Movie
Description
Sōkichi Narumi operated as a private detective, first in Osaka and later in Futo City. He established the Narumi Detective Office inside the Kamome Billiards Hall, focusing on cases involving the criminal group Museum and their Gaia Memory devices, which turned users into monstrous Dopants. During this time, he secretly sheltered his exiled childhood friend Fumine Sonozaki; she adopted the identity Shroud and provided him with Rider System technology.
His early investigations involved a partnership with Seiichiro Matsui. This collaboration ended when Matsui, driven by jealousy over their mutual acquaintance Melissa, became the Spider Dopant. During the case, Shroud forcibly transformed Sōkichi into an incomplete "Kamen Rider Skull Crystal" using the Skull Memory and Lost Driver. Though initially reluctant to use Gaia Memory technology, Sōkichi embraced the transformation to stop Matsui. Discovering Matsui had implanted lethal "Spider Bombs" activated by contact with loved ones, Sōkichi isolated himself from his young daughter Akiko to protect her, permanently damaging their relationship. He adopted Matsui’s final words—"Now, count your sins!"—as his personal battle cry.
Functioning as Kamen Rider Skull, he tackled Dopant cases exceeding police capacity, including confronting an armored car robber known as the "Beastman." A young Shotaro Hidari witnessed him in action and persistently sought mentorship. Sōkichi initially refused but reconsidered after observing Shotaro’s resolve to protect citizens during an Antlion Dopant attack. He formally took Shotaro as a protégé, teaching detective fundamentals and a strict ethical code, notably forbidding him from wearing a detective’s hat until proven worthy. He emphasized core principles like never abandoning clients.
His final mission, "Begins Night," involved infiltrating the Sonozaki family’s Gaia Tower to rescue a boy known as Philip, forced to develop Gaia Memories. Sōkichi deliberately left the Double Driver for Shotaro, anticipating his involvement. After battling the Taboo Dopant (Saeko Sonozaki) and her guards, he reached Philip’s chamber. Touching the chamber granted him access to the Gaia Library—an ability Philip noted only "impressive" individuals possessed. Sōkichi freed the boy, naming him Philip after detective Philip Marlowe and urging him to seek atonement. During their escape, Sōkichi suffered fatal gunshot wounds. With his dying breath, he entrusted Shotaro with his white fedora, tasking him to continue their work and grow into a man worthy of wearing it.
His body remained unrecovered from the Gaia Tower ruins. His legacy endured through Shotaro and Philip, who honored his will by becoming Kamen Rider Double and protecting Futo City. Posthumously, he appeared as a spectral guide for Shotaro during critical moments: once to help him understand Philip’s emotional struggles, and again at Akiko’s wedding to fulfill his long-standing promise to walk her down the aisle. In an alternate reality encounter facilitated by Tsukasa Kadoya, an iteration of Sōkichi affirmed Shotaro’s growth and worthiness to wear the hat.
His early investigations involved a partnership with Seiichiro Matsui. This collaboration ended when Matsui, driven by jealousy over their mutual acquaintance Melissa, became the Spider Dopant. During the case, Shroud forcibly transformed Sōkichi into an incomplete "Kamen Rider Skull Crystal" using the Skull Memory and Lost Driver. Though initially reluctant to use Gaia Memory technology, Sōkichi embraced the transformation to stop Matsui. Discovering Matsui had implanted lethal "Spider Bombs" activated by contact with loved ones, Sōkichi isolated himself from his young daughter Akiko to protect her, permanently damaging their relationship. He adopted Matsui’s final words—"Now, count your sins!"—as his personal battle cry.
Functioning as Kamen Rider Skull, he tackled Dopant cases exceeding police capacity, including confronting an armored car robber known as the "Beastman." A young Shotaro Hidari witnessed him in action and persistently sought mentorship. Sōkichi initially refused but reconsidered after observing Shotaro’s resolve to protect citizens during an Antlion Dopant attack. He formally took Shotaro as a protégé, teaching detective fundamentals and a strict ethical code, notably forbidding him from wearing a detective’s hat until proven worthy. He emphasized core principles like never abandoning clients.
His final mission, "Begins Night," involved infiltrating the Sonozaki family’s Gaia Tower to rescue a boy known as Philip, forced to develop Gaia Memories. Sōkichi deliberately left the Double Driver for Shotaro, anticipating his involvement. After battling the Taboo Dopant (Saeko Sonozaki) and her guards, he reached Philip’s chamber. Touching the chamber granted him access to the Gaia Library—an ability Philip noted only "impressive" individuals possessed. Sōkichi freed the boy, naming him Philip after detective Philip Marlowe and urging him to seek atonement. During their escape, Sōkichi suffered fatal gunshot wounds. With his dying breath, he entrusted Shotaro with his white fedora, tasking him to continue their work and grow into a man worthy of wearing it.
His body remained unrecovered from the Gaia Tower ruins. His legacy endured through Shotaro and Philip, who honored his will by becoming Kamen Rider Double and protecting Futo City. Posthumously, he appeared as a spectral guide for Shotaro during critical moments: once to help him understand Philip’s emotional struggles, and again at Akiko’s wedding to fulfill his long-standing promise to walk her down the aisle. In an alternate reality encounter facilitated by Tsukasa Kadoya, an iteration of Sōkichi affirmed Shotaro’s growth and worthiness to wear the hat.