I'm still torn over whether I think TVN's Blade or Hibiki subs are worse. I swear I really don't mind their more modern stuff, but they had some dark times early on. :lol

I haven't watched any TVN subs in a good while, but I have to cop to being a fan of their graphical representations during henshins and whatnot; I appreciate the effort.

Hibiki, because with Blade you now have an alternative. If you want to watch Hibiki, TVN is the only game in town (not for lack of trying, but the internet is littered with abandoned Hibiki fansubs).

Hibiki still hasn't been completed by somebody other then TV-Nihon? I figured that there would be at least one alternate to all of their old shows by now give how much disdain people seem to have for TV-Nihon. I remember reading a comment somewhere that a guy didn't even consider a show subbed if TV-Nihon were the only ones who did it. I might have said something about how silly that is but, given I think the same thing about HK Subs, I figured that I had no place to say such a thing.

Maybe its because I like TV-Nihon but I actually don't have a problem with most of their early subs. I think the only ones I actually don't like are their Blade ones. I can't speak for how accurate the translation is but the poor grammar combined with the video quality and some technical issues make for an almost painful watch in the early episodes. Thank god that started redoing those.

There have been at least four tries that I know of; they all died in the early teens.

How creepy. Also, *Insert Unlucky 13 joke here*.

Have anyone here watched W yet? I'm somewhat felt so disappointed by the series in some many ways. Apart from the finale which will make anyone cry, I literally felt W is a bit dull in several episodes. Is it the effect of watching a pretty good Rider series, like Gaim, Drive and the current Ex-Aid, first? Because, while I still enjoy W, it's hard for me to get so attached to the series.

I looove W. Although it was my first Rider, I feel like it held up on subsequent rewatches. I just found the main cast extremely endearing (okay maybe not Ryu), the villains great, and it is really good as slowly building up more overarching elements. How many other shows are about 2-in-1 superhero detectives that fight drug inspired monsters?! Drive and Gaim, while also good, don't manage to pull off so many individual elements so perfectly for me. I can kind of see where you are coming from though, it could be a bit weird watching a bunch of newer Neo-Heisei stuff then going back to the first one, where some of its elements might not seem as fresh by comparison.

TO be honest, the more I see it, the more I realize that W's villains aren't that great. The back-and-forth villains are seemed to be intimidating, especially Isaka, but because of the two-parters, they really didn't get a much needed screen time, especially for Kirihiko. Not to mention, Isaka's master plan is granting him a gigantic wings which is absolutely weird to me.

It bugs me to that Wakana so easily agrees with his father during Philip's revelation arc. I thought it was some kind of brainwashing but it didn't seem so in the end. The way they describe both Ryubee and Shroud's characters are so complex for my brain to process. Admittedly, they want to show them as a rather tragic character but the way they executed it is full of interpretations.

Still, you maybe right that W's whole theme about 2-in-1 Kamen Rider and Detective is great. I also really like Philip so much and Shotaro's antics are so delightful. I don't mind of Akiko and she's one of the breather in this series. But, yeah, maybe because W used two-parters arc, I felt that it has more potential and could be even greater if they didn't use it in the first place. The build up for W CJX was also a bit of bummer too and they should have just go with the other ways around or give Shotaro more exposition instead.

It might sound like a rant, but this is why I love Drive more than W. While the thematic is particularly same, Drive didn't dictate too much with its parters episodes. Believe it or not, Drive still has two (or three) parters but the way that they build up each elements of stories felt so natural compared to W. They really build up the last 5 or 6 episodes as a climax. Unlike, W, where I still even thought it will be the same filler-ish two-parters during Ryubee's final act.

I should specify that I like the villains in W because they are practically one of those rich backstabbing families in a telenovela, expect with super powers. It is hilarious and weirdly compelling at the same time. I have a sneaking suspicion that Riku Sanjo might just be a bit of a one hit wonder kind if guy though, most people seem to really like the first Rider by him they watch, and the other show to varying but lesser degrees. Like for me, I like Drive, but couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by it by the time I finished since I felt like there was a lot of wasted potential, particularly with how they handled the Roidmudes among other smaller nitpicks. I might just be totally wrong here though, haha.