Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull

Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull (風都探偵 仮面ライダースカルの肖像) is a 2024 Japanese anime film directed by Yōsuke Kabashima, written by Tatsuto Higuchi and animated by Studio Kai. The film stars Yoshimasa Hosoya, Ayumu Murase, Kōki Uchiyama, and Kenjirō Tsuda, among others. Based on the manga series Fuuto PI by Riku Sanjo, the film serves as the origin story of detective Shotaro Hidari. Shotaro becomes the protector of the city of Fuuto under his Kamen Rider W persona while working with Sokichi Narumi to rescue a young Philip, who is being used by his family to create monsters known as Dopants.

Kabashima and Sanjo decided to adapt the manga as a theatrical release after Studio Kai had problems with animating Fuuto PI as a television series. Kabashima decided to focus the adaptation on Shotaro's backstory, particularly his growth and interactions with Narumi. The film was released in Japan by Toei Video on November 8, 2024. It was generally well-received, with critics praising its accessible exploration of Shotaro's backstory and expansion of the series' lore. The film grossed ¥80,114,875 (approximately US$513,600) during its opening weekend.

Plot

In the city of Fuuto, detective Shotaro Hidari explains the origin of his detective career to his assistant Tokime. As a child, Shotaro is at a concert when a monster known as a Dopant tries to kill the singer. Detective Sokichi Narumi appears and defeats the Dopant, gaining the admiration of Shotaro. The following day, Shotaro goes to Narumi's office and requests to become his assistant, unaware that Narumi quit his job since the Dopant was his transformed assistant. Still wanting to get his attention, Shotaro goes to make him coffee one night, and sees a Dopant attacking a couple. Shotaro tries to save the couple but is only able to save the woman. Narumi appears and rescues Shotaro with a powerful item, Gaia Memory, while calling himself the fighter Kamen Rider Skull.

Despite being amazed by Shotaro's desire to save Fuuto's civilians, Narumi ignores Shotaro's requests to join him over the following years. A teenager Shotaro vents his frustration in high school fights, but one day, he protects a basketball player by taking a beating in his stead. Finding him more fitting for the position, Narumi tells Shotaro to graduate from high school and gain his aunt's approval to work together.

One day, Shotaro sneaks into Narumi's office and receives a call from an unknown woman, who tells him that Narumi needs a briefcase for a case. Shotaro follows Narumi's friends and finds a ship that takes him to Narumi, who is trying to rescue the Child of Fate who is being used to create Dopants. They split up, and Narumi faces the Dopant Saeko Sonozaki while Shotaro finds the Child of Fate. Disgusted by how the Child of Fate uses his knowledge for creating Dopants, Shotaro abandons him. However, Narumi scolds Shotaro, telling him that everybody from Fuuto should be given chances for atonement, and that the Child of Fate was taken from his parents at a young age. Narumi saves him and names him Philip.

However, Saeko's men find the three and kill Narumi. As Shotaro cries over his mentor's death, Philip realizes his actions have wronged others. Surrounded by enemies, Philip uses the briefcase to merge his and Shotaro's minds through Gaia Memories and become a fighter called Kamen Rider W. W defeats his enemies but is chased by Saeko's follower Nagi Oshino, who transforms into an octopus-like Dopant. After a long battle, W defeats Oshino and escapes on Narumi's bike to his hideout.

With the story finished, Shotaro breaks into tears over guilt for Narumi's death, and is comforted by Tokime until he falls asleep. Philip explains that Shotaro's trauma has lasted ever since their fateful meeting. Meanwhile, Shotaro goes to a coffee shop, still trying to make his own coffee, which has the seller reminiscing that he has become similar to his former superior. In a post-credit scene, Shotaro dreams of Narumi ranting that he lacks manners to become a proper adult.

Voice cast

Production

Release

The first 20 minutes of the film were exclusively screened at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California, on July 6, 2024.[13] The film was released in Japan by Toei Video on November 8, 2024.[2]

Following its release, the film took 5th place in the Japanese box office on its opening weekend, earning ¥80,114,875 (approximately US$513,600) in its first three days.[14] The film streamed in Thailand and Hong Kong in the same period.[15][16] A Blu-ray edition was released on March 12, 2025.[17] On November 13, 2025, the film was licensed by Crunchyroll for streaming in India and Western regions.[18][19]

Reception

Critical response to the movie has been generally been positive. Christopher Farris of Anime News Network praised the film for appealing to both new and old fans of the franchise, calling it "newbie-friendly" and a "worthy follow-up for [...] the original series". He commended Narumi's complexity as a character, as well as the story's choice to follow Shotaro's perspective up to Narumi's death. Farris saw the production value as a strong component, particularly its animation and music, and concluded by giving the movie an "A-" rating, describing it as "extremely cool all around".[20]

Nick Valdez of ComicBook.com was pleased with the Crunchyroll licensing, opining that it was a strong end to anime in 2025. He noted that original TV series was a major hit, and appreciated how the new movie explored the series' lore deeper, calling it an "important new piece of the anime franchise's puzzle".[21]

Kirisawa Tae of Square Next was enthused by the movie, remarking that he almost shouted during the screening. He praised the animation and the narrative, particularly the handling of Shotaro and Philip's backstory. Tae also found the performances of the lead actors to be a strong aspect of the film. He noted that due to being a self-contained story, the film was accessible to newcomers.[22]

Gizmodo referred to the movie as one of the best streaming films from 2025, praising the origin story involving Shotaro and Philip are given in order to become the Kamen Rider W superhero that was previously shown in Fuuto PI. The fight scenes and animation were also the subject of positive response with the writer claiming new viewers might be attracted to several other Kamen Rider related works after seeing the movie's fights.[23] Anime News Network also listed the movie as one of the best of the year for mixing the story of Kamen Rider Skull with Kamen Rider W, making the writer want to watch the original Kamen Rider W but to no avail as Toei never streamed such work in Western regions.[24]

The characters of the series were featured in the 2025 tactical role-playing video game Super Robot Wars Y.[25]

External links