Era Saga

Era Saga (サガ偉), the Flame-Wreathed Guardian (炎を払った保護者), is the main protagonist of Kamen Rider Nio. A highly-rebellious descendent of Saga no Mamoru, it is his destiny to harness the power of Ari and defend humanity from the Enmi as Kamen Rider Nio (仮面ライダー仁王).

Becoming a Kamen Rider
"No."  "What?!" "I refuse a name like that. My blood has its own beat, so I'll come up with my own. How about... "Kamen". Yeah, that's it! I'll be "Kamen Rider Nio"!"

- Era rejecting the "Bushin Rider Nio" title and creating his own.

Personality
"I'm the very definition of a "free spirit"!"

- Era

Originally a happy and carefree child, Era's worldview changed drastically the moment his father revealed the true purpose of his learning Moriteryu. Terrified at the thought of battling the Enmi and other bizarre monsters, he naturally refused. The subsequent blow dealt by his father hurt him beyond words, and he quickly rushed out, never to be seen again. This revelation and the immediate aftermath have proven vital in shaping Era's worldview and setting the course for his development over the course of the series.

In the present day, Era is an extremely quirky and eccentric young man. He has taken the idea of being a 'rebel' to the absolute extreme, wearing intentionally modern and unfitting clothing of various clashing colors to distinguish himself from his family's more traditional style. Furthermore, his once black hair has been dyed various shades of green, red, and yellow. He at times also dons contacts to move the scheme to his eyes. He claims to have a tattoo on his body, though this has not been confirmed. In keeping with his desire to rebel against everything, he refuses to do anything the way another has told him to do it, even if the path he chooses himself is harder and less convenient. This is shown in his entering Watahama through an extremely crowded and dirty highway at 12 PM, instead of the more leisurely route recommend to him by Masao Onishi (who also requested him to arrive at 12 AM). This tendency to pettishly defy authority extends to all aspects of his life, from eating habits to the way he sleeps; it becomes both the main gag and feature of his character. Era has a habit of striking odd poses at random times and seems a bit melodramatic, narrating his arrival in the city to himself and no one else while dramatically grasping his chest. He becomes quite flustered when called out or interrupted during one of these episodes, frantically returning to business and pretending that nothing has happened. In order to enforce his way of life for him and others, he constantly uses the phrase "my blood has its own beat". Even when willingly taking the Toriiver and becoming Nio for the first time, he still insists that he's doing it for his own reasons rather than because of any sense of duty.

However, underneath this facade lies a genuinely kind and caring demeanor. He hates to see others in pain, deciding to fight as Nio in order to prevent just that, and goes out of his way to correct or compliment others. Unlike Doppo, who berates those who summon Enmi, he initially offers respect and understanding for them defying their own nature, claiming that he likes that type of person. When the flaws in such compliments are pointed out to him, he adjusts it to simply encouraging them in the aftermath. He refues to estimate rivals or enemies, simply deciding to fight them as they are without anything given out or held back, and he absolutely refuses to perform a mercy killing no matter who requests it. He remains incredibly friendly with people he meets for the first time and appears to have no sense of personal space, freely slapping them on the back or putting his arm around their shoulders with absolutely no regard for their comfort. A small smile is noted to always be on his face when nothing especially serious is going on, though depending on the scenario it can be sarcastic or mocking.

Despite his theatrics, he has a quite humble side, willingly accepting his weakness after being defeated by Ikegu the first time and genuinely attempting to put aside his grudge against his father in order to become stronger. This is later enforced by his interactions with Doppo and Kouji, acknowleding their strengths and the fact that they can do things he cannot before allowing himself to accept their aid.

He claims that his reason to fight is to end mankind's conflict with the Enmi once and for all so that he can go back to his carefree life. However, while every major action he takes is intended to resolve the dispute between them and mankind, his true reasoning behind it is much kinder. Even after agreeing to become Nio, the fear he felt as a child still remains within him, and he fights so that no one else in his family or out of it will have to experience that feeling ever again. While this at times leads him to make decisions or perform actions that go contrary to those he cares for's wishes, he will remain on that path so long as the fear remains within his heart, even as a memory.

Era initially sports a rather dirty and unorthodox fighting style, known as Moriteryu Oredo; it mixes street fighting elements and parkour with the more traditional martial arts of his family. As such, he is no stranger to using underhanded tactics and tricks in order to turn the tide of battle in his favor at first, as well as using the environment to his full advantage. His later battles with Ikegu and Banchō, as well as his accompanying re-mastery of the fighting style, lead to these elements become less emphasized as he becomes a more honorable fighter. Notably, even in his original style he carried a sort of respect for his opponents, mentioning that with just his skill at Moriteryu he couldn't beat the Enmi and therefore needed to result to less savory tactics. At times he has also been shown to rant mid-battle, disparaging his opponent furiously as he fights against them, no matter his own situation in the fight.

He has a tendency to inject random English words into his sentences, likely another symptom of his rebel complex.

Friends/Allies

 * Kuroko Hanaori-
 * Masao Onishi-
 * Reki Tokoname-
 * Doppo Abe-
 * Shine Konno-

Family

 * Date Saga-
 * Saga no Mamoru-

Enemies

 * Rokka Ooguro-
 * Ash-Iahih-
 * Uzikiri-

Kuma
Nio's various forms are known as Kuma (隈). They are achieved through the use of the transformation belt Toriiver, which uses the Hitogami system to imprison a kami within in order for their power to be utilized. In the case of his particular belt, Era can use the power of the fallen god Ari to his own ends, the gear allowing him to take the god's essence into himself and become something between that and human: his Rider form. While the belt alone allows access to the incredibly weak Oshiroi state, stronger and more varied forms can be accessed through the insertion of Modifires. These kabuki brush-styled devices are coated in a special fluid (leftover from the bonding ritual) that can modify its power in various ways. When placed in the Toriiver, a Modifire is sent rushing along a yakusha-style devices that lies in the center of it, painting over it with the Base Pattern (ベースパターン) that invokes the current choice of form. The pattern then lifts out, becoming a symbol made of energy, and moves backward to engulf Nio and activate the form. Nio's different forms are based around the different types of kumadori patterns used in aragoto kabuki, though later forms he gains have more encompassing motifs.

Each one of Nio's forms bears a Flame Wreath (炎輪), which can be used as a weapon or to enhance attacks in addition to its cosmetic benefits. Each form also appears to have a unique 'trim' and topknot (上手), a collection of flame-like energy that bursts from the cavity at the top of the suit.

By striking a mie in the shape of certain kanji, Nio can activate several different finishing moves known as Hissatsu.

Typically, Era activates these forms with the traditional cry of "Henshin! (変身!). When switching between forms, however, he instead calls out "Hayagawari! (早替り!)". This call is echoed by the belt itself.

Devices

 * Toriiver - Transformation belt
 * Modifires - Transformation trinkets

Weapons

 * Plasjra - Primary weapon

Vehicles

 * Mashinceptor - Rider Machine

Portrayal
Era is played by Sōma Saitō (斉藤 壮馬). When Kamen Rider Nio, his suit actor is typically Yuya Nawata (縄田 雄哉), who previously portrayed Kamen Rider Genm, as well as briefly Ex-Aid and Build.