Toei’s latest Rider appears January 28th Author: James Ballard Official Site: TV Asahi Following the climax of MASKED RIDER KABUTO (Kamen Raidaa Kabuto, 2006) this Sunday, the latest entry in the Masked Rider series, MASKED RIDER DEN-O (Kamen Raidaa Denou), premieres on January 28th. MASKED RIDER DEN-O is the seventeenth entry in the long running television franchise produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, a collaboration which began with the hugely popular MASKED RIDER (Kamen Raidaa) in 1971. Masked Rider Den-O (the Japanese “Den” meaning “electric” and “Ou” meaning “king”) is an all-new hero, crossing through different times and dimensions. Den-O’s transformation is accomplished through various Rider Tickets which are to be used with the Rider Pass on his belt. As well as Den-O’s basic red “Sword Form”, he will initially be able to adopt three other forms; a blue “Rod Form”, a yellow “Axe Form” and a purple “Gun Form”. Not only will Den-O have the traditional motorcycle, he will also be riding in on his own train, the Den-Liner, which is what allows him to cross through time and space.

17-year-old actor Takeru Satou takes the lead as Ryoutaro Nogami. After Nogami finds the Rider Pass one day, he soon finds himself in a strange place boarding the massive Den-Liner. Nogami becomes the young hero who is able to transform into Masked Rider Den-O, and fights against the futuristic creatures known as “Imagine” that’ve come to the past in order to alter history to their advantage. The first episode is entitled "Crossing Time" (Toki o Koete), and was directed by Ryuta Tazaki. Since serving as an Assistant Director on MASKED RIDER BLACK (Kamen Raidaa Burakku, 1987), Tazaki has gone on to direct features such as Kadokawa’s GAMERA THE BRAVE (Chiisaki Yuusa-tachi Gamera, 2006) as well as many fan-favorite TV shows including MASKED RIDER 555 (Kamen Raidaa Faizu, 2003) and SH15UYA (Shibuya Fifuteiin, 2005), and last year’s MASKED RIDER KABUTO. Overseas, he has also directed episodes for POWER RANGERS: LOST GALAXY (1999) and POWER RANGERS: LIGHTSPEED RESCUE (2000), the U.S. adaptations of Toei’s Super Sentai series. The screenplay for the first episode was written by Yasuko Kobayashi. His earlier work has included MASKED RIDER AGITO (Kamen Raidaa Agito, 2001) and MASKED RIDER RYUKI (Kamen Raidaa Ryuuki, 2002), as well as various entries in the Super Sentai series from ELECTROMAGNETIC SQUADRON MEGARANGER (Denji Sentai Megarenjaa, 1997) thru RUMBLING SQUADRON BOUKENGER (GouGou Sentai Boukenjaa, 2006). Most recently he’s worked on the TV anime adaptation of the popular manga DEATH NOTE (Desu Nooto, 2006). The show’s opening theme song is entitled “Climax Jump”, performed by the J-Pop group AAA. MASKED RIDER DEN-O will be broadcast on Japan’s TV Asahi at 8:00am every Sunday, starting January 28th.