is a Japanese tokusatsu series that serves as the 13th installment in the Kamen Rider franchise and the fourth entry in the Heisei era. The series follows loner, Takumi Inui, and Yuji Kiba, who died and became a monstrous Orphnoch, and their newfound friends as they become involved in a conflict between Smart Brain, Inc., a group of Orphnoch who seek to exterminate humanity, and alumni of the Ryusei School, who were charged with stopping the corporation with technology they are unable to use.
Main characters
Takumi Inui
is a mysterious loner who became the after being hit by a car when he was a child. He attempted to use his newfound powers to protect people, but his failure to save the Ryusei School reunion from Kitazaki and an implanted memory that made him believed he was the culprit forced Takumi to isolate himself from others out of fear of betraying them and forget that he became an Orphnoch. By chance, he encounters Mari Sonoda and follows her under the belief that the Faiz Gear case she was carrying was stolen from him days earlier. As a result, he reluctantly becomes involved in her crusade to fight the Orphnochs as Kamen Rider Faiz. Amidst conflicts with Masato Kusaka and Yuji Kiba, Takumi accepts his role as Faiz and joins the latter in protecting humans. Eventually, Takumi remembers his true nature as an Orphnoch and learns the truth behind the Ryusei School massacre before settling his rivalry with Kiba while defeating the Arch Orphnoch together.
As the Wolf Orphnoch, Takumi possesses increased power compared to sired and most original Orphnochs and superhuman speed and agility. As Kamen Rider Faiz, he utilizes the Faiz Gear's belt in conjunction with the to transform. While transformed, he can perform finishers and wields a variety of gadgets from the Faiz Gear, such as the digital camera that he can use in to perform the Exceed Charge, the flashlight that he can use in to perform the Exceed Charge, and the sword that he can use to perform the Exceed Charge and doubles as a handlebar for his motorcycle, the , which can transform into a support robot to aid him in combat. Additionally, certain gadgets allow Takumi to assume stronger forms, which are as follows:
: A temporary transformation accessed from the stopwatch-like brace in that enhances his physical attacks, grants the ability to run at supersonic speed, and allows him to perform enhanced "Axel" versions of his original Exceed Charges with the appropriate gadgets for 10 seconds. : Takumi's ultimate form accessed from the , which doubles as the SB-555V Auto Vajin's trunk, in conjunction with the SB-555P Faiz Phone that equips him with the jetpack, the thrusters of which can also double as the twin shoulder-mounted , and grants significantly increased power via photon energy. He can also use the SB-555T Faiz Blaster in either its shotgun-like to perform the Exceed Charge or its sword-like to perform the and Exceed Charges.
Takumi Inui is portrayed by .
Mari Sonoda
is a member of the Ryusei School who strives to see the good in others and dreams of becoming a beautician. Though she was sent the Faiz Gear and SB-555V Auto Vajin by their foster father, Hanagata, she was unable to use them. After seeing Takumi Inui successfully use the equipment, she insists he accompany her in fighting the Orphnochs.
In an alternate timeline depicted in the film Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost, Sonoda serves as the leader of the , a guerilla force of anti-Orphnoch resistance fighters and the last known bastion of human resistance in an Orphnoch-dominated world.
Mari Sonoda is portrayed by . As a child, Mari is portrayed by .
Yuji Kiba
is a friendly and polite young man who became the after dying in a car crash and ending up in a comatose state for two years. Upon awakening, Yuji discovers his uncle sold his family's company and his girlfriend Chie Morishita left him for his cousin Kazuaki Kiba. After murdering Kazuaki and Morishita in anger, Yuji turns to Smart Brain for protection, only to learn of their tactics and resolve to fight them and protect humans using his Orphnoch powers. In pursuit of this goal, he befriends Yuka Osada and Naoya Kaido, but forms a rivalry with Takumi Inui due to a misunderstanding until they learn each other's true identities and intentions. Upon learning of Yuka's death, who he believed was killed by the police, Yuji kills Masato Kusaka for the Kaixa Gear, discards his ideals, and eventually replaces Kyoji Murakami as the chairman of Smart Brain. However, Yuji's humanity is restored following a final battle with Takumi and he later sacrifices himself to help him defeat the Arch Orphnoch.