Kamen Rider the Next



Kamen Rider the Next was the second of Toei's theatrical revamps of the Showa-era portion of the Kamen Rider franchise. It was released in 2007.

The events pick up two years after the last film. Takeshi Hongo is now a high-school teacher and Hayato Ichimonji is just counting down the days before his cybernetic implants kill him. Our heroes are thrust into action when a bizarre series of murders occur; the calling card being the single "Platinum Smile" playing in the background. A further investigation by our heroes discovers that not only is its singer, Chiharu Kazami, dead, but the single itself is part of Shocker's latest nefarious scheme. The Double Riders soon find themselves battling a band of evil twins, led by two new Shocker Kaijin and Kamen Rider V 3, who is none other than Chiharu's brother Shiro Kazami.

This film features examples of:

 * Asskicking Pose: Hongo, Ichimonji and Kazami all do their trademark Henshin poses at the film's climax. Unlike in the first film, where they were slightly altered to look like battle stances, here it's pretty much just Rule of Cool.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Pretty much Hongo. He's normally an unassuming Nice Guy who doesn't seem like he could hurt a fly. Of course, he's also a powerful cyborg who can easily stop a speeding truck with one hand.
 * Badass Teacher: Undoubtedly Hongo. When some thugs attempt to kidnap one of his students (right in front of the school, in the middle of the day, no less) and drag her into their car against her will, the principal just tells Hongo to ignore it. Hongo fails to heed his advice, and proceeds to stop the car with one hand. When one of the thugs attempts to run him over with his motorcycle, Hongo completely stops it in its tracks by grabbing the front wheel before it hits him, breaking it off in the process. All this without uttering a single word.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Ichimonji, who comes to Hongo's aid just in the nick of time precisely twice. Later
 * Bilingual Bonus: a Pinoy-speaking tenant witnesses Takeshi's student visits, and gossips about it on the phone. Possibly a tip of the hat to the southeast Asian Kamen Rider fanbase.
 * Blood From the Mouth: Alas, poor
 * Body Horror: The Shocker's nanobots, which turn people into cyborgs and
 * Brown Note: Listening to "Platinum Smile" prompts to kill you.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: The Shocker Riders on Hongo at first; the tables are turned later when Ichimonji and Kazami join in.
 * Cybernetics Eat Your Soul:
 * Darker and Edgier: Even more so than its predecessor.
 * Dead Person Impersonation:
 * Deadly Dodging: During the first fight scene, Chainsaw Lizard attempts to slice Hongo while a Shocker Rider attempts to kick him. Hongo dodges, resulting in the Shocker Rider getting his lower leg sawed off! For added hilarity, the Shocker Rider keeps fighting.
 * Delinquents: for some reason Hongo is teaching a class full of these.
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * The End or Is It:
 * Evil Twin: The Shocker Riders, and arguably Kamen Rider V3.
 * Fridge Brilliance: Hongo and Ichimonji's individual fighting styles. Hongo has a very practical and technical fighting style, not too flashy, but effective at balancing offense and defense. This may be a nod to the original Kamen Rider 1's main trait of being one of the most "skillful" Riders. Meanwhile, Ichimonji's fighting style is rather brutal and highly offensive, while somewhat lacking in defense; this seems to be a throwback to the original Kamen Rider 2 being the "Kamen Rider of Power". Kazami's fighting style seems to be a cross between the two, as he seems to be more offensive-inclined, but doesn't jump and flip around as much as Ichimonji, leaving him less open to counterattacks (ignoring his Rider Kick); in the original show, Kamen Rider V3 was said to have Hongo's "Skill" and Ichimoji's "Power".
 * Glass Cannon: Ichimonji, sort of. See Fridge Brilliance.
 * ~Hey, It's That Guy!~: Kazuki Kato, AKA Kamen Rider Drake, is Kazami. Also Tomorowo Taguchi is Scissors Jaguar. And Erika Mori, previously Hitomi Mochida, is Chiharu Kazami.
 * Heel Face Turn:, in almost a heartbeat.
 * Humanoid Eldritch Abomination:
 * I Will Definitely Protect You: Hongo makes this vow to one of his students when she pleads to him to help her find her missing friend.
 * Incendiary Exponent: As Shocker HQ burns down around him, Kazami merely fires up his Double Typhoon belt and SUCKS IN ALL THE FLAMES, igniting his entire body. Then performs a flaming Rider Punch.
 * Jerkass Facade: Ichimonji. He acts cold, yet he constantly comes to Hongo's aid in a heartbeat.
 * Rearrange the Song: Platinum Smile's rock edit.
 * Remake Cameo: Goro Naya as the voice of Shocker's great leader.
 * Tragic Monster:
 * Weak but Skilled: Seemingly how Hongo is portrayed in the film. He's weaker than most of the other Inhumanoids, but makes up for it with superior technique, much like his original counterpart.
 * The Worf Effect: Arguably Hongo against the Shocker Riders the first time.
 * He still put up a strong fight, despite being heavily outnumbered. The Shocker Riders are all superior to Hongo in terms of overall specs, being based off the stronger Ichimonji and powered up even further thanks to nanomachines. On paper, Hongo should be the weakest Modified Human in the movie. Doesn't stop him from picking apart the Shocker Riders with little effort in the climax, though.
 * He still put up a strong fight, despite being heavily outnumbered. The Shocker Riders are all superior to Hongo in terms of overall specs, being based off the stronger Ichimonji and powered up even further thanks to nanomachines. On paper, Hongo should be the weakest Modified Human in the movie. Doesn't stop him from picking apart the Shocker Riders with little effort in the climax, though.