Someone agreed with my opinion o_o

But yeah, it got to like episode thirty five and suddenly decided it wanted a plot, even though by that point half the Horoscopes had been killed as of the week monsters and the show was severely running out of track. It all came together so poorly and nonsensically at the end, it soured a show I was happy to write off as simply mediocre.

Well, I just finished Kuuga. Overall, the series never clicked with me. As I mentioned before, the disconnect between Godai and the suit actor was fairly rough and I found the fight scenes a little lacking after watching some of the more dynamic Neo-Heisei battles. As I'm headed out of town this weekend, I won't be starting anything new. But I'll probably head into Agito when I get back.

Question: How often does a Rider pilot ep begin in medias res?

Not particulary often in my experience...
What show?

Black, Blade, Decade, and W are the only ones that leap immediately to mind.

W does? It starts with a flashback to Begins Night, which takes place before the show.
Medias Res implies that it starts at the middle of things.

Then would Kiva count?

I knew somebody would bring Kiva into the mix. :lol

The first scene in the show is the confrontation between Spider and Yuri right? So nope, it doesn't, that's in no way the middle of the show.

It's chronologically the first scene in the show.

It starts right smack in the middle of that flashback, though, with Shotaro and Sokichi dragging Philip. There's no set-up for what's going on, it's just straight into the action. That is exactly what an in media res beginning is.

That's what I figured you meant. Black begins with Kotaro running to escape the Gorgom priests; Blade begins with Kenzaki rushing off to help Tachibana in a fight; Decade starts smack in the middle of the Rider War.

So how long till those series explain how we got there? Because I just want to count the days till we hit that week in LWW. I wanna know why Kenzaki was recruited. Imagine watching the first MiB or Harry Potter and we start off 45 minutes in or so with K breifing J on how Neuralizers work or Harry's first encounter with Snape.

I see your problem. It isn't a problem, in itself, but these shows are often so drawn out and bogged down with filler, it becomes infuriating how long it takes to get answers.

Alot of shows have filler. It's annoying, but atleast Kamen Rider filler only lasts an episode or two. Come complain to me when it reaches Bleach or even naruto levels :lol

I know why the filler is there but it's no less annoying when a series starts at a deliberate 'Oooo mysterious I bet you want to know what is going on, don'tcha' point and then doesn't actually start answering it until the thirties.

:eyebrow They aren't going to start an arch like that and then just end it the next episode, what would be the point of watching all 40-50 episodes?

The best shows answer it over fifty episodes, not in the last ten.

If I remember correctly, you should get most of Kenzaki's backstory by the end of next week's LWW.

Hibiki 18

So this giant spiky eggplant monster was actually the fucking stomach of an even bigger monster. Which I sort of figured given the cord that extended from the monsters body to the hole it came from. Anyway, Ibuki found out it bled acid the hard way though it didn't damage him too much.

Hilarious moment with Hibiki getting slightly jealous of Ibuki earlier. Akira seems to meet the mysterious robed woman controlling the Makamou and blacks out, due to the hooded one's evil...?! Or maybe an as of yet unknown power.


Luckily, Akira's safe so far. Asumu seems to have taken up some temporary duties at Tachibana's restaurant. Including answering the Oni phone, much to Hibiki's surprise. Ibuki going after the Makamou in what looks to be underneath a mall.

Music is really good here. The scenery is awesome as well. Never before would I have thought I'd love a fight scene with a giant stomach.

Man, that stomach is bizaare, though. Just when it has Ibuki in a bind, here comes Hibiki to back him up! With a new trumpet for Ibuki to use! And we have an underwater battle against a massive angler fish. And at the end...dumplings for everyone! This was a fun episode.

Hibiki 19

Todoroki seems to be doing well for himself, in a montage of him eliminating three giant Makamou. Best part is that he plays his own victory music on guitar weapon after doing so, and his little robot animal gorilla air guitars along with him.

Asumu's got an official job at the Oni base/teahouse, everything seems to be going well for him. And Hibiki's practicing his motorcycle skills by dirtbiking. Still apparently needs work on it...

Meanwhile, the tea house staff is looking over what Akira learned about the mysterious figure leading(?) the Makamou. And the new type of giant beast they have access too. And now the mysterious woman is planning something...don't know what yet.

Asumu is settling in on his tea house job and Hibiki and Kasumi find a puppy! Asumu finally meets Todoroki and Todoroki and Hinaka are incredibly awkward around each other. Todoroki's marginally less nervous about his work as an Oni. It was hilarious when Hinaka's dad, Tachibana, started grilling him over it though.

Ah, I forgot Todoroki and Hitomi were cousins. Understandably she doesn't know about his Oni-ing. Todoroki and Hinaka seem to agree to a date later as Todoroki prepares to hunt his next Makamou. It also seems that as he watches Todoroki's battle on tape, Tachibana is a lot less entertained by Todoroki's post fight victory music than I was. Maybe he thinks it's too arrogant.

Oh hey, Jir-, I mean Zanki is back. Guess he came to visit Tachibana.Guess he's staying as a trainer. Tachibana shows him the video of Todoroki's battle...though I'm not sure what the problem is with Todoroki's victory music. Tachibana seems to be more confused of it's purpose than angry with it. I dunno what Zanki's thinking. Maybe it's as I thought before, it's too arrogant a gesture?

Meanwhile, Todoroki saves some family near a stream, effortlessly defeating the Douji and Hebime. But he gets snuck up on by the giant lobster thing and knocked to the side. Cliffhanger time!

I think I'll head back to watching Wizard after I watch this anime.

Watched Kuuga episode 18 and 19 and this arc was something else. I can't believe what happened in it. Very well done to see all the other characters react to what's going on and has a really good cast. Also love Yuusuke's 1808th skill of Stomp lol he's so awesome.

And Now just finished Faiz 20 and 21 which was good to see both of the two trinities together with Kaidou and Keitarou, Mari and Yuka and Yuuji and Takumi. Also nice to see Kaixa be less of a dick for an episode. Also like Saeko of the Lucky Clover so far. Can't wait for more.

So Wizard 32, Infinity... Yay? I just dont care for this form. Its "eh". :/

Oh and Gremilin? This is the final villian? I hate his weird ass. Can we bring Pheonix back please? Like now before I throw something at my computer hoping to hit Gremlin...

Ryuki 10

I'll never stop thinking that Nasty Vent is a really stupid name for an attack that should've been called Noisy Vent. So time ran out for Ron and Kitaoka's fight. It's weird how when they run out of time for their fight to the death, they can just sit back and converse.

Ron finds out that Kitaoka's only reason for becoming a Rider is to win eternal life. I guess...winning a Rider battle grants that. I dunno. Kitaoka's mocking Ron's reasons for being a rider.R on retuning home all bruised and speak to Yui of how Kitaoka can't be trusted with Shinji's case since he's a Rider.

Ron also reminds me that if Shinji doesn't fight, that fucking dragon will eat him. I don't know why, but it's easy for me to forget that the monsters they get they're powers from aren't friendly at all, even the main Rider's. That's...kind of creepy in a way.

Meanwhile, Kitaoka's still acting as Shinji's lawyer, clearly trying to bait him into saying something guilty. Holy shit, Shinji's dumb. Meanwhile Kitaoka's, marginally kinder butler is given gratitude by the kid he gave food too earlier, who pays him back with origami. Ron and Yui inform Shinji that Kitaoka can't be trusted. I still dunno if they told him he was also a Rider or not.

Oh boy, Shinji's boss and the reporter chick hear of Ron and Yui wanting to fire Kitaoka and reporter chick goes to investigate! It seems Shimada is out of the hospital. acting as weird as ever...when she bumps into Kitaoka, who's apparently dying from an incurable disease. Alright, that puts things in to a lot of perspective. He seems a bit less of a piece of shit now.

Or maybe not, he refused to take the case of the little girl's father from earlier. And...wow this all tied in a lot. The girl's father was the kidnapper...all because of that article from Shinji's newspaper place that got him fired from his factory job. And he needed that ransom money to pay for his wife's surgery. What a circle of tragedy.

Shimada and Shinji's boss act like morons for a bit, but Shimada's testimony along with the real culprits daughter's testimony set Shinji free. Kitaoka's pissed, since this is less convenient for him. And since his butler, Gorou, was the one who helped the kid in the first place, he's pissed at him as well.

Ah...it turns out the kid is making one thousand cranes for her mother in the hopes that she would get better. I remember reading a book as a kid about this in school. At any rate, her doing this to help her sick mother seems to strike a chord in Kitaoka and he pays for her mother's operation. Ron immediately thinks he's trying to harm the kid, but it's understandable this time.

So the monster arrives to attack the girl but Ren (I'm getting sick of the Ron joke for now) and Shinji save her. And then Kitaoka arrives and summons his beast, which is like a robo-minotaur weapons platform, and fires a shitload of missiles to finish them all off.


Ryuki 11

Ren and Shinji just get the shit kicked out of them by Kitaoka. Ren suffers a bad head wound that gives him some memory problems. Oh boy. Luckily, it was only the shock of the hit that concussed him into the temporary memory loss. Yui's mom still thinks little of him, lol.

Yui wants to stop the Rider battles because she knows Shinji and Ren would have to face each other some time. She heads out to find out more about her brother and Shinji heads out to find out where Ren is headed. This leaves poor Yui's mom all alone during an influx of customers.

Reporter chick is psychotically plotting against Kitaoka for trying to frame Shinji...And a new mirror monster just cleared out a whole train of people. Guess no rider was near enough to sense it. Shinji follows Ren to a bar, where he seems to be remembering slightly. Several pool players want to challenge Ren to a pool game as some sort of revenge for something or other. And now more people are chasing him down, wanting payback.

Is this a day in the life of Ren? does he just go around being enemies with random people.

Yui's brother is even more of a mystery it seems. His university professor seemed to fearfully refuse to give her any information regarding him. I wonder why Yui wanted to find out what his last University project was. Unless his major was Theory of Extradimensional Mirror Monsters.

Reporter chick went to investigate the ,missing people on the train. Her only evidence is some rambling old man. Then she seems to have just missed getting killed by a monster when a group of people sitting right next to her disappear on the train.

Shinji and Ren are able to book it from some thug who wants to punch Ren's face in. Seeing Shinji henshin is enough to spark a memory in Ren. Apparently Yui's brother directly gave him his rider card. And speaking of Yui and her brother....she finally found evidence of him at the university.

Oh! I knew the old man tied into it! He was in the yearbook picture next to Yui's brother! And now Shinji's defeated the monster. Ren's remembering a bit more...about someone called Eri....who was also in the college pic. Man, this show like's to tie in things, doesn't it?

^your post has me remembering I really need to get back to my rewatch of Ryuki. And after how bad the series finale of Dexter was, I can really use a good show to watch (Breaking Bad ending Sunday makes this even more of a necessity).

All these posts about Ryuki just makes me want to watch Dragon Knight for the upteenth time.

Can always watch Ryuki instead. :p

Other than the last 10 minutes? Yeah, it did. W was an entire episode too long. Fourze had a similar issue to Ryuki's ending. Wizard was just..underwhelming.

Ryuki has the best ending ever if you stop watching when it fades to black.

Next to W's if you don't watch the final episode.

I think so far OOO was the only Rider show I've seen with a satisfying ending, well except Kuuga...because it ended.

Back to Wizard for me so i can see Gaim when that gets subbed

Same. That is, it was satisfying without me having to ignore any succeeding event in the show itself.

It's like, lots of Kamen Rider series can have satisfying conclusions, but then do something to lessen it at the last moment, like they're under some kind of contract to leave things open-ended to some degree? I guess so they can appear in movies later without much time spent re-establishing how it's possible. Without spoiling, IMO W should have, and indeed looks to be designed, to have ended on 48. Everything about it just makes that a perfect moment of closure. But then 49 basically returns things to "normal" which isn't bad per-se, but I always say 49 should have been a movie in place of Eternal Returns. That way they could have thgeir return to status quo without under-cutting the effects of 48. A tie-in/sequel movie is less detrimental to a TV series and the plot of 49 could have been made more dramatic and built up verses one episode of self-contained retconning.

OOO, Kiva, Blade, and Kabuto all had satisfying endings for me.

Watched Episode 20, and 21 of Kuuga and really enjoyed seeing Yuusuke going back to see all the others coming back that was a lot of fun. Also intrigued with what's happening with Kuuga. Also liked the scarfed guy at the end he seemed interesting too.

Wizard 8 and 9: This was a very good arc, as the kid's story tied nicely with Haruto's and instead of giving us a random Phantom of the week, Phoenix got the spotlight, he's a good oponnent for Haruto and I definitely enjoyed more his presence this week.
The scene with Dragon in Haruto's underworld was great too, but introducing Dragon Styles so early in the show? That feels kind of rushed.

White Wizard had a bigger role this week and while he seems like a very interesting character, I don't trust him he could very well be tied to Wiseman, or Wiseman himself.
Or maybe he's just a scheming guy with terrible social skills...

Another episode of Kiva down.

I think Waturu is going to break down and cry when Megumi and Nago discover he's Kiva. And I'll feel sad about that.. Waturu's trying! LEAVE HIM ALONE!
I tell you this though. Spider-Fangire, Sheep-Fangire, that Chef one... These Fangire are creepy little bastards. Between Spider's obsession, Sheep's pervertness, and whatever Chef is doing in that pot.. Yegawd.
And I do like how they handle powerups. How whatever arm he uses changes color, and the melding of the Fangire's head with his own.

Kiva has alot of beautiful visuals. I'm very much enjoying myself with this series.

Up to this day I find the Fangire to be amongst the creepiest Rider monsters ever, all of them are able to assume human form, they are resilient as heck and they need to feed on humans permanently, doesn't help that most of them are complete psychos.

The visuals of Kiva are great, and his main 4 forms are a simply beautiful, different enough from each other withouth feeling like completely different riders.

Them and the Grongi from Kuuga are the top two creepiest for me personally. Grongi are creepy in and out of Monster form, and Fangire's are just really really creepy in human form.

Exactly. And the Finishing Visuals for each of them are works of art. Each and every one.

I haven't watched Kuuga but from what I've heard the Grongi are complete monsters in every sense of the word.

The finishers, man those finishers, I told you before but Kiva is a visual spectacle from beggining to end, the only thing that imo comes close to it are Wizard's spells.

Yeah, the Fangire are definitely some of the creepiest Rider kaijin that ever existed.

I still maintain that the Mirror Monsters are, by far, the creepiest Rider monsters. Seriously, look around you right now and count all the reflective surfaces. Any one of them could be a doorway for a monster to reach out and grab you.

Going through more Wizard,

I am liking most of this series, except as I mention most everytime now, I. Hate. Gremlin! I just cant stand him. Dont know why, but I seriously hate that he is the final villian...

My biggest problem with Rider endings, at least so far, has been that the shows largely faff around for like thirty five episodes and then for the ending portion of the show, they basically completely change what the show is about to give it an identifiable villain and some semblance of plot before it ends. What this does, in reality, is causes a massive emotional disconnect and makes everything feel rushed and nothing clicks.