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UPDATED: New Female Kamen Rider Makes a Very Pink Debut

UPDATE: The previous version of this article misrepresented Kamen Rider Poppi as the first long-term female Kamen Rider member. The article is now corrected to clarify that Kamen Rider Poppi is the first female Kamen Rider with her own exclusive transformation items. I apologize for this error and extend my thanks to ANN readers for bringing these corrections to my attention.

Update 2: Clarified transformation name for character Megumi Asō. Thanks, MagusGuardian.

The below article contains spoilers for the Kamen Rider Ex-Aid television series.

The latest installment in the long-running live-action Kamen Rider franchise is welcoming its first female member to use her own exclusive items after 46 years on the air. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid is welcoming Kamen Rider Poppi, a shiny pink and gold-themed hero.

Who is Kamen Rider Poppi? She's the transformed alias of Poppi Pipopapo, a pink-haired Bugster who shares some aesthetic resemblance with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Prior to obtaining the Tokimeki Crisis Gashat and the Buggle Driver II items, Poppi worked as a guide for the Kamen Riders and gave them info about the malevolent Bugsters they fought. Actress Ruka Matsuda plays the role.

Kamen Rider Poppi isn't the first female Kamen Rider but she is the first to have her own exclusive gear. In the 2008 series Kamen Rider Kiva, the characters Megumi Asō and her mother Yuri Aso both transformed into Kamen Rider Ixa, but both heroines temporarily borrowed gear rather than using their own exclusive items.

More details, like Kamen Rider Poppi's pose, will be revealed in the series' 26th episode when it airs on April 9.

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, the latest installment in the long-running Kamen Rider special effects series, premiered in Japan on October 2. The show's theme is "doctors x gamers." The protagonist Emu Hōjō's key items include a "Gamer Driver" belt, and a transformation item called a "Rider Gashatt." After transforming, the Emu begins at level one and helps people who have been infected by the game virus "Bugster." Then, the Emu levels up to level two to fight the materialized Bugster.

The Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider crossover film opened in Japan on December 10. As with other movies in the Kamen Rider film series, the new film's plot crosses over the current Kamen Rider series with the previous one. In the film, a game virus lifeform called "Pac-Man" invades, and humanity faces an unprecedented crisis. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid must search for the source of the virus. The film features Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, Kamen Rider Ghost, Kamen Rider Drive, Kamen Rider Gaim, and Kamen Rider Wizard teaming up.

Kamen Rider Ghost, the previous installment in the franchise, premiered in October 2015.

Source: Animate Times