Originally Posted by novahyou (Post 582570)

Update on Blade:

I just finished watching episode 30 and I'm feeling a bit anxious regarding the consensus that the 2nd half of the series with the staff change (regarded by western fans like some of the best heisei has to offer) will live up to its "fame". This has got to be the worst two part episode I've seen so far in the few Rider shows I watched: the acting of the female villain plus the other guest actors was cringeworthy and the shenanigans with Chalice almost derail the character.

Originally Posted by GoseiWonder (Post 582573)

Was it the Takoyaki Fued 2 parter?

Originally Posted by EpsilonX (Post 582640)

Just started episode 14 of the original series, the one where the second rider shows up. Been digging this series so far, but I REALLY haven't enjoyed the past 3 episodes where they've been phasing Hongo out. Hopefully this makes up for that.

Edit: Definitely better. I don't really like the way they wrote Hongo out (why couldn't they send the new guy overseas and just have Hongo stay in Japan? I get why they did it, because he got hurt, but it didn't really make all that much sense plot-wise. Oh well) but the new Rider seems like an interesting character so far. I dig how his suit is more colorful.

Originally Posted by Switchblade (Post 582903)

The episodes with Ruriko and Taki doing the legwork and Kamen Rider just showing up already transformed were an early attempt to compensate, but ultimately it was decided that they needed a new character.

Originally Posted by EpsilonX (Post 583031)

I'm not really doubting the production reasons, rather the in-universe explanation. If Hongo knew this other guy was a Rider as well, why not just send him abroad? Unless of course Hongo felt more confident doing it himself. But then he's placing the safety of his friends in the hands of somebody he barely knows? Whatever, I guess it doesn't matter in the long run.

Originally Posted by Kiwami (Post 581833)

I’ve watched the first 13 episodes of Kabuto and I enjoy it. Tendou is not easily likable, but I enjoy the character just because of what a huge dick he is most of the time, even when he does something nice.

The setup is interesting although the Worm isn’t really identifiable or interesting as an enemy since they just act like monsters. Monsters which could work very well in horror movie to be fair, and that’s what I like about them. Their designs aren’t too corny and they are a considerable threat to anyone without a Zecter, even the larva ones.

But then there’s Zect, and even if they battle the Worm they seem to be the real enemies here, as they don’t hesitate to eliminate people who are in their way, sacrifice innocents for their benefit or manipulate the media. So yeah, I’m definitely interested to see what’s going on with this.

And having the destroyed city of Shibuya as a tie between the characters is kinda nice, especially now Hiyori remembers someone wearing a Rider belt during the commotion.

Kagami is a likable little goofball, and I’m surprised how much development he already got. There’s the thing with his brother, his struggles with Zect and his short-lived identity as TheBee. He’s definitely the character people can easily identify and struggle with and I like that. And yes, I know he gets his own Zecter later on and I do look forward to that.

What I probably like most about Kabuto so far are the suits and the action scenes. The suits are downright gorgeous; I love how techy they are yet feature distinctive insect characteristics. I love how they start in a pupated form and hatch out of it to combat advanced worms. The suits hit all the buttons for me; I love all of them so far.

With the action scenes, they are well done even though the CG is really horrible most of the time. But the show is rather old now, so it can’t be helped. And it’s not like CG got any better in Rider anyways, it’s always horrible. But the way they use the Clock Up in beautiful environments is really cool. Making the rain stop in mid air or have cherry blossoms stop their fall from the trees. Very nice to look at, even with the terrible CG.

So I definitely keep watching.

Originally Posted by Switchblade (Post 583067)

"I was away fighting evil in _____," was the Showa era's default explanation for what all the other Riders were doing during whichever show was currently airing. Any time you see an episode where a monster specifically references the bad deeds he's been doing in another country, it's a very safe bet that you're going to see a previous Rider show up.