) through a broken mirror.

Tsukasa is confronted by another smaller group of unsatisfied customers while in the midst of his peaceful photography session. When asked, Tsukasa’s reason for his distorted photography is simple; he just isn’t able to shoot well, but plans to do so until he attains the skills. As he scans the area with his camera, he witnesses a strange phenomenon: a man calling Tsukasa ‘Decade’, and telling him that today’s the day when his world will end.
Natsumi arrives just as Tsukasa recovers from his surprise, apologizing to the group. She punishes Tsukasa right in front of them using the ’secret style of the Hikari Fists’ – Warai no Tsubo (光拳 秘伝・笑いのツボ), which sends him into a fist of uncontrollable laughter.

Having been released from his laughing fit, Tsukasa and Natsumi rest by a park, where he tells her of his desire to take photos. However, he adds that his interest seems only one-sided; the world ‘escapes’ from his photos, and it makes him feel as though it isn’t his world to be in. Shaking the puzzling confession aside, Tsukasa comments on sensing a ’strange wind blowing’, something Natsumi .agress as well.
Sure enough, the moment he snaps a photo of Natsumi, everything in the vicinity starts getting erased, and a swarm of flying beasts come attacking, resulting in a dimensional rift separating Natsumi and Tsukasa.

Night falls on Tsukasa’s side of the world, and he is greeted by the the same man in his vision throught the camera lens: Kurenai Wataru (紅 渡). He is shown by Wataru a formidable sight of the moon splitting into nine images of Earth, and they all come crashing down, with one of them right on course into his world. Tsukasa is then asked by Wataru about a (belt) buckle and a set of cards he is supposed to be using, but he expresses ignorance. Then, with a parting message of how his strength is needed to save the world, Tsukasa is transported into another area.

Meanwhile, Natsumi and everyone else are trying to escape the madness that is happening everywhere. Buildings and structures continue to be erased by the intruding rifts, but they prove to be secondary in terms of threat; monsters start appearing and taking the lives of anyone they set their sights on. Natsumi breaks through dimensions overrun by Undeads, Fangires, and Imagins respectively before ending up in one where the Makamou roam. As she finds a temporary shelter, Natsumi chances upon two items of interest: the very same belt buckle she had seen the entity wearing, and another unknown device, though decrepit in appearance.
She soon hears the cries of Tsukasa, who is on the other side of a rift and appears unharmed. The time of reunion is short though- a doppelganger of Natsumi appears behind her, and it sheds its facade to reveal its true identity- a Worm. Tsukasa tries in vain to break through to Natsumi, and notices the items in her hands. Recalling Wataru’s words, he uses the sake of saving the world (probably) as a reason and urges her to hand them over, and they miraculously look good as new.

Led by instincts, Tsukasa sets the DecaDriver in place, which becomes a belt, and choosing a card titled ‘Decade’ from the item, the Ride Booker, Tsukasa transforms into Kamen Rider Decade, the very same entity which destroyed the Riders in Natsumi’s dream!
As he goes on to fight the menaces lurking everywhere, Tsukasa/Decade’s body react naturally to the tempo of the battles; he simply knows which cards to use that is best suitable for the different sets of enemies. Even Tsukasa wonders on the choice of cards, and on the reason for his ability to fight well……

Riders, annihilated

The mysterious destroyer of the Riders

Title screen

Mori Kanna (森 カンナ) as Hikari Natsumi (光 夏海)

Natsumi and her grandfather, Hikari Eijirou (光 栄次郎), played by Ishibashi Renji (石橋 蓮司)

Inoue Masahiro (井上 正大) as Kadoya Tsukasa (門矢 士)

“Today will be the day of the end of your world.”

“笑いのツボ！”

The result of the worlds converging

Meeting each other in the flesh for the first time

The exact items in Natsumi’s dream, DecaDriver and Ride Booker

Tsukasa takes his pick…

…slots it in with a “Kamen Ride”…

…and enters Kamen Rider Decade

Riders assumed by Decade (in just the 1st episode!!)

Wataru details the impending catastrophe faced by their worlds to Tsukasa

Tsukasa meets Kuuga!!

Next episode: Tsukasa finds himself in Kuuga’s world, where the Grongi come out to play! Unfriendly eyes are set on Tsukasa/Decade by a mysterious man, and the Hopper Brothers (Punch/Kick Hopper) show up as well?

The Hopper Brothers…friends or foes?