Aoi Izumi

is an activist for Kaijin rights who is targeted by Gorgom due to possessing one of the Kingstones. She is protected by Kotaro Minami, but is later transformed into the against her will by Bilgenia. 
==History==
===Background===
Aoi Izumi was born on October 14, 2008 to her parents Hideo and Rino Kawamoto. At a young age, they had left on a "business trip" abroad and entrusted her with the Kingstone before leaving her in the care of her caretaker, Misaki Izumi. At some point in her childhood, she befriended the Sparrow Kaijin, Shunsuke Komatsu. This inspired her to advocate for the co-existence of humans and Kaijin.
===Kamen Rider Black Sun===
In present day, Aoi became a human rights activist appealing to abolish Kaijin discrimination. She garnered public attention after giving a speech at the United Nations. Her presence was noticed by the Gorgom Party, who realized that she possessed the Kingstone. When the Spider Kaijin was sent to assassinate Aoi, she was saved by Kotaro Minami and was taken to his hideout to recuperate. However, the Gorgom Party would continue to harm Aoi and her loved ones. The Anemone Kaijin would kill Misaki and destroy her house.
Aoi was taken in by Kotaro and requests to train with him to get stronger. Unbeknownst to Aoi, her parents had come back from abroad but were captured by Bilgenia. Upon reuniting with her father, Aoi was shocked to discover that he had been turned into a Kaijin and was forced to be put down by Kujira. While trying to understand Kotaro's past from her informant Nick, she was lured into a trap by Bilgenia and was turned into a Kaijin by Nomi. After watching her mother get killed, Aoi was transformed into the Mantis Kaijin.
She became out of control and almost killed by Kotaro, until he quickly deduced what had happened to her. Aoi was captured by Bilgenia to reawaken the Creation King, but was rescued in a raid led by Nobuhiko Akizuki to rescue the captured humans. She was able to learn how to transform into her Kaijin form thanks from Shunsuke. Curious regarding the origins of Kaijin, she dug up the grave of Oliver Johnson and discovered that humanity created the Creation King and Kaijin as weapons of war. When she returned to her neighborhood, Aoi was shocked to learn Shunsuke was killed by a lynch mob.
After learning of Kotaro's severe injuries at the hands of Shadowmoon, Aoi assisted in his resurrection and marked a symbol on his left chest. Hiding at Kotaro's bus, Aoi exposed her findings to the public using the tape that Bilgenia provided. Learning that Bilgenia's Satansaber could destroy the Creation King, Aoi went to the Gorgom Party headquarters at night and transformed into her Mantis Kaijin form, only to learn that Kotaro had been turned into the Creation King. With no other choice, a hesitant Aoi was forced to execute Kotaro. Months later, Aoi alongside Nomi and Kujira began forming a resistance group to oppose the corrupt government.
==Personality==
Aoi is a sensitive, reactive yet strong-willed teenager. She often acts when a danger rises, even if the outcome may seem hopeless. She's easily attached, as shown to have been sympathetic to Kotaro pretty early. She also shows that she really cares for the Kaijin kind, having Shunsuke Komatsu as her best friend. However, she was still scared becoming a Kaijin, furthered by the fact she was operated right in front of her mother.
==Powers and Abilities==
===Powers===
*Kaijin Physiology: Upon becoming a Kaijin, Aoi's physical abilities were enhanced to superhuman levels. Bilgenia had predicted that Aoi's strong will would make her a strong Kaijin, which was proven when she managed to overpower adult Kaijins in combat. Aoi also displays qualities of the two Century Kings, such as being powerful enough to become the next Creation King and developing a Driver.
**Superhuman Durability: Her body is quite durable, but not as much as other insect-based Kaijin such as Black Sun or Shadowmoon.
**Mantis Arms: Aoi's mantis arms are sharp enough to cut through several objects, including humans and Kaijins.
**Mantis Legs: Aoi is able to use her Mantis legs to leap quickly at different spots to dodge or attack.
***Superhuman Speed: Aoi can move at a high speed in her Kaijin form. She is possibly faster than Black Sun.
===Abilities===
*Bilingualism: Aoi is capable of speaking both Japanese and English fluently, using the latter to converse with the United Nations.
*Martial Arts: Aoi herself learned martial arts from Kotaro Minami, her fighting ability is extremely high. Even after being turned into a Kaijin, she was able to apply her combat skills with her altered physiology.
==Mantis Kaijin==
==Equipment==
===Devices===
*Unnamed Driver
*Satansaber
==Relationships==
===Family===
*Hideo & Rino Kawamoto: Her parents. They escaped the country when Aoi was still a child, leaving her to Misaki Izumi, who raised her. They left her a chest with all the information on the Kaijin production, in the tombstone of Oliver Johnson.
*Misaki Izumi: Her adoptive mother. Since her parents went to a trip, Misaki kept Aoi safe, even giving her surname. She deeply cared for Aoi, and both considered to be like actual mother and daughter.
===Allies===
*Shunsuke Komatsu: Her best friend from college.
*Kotaro Minami: Kotaro saved her from being killed by the Spider Kaijin. He taught her some things, such as how to phisically fight and what is Heat Heaven.
*Nick: A friend who's also her information provider. He eventually betrayed her for Bilgenia's proposition of turning him into a Kaijin.
===Enemies===
*Anemone Kaijin: She was sent to take Aoi's Kingstones but ended killing Misaki, and almost killed Shunsuke.
==Behind the Scenes==
===Portrayal===
Aoi Izumi is portrayed by . As Mantis Kaijin, her suit actor is .Uchusen Vol.180
==Notes==
*Although Aoi was able to access a Driver and an evolved form in the finale, the Mantis Kaijin is not classified as a Kamen Rider in supplementary material.https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/zukan/kamen_rider_members/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_kamen_rider_members_form%5Bkeyword%5D=&search_kamen_rider_members_form%5Bkamen_rider_ids%5D%5B%5D=41https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/zukan/phantoms/mode/categories?utf8=%E2%9C%93&phantom%5Bkamen_rider_id%5D=41
==Appearances==
==See also==
*
*
==External Links==
*Kamen Rider Zukan page on Aoi Izumi.
*Kamen Rider Zukan page on the Mantis Kaijin.
==Navigation==
Category:Mantis Monsters
Category:Heroes
Category:Debatable Riders
Category:Female Riders
Category:Black Sun Riders
Category:Heroines
Category:Black Sun Characters
Category:Kaijin (Black Sun)
Category:Antiheroes