I know, but not tertiary. Although everything happens for the first time, this is not an opinion that I am prepared to defend.

The bike’s humanoid form being a physical suit pleases me.

That's cool, but seeing as bike briefing agents or reviewing reports at his office desk would also be fun.

Wow, that implies it might still appear after episode 3.

Bike's name is Zero and he's apparently Baku's boss so uh, be prepared for the most used Rider Machine in a while.

It'd be kind of funny if they have a plot where he gets impounded because of the Japanese road laws.

I believe this is the official opening. If so, I like it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFa7jgjjdok

I have mixed feelings. I like some moments, but at the same time there is a feeling of lightness and lack of energy. Honestly, I think it would be more suitable as an insert song than an opening. But at the same time, the combination of mysticism and dynamics is very cool. In general, I need to listen and watch it together with the visuals.

Oh, I like this one. Just listening to it made me imagine stylish opening visuals.

Visions gives me feelings of ominousness and courage. Pretty cool!

It sounds fine to me.. I just need to listen to it more tbh

Honestly, this is why I think he shouldn't come back. Not for another Rider show, but just, not ever, like how Kobayashi has never been in KR again until now after 3 shows. Not for animosity towards him (so yeah it's a disappointment that he came back, and I don't talk in animosity about Kobayashi either here), but for the overhated stuff. Though dunno if it's actually deserved.

I thought Izu was the one seen as a perfect female lead by people, though Takahashi is never brought up for that. But then again, dunno if overhated applies on him, or it's just me being a fanboy, when it can feel that Takahashi is hated for fridging Sara, where there's also Saki before in Ex-Aid which never got brought up, or how there are other characters acting like that such as Sayoko in Blade, Kasumi in Build, or Soji in Gavv.

Though it seems that Takebe is the one whose ideas got realized by this, but dunno what'd qualify in applying this moral to his methods, if it's not like that Takebe's ideas got ignored. And I wonder for conflicting productions, how to determine who's the culprit or such.

Yua is the one most criticized for Takahashi female, which isn't the mascot character.

Depends on how Zeztz performs compared to his previous works to see if he can turn the hate around, but either way, I'd rather not still be talking about him this time in 2028. He needs to take a long break or else Reiwa Rider will become too monotonous with his favorite tropes.

I guess people don't bring up Saki since she was already dead from the start. Personally, I think Izu generally had a good arc, but the epilogue and summer movie diminished it for me.

Well, the producer has the last word after all. Same reason why Zack survived Gaim and Yukimi survived Revice, as the writers wanted to kill them and the producers decided that was unnecessary. If Takahashi had his way, he would've killed Sara sooner, but Takebe's insistence allowed the beacon of hope to reach her peak. For conflicting productions, I guess we just have to keep paying attention to those helpful blogs.

Isamu even speaks for the audience towards Yua: "I won't listen to a damn word you say until you tell me what you're fighting for!"

But this is going to be Reiwa Riders' anniversary! And considering how much Takahashi has done for them, he seems like the most suitable candidate again. At the very least, he should be given a couple of episodes. And, returning to today, there are advantages to everything: Takahashi's dissatisfaction made viewers forget about previous dissatisfaction with AI.
On the bad side: in the case of another scriptwriter, we were just discussing the concept of dreams penetrating reality and the possibility of its implementation in the tokusatsu format. Personally, when I think about this, Wizard comes to mind.
When talking about favorite heroines, it's important to keep in mind that it's not just her character that's important, but also her interaction with the protagonist. Different riders need different support casts. But in general, Akari is the best for me. And, returning to Zeztz, the preview seems to call Minami Baku's main ally, so she, not Nemu, is the heroine of the show.

Wonder if Zeztz will gain powers similar to the Sandman & NiGHTS? At least upgrades I hope as protector of dreams.

Seconds after hitting the play button: :rock:

Guess it's because it's something new for Takahashi that he returns. Here's an interview with Takahashi on the TTFC app, where he discusses his return to writing a Rider series.

"Some people might be thinking, 'He's writing again?' but this is also a first for me. This time, I get the challenge of writing a story with only one main Rider. I hope everyone who watches and has seen my previous work will enjoy it."

I hope after this, there'd be no new things to be tried so he wouldn't return anymore, but it's good that he acknowledges people's reaction to his return.

Guess implementing favorite tropes is what's inevitable for the hate. As someone who approves of Gai's redemption, I wonder what'd be those tropes you refer here. And no, I'm not someone who disagrees with him needing to take a long break.

But though generally, when people bring up Hiiro, people talk about him negatively, despite Ex-Aid's reputation. I guess for other comparison, Inoue also has Ozawa being overlooked when talking about him against women, despite Ozawa being universally acclaimed. Izu and Ozawa are the female characters seen as always useful and relevant all the time, where Izu seems to be able to contend with the likes of Philip to fanbase (both being rife with data for the cast progression and returning at the end).

Dunno about the comparison for killing her sooner, compared to other fridged characters that died even sooner, like Sayoko, Kasumi, or Soji. And though those characters perhaps are necessary to survive, there can also be those who think it's unnecessary to bring back dead characters and that it diminishes the stakes or something; reviving dead characters is also seen as said Takahashi trope.

I'm not sure I actually believe the statement "only one main rider", but I would certainly appreciate a reduction in the number of main Riders in this show. The sheer number of Riders in some recent shows gets overwhelming to the point where it felt like most of them are just there for flavor instead of any actual narrative purpose.

It seems to me that after Geats the number of riders inevitably began to decline. Considering that so far we know about two, like in Gavv, I think everything will be about the same: three heroes, plus the dark one and his modifications. Maybe even an extra, like Wing from Gotchard.
Speaking of tropes... I think if the secondary starts as an enemy and then becomes a rider and improves, he won't have a dark period. Although, given the spy theme/subtheme, maybe they'll play out the double agent concept this way. However, I'm also confused by the fact that if we already know about Yezz, then how long will Nox remain an enemy?

It also depends on the tropes themselves. I don't think anyone seriously hates Sakamoto's love for motorcycles and women's legs.

Oh no, you're right! Hopefully, it's only a few anniversary episodes or a movie.

Hmm, you have a problem with the execution of the Underworld?

While your logic makes sense, Nemu is stood in the center with Baku at the press conference and introduced in the trailer before Minami. Either Nemu is the Secondary Rider contrary to the rumor, or perhaps there's something that disqualifies Minami from the heroine position.

His modicum of self-awareness is good to see at least. Sounds like he might have a fresh approach to this season.

Convoluted plot devices that don't support the narrative, like all the meta nonsense in KR Chronicle, Isamu's false memories, JyamaDaichi getting emotions from memories, Jit being a proxy for Suel, etc. Also exaggerated happy endings that don't make sense, like Emu getting infected by the Parado virus again or Aruto bringing back "Izu" after all that talk about hearts being something that cannot be replaced.

Maybe people don't like his a**hole traits, or his betrayal arc. My favorite Hiiro moment is his awesome debut as Brave Level 50 against Gatton, so it does feel like he goes backwards after that, turning against his own principles that he acted so self-righteous about. Similar to Holy Live, it's ironic how Level 100 looks heroic but is more known for being a villain.

However, there are also characters that he keeps dead, like Jungo and Saki in EX-Aid, Soreo and Sakurai (the Hiden employee) in Zero One and the Sakurai parents in Geats.

Yeah, there's no way Bandai would allow such a thing in the Reiwa Era. More Riders = More Profit! Besides, Takahashi needs a Rider to kill on Christmas, unless a civilian will suffice.

For sure, I can imagine Baku getting framed or having to go double agent to untangle a conspiracy inside Code or something like that.

Yea, I wouldn't take it too literally. Like, I think it's more that the show is about Baku and Baku first. Because Ex-Aid, 01, and Geats all had ensemble main characters that shared relatively good amounts of focus between them. Not to mention that this is the sort of thing they said about Gotchard, and people got pissed when we did actually get more Riders (though compared to Geats, any number of Riders would be "less").

The lyrics are so rapid and some pronunciations so unfamiliar I can't tell whether the entire thing is in English. I think it might be? Regardless, it slaps. Up there with "Excite" and the intro bit of "Real/Eyez."

Nope, there's totally some Japanese in there. Check it out!

P.S. This is my 2600th post!

Let's go 3000 :rock:

I think it's because Kobayashi has been so busy with the Jojo anime's.
Gotchard and Gavv only had three Main Riders, maybe it's the start of a new Reiwa trend of going back-to-basics with less Riders and Takahashi is adjusting to that.

I mean, it will be the first Takahashi show where the Secondary isn't introduced early (albeit he might show up early, just not as a Rider).

I also hope this means that Takahashi invests in the Kaijin enemies and it doesn't devolve into another Rider vs Rider show.

I didnt know there was so much hate for Geats. To me, its by far the best series of the Reiwa so far and its writer doing Zeztz is nothing but good news.

The most recent show I have seen is Geats, so I didn't realize Gotchard and Gavv don't have too many Riders. I think in the back of my mind I was convinced there were a bajillion extra Riders in those shows no one talked about. It might be interesting to see Takahashi try and tackle a show with a smaller, more focused cast.

Fewer riders means more forms and that's not to everyone's taste either.

Takahashi every time when trying to add a new rider while writing Zeztz. :lolol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWDLCTBwyn8

That said, not a fan of Zero-One's ending but loved Ex-Aid and Geats. :rock:

What do you mean the anniversary? The Reiwa era started in 2019, this is going to be the 7th series of the era, not 10th

Congrats on your 1400th post!

Mesnick said this in response to me saying something like, "I'd rather not still be talking about Takahashi in 2028". He wasn't referring to Zeztz.

Number of riders I hope to see?.

• Zeztz: sleeping agent
• Yezz: stuck in nightmares
• Tertiary rider: insomniac rider
• Quarter rider: sleepwalker rider
• Female rider
• Sandman rider
• Boogeyman rider

I'm personally fine with a smaller amount of riders. Maybe save those for the movie? Three max, personally.

yikes, I think this whole show will be a "pass" year for me.

I mostly passed on all of GEATS too--didn't like the cast, the designs, the story... none of it. So yeah, bummer to "not have Kamen Rider" for me personally for a whole year, but maybe Sentai will be good again too after Gozyuger (which I love).