Fuuto Tantei is one of the summer anime series of 2022, and is the official sequel to Kamen Rider W, which aired in 2009. The concept of two Kamen Riders as one remains popular to this day, and due to its popularity, it is being serialized in Big Spirits Comics as Fuuto Tantei. This is essentially the first Kamen Rider series to be adapted into an anime, and today we'd like to introduce you to Hidari Shotaro and Philip, the protagonists of both Kamen Rider W and Fuuto Tantei!
Half-boiled Detective: Hidari Shotaro
One of the main characters of Kamen Rider W and Fuuto Detective, he is a detective affiliated with the Narumi Detective Agency. He is also one of the Kamen Rider W characters. He admires hard-boiled detectives like his mentor, Shokichi Narumi. While he may appear hard-boiled, wearing a black vest and hat, his warm-hearted nature prevents him from becoming ruthless. His colleagues affectionately refer to him as "Half-Boiled Egg."
A detective who loves and knows Wind City inside and out
He grew up in the fictional city of Wind City, and loves it so much that he knows it so well he calls it his backyard. Wind City is a city with a high crime rate due to the circulation of Gaia Memories, devices that contain the memories of Earth, and as such, there are inevitably many violent incidents, but he solves cases with his detective skills, high physical ability, and the powers of Kamen Rider W. However, he is not just a detective who solves cases; he also has a style of empathizing with his clients, which often brings him closer to the truth of the case, making him a compassionate detective.
Hito Shotaro's Detective Skills
Although his style is generally unpretentious and orthodox, involving down-to-earth interviews and physically visiting crime scenes, he knows Wind City inside and out, calling it his backyard. His connections and sources of information are extensive, allowing him to obtain information from all directions and get to the root of a case. This makes him a highly skilled and agile detective. His track record is also impressive. Furthermore, his kindness and experience as a detective allow him to gauge the feelings of his clients and the people he is investigating, getting to the heart of the case by sensing their emotions. He also seems to be a genius when it comes to finding cats.
Hidari Shotaro's reliable source of information: the Fuuto Irregulars
These are Shotaro's trusted companions, who he primarily relies on as sources of information. The group's members include Watchaman, a blogger with his own network; Queen and Elizabeth, a pair of high school girls with a keen eye for student information (who become college students and debut in the entertainment industry in Fuuto Tantei); and Santa Claus (who becomes the pet shop manager in Fuuto Tantei). New members include Akira Aoyama, Frank Shirogane, and Lily Shirogane, who were clients of Kamen Rider W in Fuuto Tantei.
The Greatest Ordinary Person Ever!? Hidari Shotaro
Although he has excellent detective skills, he lacks any notable special abilities and is often treated as an ordinary person in the series. In fact, Shroud, a character in W, was not happy about Shotaro using the W driver. His possession of the W Driver was completely irregular, and Shroud's original plan for revenge against the Sonozaki family was to involve people like Narumi Soukichi and Terui Ryu. Shotaro was not considered to have the qualities to wield the W Driver and defeat the Sonozaki family. (To be precise, it was Sonozaki Ryubei's resistance to the Terror Dopant.) However, despite not having the qualities, he ultimately overcame his fear and defeated the Terror Dopant, making him a Joker-like character despite being an ordinary person.
The other main character, the devilishly beautiful young man, Philip
Philip is the other main character in Kamen Rider W and Fuuto Detective, and a freeloader at the Narumi Detective Agency. His true identity is the eldest son of the Sonozaki family, the bosses of the Museum, an organization that controls Fuuto City. He has a very laid-back personality, and once he becomes interested in something, he can't help but research it, becoming so absorbed in it that he forgets to eat or sleep. However, once he's finished researching, he usually loses interest. As a result, although he has all kinds of knowledge, he rarely goes out and is therefore unfamiliar with common sense and out of touch with the world.
In some ways, he's the complete opposite of Shotaro.
While Shotaro is a passionate detective who values human connection and is close to others, Syotaro is unemotional, hyper-rational, cold, cynical, and uninterested in things he's not interested in. In a sense, he's the complete opposite of Shotaro. However, in the main story, as he interacts with Shotaro and Akiko and the mystery of his origins is revealed, a sense of camaraderie develops between them. He grows to act not only based on logic but also on emotion and the desire to help his friends.
Search for Anything on Earth's Bookshelf! Armchair Detective Philip
While Shotaro is a detective who investigates with his feet firmly on the ground, Philip is an armchair detective who draws all conclusions based solely on the information he has gathered. Philip has access to the "Earth's Bookshelf," which contains all information about Earth, and has the ability to search for conclusions based on given keywords. However, the Earth's Bookshelf is not a universal tool, requiring users to narrow down their search using multiple keywords. The general flow of the story is that Philip draws conclusions based on keywords uncovered through Jotaro's diligent research.
Philip and Hidari Shotaro meet, part, and then reunite!
His real name is Raito Sonozaki, the son of Ryubei Sonozaki, the museum's leader. However, his body died after falling into an access point to the Earth's will. He was resurrected by chance. His memory was subsequently erased and he was forced to develop the Gaia Memory. However, he was rescued by Soukichi Narumi and Shotaro Hidari and took refuge at the Narumi Detective Agency. During the final battle of the W series, Shotaro was destined to lose his body if he transformed again, but he used his powers to save his sister, Wakana, and disappeared. Afterward, Shotaro continued his detective work alone, but was resurrected when Wakana gave her her life.
[Futo Tantei] Introducing Hidari Shotaro & Philip!
We've introduced the two main characters of Futo Tantei, Hidari Shotaro and Philip! Futo Tantei is best enjoyed with prior knowledge of Kamen Rider W, but it's enjoyable even without. If you want to learn more, I recommend watching the main series! Kamen Rider itself is a fascinating series, so why not start your Kamen Rider journey with Futo Tantei? Of course, the Futo Tantei anime is also highly anticipated, so I highly recommend you check it out!
