Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight
Encyclopedia
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is the Daytime Emmy Award-winning American adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu
series Kamen Rider Ryuki
, the twelfth installment of the Kamen Rider Series
. It was brought to television by Steve
and Michael Wang and produced by Jimmy Sprague through Adness Entertainment
. The series had a sneak premiere on December 13, 2008, but started official broadcasting on January 3, 2009 and played throughout the year. Adness chose to adapt Ryuki over the other Heisei Rider shows as it has a large number of characters (Ryuki had 13 Riders in total) as well as a female Rider. It is also the first tokusatsu adaptation of a Kamen Rider Series since Saban's Masked Rider
, which was adapted from Kamen Rider Black RX
. The show first aired in the United States on The CW Television Network
during its The CW4Kids
programming block. Statements by director Steve Wang and male lead Stephen Lunsford show that The CW
had dropped Dragon Knight at the end of the year before its final two episodes aired in the US. The final episodes were uploaded to the 4Kids TV
website on December 18, 2009. The series has seen some international DVD releases, but as of yet there has been no indication that the series will see release on DVD in America, largely due to its cancellation before the airing of the final two episodes.
In the early licensing information for the series, Adness Entertainment had intended to also film a feature-length movie for Dragon Knight. In an interview, Steve Wang stated that they had written a story for a film, but Adness was raising money to bring over another Kamen Rider for broadcast in the US rather than a film or a second season of Dragon Knight but have likely given up on doing so.
In 2010, Dragon Knight was nominated for and won the Daytime Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination", a new category for the Daytime Emmys.
Later on Kase, a fellow survivor of Ventara like Len, joins forces with Len and Kit to fight Xaviax. In addition to training Kit to fight like a Rider, Len and Kase tell Kit all about the twelve Riders who banded together as the protectors of Ventara – a world opposite to our own – to take Xaviax down. However, due to the unintentionally traitorous actions of Kit's predecessor, Adam, General Xaviax destroyed most of the Riders via a process called Venting – which traps defeated Riders in the "Advent Void" between dimensions forever – and stole their Advent Decks. Furthermore, Xaviax continues to send out his Riders who fight to eliminate Kit, Len, and the other Riders who oppose him. After Kit is Vented, Xaviax recruits Adam to once again become Dragon Knight. Unlike previously when Xaviax convinced Adam to 'betray' the Riders by playing to his desire to remain with the girl he loves, Xaviax uses a combination of blackmail and using Adam's girlfriend as a hostage in order to force Adam to work for him.
Meanwhile, Len uses his Advent Deck to awaken the Advent Master Eubulon, who brings back the Ventaran Kamen Riders from the Advent Void as well as Kit, who becomes Kamen Rider Onyx. He also brings back Kase, though Eubulon is forced to briefly reassign the Advent Deck to Maya Young while Kase is trapped in the Advent Void. Once Kase is better, Maya gives back the deck and the riders head for Xaviax's base to destroy him.
of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight filmed in 2007 featuring Matt Smith in the lead role of Kit Taylor and Kandis Erickson as Maya Young was produced and was later leaked online before being taken down in December 2008.
during its TV Globinho
programming block, and has been replaced by a re-run of Dragonball as of September 2009, and was only being shown on Cartoon Network in that country, until it came back to TV Globinho as a part of its Saturday Morning timeblock as of January, 2010, in Mexico on Televisa
, and in Venezuela
on Venevisión
. It also aired in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein
on RTL II
. However, RTL II cancelled the show after 17 episodes due to low ratings. The dubbed version of the series also aired on Indonesia
n's free-to-air TV channel Indosiar
on Sunday mornings at 8:30am. There are currently plans to air the series in Colombia
on Caracol TV
, in Italy on Mediaset
, in Latin America
on Cartoon Network
, and on other Cartoon Network affiliates in Southeast Asia
, the Philippines, India
, Pakistan
, and Australia
. On the Australian digital free-to-air channel GO!
the show airs on Tuesday mornings at 7:30am.
It was also broadcast in Japan on Toei's satellite subscription channel Toei Channel in the fall of 2009 as part of the Heisei Kamen Rider series 10th Anniversary project. Voice actors brought onto the project include Tatsuhisa Suzuki
as Kit/Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Hiroki Takahashi
as Richie Preston/Kamen Rider Incisor, Hiroshi Kamiya
as Chris Ramirez/Kamen Rider Sting, and Takahiro Sakurai
as Danny Cho/Kamen Rider Axe. The dub was then aired again on TV Asahi
in 2010.
Previous actors from the Kamen Rider
franchise who lend their voices to the cast include:
On TV Asahi
affiliate broadcasts of the Japanese-dubbed Dragon Knight, the song "Dive into the Mirror
" by defspiral
, is used as the opening theme. The group also performed as Wilma-Sidr for Kamen Rider W. The song "ANOTHER WORLD", sung by Tatsuhisa Suzuki
and Satoshi Matsuda under the pseudonym "Kit×Len", was used as the ending theme.
, 10 DVD Volumes and 2 DVD boxsets of all 40 episodes were released by MediaLink.
and Nintendo DS
platforms and was released November 17, 2009. The Wii Version was developed by Eighting and used a similar engine and gameplay patterns to that of Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes
while the DS version, developed by Natsume
, is a completely original game. The game's "Ventara" mode has Xaviax as the final boss and has a different ending for each of the playable Riders except for Wrath who fights Dragon Knight as the final boss due to Wrath being possessed by Xaviax as in the show. Xaviax himself becomes a playable character in the ds versions "duel mode" once all thirteen Riders are unlocked and the player has defeated every mission (including defeating Xaviax himself) available in the "Ventara Mode" for each Rider. Despite being a fighting game, it does not support two player function.
Interviews
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
series Kamen Rider Ryuki
Kamen Rider Ryuki
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It was the twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and it was shown on TV Asahi from February 3, 2002 to January 19, 2003. The catchphrase for the series is...
, the twelfth installment of the Kamen Rider Series
Kamen Rider Series
The is a metaseries of manga and tokusatsu television programs and films created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. The various Kamen Rider media generally feature a motorcycle-riding superhero with an insect motif who fights supervillains often referred to as...
. It was brought to television by Steve
Steve Wang
Steve Wang is an award-winning make-up artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Born in Taiwan, he and his parents moved to the US when he was 9. His greatest inspirations were the tokusatsu superhero TV shows Ultraman and Kamen Rider, as well as Hong Kong kung fu films including Master of the Flying...
and Michael Wang and produced by Jimmy Sprague through Adness Entertainment
Adness Entertainment
Adness Entertainment LLC is a private company categorized under Entertainment Bureaus and located in Los Angeles, California. The Company's records show it was established in 2007 and incorporated in California...
. The series had a sneak premiere on December 13, 2008, but started official broadcasting on January 3, 2009 and played throughout the year. Adness chose to adapt Ryuki over the other Heisei Rider shows as it has a large number of characters (Ryuki had 13 Riders in total) as well as a female Rider. It is also the first tokusatsu adaptation of a Kamen Rider Series since Saban's Masked Rider
Masked Rider (TV series)
Masked Rider is an American adaptation of the Japanese television series Kamen Rider Black RX, the ninth in a line of series in the popular Kamen Rider Series franchise. It was produced by Saban and aired on FOX part of the Fox Kids program block from September 16, 1995 to August 31, 1996 and then...
, which was adapted from Kamen Rider Black RX
Kamen Rider BLACK RX
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series produced as part of the Kamen Rider Series. The ninth show in the franchise, it was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei Company, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo Broadcasting System from October...
. The show first aired in the United States on The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
during its The CW4Kids
The CW4Kids
The CW4Kids is a Saturday morning cartoon block on The CW Television Network that premiered on May 24, 2008 in the place of Kids' WB...
programming block. Statements by director Steve Wang and male lead Stephen Lunsford show that The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
had dropped Dragon Knight at the end of the year before its final two episodes aired in the US. The final episodes were uploaded to the 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
website on December 18, 2009. The series has seen some international DVD releases, but as of yet there has been no indication that the series will see release on DVD in America, largely due to its cancellation before the airing of the final two episodes.
In the early licensing information for the series, Adness Entertainment had intended to also film a feature-length movie for Dragon Knight. In an interview, Steve Wang stated that they had written a story for a film, but Adness was raising money to bring over another Kamen Rider for broadcast in the US rather than a film or a second season of Dragon Knight but have likely given up on doing so.
In 2010, Dragon Knight was nominated for and won the Daytime Emmy Award
37th Daytime Emmy Awards
The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were held on June 27, 2010, hosted by Regis Philbin and broadcast on the CBS network. Nominations were announced May 12 on The Early Show...
for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination", a new category for the Daytime Emmys.
Plot
While searching for his missing father, Kit Taylor finds an Advent Deck – a special card deck that allows the carrier to transform into a Kamen Rider and utilize unique weapons and powers – and uses it to become Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. He butts heads with Len, who serves as Kamen Rider Wing Knight, but the pair join forces after Kit learns that an alien warlord named General Xaviax is responsible for his father's disappearance and intends on using him and the entire human race, which he plans to abduct to gain power and rebuild his homeworld. Xaviax tricks people on Earth to work for him by promising them whatever they want, or in some cases, by exploiting their fears and desperation. Kit wonders why Xaviax has to trick them and why he doesn't just find bad guys to do the work for him. Len tells Kit that the decks were only made for one person, and that only a person with an exact DNA match as the original Ventaran rider could use it. This is why Kit is able to use the Dragon Knight Deck. He is the exact Mirror Twin of Adam, the original Dragon Knight, who betrayed the original team. One of the new Earth Riders, Chris Ramirez (serving as Kamen Rider Sting and tricked by Xaviax believing he is working in a special ops government program to fight alien invaders), joins forces with Kit and Len when he discovers he has been deceived, but is Vented along the way. Kit vents Albert Cho, brother of Danny Cho in retaliation. This leads to a personal hatred between Danny and Kit, as Danny seeks to avenge his brother against Xaviax's orders.Later on Kase, a fellow survivor of Ventara like Len, joins forces with Len and Kit to fight Xaviax. In addition to training Kit to fight like a Rider, Len and Kase tell Kit all about the twelve Riders who banded together as the protectors of Ventara – a world opposite to our own – to take Xaviax down. However, due to the unintentionally traitorous actions of Kit's predecessor, Adam, General Xaviax destroyed most of the Riders via a process called Venting – which traps defeated Riders in the "Advent Void" between dimensions forever – and stole their Advent Decks. Furthermore, Xaviax continues to send out his Riders who fight to eliminate Kit, Len, and the other Riders who oppose him. After Kit is Vented, Xaviax recruits Adam to once again become Dragon Knight. Unlike previously when Xaviax convinced Adam to 'betray' the Riders by playing to his desire to remain with the girl he loves, Xaviax uses a combination of blackmail and using Adam's girlfriend as a hostage in order to force Adam to work for him.
Meanwhile, Len uses his Advent Deck to awaken the Advent Master Eubulon, who brings back the Ventaran Kamen Riders from the Advent Void as well as Kit, who becomes Kamen Rider Onyx. He also brings back Kase, though Eubulon is forced to briefly reassign the Advent Deck to Maya Young while Kase is trapped in the Advent Void. Once Kase is better, Maya gives back the deck and the riders head for Xaviax's base to destroy him.
Unaired pilot
A pilot episodeTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight filmed in 2007 featuring Matt Smith in the lead role of Kit Taylor and Kandis Erickson as Maya Young was produced and was later leaked online before being taken down in December 2008.
Main cast
- Kit Taylor, Adam: Stephen LunsfordStephen LunsfordStephen Lunsford is an American actor. He portrayed Kit Taylor/Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, the titular hero from Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight He is also known for his role as Cameron on Bratz and for his Recurring role as Dink on Private Practice.-Filmography:* The List as Cotty* Beneath the...
- Len: Matt MullinsMatt MullinsMatthew "Matt" Mullins is a 5-time martial arts world champion. At the age of 16 in 1997 he had won his first WKA title in Dublin, Ireland, this would be his first of 5 championships in the next 3 years in his career...
- Kase: Carrie Reichenbach
- Maya Young: Aria Alistar
- Xaviax: William O'LearyWilliam O'Leary (actor)William O'Leary is an American actor. Bill made his Broadway debut as "Art" in "Precious Sons" at the Longacre Theatre, starring Ed Harris and Judith Ivey....
Recurring cast
- Lacey Sheridan: Marisa Lauren
- Trent Moseley: Taylor Emerson
- Michelle Walsh: Kathy Christopherson
- Richie Preston, Ian: Tony Moras
- Drew Lansing, Chance: Christopher Foley
- Grant Staley, Van: Christopher Babers
- James Trademore, Price: Scott BaileyScott Bailey (actor)Scott Bailey is an American actor. He is best known for playing Sandy Foster on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light and Roman Martin on the MyNetworkTV limited-run serial Saints & Sinners....
- Brad Barrett, Cam: Keith Stone
- Chris Ramirez, Quinn : Michael Cardelle
- Danny Cho, Hunt: Mike Moh
- Albert Cho, Chase: Tony SanoTony SanoTony Sano, a Japanese-American born in Tokyo, was the host of ABC's I Survived a Japanese Game Show season 1. On the experience, Sano commented, "It was great to see people from different cultures coming together."...
- Vic Frasier, Nolan: Mark Cameron WystrachMark Cameron WystrachMark Cameron Wystrach is an American actor.-Biography:A native of Tucson, Arizona, he played the role of Nicholas Foxworth "Fox" Crane on the popular NBC soap opera Passions from 2006-2007 before the show moved to DirecTV in September 2007. Wystrach took over the role from Justin Hartley, who...
- Frank Taylor: Jeff Davis
- Detective Grimes: James PattersonJames Patterson (actor)James Patterson was an American Tony Award winning actor for his role in the 1968 Harold Pinter play, The Birthday Party . His best known film role was in Lilith , and he had numerous guest appearances on television through the early 1970s...
- Agent Phillips: Jamison JonesJamison JonesJamison Jones is an American actor, screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work with Christian Slater and William H Macy in He Was a Quiet Man, as a regular cast member on General Hospital and in the FOX series 24. He originated the title role in the world premiere of Roberto...
- Eubulon: Mark DacascosMark DacascosMark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....
- Sarah: Camila Greenberg
Guest stars
- Kit's foster mom: Kathleen GatiKathleen GatiKathleen Gati is a Canadian TV and movie actress.She is the daughter of Hungarian immigrants in Canada, a symphony conductor and an opera singer. She has been an actress since the early 80s to present day...
- Grace Kiefer: Victoria JacksonVictoria JacksonVictoria Jackson is an American comedian, actress, satirist and singer best known as a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992....
- Grant's Master: T. J. Storm
Suit actors/stunt crew
- Hiroshi MaedaHiroshi Maedais a professional Japanese stunt man and suit actor from Kōchi Prefecture who is best known for portraying the Red Ranger in most of the Power Rangers series as well as the Tyranno Ranger in the 1992 Super Sentai series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger....
- Reuben LangdonReuben LangdonReuben Christopher Langdon is an American stunt actor, motion capture actor, actor, martial artist and voice actor for various martial arts films, television shows, and video games. He is a co-founder, producer and action director for Just Cause Productions, a motion capture company for various...
- Mark MusashiMark MusashiMasaru Edward Fulenwider-Musashi , better known by the stage name , is a Wushu martial artist and a stuntman/actor or Gaijin tarento. Raised in Buckfield, Maine, he attended Dartmouth College , majoring in East Asian Languages and Literatures and minoring in Drama...
- Dorenda Moore
- Tadahiro Nakamura
- Aaron Toney
- Hideki Sugiguchi
- Sam Looc
- McKay Stewart
International broadcasts
Dragon Knight was shown in Brazil on Rede GloboRede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
during its TV Globinho
TV Globinho
TV Globinho is a Rede Globo program that used to air on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 6:00 AM, featuring cartoons, such as InuYasha, Dragon Ball Z and GT, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Digimon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Yin Yang Yo!, Sonic X, The Spectacular Spider-Man,...
programming block, and has been replaced by a re-run of Dragonball as of September 2009, and was only being shown on Cartoon Network in that country, until it came back to TV Globinho as a part of its Saturday Morning timeblock as of January, 2010, in Mexico on Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
, and in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
on Venevisión
Venevisión
Venevisión is one of Venezuela's largest television networks and a Venezuelan cable and terrestrial television network, which is owned and presided over by Gustavo Cisneros...
. It also aired in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
on RTL II
RTL II
RTL II is a privately owned, commercial, general-interest German television channel.It was founded as a second-generation commercial broadcaster in 1993. It quickly became infamous for its perceived "trash programming", comprising lots of soft porn as well as shows such as Peep and many...
. However, RTL II cancelled the show after 17 episodes due to low ratings. The dubbed version of the series also aired on Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n's free-to-air TV channel Indosiar
Indosiar
Indosiar is a publicly owned national television station in Indonesia, and has been operating from West Jakarta since 1994. It was listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange in 2004. Citibank Singapore has an 8.5 percent shareholding...
on Sunday mornings at 8:30am. There are currently plans to air the series in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
on Caracol TV
Caracol TV
Caracol Televisión is a Colombian private national television network, owned by Julio Mario Santo Domingo.- History :Caracol Televisión started in 1954 when Organización de Radiodifusora Caracol offered to afford national television costs, then state-run, through commercial spots...
, in Italy on Mediaset
Mediaset
Mediaset S.p.A., known as Gruppo Mediaset in Italian, is an Italian-based media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country...
, in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (Latin America)
Cartoon Network Latin America and Brazil is a cable television channel and is an edition of the Time Warner-owned Cartoon Network for the Latin American region and the Caribbean...
, and on other Cartoon Network affiliates in Southeast Asia
Cartoon Network (Southeast Asia)
Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming.Programming is broadcast in dual-language audio in English language, Chinese language, Thai language, and Malay language with Vietnamese...
, the Philippines, India
Cartoon Network (India)
Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming.-History:...
, Pakistan
Cartoon Network (Pakistan)
Cartoon Network Pakistan is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming. The channel officially launched on April 2, 2004. Cartoon Network Pakistan follows Pakistan Standard Time for its programming...
, and Australia
Cartoon Network (Australia)
Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming.The Australian version is available on Pay TV...
. On the Australian digital free-to-air channel GO!
Go! (Australian TV channel)
GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
the show airs on Tuesday mornings at 7:30am.
It was also broadcast in Japan on Toei's satellite subscription channel Toei Channel in the fall of 2009 as part of the Heisei Kamen Rider series 10th Anniversary project. Voice actors brought onto the project include Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Tatsuhisa Suzuki
is a male Japanese voice actor and singer from Okazaki, Aichi, Japan, though was born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan. He is affiliated with I'm Enterprise and Lantis. He is a graduate from Japan Narration and Acting School...
as Kit/Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Hiroki Takahashi
Hiroki Takahashi
is a Japanese voice actor best known for the role of Eiji Kikumaru in The Prince of Tennis, Kenji Harima in School Rumble and Katsuya Jonouchi in Yu-Gi-Oh. He works at Big Shot/Interchannel. He also has voice acted in some yaoi Drama CD's such as Love Neco, and Koi cha no Osahou...
as Richie Preston/Kamen Rider Incisor, Hiroshi Kamiya
Hiroshi Kamiya
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production. He is best known for being the voice of Nozomu Itoshiki from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Tieria Erde from Mobile Suit Gundam 00. He won "Best Lead Actor" and "Best Personality" at the Third Seiyu Awards, and "Best Supporting Actor" at the...
as Chris Ramirez/Kamen Rider Sting, and Takahiro Sakurai
Takahiro Sakurai
is a voice actor who was born in Aichi. He is a member of 81 Produce; his height is .Many of his roles are handsome men. However, he has also voiced reluctant heroes as well as the occasional villain...
as Danny Cho/Kamen Rider Axe. The dub was then aired again on TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
in 2010.
Previous actors from the Kamen Rider
Kamen Rider Series
The is a metaseries of manga and tokusatsu television programs and films created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. The various Kamen Rider media generally feature a motorcycle-riding superhero with an insect motif who fights supervillains often referred to as...
franchise who lend their voices to the cast include:
- Satoshi Matsuda (Ren Akiyama/Kamen Rider Knight in Ryuki) as Len/Kamen Rider Wing Knight.
- Yuria HagaYuria Hagais a Japanese model and actress.-TV series:*Doremisora *Kokoro *Kamen Rider 555 *Shin: Inochi no genba kara *Sh15uya *Kamen Rider Kiva *Kamen Rider Decade...
(Mari Sonoda in 555Kamen Rider 555is 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 Mio Suzuki in KivaKamen Rider Kivais the title of the 2008 Kamen Rider Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions. It premiered on January 27, 2008, following the finale of Kamen Rider Den-O. It aired as a part of TV Asahi's 2008 Super Hero Time block with Engine Sentai Go-onger...
) as Maya Young. - Kōji YusaKoji Yusais a Japanese voice actor born in Osaka Prefecture and raised in Kyoto Prefecture. He is best known for his roles in Choja Raideen , the Sonic Series , Bleach , Ikki Tousen , Majin Tantei Nōgami Neuro , Zettai Karen Children and Kamen Rider Den-O...
(Urataros in Den-OKamen Rider Den-Ois the seventeenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. It premiered January 28, 2007 on TV Asahi, and concluded airing on January 20, 2008...
) as Drew Lansing/Kamen Rider Torque. - Tomokazu SugitaTomokazu Sugitais a Japanese voice actor employed by Atomic Monkey. Best known for his role as Gintoki in Gintama, he also voices Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. He is also one of the three hosts on the radio show Bururaji promoting the videogame Blazblue which is produced and released on Nico Nico...
(Kivat-bat the 3rd in Kiva) as JTC/Kamen Rider Strike. - Kenji MatsudaKenji Matsudais a Japanese actor. Matsuda began acting in high school when a girl he had a crush on convinced him to join the theatre club. He later joined the sho-gekijo theatrical troupe Haiyu-Za...
(Kamen Rider ZankiKamen Rider Zankiis one of the many Oni Kamen Riders in the 2005 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Hibiki. His name literally means .Home to the greatest Croatian Josip Zanki-Zaoumaru Zaitsuhara - Zanki:...
in HibikiKamen Rider Hibikiis a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Kamen Rider Hibiki first aired on January 30, 2005 and aired its final episode on January...
and Jiro/Garulu in Kiva) as Grant Staley/Kamen Rider Camo. - Shouma Yamamoto (Takato Shiramine/Kamen Rider Rey in Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World and Taiga Nobori/Kamen Rider SagaKamen Rider Sagais a fictional character and the third rider to appear in the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Kiva. Saga resembles the king chess piece, and the suit's design also incorporates serpents and stained glass...
in Kiva) as Brad Barrett/Kamen Rider Thrust. - Ryouta MuraiRyouta Muraiis a Japanese actor best known for his roles as in Fūma no Kojirō, in Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka, in Osananajimi and in Kamen Rider Decade.-TV:* 2007 - Fūma no Kojirō as Kojirō...
(Yusuke Onodera/Kamen Rider KuugaKamen Rider Kuuga (Decade)is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the 2009 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Decade. He is an alternate universe incarnation and interpretation of the character of the same name from the 2000 series Kamen Rider Kuuga.-Yusuke Onodera:...
in DecadeKamen Rider Decadeis the title of the first of the 2009 editions of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. Decade, as its title suggests, is the tenth of the Heisei Rider Series, having begun with Kamen Rider Kuuga in 2000...
) as Albert Cho/Kamen Rider Spear. - Miyuki SawashiroMiyuki Sawashirois a female Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Mausu Promotion.She voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of Di Gi Charat the Movie and Leave it to Piyoko, making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese...
(Kiva-la in Decade) as Kase/Kamen Rider Siren. - Hōchū ŌtsukaHochu Otsuka, also known by the his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor from Okayama Prefecture, affiliated with the talent management firm Crazy Box. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist for: Gary Oldman and Jean-Claude Van Damme....
(Deneb in Den-O) as Xaviax/Kamen Rider Wrath. - Tsuyoshi Koyama (Kamen Rider Odin / the Visor Voice in Ryuki) as Eubulon.
On TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
affiliate broadcasts of the Japanese-dubbed Dragon Knight, the song "Dive into the Mirror
Dive into the Mirror
"Dive into the Mirror" is the first single by Japanese rock group Defspiral after Wilma-Sidr line-up reunited under their new name. The song is the group's second release under Avex Group's Avex Mode label and it was used as the opening song of the Japanese dub of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight...
" by defspiral
Defspiral
Defspiral is a Japanese visual kei rock band composed of most of the former members of the Underneath. When the Underneath disbanded in 2010, most of the group was signed to Avex Mode to perform songs for the Kamen Rider Series...
, is used as the opening theme. The group also performed as Wilma-Sidr for Kamen Rider W. The song "ANOTHER WORLD", sung by Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Tatsuhisa Suzuki
is a male Japanese voice actor and singer from Okazaki, Aichi, Japan, though was born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan. He is affiliated with I'm Enterprise and Lantis. He is a graduate from Japan Narration and Acting School...
and Satoshi Matsuda under the pseudonym "Kit×Len", was used as the ending theme.
International DVD releases
In addition to airing outside the United States, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is available on DVD in certain countries. In Brazil, 13 DVD Volumes of all 40 episodes were released by PlayArte Home Video even though their site only lists the first two. In Germany, Season 1 – Vol. 1 and Season 1 – Vol. 2 were released on DVD by EuroVideo and m4e (Made For Entertainment) in February 2010., but no other volumes were released due to the show's cancellation over there. On July 21, 2010, Toei released the first DVD boxset of Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight containing the first 20 episodes along with a DVD release of the Special Event that took place on January 2010 in Japan. Throughout the summer of that year, Toei released 10 DVD Volumes of all 40 episodes as well as a second boxset with the last 20 episodes. In most parts of AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, 10 DVD Volumes and 2 DVD boxsets of all 40 episodes were released by MediaLink.
Video game
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight: The Video Game from D3Publisher is available for the WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
platforms and was released November 17, 2009. The Wii Version was developed by Eighting and used a similar engine and gameplay patterns to that of Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes
Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes
is a Bandai Namco and Eighting PlayStation 2 video game featuring the protagonists of the Heisei Kamen Rider Series. It is the first Kamen Rider fighting game to be released onto the PlayStation 2 since Kamen Rider Kabuto...
while the DS version, developed by Natsume
Natsume
can refer to:* the Jujube fruit* A type of chaki used in Japanese tea ceremony* Natsume , a Japanese video game developer* Natsume Sōseki, a famous 19th century Japanese novelist* Masako Natsume, a Japanese actor...
, is a completely original game. The game's "Ventara" mode has Xaviax as the final boss and has a different ending for each of the playable Riders except for Wrath who fights Dragon Knight as the final boss due to Wrath being possessed by Xaviax as in the show. Xaviax himself becomes a playable character in the ds versions "duel mode" once all thirteen Riders are unlocked and the player has defeated every mission (including defeating Xaviax himself) available in the "Ventara Mode" for each Rider. Despite being a fighting game, it does not support two player function.
External links
Official- Official Website
- 4Kids TV
- 4KidsTV.com
- Bandai America's Official Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight Page
- Toei's Official Website
- Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight at Avex Group
- Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight in Japan
Interviews
- Henshin Justice Unlimited – Nathan Long Interview
- Kamen Rider Generations – Matt Mullins Interview
- Cold Coffee – Steve Wang Interview
- SciFi Japan – Steve Wang Interview
- NERDSociety Interviews Steve Wang
- KRDKSecrets Interview with Steve Wang
- KRDKSecrets Interview with Matt Mullins
- KRDKSecrets Interview with Jeff Davis