| Genre: | Tokusatsu Superhero fiction Science fantasy |
| Developer: | Ishimori Productions Toei Company |
| Narrated: | Katsuyuki Konishi |
| Opentheme: | "CHEMY×STORY" |
| Composer: | Hiroshi Takaki |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Num Episodes: | 50 |
| List Episodes: | List of Kamen Rider Gotchard episodes |
| Runtime: | 24–25 min. (per episode) |
| Network: | ANN (TV Asahi) |
is a Japanese drama, the 34th entry of Toei Company's Kamen Rider metaseries, and the fifth series to debut during the Reiwa period. The series debuted on September 3, 2023, joining Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger and later, Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger in the Super Hero Time lineup after the finale of Kamen Rider Geats, before concluding on August 25, 2024 and succeeded by Kamen Rider Gavv.[1] It is the first series to debut a steampunk motif aside with the insect motif.
See main article: List of Kamen Rider Gotchard characters. Houtaro Ichinose is a student at Furasu High School who one day discovers the Alchemist Academy, a secret school for alchemists, beneath the school. Alchemist Fuga Kudo gives him the GotcharDriver, which gives him the power to transform into Kamen Rider Gotchard, and entrusts him with retrieving the Chemies. These artificial lifeforms were released a decade ago and can fuse with humans to become humanoid monsters called Malgams.
Fuga's daughter Rinne, a student at the Academy who transforms into Kamen Rider Majade, assists him in his task. He is also assisted by Supana Kurogane, a graduate of the Academy who transforms into Kamen Rider Valvarad. He was given the same task, but initially sees the Chemies as tools and serves as a rival to Houtaro, who wants to befriend them. They are opposed by the Three Dark Sisters: Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis, who intend to use the Chemies for their master, Glion, while creating Kamen Rider Dread systems to counter the Riders. It is later revealed that Fuga's betrayal was due to his discovery of a conspiracy within the Alchemist Union related to Glion's plans. When Glion finally carries out his plan to destroy the world, the Riders are aided by the time-traveling Kamen Rider Gotchard Daybreak, who is revealed to be an alternate version of Houtaro from a future where Glion succeeded in his plan to turn the world into gold. The Riders defeat Glion, who is devoured by the same monster he tried to summon for the sake of his plans.
After Glion's death, the Dark Sisters are joined by Gigist, one of the "Dark Kings" and the creator of the first two Chemies. Ho-Oh Kaguya Quartz briefly reunites with Houtaro from his world to fight Hundred under Kamen Rider Legend when they invade Houtaro's world. To counter Gigist, Houtaro unlocks the true power of the 101st Chemy, Nijigon, which was hidden inside the GotcharDriver to transform into his ultimate form, Rainbow Gotchard. Germain and Gaelijah, two other Dark Kings, also appear and intend to claim a piece of the Philosopher's Stone, the ultimate alchemic artifact, which is contained within Nijigon. The Dark Sisters take advantage of the confrontation between the Dark Kings and the Riders to revive Glion, who was devoured by Germain, by having him emerge from Germain's body and take it over and obtain his powers. Gaelijah and Gigist are destroyed by Rinne and Supana respectively and their powers are also absorbed by Glion, who uses them to transform into Kamen Rider Eldo and to turn the entire world into gold. Houtaro unlocks the true power of his alchemy and uses it to defeat Glion for good and restore the world, while creating a replica of Earth where the Chemies can live in peace.
The Kamen Rider Gotchard trademark was registered by Toei Company on May 15, 2023, and published on May 23, 2023.[2]
Gotchard was officially announced on July 21, 2023. An online production announcement conference introducing the main cast and characters and the artist for the show's theme song was held on August 9, 2023.
The opening theme song "CHEMY×STORY" is performed by rock band Back-On. Starting from episode 17, a new version of the song is performed as a collaboration between Back-On and rock band Flow.[3] [4]
Kamen Rider Gotchard debuted in the feature film Kamen Rider Geats the Movie: The 4 Aces and the Black Fox.
is a crossover film released on December 22, 2023, starring the casts of Gotchard and Kamen Rider Geats. The film was written by Hiroki Uchida and directed by Kyohei Yamaguchi. The theme song is "All for Love" performed by Blank Paper.[5] [6] The events of the film take place between episode 15 of the series and Kamen Rider Gotchard: What's That!? Houtaro and Rinne Swapped Bodies!!.[7]
is a film released on July 26, 2024, double-billed with Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger GekijōBoon! Promise the Circuit.[8] [9] Masahiro Inoue reprised his role as Tsukasa Kadoya from Kamen Rider Decade. Additionally, the main character of Kamen Rider Gavv made his first appearance, portrayed by Hidekazu Chinen. The film was written by Keiichi Hasegawa and directed by Ryuta Tasaki. The theme song is "THE FUTURE DAYBREAK" performed by Back-On×Flow.[10] The events of the film take place between episodes 43 and 44 of the series.[11]
A two-episode web-exclusive special released on Toei Tokusatsu YouTube Official, Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club, TVer, Telasa, Abema, TV Asahi Video, and Amazon Prime Video on November 5, 2023.[12] Masahiro Inoue reprised his voice role as Kamen Rider Decade from Kamen Rider Decade. The events of the specials take place during the early episodes of the series.
A web-exclusive series released on Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club on December 31, 2023.[13]
Televi-Kuns . The events of the special take place between Kamen Rider the Winter Movie: Gotchard & Geats Strongest Chemy ★ Gotcha Great Operation and episode 16 of the series.[14]
A two-episode series included as part of the Blu-ray releases of Kamen Rider Gotchard.[15]
A web-exclusive animated short series released on Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club on April 28, 2024.[16]
A web-exclusive special scheduled to be released on Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club in spring 2025. The events of the special take place before the series.[17]
is an upcoming V-Cinema release scheduled for a limited theatrical release on February 21, 2025, followed by its DVD and Blu-ray release on June 11, 2025. The events of the V-Cinema take place after the end of the series. The V-Cinema is written by Takahito Oonishi and directed by Kyohei Yamaguchi. The theme song is "GRADUATIONS" performed by Back-On.[18] Alongside the V-Cinema, a short titled is scheduled to be shown as a double bill.[19]
is a short story in the booklet included in the Special Collector's Edition of the Blu-ray release of Kamen Rider the Winter Movie: Gotchard & Geats Strongest Chemy ★ Gotcha Great Operation.
Episode 1 does not feature the show's opening sequence, and it is instead used as an insert song in episodes 1, 31, and 39.
Episodes 33, 38, and 50 do not feature the show's opening sequence, and it is instead used as an insert song in episodes 33 and 50.