Mythology Gag / Kamen Rider Drive

• Tridoron's name is a direct homage to Black RX's Ridoron. It's also one with a Meaningful Name: "Doron" is a sound effect for transforming in Japanese, and Tridoron has three main forms.
  • His form changes also mirror Black RX's, with both requiring specific states of mind and causing complete suit changes instead of merely the color and a few details. Also, one is highly aggressive (Biorider/Type Wild) while the other is calmer and moves mechanically (Roborider/Type Technic). Also, just like in Black RX, his form changes are entirely new suits instead of simply changing the color and small details.
• Drive gets four Shift Cars to play with in the first episode, referencing the way some Heisei Riders get four forms before the Mid-Season Upgrade (Kuuga, Den-O, Kiva, etc.)
• Some of the first Roidmudes that Drive faces are 042 Spider and 088 Bat, referencing the first two MOTWs from the original series, an allusion that comes back in several series. The Cobra that escapes and evolves into Iron references Cobra Man, the first monster that Rider #1 faced that came back to life in a stronger form, which coincidentally, was also purple.
  • Drive's insignia resembles the Tachibana Racing Club logo.
  • When the belt's icon is a spinning wheel, it resembles the Typhoon belts from the original series, spinning to collect wind energy.
  • Drive transforming in vehicle from time to time could reference the original transformation sequence for Kamen Rider: transforming on his bike without any fancy arm motions.
  • Apparently there's a dozen other Shift Cars stationed all over the world going about their anti-Roidmude business, which fits the Written-In Absence of previous Showa Riders during each later season whenever they were sticking with the Shared Universe.
• The zipper sound effect in #1 comes from the Cracks from the previous series.
• Mr. Belt's smiley face resembles the last sentient Driver that acted as a mentor to the hero.
• The Roidmude's evolution pattern is the same path as the Yummies; being Elite Mooks that develop into unique monsters. Eps #7-8 even have a Roidmude farming a human's desire for power!
  • And once its evolution was nearly complete, he tried to kill the human, saying his fear and despair was the last thing it needed. In other words, he hoped the fear of death would bring him to despair.
  • Another Wizard parallel, homage intended or not, is what the whole "Promised Number" turns out to be. Just as Fueki needed four wizards in order to recreate the Sabbath - the nasty event in the backstory that started it all - in Drive it turns out the human Big Bad (Banno) needs four Roidmudes to reach a certain state (Ultimate Evolution) in order to make a new, better version of the nasty event in the backstory that started it all (Global Freeze.)
  • In addition to OOO's Yummies, Roidmudes evolving from a mass-produced design that's used as Mooks is also seen in Gaim and Kabuto. Outside Kamen Rider, it's a way a monster or two got made in Boukenger, and the way monsters get made in Gekiranger.
• Type Wild was only usable after getting around the kinks in the second half of one arc, and Type Technique is confirmed in the first ep of the next arc. This mirrors Kamen Rider Fourze getting Elec and Fire States. It's even the same episode numbers — 6 (Wild/Elec) and 9 (Technic/Fire). Even more coincidentally, Wild and Elec are Mighty Glacier forms associated with a Cool Sword that had the heroes deal with trust and betrayal issues, while Technic and Fire are forms associated with a gun that had the heroes become specialists.
• Mashin Chaser's Transformation Trinket is a two-for-one deal - resembles the hilt of the Satan Saber, and functions like the IXA Knuckle. Chase keeping the Brake Gunner as Kamen Rider Chaser is similar to Taiga keeping the Jacorder weapon/driver key when he later takes up the Dark Kiva powers.
• In the "episode 0" special DVD and the finale, it's mentioned that during the Global Freeze, Shinnosuke and his partner were fighting a terrorist organization called "Neo-Shade", presumably a successor to the terrorist group Shade from Kamen Rider G. Neo-Shade even started out in 2009, the exact same year G came out.
• Lt. Otta's description of Drive, based off of momentary glimpses of his three forms, is "green face, red arms, black legs" — an accurate description of Rider #2 (or Kamen Rider OOO in GataJaZo form, but that combination was never used on-screen.)
• Kamen Rider Mach is one giant reference to Super-1.
  • Gou's henshin pose is actually a sampling from Super-1's henshin pose.
  • Both Riders were created/developed in America.
  • Both Riders' mentors/creators were played by the same actor, Ulf Otsuki. Also, he was Henry in Super-1 and Harley in Drive. Also also, his Engrish sounds just the same to the point of pretty much having to be deliberate. Of course, Henry wasn't the same Large Ham that Harley is, so he's not a total Expy.
  • Harley Hendrickson's name, the creator of Mach Driver Honoo, is obviously a reference to Harley-Davidson. Super-1's first bike, the V-Machine, was manufactured by that company.
  • Gou's initial five Signal Bikes have the same color scheme as Super-1's Five Hands.
• The Voice Roidmude arc introduces a Detective Misaki, who turns out to be a Red Shirt. Way to twist the knife, you guys.
• Type Dead Heat makes Drive and Mach look even more like each other, a reference to the original Double Riders getting a "New" paintjob that made them almost indistinguishable apart from the gloves and boots.
• Episode 17 had one for two of Riku Sanjo's past works.
  • Mach used the Rumble Smasher to perform a Drill Kick.
  • And Professor Harley Hendrickson, a badass grandpa Gadgeteer Genius, is basically an Expy of Dr. Ulshade. Not only that, this is an Actor Allusion across DECADES, as Ulf Otsuki, Professor Harley's actor, originally played the professor who gave Kamen Rider Super-1 his powers, and Super-1's bike was, you guessed it, a Harely-Davidson.
• #18 gives us an older mentor detective named Tachibana, named for the guy who was around for the first seven Riders. And just like the one in Kamen Rider Fourze, he's been playing both sides!
• #22. The reanimated corpses turning grey and crumbling looks particularly familiar.
• #26: It's not the first time we saw a Nice Guy lose it and starts brutally beating up a monster by a body of water. Though this Rider was doing it with his fists than with a sword.
• #32: "Onore, MAKAGE!"^note "Damn you, Makage!"
• #33: Riku Sanjo homages his previous Rider shows with Type Tridoron. The hero is brought back to life thanks to the efforts of his friends, granting him a new form that fuses all the trinkets he'd collected thus far and allows him to combine their abilities. It also ends up with him sharing a body with his partner, with the helmet's eyes changing to display who's talking.
• When the police in general outside of the SCU stops dismissing the existence of the Roidmudes, they call them with the general term "mechanical lifeforms", which is probably a nod to the "unidentified lifeforms" reporting name given to the Grongi. In a further nod to the show, swaths of Roidmudes are killed off-screen to lower the count, much like in Kuuga.
• #36 has the Deus ex Machina of Brain's tablet (actually Professor Banno) having the ability to cure the Victim of the Week by digitising her, saving her to memory then re-uploading her to reality, just like the Xtreme Memory can do to Phillip.
  • #39 has the Tornado Roidmude, which moves around with a very familiar-sounding wind FX. There's even a scene inside what looks like the Sonozaki museum!
  • Yet another Double reference in 46: When Gou uses Chase's Shift Bike he becomes a fusion of Mach and Chaser. In other words, he's two Kamen Riders in one. And one of the half use their power to defeat his dad.
• In the finale, Gou holds on to the last shred of a chance to bring back Chase, in the form of his Signal Bike, rather like Eiji holding on to the shattered Taka Core Medal and hoping to resurrect Ankh.
• In the epilogue, the leader of Neo-Shade is in a fedora and fiddling with an Eyecon. Sid would be proud.
• In Type High Speed, the upgrade to Shift Max Flare is called MegaMax Flare.
• The entire setup of Kamen Rider Brain is an homage to several of the Showa-era Rider origins, especially Rider 1's.