Kamen Rider Amazons

***Kamen Rider Amazons*** (仮面ライダーアマゾンズ, *Kamen Raidā Amazonzu*) is a web-only *Kamen Rider* series based on the 1974 TV series *Kamen Rider Amazon* and is a part of Toei Company's *Super Hero YearFile:Icon-crosswiki.png* (スーパーヒーローイヤー, *Sūpā Hīrō Iyā*) project. The first season premiered on the Japanese version of Amazon Prime on April 1, 2016 and the second season premiered on April 7, 2017. The catchphrase for season 1 is "Open Your Amazons". For season 2, the catchphrase is "Who are you?" (おまえは谁だ？, *Omae wa dare da?*)

The series' first season was later international distributed via the Amazon Prime service under the title ***Amazon Riders***.  The second season debuted worldwide on Amazon Prime in the fall of 2018.

Its story concluded in the theatrical film *Kamen Rider Amazons: The Last Judgement*, which premiered in spring 2018.

## TV Broadcast

In July, 2016, an edited version of *Amazons* aired on two TV channels: the BS Asahi and Tokyo MX at the late night time and the catchphrase was changed into "Hunt, start" (狩り、開始, *Kari, kaishi*).

## Production

> "*Do you think the recent Kamen Riders are interesting? I don't think so! I hope with Amazons the **toothless** Kamen Riders can get their **fangs** back.*"
> ― Shinichiro Shirakura**[source]**
>
>

Following the *Kamen Rider 1* movie, *Amazons* was announced in one of the 2016 March Televi-kun magazine pages and later confirmed on March 18, 2016. It changed most of the settings from the original *Amazon* and doesn't interfere or alter continuity with anything of the recently airing TV series. With the legendary staffs and strongest action teams who produced the Heisei Riders, *Amazon* now is fully reborn in a modern, darker style that makes it not for kids anymore, because this series' genre is "horror".

## Continuity

 File:17332765 644814232388091 7822002105991823360 n.jpg
A standalone series, the world of *Amazons*, while not necessarily the same mainstream universe as that of the original *Kamen Rider Amazon* or contemporary shows such as *Ghost* and *Ex-Aid*, is established as part of the greater Rider multiverse by *Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Chou Super Hero Taisen*. The crossover film, which premiered less than two weeks prior to the start of the second season, featured Amazon Riders Omega, Alpha as well as Amazon Neo, serving as his first appearance before his introduction in the second season, in the form of their alternate counterparts from the Game World. Additionally, a Bat Amazon appeared as a member of Shocker's Game World army.

Ultimately, *Amazons* was confirmed as taking place in its own parallel world by producer Shinichiro Shirakura in an interview which was published on *Hyper Hobby* Vol.8.

## Plot

### Season 1 (Awakening)

The world is filled by thousands of monsters named Amazons, and the company of Nozama Pharmacy has hired a special team to hunt down and eliminate them. One day, the team were hunting down two Amazon riders, Amazon Riders Alpha and Omega, with their transformers being Jin and Haruka respectfully.

Haruka eventually joined the team to hunt down the Amazons. However, when they were trying to eliminate a group of Amazons that were hiding inside a restaurant, Haruka eventually divided his opinion with the group when he found out that those Amazons have no intention to harm humans. The restaurant has also changed Mamoru, one of the members in the team. He eventually started to have interests in eating human beings. After Jin and Haruka defeated Sigma, Nozama Pharmacy decided to launch a special plan named Tlaloc, a plan to kill all Amazons. Mamoru was in a struggle during Tlaloc because he previously ate one of his friends, Kazuya Mizaki's arm. Haruka eventually rescued him and both of them escaped.

### Season 2 (Reincarnation)

In the past, a massive spill occurred at the Amazon experimental lab. Most of the survivors were destroyed, hot-blooded young men enjoyed hunting Amazons and the experiment seemed to be drawing to an end. Far than ending, however, it was entering a completely new phase. The number of cases of ordinary people turning into Amazon without warning was rising. The government formed a new extermination unit to assassinate people who had turned into Amazon secretly and struggled to hide the truth.

Chihiro/Kamen Rider Amazon Neo is a loner, a boy raised by Amazons who hates them but must suppress his cannibalistic urges. One day he meets Iyu, an Amazon girl who transforms into Crow Amazon and vanquishes Amazon enemies with her awesome fighting power. Chihiro is amazed at his first glance of Iyu, because she’s the first human he’s met without thinking, “I want to eat her.” She’s the first opponent he’s ever wanted to get close to, but Chihiro is unaware of her story. Iyu is a “Sigma Type Amazons” a biological weapon brought back to life after her parents turned Amazon and killed her.

## Characters

### Kamen Riders

#### Web series

 File:2016-06-10 01h22 27.png
 File:Amazons Season 2 Riders.jpg

### Supporting Characters

* Mizuki Mizusawa

* Nozama Peston Service
	+ Makoto Shido
	+ Nozomi Takai
	+ Kazuya Misaki

* Nozama Pharmacy
	+ Reika Mizusawa
	+ Shogo Kano
	+ Yugo Tachibana
	+ Takaaki Tenjo
* Team X
	+ Hiroki Nagase
	+ Kenta Kitamura

* 4C
	+ Takeshi Kurosaki
	+ Ichiro Fudamori
	+ Kota Fukuda

### Villains

* Experiment Amazons
	+ Spider Amazon
		- Spider Amazon 1
		- Spider Amazon 2
	+ Bat Amazon
		- Bat Amazon 1
		- Bat Amazon 2
	+ Soldier Ant Amazons
	+ Butterfly Amazon
		- Butterfly Amazon 1
		- Butterfly Amazon 2
	+ Shrike Amazon 1
	+ Crab Amazon

* New type Amazons
	+ Panther Amazon
	+ Stag Beetle Amazon
	+ Rhinoceros Amazon
	+ Snake Amazon
	+ Mantis Amazon
	+ Urchin Amazon
	+ Elephant Amazon
	+ Weevil Amazon

* Other

## Episodes

*Main article: Kamen Rider Amazons Episodes*
All of the Season 1 episode titles are completely in English, some of the Season 2 titles are Latin, but they are both in all-caps, beginning with the corresponding letter of the English alphabet per number (1=A, 2=B, 3=C, and so on).

**Season 1: Awakening**

1. ***A**MAZONZ*
2. ***B**EAST INSIDE*
3. ***C**OLONY OF ANTS*
4. ***D**IE OR KILL*
5. ***E**YES IN THE DARK*
6. ***F**OR WHAT I FIGHT*
7. ***G**AME OF THE BUTCHERS*
8. ***H**ERO OR NOT*
9. ***I**NTO THE CANNIBAL'S POT*
10. ***J**UNGLE LAW*
11. ***K**ILLING DAY*
12. ***L**OST IN THE FOG*
13. ***M***

**Season 2: Reincarnation**

1. ***N**EO*
2. ***O**RPHANS*
3. ***P**ERSONA NON GRATA*
4. ***Q**UO VADIS?*
5. ***R**AMBLING ROSES*
6. ***S**CHOOLDAYS*
7. ***T**HE THIRD DEGREE*
8. ***U**NDER WRAPS*
9. ***V**ANISHING WINGS*
10. ***W**AY TO NOWHERE*
11. ***X**ING THE RUBICON*
12. ***Y**ELLOW BRICK ROAD*
13. *AMAZON**Z***

**Movies**

1. *Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Chou Super Hero TaisenFile:Icon-crosswiki.png* (仮面ライダー×スーパー戦隊: 超スーパーヒーロー大戦, *Kamen Raidā × Supā Sentai Chō Supā Hīrō Taisen*) (cameo)
2. *Kamen Rider Amazons Season 1 the Movie: Awakening* (劇場版 仮面ライダーアマゾンズ Season1 覚醒, *Gekijōban Kamen Raidā Amazonzu Sezon Uan Kakusei*)
3. *Kamen Rider Amazons Season 2 the Movie: Reincarnation* (劇場版 仮面ライダーアマゾンズ Season2 輪廻, *Gekijōban Kamen Raidā Amazonzu Sezon Tsu Rin'ne*)
4. *Kamen Rider Amazons: The Last Judgement* (仮面ライダーアマゾンズ 最後ノ審判, *Kamen Raidā Amazonzu Saigo no Shinpan*)

**Stageshows**

1. *Kamen Rider Amazons Special Event: A to M Open Your AMAZONS* (仮面ライダーアマゾンズ スペシャルイベント, *A to M Open Your AMAZONS Kamen Raidā Amazonzu Supesharu Ibento*)

## Other media

### Manga

1. *Kamen Rider Amazons Gaiden: Light of Fireflies* (仮面ライダーアマゾンズ外伝　蛍火, *Kamen Raidā Amazonzu Gaiden Hotarubi*)

### SIC Hero Saga

1. *Kamen Rider Amazons: Beastman Syndrome* (仮面ライダーアマゾン 獣人症候群, *Kamen Raidā Amazonzu Kemonohito Shōkōgun*)

## Theme song

* Armour Zone - Taro Kobayashi (Season 1)
* DIE SET DOWN - Taro Kobayashi (Season 2)

## Cast

* Haruka Mizusawa (水澤 悠, *Mizusawa Haruka*): Tom Fujita (藤田 富, *Fujita Tomu*)
* Jin Takayama (鷹山 仁, *Takayama Jin*): Masashi Taniguchi (谷口 賢志, *Taniguchi Masashi*)
* Mizuki Mizusawa (水澤 美月, *Mizusawa Miduki*): Rena Takeda (武田 玲奈, *Takeda Rena*)
* Nanaha Izumi (泉 七羽, *Izumi Nanaha*): Ayu Higashi (東 亜優, *Higashi Ayu*)
* Makoto Shido (志藤 真, *Shidō Makoto*): Mitsutoshi Shundo (俊藤 光利, *Shundō Mitsutoshi*)
* Mamoru (マモル, *Mamoru*): Ryota Kobayashi (小林 亮太, *Kobayashi Ryōta*)
* Ryusuke Otaki (大滝 竜介, *Ōtaki Ryūsuke*): Ryoma Baba (馬場 良馬, *Baba Ryōma*)
* Nozomi Takai (高井 望, *Takai Nozomi*): Kanon Miyahara (宮原 華音, *Miyahara Kanon*)
* Kazuya Misaki (三崎 一也, *Misaki Kazuya*): Katsuya (勝也, *Katsuya*)
* Kota Fukuda (福田 耕太, *Fukuda Kōta*): Kazuya Tanabe (田邊 和也, *Tanabe Kazuya*)
* Jun Maehara (前原 淳, *Maehara Jun*): Hiroshi Asahina (朝日奈 寛, *Asahina Hiroshi*)
* Reika Mizusawa (水澤 令華, *Mizusawa Reika*): Takako Kato (加藤 貴子, *Katō Takako*)
* Shogo Kano (加納 省吾, *Kanō Shogō*): Toshimasa Komatsu (小松 利昌, *Komatsu Toshimasa*)
* Yugo Tachibana (橘 雄悟, *Tachibana Yūgo*): Yu Kamio (神尾 佑, *Kamio Yū*)
* Takaaki Tenjo (天条 隆顕, *Tenjō Takaaki*): Takashi Fujiki (藤木 孝, *Fujiki Takashi*)

### Season 2

* Chihiro (千翼, *Chihiro*): You Maejima (前嶋 曜, *Maejima Yō*)
* Iyu (イユ, *Iyu*) : Ayana Shiramoto (白本 彩奈, *Shiramoto Ayana*)
* Takeshi Kurosaki (黒崎 武, *Kurosaki Takeshi*): Kota Miura (三浦 孝太, *Miura Kōta*)
* Ichiro Fudamori (札森 一郎, *Fudamori Ichirō*): Yoshito Momiki (籾木 芳仁, *Momiki Yoshito*)
* Hiroki Nagase (長瀬 裕樹, *Nagase Hiroki*): Eiji Akaso (赤楚 衛二, *Akaso Eiji*)
* Takumi Yamashita (山下 琢己, *Yamashita Takumi*): Kairi Miura (三浦 海里, *Miura Kairi*)
* Kenta Kitamura (北村 健太, *Kitamura Kenta*): Shohei Domoto (堂本 翔平, *Dōmoto Shōhei*)

### Suit Actors

* Kamen Rider Amazon Omega: Yugo Fujii (藤井 祐伍, *Fujii Yūgo*)
* Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha: Hirokazu Iwakami (岩上 弘数, *Iwakami Hirokazu*)
* Kamen Rider Amazon Sigma, Bat Amazon: Makoto Arakawa (荒川 真, *Arakawa Makoto*)
* Mole Amazon: Daisuke Satō (佐藤 太輔, *Satō Daisuke*)
* Kamen Rider Amazon Neo: Kohei Matsuoka (松岡 航平, *Matsuoka Kōhei*)
* Crow Amazon: Yuto Kikuchi (菊池 雄人, *Kikuchi Yūto*)
* Dragonfly Amazon : Daiki Suzuki (鈴木大樹 *Suzuki Daiki*)

## Notes

* The show itself is an in-joke that this series based on Kamen Rider **Amazon** would premiere on **Amazon** Prime.
	+ This is further referenced by the show's catchphrase being "Open Your Amazons", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that Amazon the website is an online shopping site that delivers packages ordered from their site to a customer's house.
* The series title, Amazon**s**, is a pun that means several Amazon Riders will appear.
* Similar to *Kamen Rider 555*, most of the Riders (Amazon Omega, Amazon Alpha, Amazon Sigma) are named after a letter from the Greek alphabet.
* The next-episode previews for Season 1 are titled as "NEXT HUNT" and the last preview of is titled "LAST HUNT". In Season 2, they are changed into "NEXT TARGET" and "LAST TARGET" respectively.
* Due to its violent and dark premise and the fact that it is for an adult audience, has Yasuko Kobayashi as its main writer and is a Horror/Action drama, some Rider fans view this series as an attempt by Toei to compete/capitalize on the return of the *GARO* franchise.
	+ The fact that the series is going to be released on a streaming-only basis on Amazon Japan, it seems that Toei is following Marvel's act of releasing streaming-only series' on Netflix, such as *Daredevil* and *Jessica Jones*. Similar to those series', Amazons features darker and more violent materials compared to the more "mainstream" parts of their respective franchises thanks to the less stringent censorship.
* It is the only entry in the Kamen Rider franchise to get a second season of the same show with the same title.
	+ Even the longest series, the original *Kamen Rider* with 98 episodes, was still technically a single continuous season. The closest to a second season prior to was *Kamen Rider Black RX*, which was more of a sequel series to *Kamen Rider Black* than an actual second season.

 File:Amazon Riders Logo.png
* This series was reported to air in the US in September 2016 as the first round of the exportation of the Amazon Prime Original Videos, under the title of ***Amazon Riders***, supposed to be the first original Kamen Rider series to be digitally streamed in the west. Season 1 was launched on April 19, 2018.
	+ With it's American-release, Kamen Rider Amazons is the third *Kamen Rider*-related project to have an official release for American audiences. *Kamen Rider The First* would be the first to have that distinction as it was released on DVD by Media Blasters in 2007, with English subtitles. Nearly a decade later, *Kamen Rider Wizard* would be aired on TV Japan in 2017, albeit without English subtitles.
* This is one of the few Heisei series to not have Kyoritz present to provide lighting equipment, due to the company already working on *Kamen Rider Ghost* at the time.
* With a run of two seasons with thirteen episodes each, this is technically the shortest or second-shortest series of *Kamen Rider*. Coincidentally, the other honor is held by its inspiration, *Kamen Rider Amazon*, which ran a for single twenty-four episode season.
* The series became the inspiration for Kamen Rider Zamonas in Kamen Rider Zi-O: Over Quartzer.

## References

1. ↑ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbjEcEWVwAAi0sl.jpg

## External Links

* Official website at Super Hero YearFile:Icon-crosswiki.png
* @rider\_amazons
* Official Season 1 website at Toei Company
* Official Season 2 website at Toei Company