What makes a Kamen Rider name iconic?

Last time, we talked about how Power Rangers names their series with respect to their Super Sentai counterparts. How does their sister-in-law franchise, Kamen Rider, tackle naming overall? In this video, I take a look at the nuances behind Kamen Rider names, while highlighting some of my favorites. What are your favorite Kamen Rider names?
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Time Stamps:
0:06 Introduction
1:25 Structure
2:25 Naming Method 1
2:55 Naming Method 2
3:35 Naming Method 3
4:35 Ranking Intro
5:18 Rankings 1-10
13:03 Conclusion
#kamenrider #kamenridergotchard #kamenridergavv

[@raymondbrasuell2564]

One I'd like to personally spotlight is Zero-One. Not only does it harken back to the first rider Ichigo(literally "first") to indicate him being the first hero of the Reiwa era, but also makes reference to binary code to emphasize the technology theme of the season.

[@Indigo_Polarity]

Another really cool thing about zero one: The Kanji for Zero is “Rei” Zero One Rei One Rei Wan Reiwa!

[@RACH90810]

​@@Indigo_Polarityits triple fusion between ichigo, kuuga and double.

[@blaziard683]

@@Indigo_Polarity ARUUUTOOO JAAAAAAAAAAA!!! NAITO!

[@aliastheabnormal]

Zero-One is arguably a modern day reinterpretation of the original show. Just like how 555 was a reinvention for the 2000"s

[@sugisujarth4863]

KIVA is also a abbreviation of King of vampires possibly alluding the connection to the fancier kings

[@sugisujarth4863]

Fangire king

[@fakhrizzaarrifi9375]

Also kiva when pronounced by Japanese will sound like Kiba (fang)

[@brianljh8982]

Makes sense since the bat needed for the users to transform all stated which generation they are for example for main rider's bat it says Kibatto san-sei which translates to kivat bat the 3rd which also means it is the 3rd generation bat. Plus all the users of the bat are members of the Fangire monarchy family

[@calvinwarthur1770]

​​​​@@brianljh8982 yes,and no beacuse wataru is half human and half Fangire he is distant relative to the royalty of the Fangire so thats why he is not on the family tree is because her mother had an affair because Otoya kurenai because he is gentle and he is honest to his ideals and thats why wataru is on his father house or mansion becasue her mother took him there for safekeeping so that the fangire race search her not wataru so thats it for why the" *no* "part the rest part is how the story goes its like that 😇😇😇(P.S i'm sorry if there's some miss place on my part but what i'm saying is true to the lore of kamen rider kiva " *on the wataru origin not the story* " i know the story but its such a drag to say or i forgot some of it so i hope my info for this is useful for everybody to know wataru is a distant relative to the Fangire races and not entirely a human but half-human so i hope everyone undestand it 🙏🙏🙏😇😇)

[@christianreno4162]

​@@calvinwarthur1770 Wataru is not a distant relative of royalty, he's literally the king's half brother.

[@DragonStar524]

Kuuga: Clear self Agito: Alpha and Omega Ryuki: Literally translates to Dragon Knight Faiz: A play on the Greek letter and the transformation code. Blade: Rider using a sword. Hibiki: Ki= Demon. It means Echoing Demon Kabuto: Rhinoceros Beetle (Kabutomushi) Den-O: Translates to Train King Kiva: A portmanteau of KIva of VAmpires Decade: The tenth Rider in the 10th year of the 2000's W: A play on the Japanese romanji pronunciation of Double OOO: O means king. And the medals have 3 circular slots. 3 O's. Fourze: A combination of 4 and Zero. Also based on KR's 40th anniversary Wizard: Magic user, simple as that. Gaim: Gai can translate to Armor. Hence them being called "Armored Riders" Drive: The theme of cars. The first Heisei rider to have a car as a rider machine. Ghost: Dealing with spirits. Our main protag is a literal ghost. Ex-Aid: play on words of Extreme Aid. Build: Building multiple form combinations Zi-O: Translates to "Time King" 01: A play on Reiwa. Rei = 0, and Wan being 1. Also being the first rider of the Reiwa Era. Saber: All sword themed riders. Revice: A portmanteau of Revi and Vice, which translates to "Connecting with Evil" hence the demon motifs of the season. Geats: A butchered version of Kitsu, which means Fox. And Geats motif is a Kitsune. Gotchard: A play on words of Gotcha and Card. Gaav: The romanji spelling of Gabi, which means "Bite" in Japanese.

[@foisopracurtir6389]

*Echoing Oni

[@DragonStar524]

@@foisopracurtir6389 I think the Ki character can be read both ways.

[@foisopracurtir6389]

@@DragonStar524 But as we are talking about japanese ogres destroying supposed yokai on the japanese contryside, seems proper

[@binahry]

blade isnt named that because he uses a blade, the four main riders in blade are based on card suits/the minor arcana

[@isaacmontecillo7948]

​@@binahryAt 7:57 All 10 swordsmen as kamen riders: Saber, Blades, Espada, Buster, Kenzan, Slash, Calibur, Saikou, Sabela and Durandal in order.

[@PowerDrone13]

One of my favorite KR names is Decade, this is because of the weight the name carries, aside from getting people new to the franchise curious about the name, the name Decade obviously is the name of a 10 year period, but when you think about what's in those 10 years that's when you realize there's more to the name then the obvious.

[@Indigo_Polarity]

It also sounds kind of like “Deck Card” (his transformation gimmick) and “Decayed” (possible nod to his “destroyer of worlds” title).

[@PowerDrone13]

@@Indigo_Polarity Oh yeah now that you've mentioned it I do hear "Decayed" , But the "Deck card" no sorry don't hear that.

[@songgerperalta8144]

i was thinking names for my kamen rider fanfic and i called it "Kamen rider Odyssey" i think it goes well with the theme of adventure

[@PowerDrone13]

@songgerperalta8144 not bad on KR name sound like you got your series planned out :D

[@songgerperalta8144]

@@PowerDrone13 ty i kinda planned out the story, i even have the design for the main rider....

[@nightowl548]

Consider this funny, but a friend I have who's playing in a Kamen Rider DnD game also has a Rider by that name. (Is this you Puff?)

[@PowerDrone13]

@@songgerperalta8144 You're not the only one I've got KR series background and main plot episodes worked out, but fillers are still coming up slow.

[@rafaelperalta1676]

Where can we read it?

[@Egalemanly]

Kamen Rider Stronger was name Spark ,but due to Trademark issues , he was rename

[@shinyanakagawa8241]

And Kamen Rier SPIRITS acknowledged this and Muraeda Kenichi took the liberty and named Shigeru's dead best friend's cyborg form 'Spark' which is the prototype for Stronger.

[@aliastheabnormal]

No, Ryuki got an adaptation because it had the most toy selling potential. The shows produced even admitted as much as they originally planned to adapt either 555 or Blade but after seeing the 13 rider concept and how merch they could sell they decided to adapt Ryuki.

[@reallywhydidyou]

Personally, I'm drawn to names that bring a certain presence to the rider themselves. Cronus and Odin are two examples that I'll highlight. Both names come from figures in real life mythology, and this helps build up this very intimidating and powerful image for the pair of villainous riders.

[@chunchun9080]

Let me add that Ryuki's secondary rider Knight has double meaning. It's based on Knight (hence the name) and that its associated with the night since his colour is very dark blue.

[@onyxwolfreaper21]

I wrote a Kamen Rider oc who's all about being the "Death" of the franchise, he uses the Desire driver with twin buckles similar to Geats IX, Bujin Sword and Ploison Rage. He usually goes around killing any riders who he deems unworthy of their rider title. Im kinda torn with whether I should name him Grim, Shinigami or Reagami (Reaper + Shinigami) Here are personal favorite rider names not in order: 1. Geats: It sounds VERY simple yet badass, idk what it is 2. Ex-Aid: I think this rider is one of the few riders that has "-" in the name, this makes him stands out among the other riders as if his design alone isn't unique enough. I also love that the "Aid" in the name represents the fact that the characters are doctors which I just noticed rn- 3. Gotchard: When I first saw the name, I thought it sounded at the time. But now I know how to actually pronounce it and the fact that Houtaro's catchphrase is literally "GOTCHA!" it makes more sense now. Although Idk what the "rd" part of the name supposed to mean-

[@koil475]

For someone writing a Kamen Rider inspired book, all the main "Riders" Have a different naming language. Diavolo = Italian for Devil, Ripa just a different way for Reapa or Reaper, Arch and Puppeteer are the typical English names and Heilige Dutch for Saint.

[@Fae_the_VA]

I love gotchard cause it combines three words "gotcha!" "Gacha" and "card" thus gotchard

[@shurayuki0]

Gavv is already a good/neat pun too! Being another pronunciation based name, like Cross-z, being based on the Japanese onomatopoeia "Gabu". And with the 2 V's, possibly, being there to represent fangs, we are definitaly gonna be seeing the belt, and maybe, the weapons having a "Biting" theme.

[@snin3202]

Tbh i really love showa esque name with all those machines, engine, bike name like V3, X, super-1, ZX, RX. Solid name since they are "rider" and the bikes are the most important aspect of them that heisei and reiwa lack of

[@lorenzowhois]

I LOVE KAMEN RIDER ETYMOLOGY RAHHH

[@kamenrangerzeo8251]

The Kamen Rider name is very simple with the extra name being based off of what its form takes after. For example Kiva is short for king of vampire hence his motif is on vampire bats and Dracula, Decade literally means 10 years of the franchise in this case he heisei riders, Double for the two minds in one body, OOO’s for multi forms, Fourze for Space, Wizard self-explanatory for that, Gaim samurai and other European armored warriors, Drive for his car themed and turbocharged vehicle aesthetics, Ghost another self-explanatory rider, ex-aid signifies both games and doctor motifs, build a literal term for combining different elements, Zi-O for his appearance for time, Zero-One for a more anniversary and the beginning of a new rider, Saber for the sword and knight motif, Revice based on spirits and demons, and Geats The legend of the nine tailed fox. My personal favorite Riders that I like are Zi-O, Geats, and Legend due to their unique power set and skill level on how they approach their foes but also their allies during the seasons.

[@acubewitha2dhat]

The way they say decade also sounds like "decay" which shows the more destructive side of decade and also fits with diend being "the end"

[@FirithPanda]

I love Kamen Rider Geats naming scheme because it does words and onomatopoeias into a name. It would be hard to explain, but Tycoon is a pun on Tanuki and the fact that they're good luck charms for Wealth and it sort of sounds like a tanuki noise irl.

[@chrisshep7564]

I do like Legend bc the "end" part reminds me of Diend OOO is interesting too, since "osu" can translate to a manly version of "Hey!" and when he does his Rider Kick, the driver says "seiya!" ("See ya!") I also appreciate Zi-O. The Z and O always looked like a 20 to me! (This is on top of the obvious stuff, like OOO has the 3 medals and Fourze is "four zero", but everyone knows those)

[@70Lu07]

The Fanmade Kamen Rider season i made has the Main Rider be Called Kamen Rider RDX as a big reference to the Showa era Riders only having one or two letters as it's name, RDX is a double meaning name, R is from "Red" and D is from "Dragon", but the X means nothing alone, but together with D it means "Deluxe", so the name mainly means "Red Dragon Deluxe"

[@rinoakirova1548]

One interesting name that wasn't mentioned here is Geats. Officially, Geats is a play on the Japanese word for Fox "kitsune" (similar to Zi-O being a play on Ji-Oh). But also, the way Geats is pronounced is identical to "Jitsu" - Gen*jitsu* meaning something akin to Reality and Truth. I find it really fitting as Ace is a character whose purpose is to find the truth about his past and the state of his world, while his powers give him control over reality.

[@SamuraiEchidna]

BONUS ROUND! Once upon a time, there was a video game (a pachinko game, maybe?) that was based on the first Rider; Kamen Rider Ichigo (Kamen Rider #1). The band Rider Chips was tasked with making a theme song for this video game. They titled the song "Ride A First Way". The title itself is, in reality, a clever connection to the first Rider. Can you figure out how? It's a riddle, but if you know enough about Japanese pronunciation and naming schemes, you should be able to figure this out!

[@Flamne]

Tycoon is a really fun one, I want to discover the theme for it myself, I am sure there's already a explanation for it though, Geats naming schemes in general is fun

[@tenjoutengeone]

Tycoon is an English term meaning "a wealthy, powerful person in business or industry". While in Japanese, Tycoon which is written originally as ''Taikun" is a title/term used for shoguns/military leaders of Japan especially for Tokugawa Shogunate leaders like Tokugawa Ieyasu who is known as "Tanuki-oyaji" (lit. "raccoon dog father"). Notably, it serves as a foreshadowing/inspiration for Tycoon's final form, Bujin Sword, as well as to his desire to acquire more power for the sake of his own wishes after his sister's death during the latter episodes. Lastly, it is an anagram for "tanuki" (lit. raccoon dog).

[@Flamne]

@@tenjoutengeone I know the tanuki part and Tycoon seems to be irrelevant to his character anyway

[@raiz1999]

Not to mention his form Ninja, my japanese friend told me that there's a japanese tale/legend about raccoon associated with being a ninja, lol

[@Indigo_Polarity]

@@tenjoutengeone I think the spelling is also meant to invoke “Typhoon”.

[@QBnoYouko]

Also the relationship between the tanuki and the fox in Japanese folklore represented by Keiwa and Ace!

[@kbrxion5620]

Ex-aid is one of my favorite names as its explains what the show is about. With Ex being a term that could be either extreme or a term that games use to mean something is extra or super. and Aid being straight forward, representing the doctor aspect of the show.

[@randomplates]

Personally thought of two Kamen Rider OCs I made up 2 years ago. An explosive bubble themed Rider named Burst and a zombie minor antagonist Rider named Greavs. I just had more inspiration with the latter (Graves, Greaves and VS)

[@beautifulsentaismash]

One of my favorites is Knight Simple yet memberable and fits decent But I think his American Counterpart Wing Knight was a better name

[@TokuNorth]

Ultraman names next?

[@shinyanakagawa8241]

Barring Taro, 80, Tiga, Nexus, Rosso and Blu (and probably Belial too), most Ultraman names are just random cool sounding names that bears no special meaning.

[@TokuNorth]

@@shinyanakagawa8241 Highly disagree

[@shinyanakagawa8241]

@@TokuNorth What does Mebius' name brings to his character besides the symbol on his wrist transformer thing? What does Seven means in a deep meaningful way? Besides "Jittoshitetemo dou ni mo naranai" what does Geed implies?

[@foisopracurtir6389]

​​@@shinyanakagawa8241​ Isn't Mebius all about revisiting the franchise roots,(heck, his Big Bad was lore introduced in Ace or Taro) like a one-sided ring? *Ge* netic *Seed* . Also, you forgot about Gaia and his premise, just look out about Agul's

[@shinyanakagawa8241]

@@foisopracurtir6389 Genetic seed/Genetic Destiny is reaching so hard. Geed's name literally came from Riku's catchphrase. The director came up with that retcon just because they want to make it cooler. The original planned romanization of the name was Xead. Though, I can get the reasoning behind Mebius and maybe Gaia for its Earth element. And ok, I will throw in Ultra Seven 21 too anyway since "tsu-wan" is a play on word of tsuwamono which means warrior/tough guy and probably Z, being the one who named by someone called "A"ce.

[@jollywoohoo]

Something I’ve noticed is that starting from Ex-aid, calling characters by their rider name became more common. I especially notice this in geats, where I swear geats and buffa rarely call each other by their actual names.

[@0H00C-Ultra]

Good points

[@ahmadrunningwild85]

Rider names are....short and sweet if they are the main riders most of the time

[@jmestrada8942]

10:40 I kinda like it that the fact Sasword is the only Rider in that show that is an Arachnid

[@fakhrizzaarrifi9375]

Stronger have philosophy for always growing in strength, because he will always stronger than yesterday. Why not strongest? Strongest will mark the end of growth

[@cqstlupin6074]

Because tendou is strongest

[@HenshinFanatic]

@@cqstlupin6074 Space Fruit Jesus, Kazuraba Kouta might have to disagree.

[@SamuraiEchidna]

Can't say I have many thoughts on this. Couldn't even begin to tier list Rider names, though I do think the naming conventions got way more cohesive and meaningful from Heisei (Kuuga) onwards. Though there has always been one REALLY frustrating Kamen Rider name to me... SkyRider. He's the one hero that breaks away from the naming convention that all other Riders follow. I know he was originally made to be a reimagining of Kamen Rider, and then later rebranded as SkyRider to make him a separate thing rather than a replacement of Ichigo/Rider #1. But what does that name mean? Let's look deeper at the naming conventions of classic Riders from the Showa Era. Kamen Rider X would sometimes be referred to as "X Rider". Kamen Rider Amazon would sometimes be referred to as "Amazon Rider". Even the original that started it all would sometimes be referred to as "Ichigo Rider". So what does that name mean for SkyRider? Does that mean his full name is suppose to be Kamen Rider Sky? Maybe it's because I'm not use to it, but that just sounds weird to me, and it makes the core concept of the Rider less obvious. Is his full name Kamen Sky Rider? It's not much better, he's still breaking the naming convention pattern. I don't want to drop the "Kamen Rider" title entirely because that's what he is, a Kamen Rider! In the end, it really doesn't matter too much. I am willing to call him "SkyRider", just like everyone else. It's just been a pet peeve of mine that I've carried for a long time.

[@stephenmalvar1169]

Kamen Rider - Knight - Verde - Odin - Wizard - Joker - Accel - Meteor - Ryugen - Zangetsu - Espada - Sasword - Shinobi - Black / Black Sun - Shadow/ Shadow Moon

[@Skywolfhd20]

0:37 maybe cousin franchise would be a good way to describe pr in relation to kr?

[@shadowclaw7210]

Niece franchise?

[@Skywolfhd20]

@@shadowclaw7210 another good suggestion

[@charliejenkins3211]

I’ve been using grandparent for Kamen rider in relation to power rangers, since it goes Kamen rider, sentai, and then power rangers, but that might just be me

[@Skywolfhd20]

@@charliejenkins3211 doesn't really work since sentai is more a sibling to rider than a child

[@isaacmontecillo7948]

At 7:56 Kamijo Daichi?​@@charliejenkins3211

[@danielestrada5103]

7:56 I thought Kamen Rider Caliber's name was a reference to Caliburn. Some legends say it was the sword in the stone and Excalibur was the name of the sword that the lady of the lake gave to King Arthur, while other legends say they're the same sword. Please keep in mind that this is what I've read online so I can be completely wrong about this.

[@kimjoromo3519]

I'd like to see him do a PreCure video.

[@alonso82909]

You got to collab with Kezza Henshin because she mentioned you when her, Marcosatsu, and Thomasjujube reacted to Boonboomger

[@DenZ0224]

Nice

[@Nyhilist_]

I love Ryuki locking in the Kamen Rider Knight name early on

[@KodaKitten333]

And then its sister SISTER in law franchise precure

[@Cruzx.]

Kiva is by far my top 5 kr after kuuga

[@anthonythomas305]

Kamen Rider are awesome

[@KodaKitten333]

Honestly my first kamen rider was kuuga (also geats chemy in the kamen rider winter movie was voiced by a vtuber)

[@skyrogue1977]

I think Calibur should’ve been Blade’s name, while Calibur should’ve been Gram.

[@aliastheabnormal]

Gavv is food. Apparently its the Japanese onomatopia for biting. So it's a food themed rider.

[@neokamenrider]

An fanfic I'm working on, Kamen Rider G.O.E. (Guarding over Earth), an ichigo inspired Rider fighting an kaijin run government in a semi apocalyptic world searching for his family. Basically mix ichigo, shin kamen rider (both movie) and fist of the north star. G.O.E. is one the protecting the remaining humanity on earth and also it kinda like ichigGOE😅. Also goe is a old way to say go/gone

[@RivanEXT99]

I have a Kamen Rider OC with a Cyberworld and Aquatic theme named Kamen Rider Dyburst. You can find it on the Kamen Rider subreddit if you like

[@NewUltraHero]

I think Zi-O's name is also meant to represent "King" in some languages.

[@aaronmckenziepowell07]

Ki (kiba/fang) Va (Vampire)

[@JNAB0212]

Kaixa’s name also comes from the greek word X or chi, pronounced like ky which is where his X motif comes from. I also tend to see Kaixa’s name pronounced like the German word Kaiser

[@MatthiaGryffine]

Your narration sounds more assertive in this video

[@Mikey27886]

Sir zoru Hibiki means is beat with Ōni 👺 music instruments likes drums, guitar and trumpet looks like of hurricane ranger or Ninjastorm fusion of Ōni 👺 and Shinobi 🗡️♦️🔥🔥🌀⬛ is My Kamen Rider ever much better than Super Sentai counterpart...?

[@mechasatsu6214]

Yeah. I've always thought that the rough translation was "The Sound/music of Onis" which does makes sense to their theme.

[@isaacmontecillo7948]

​@@mechasatsu6214At 7:58 Brave dragon. Lion Senki. Lamp Do Alangina. Genbu shinwa. Sarutobi Ninja Den. Hanselnuts to gretel. Jaaku dragon. X Swordman. Konchuu daihyakka. Ocean history. All 10 wonder ride books combined altogether as one. We are Kamen rider swordsmen.

[@phucpham7081]

What next cool kamen rider name the studio would make up would it be kamen rider burst or kamen rider shadow or kamen rider wild or kamen rider miracle or kamen rider kratos or kamen rider horus or kamen rider gear or kamen rider gaia or kamen rider blast or kamen rider soldier or kamen rider voltic or kamen rider skyro or kamen rider nitro or kamen rider esper

[@NiGHTcapD]

I thought "Den" referred to electricity. Den-O for "Electric King"

[@shelbybayer200]

"Spirtual opposite of Ghost" 😅😂

[@user-ri6hh7nm5z]

first

[@KaitoD]

I am biased, but I do love me some OOO (Ozu) firstly it has the same function as Faiz where its the 3 components of the transformation, Faiz is 3 of the number 5 where OOO is 3 medals represented perfectly by repeating the letter O 3 times, its also representative of Oh or the Japanese word for King/Monarch, since Kamen Rider OOO within lore is the king who desires or otherwise is the king that governs over desire, and just this mechanic of 3 parts in the name seeps into almost everything in OOO from the episode titles to the forms and in a way the arcs but that's not entirely accurate since it is an episodic show, but you could say that there is 3 factions within OOO, the Greeeds, the Organization that I forgot the name of, and OOO himself being a faction of his own, each fighting to their own objective, eventually the organization did get replaced with the professor as they slowly become more background and more so in support of OOO instead of using him and with the professor defecting from the Greeeds, but there's probably more meaning here that I just don't know

[@brianljh8982]

The organization in the show is called Kougami Foundation

[@isaacmontecillo7948]

​@@brianljh8982At 4:20 Shindo Rintaro? Is that you?

[@user-yf9zc7td4o]

How super sentai and kamen raider theme of the show being selected example like gokaiger why they pick pirate theme on this show.

[@legojedi328]

I've been a fan of this franchise for over a decade but some of the names have always been total nonsense to me

[@legojedi328]

JUST TO CLARIFY, I love that about it, but tryna recommend a season to someone and having to go "Yeah you should try Double (spelled with the letter W) or O's (spelled as 3 Os) is always a bit goofy

[@foisopracurtir6389]

​@@legojedi328 How *u* pronouce the letter w?

[@DanishSyawal]

4:12 me looking at Valkyrie:hi there cutie And then remembers that the suit actor is a guy

[@user-gx7gb3sj6v]

Hmmm why stronger, just use spark the show focus into electric stuff Never mind i get it now

[@Krish_Kumar.69]

It's from faiz

[@Tigerturnip]

if sentai is a sister series, and pr a sister in law series... are you implying sentai is in a lesbian marriage with power rangers?

[@ProfessM]

For me the worst two names ended up being my 2 of my least fav shows. Fourze and Drive are just not names I like and their shows are my bottoms. Deno a show I also disliked name is just fun. My fav names for shows ended up W/Double because the way it can be writen is fun and Faiz. Even if Faiz is a show that is meh its name is great. Skull, Necrom and Evol are my top names.

[@knightisble7097]

Wow this video flopped

[@lorenzowhois]

not even a day u still hatin