Not if TV-Nihon's aren't DVD sourced, no.

Episode 30 is when the staff change (producer and writer) happens, but it's silly to get that far into a 48 episode show and then just drop it. It takes a few (I would four) episodes for the show to get back on track, but a lot of its best moments happen with the new writer and producer. If you do decide to stop at episode 30, it does offer a somewhat viable place to stop the story, but there's absolutely no sense of bookending going on, so it won't feel like an ending at all.

Nah, you can drop Hibiki after episode 29 as you will gain nothing but wasted time by that point. The series has no more of an ending at episode 48 than it does at 29.

That's ridiculous. If you do this, you miss out on the Shuki/Akira storyline and the final Todoroki and Zanki storyline.

And while the ending is literally a rehash of a conversation between Hibiki and Asumu way back in the 20s, 29 does offer a very strong turning point. It's the first time Hibiki acknowledges Asumu by using his name rather than just calling him "boy".

Well Agito has now come to an end. I entered this series not really enjoying it. It was slow, had shitty action, and some of the characters weren't that great. But as a fellow member said, I fell in love with it.

Agito is definitely one of the best of the series I've ever seen. To be quite honest, I'd say it's tied for the best Rider show ever, it being deadlocked against W. It as I said is a slow series, which at first can be off putting. But it slowly gets your hooked to where you decide to just marathon the rest of the show (I got hooked with the introduction of Aki). Once you're hooked, good luck getting unhooked. To be fair though, I think the slowness helps it. It is definitely a show based around the characters and story, and it's quite the long and deep story. It's a mystery, and a really good one at that. The action unfortunately didn't really get better to me though. Even when not watching it while watching Kabuto (which I herald as having the best action out there for KR), it doesn't do it for me. Only Project G4 got me into the fight scenes to where I was on the edge of my seats. Truly this is a show you watch for the story and not for the action, and that's the best way I'd sell Agito.

The evolution theme was handled really well, and is indeed like 555. But funny enough, the shows are the opposite of each other in a way. Both shows are about forces trying to oppress evolution, the difference being the roles are switched. Agito's villains wanted to stop evolution, but the riders wanted to embrace it. In 555 it's the opposite, the riders want to stop the evolution happening while the villains wish for it to happen. It's quite the interesting contrast, made even more interesting since I pretty much started Agito only a week after finishing 555.

In the end, Agito was a fantastic show. It's one of the best of the series and it's quickly became one of my favorites. I'm happy I saw it and would gladly watch it again at some point.

Another show down and lot more to go. I think I'll take a little detour into Hibiki land before FINALLY resuming my viewing of Kuuga.

Favorite Character: Ryou
Least Favorite Character: Masumi A.K.A. Glasses McBitchfuck
Favorite Rider: Ryou
Favorite Non Rider: Konno and Risa/Scorpion
Favorite Suit Design: Kamen Rider G4
Least Favorite Suit Design: Kamen Rider Agito Burning Form

After 29 unless you're a masochist.


:cry

I know! :cry

Does it really matter? After episode 29 none of the characters were in character anyway. Some of them even became gained different personalities from who they were for the first half of the series.

God forbid that everything isn't wrapped up a nice neat little package at the end of the season. The show wasn't about the conflict between the oni and the marakumo (been a while, that's what the villains were right, with the douji and hime...). Yes, that's a part of it and obviously where the action is, but the show was, ostensibly, about Asumu and his relationship with Hibiki and the Oni, it was a coming of age story and showed how Hibiki and the others impacted him as he grew up at a time of a crossroads in his life, with a bit of a look at the lives and relationships of the oni as well. I feel that it was a fairly satisfying conclusion to that. And as has been mentioned, some of the show's strongest moments come in the latter half of the season, after the production staff change. Overall, yeah the first 29 episodes are the best, but I don't think the last chunk was bad enough to just pretend it doesn't exist, it was more than watchable.

So yeah, Winston I whole-heartedly recommend watching Hibiki. ALL of Hibiki. It is a fantastic show, beginning to end, it's not like it's the first or only Rider season to have one half stronger than the other.

Question: When it comes to the inter-season movies, do you watch it in continuity with the show or do you guys watch the movies after and try to piece it all together if it's canon?