Fuuto P.I.: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull

 We now bring you an anime film based on a live-action show. I’ve usually covered live-action films based on anime, so this is a rarity.

One of the Kamen Rider franchise’s most popular iterations is 2009’s Kamen Rider W - which, due to Japanese wordplay, is actually pronounced Kamen Rider Double. Years after it signed off, series head writer Riku Sanjo and illustrator Masaki Sato created a manga sequel, Fuuto P.I. That led to a TV anime, and a theatrical prequel, Fuuto P.I.: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull. That movie is what I’m looking at.

In the original show, a new type of criminal terrorized the eco-friendly city of Fuuto. Thanks to the evil Sonozakis, they transformed into monstrous Dopants using Gaia Memories - something between flash drives and steroids. Detective Shotaro Hidari, and his sidekick, “Philip,” used their own Gaia Memories and their belt-worn “Double Drivers” to fuse into Kamen Rider W to fight the Dopants.

This time, Shotaro tells his origin story to Tokime, a new character from the manga. As a boy, Shotaro met “hard-boiled” detective Sokichi Narumi, who fought the Dopants as Kamen Rider Skull. After much prodding, Sokichi took on Shotaro as his apprentice. One night, Shotaro trailed Sokichi with a peculiar briefcase. This case put them in the Sonozakis’ crosshairs, as well as introduce Shotaro to his other half.

As a prequel, it’s a decent showcase of Shotaro and Sokichi’s relationship. You gotta admire Shotaro as he spends years appealing to the gruff Sokichi, finally succeeding when he takes a beating from thugs. You’ll feel proud for him, and later, a bit sad, whenever he wins the “old man’s” approval. You’ll get a sense of the main series as you learn about the Sonozakis, as well as Sokichi’s main contact, Shroud. The last-minute cameos of the manga's villains, STREET, provide vague, yet surprisingly understandable, tidbits. A few things, like the nature of the Double Drivers, are left for you to wholly guess on your own.

This film runs 82 minutes, and the two-in-one Riders first meet more than halfway through. Fortunately, you'll also get to understand their relationship pretty well. Shotaro initially doesn't trust Philip, who helped indirectly create the Gaia Memories, and blames him for the Dopants' crimes. Philip defends himself with some surprisingly reasonable gun control analogies. Shotaro starts to trust him because Sokichi does, recognizing him as an innocent victim of the Sonozakis. It's pretty nice when they finally bond, but it's quite splendid when they debut as Kamen Rider W. 

This is the first film of Studio Kai, a relatively new anime studio, and it's a good debut. The Kamen Riders look marvelous in animation, especially when they're this vibrantly rendered. Kamen Rider Skull looks appropriately menacing as he spouts his catchphrase, "Now, count your sins." The fight scenes not only look great, but they sound great with Kōtarō Nakagawa & Shuhei Naruse's jazzy score. It helps to have some formidable villains, and we get some with the perfectly freaky and downright menacing Dopants. The Antlion Dopant, for example, is a bit villain, but you'll hate him before he's out of the plot. 

If I have any complaints, it has to do with main villainess Saeko Sonozaki. Her Dopant form, the Taboo Dopant, can't move her mouth, much like her live-action counterpart's suit. It's a bit odd, considering the change in mediums. But it's still a minor complaint. Her sister, Wakana, makes quite an impression with her limited screentime. Let's just say it's not a good one. It might be intentional.

This movie actually premiered this time last year in Japan. It only became available to stream on Crunchyroll, which also streams the series, just a few weeks ago. It's better late than never, I guess. I think it'll satisfy anyone curious about Kamen Rider W, or even its source franchise. Fans will surely be excited to see some old favorites in a new medium (kind of). It's ready to play when you're ready to ride.