Dude, plenty of the dead characters I mentioned had very little characterization, too. The characters who don't fit that are Sokichi Narumi, who we get to know more about in the Double portion in the Double/OOO Movie War (and even then, THAT'S pretty much it besides some hints in the TV show and other movies before it), Koyomi 'cuz it's a twist that she's dead (and even then the personality she has probably wasn't exactly the same before she died), and Otoya Kurenai because Kamen Rider Kiva was just as much about him as it was Wataru. The rest are like, given a scene or two of characterization, outside of some bit scenes like Terui's dream of his sister marrying Jinno.

I understand that it's a trope, but it's a trope that I feel like people get annoyed by TOO much. Like no one gets upset about other dead people as much. Dead parents? No problem. Dead siblings? Eh, how tragic. Dead friends? Looks like people need to avoid being friends with that character. A dead girlfriend? How DARE they just randomly bring up that the character had a girlfriend out of "nowhere" just to kill them off.

Went ahead and gave both the premiere (wanted to see what TV-N did with it/seriously though, it was a fantastic debut) and this (wanted to see if it felt less crazy) another go around.

This episode did indeed feel less crazy the second time. Now my problem is less it being a single episode and more just it literally being the second episode. Having tons of drama is great but "filler" has its place too, despite what people will tell you. Just a single episode between the premiere and this to let things settle in probably would've worked wonders for this episode's impact.

There's also some miscellaneous thoughts I have that I didn't mention in my first post:

- Not specifically related to this week, but I have to say, the music isn't leaving an impression on me at all so far. It's strange because I love Kenji Kawai, and I like what I heard, but having watched two episode two times each now I can barely remember any of it.

- The opening on the other hand, while not top tier or anything, both with the song and the visuals, is pretty good. Totally something I can roll with for a year. And we finally got the cold opens back... sort of! It's just a recap at the start, but I'll take it.

- Speaking of the recap, at first I didn't pick up on the fact that Sento and Ryuuga were a straight up comedy duo that hate each other almost as much as they like each other. That's actually kind of inspired. I don't think Rider has ever done something quite like that before.

- Sento is endearing himself to me very quickly. His particular brand of egotism is, again, a unique flavor of protagonist, the way he uses his brain in fights is nice to see, and his characterization when it comes to actually being heroic is a lot more nuanced than constantly talking about wanting to make people smile or whatever. Very little out of his mouth (at least until next week) would really give you the impression him being Build was anything more than his way of figuring out the mystery of his amnesia. But actions speak louder than words, and it doesn't get much louder than going out of your way to let your new convict pal say goodbye to his girlfriend. Pretty refreshing stuff.

- That being said, Sento might be the world's most stupid genius, considering he acts surprised the Gorilla and Diamond Bottles are a Best Match when the labels on the caps say what Bottles go with each other. :lol

- I've fallen in love with the Drill Crusher very quickly. Maybe part of it is just that it reminds me of Megaranger, but it's a neat weapon that goes well with Build's base form. The yellow bits also match the belt nicely. Of course, it'd be nice to get a Kamen Rider that doesn't have a sword once in a while, but this barely qualifies as one to begin with, and Sento definitely seems like the type who'd prefer a weapon (especially a multipurpose one) to his bare hands. I just hope this isn't like Ghost and Ex-Aid, and he ends up with a second, way less cool sword, color matched to a specific form yet still used by all the other ones anyway. It's like, why do they even go through the trouble of designing all these nice, well thought out base form/bike/weapon combos every year if they're just going to forget about all three by halfway through the series, you know?

I like this because the cafe reminds me of the one Kiva so anymore things from Kiva I will like. Now just need the alien father to be after all the women with his cool charms then we are good to go.

Am I the only one disappointed by the Gorilla fist being a static piece after seeing how Ex-Aid handled over-sized hands?

Also, going to echo the feeling that this episode feels like it was meant to come a fair bit later.

I'm not actively opposed to the "dead girlfriend" trope in principle, because, let's be honest, it makes sense in theory. Someone you care about gets killed by something or someone and you're going to be pretty damn upset with that thing. However, the problem, especially here, is just how little the AUDIENCE cares about the victim. We're given basically no reason to like or care about whatshername other than Ryuuga cares about her, which is not good enough. Hell, Saki had at least some personality traits, trite and cliché as they may be, but this chick? She's literally a plot device that's beyond unnecessary.

Unless we get some DAMN good characterization through flashbacks/whatever, I feel like we've already found an albatross to hang around Ryuuga's neck for the rest of the series. Which is a shame, because I do like him already and he makes a good counterpoint to Sento.

I like this show so far. I think the characters work (even though the sleepy girl gets on my nerves for some reason) and the setups are interesting. Not unique, but interesting.

I have a few issues with it though, one of them being how we had both "Best Match" and random transformations yet the show never specified why Sentou should use one over the other. Like, he's happy to find another one with Gorillamond, but why? He used Hedgehog/Tank to beat the Smash in episode 1 no problem.

He meets Night Rouge, an opponent he should be wary of, yet chooses Hedgehog/Tank as his form to fight him.

Granted, Night Rouge does say that Build won't beat him with random bottles, but why? Again, Build uses them without any problem.

If only they had Sentou drop one line about how non-Best Match transformations are dangerous and/or unstable and if the show made an effort to showcase that, like: After Build beats the Gorilla Smash he doesn't just turn back into Rabbit/Tank because he wants to but because he needs to. Have Hedgehog/Tank become unstable similar to how Kamen Rider Double became unstable that one time.

I'm really baffled how the show made no attempt to tell us this stuff when it needed less than 10 seconds to do so. In fact, you need no explanation for now at all, just show us how the forms become unstable and have Sentou talk about it later.

As it is now the show basically tells me that it doesn't matter if there's a best match or not, they were just too lazy to give every possible form a unique jingle.

To be fair, they say "G/D", until he tries out both Gorilla and Diamond together it could be Gorilla and "Duranium" or "Goldfish" and Diamond for all he knows.

:eyebrow

Don't think that will hapen, simply because it's pretty much impossible to go downhill from this... thing.

No he doesn't. He has to go back into RabbitTank to finish him off. The implication so far is that he can only preform finishers whilst a Best Match - that's their benefit. Trail Forms aren't able to finish the job on their own.

The toys have Voltech Attack listed. It COULD mean Trial forms are inherently weaker than a Best Match but an in universe explanation would be nice

I mean he does but that's not my point, my point is how Hedgehog/Tank performs on a similar level as Rabbit/Tank with no visible drawback attached to its fighting power.

Why the hell should it matter if he can only finish the Smash in a Best Match form? In that case, he should always fight in mix and match-forms and only switch back for the finisher, which would make Best Matches obsolete in the main bulk of a fight.

So no, that theory isn't solving the issue at all.

Seems to me like that's exactly the case so far, though. Aside from the first fight with Gorrillamond, he's almost always used a mixture of bottles that play to his needs until it comes time to finish the monster off. Finding Matches just gives him multiple options toward landing the final blow, and a mastery of that would be essential in beating NightRogue - hence the comment.

So far, I don't really understand where you're getting this idea that Best Matches should be better than any given Trial Form beyond their finisher capabilities - why Trial forms should have drawbacks. He's simply using whatever works for him in the moment until he finds more widely applicable Best Matches. Right now it just seems like he simply prefers Hedgehog over RabbitTank or Gorillamond for close combat. It's a matter of "I really like this ability and I'm not sure what goes with it, so I'll just use whatever else in the meantime." I'm sure he'd prefer FireHedgehog in this situation over Tank if he had already discovered it.

Because that's the whole point of Best Match. It gives him a perfect blend of powers which is stronger than combining a Full Bottle with one that isn't its Best Match. Pretty sure that was confirmed in the promotional material. The mix-up forms don't need to have drawbacks necessarily, but then I just ask myself why Best Match is a thing beyond the finisher. Because it should be.

Rabbit/Tank should be stronger than Hedgehog/Tank. The functionality should only come into play when a certain power is absolutely needed and it's worth sacrificing fighting power to gain an advantage in battle.

Build transformed into Rabbit/Vaccum to absorb the flames of the Burn Smash and used it as a setup for Gorillamond. That's exactly how these mix-up forms should be used: To gain an advantage. But how in the hell is Hedgehog/Tank playing to his needs when he never fought Night Rogue before? Shouldn't he, a scientist, evaluate the situation with his best-balanced form first and then start switching if necessary? It makes me as the viewer assume Hedgehog/Tank is his best balanced offensive form when it shouldn't be.

Sorry but so far it really feels like they don't give a fuck about the Best Match system and simply give screen time to the mix-up forms to sell toys. Which is okay, I just want to have a better explanation behind it. Instead of assuming everything myself when they could clear this up within seconds.

OOO, for example, was crystal clear with how it works: Every medal gives a certain power over another, all three of the same type increase fighting power and grand an overpowered trait at the cost of losing control. Of course, it had the luxury that the full combos only came into play a bit later, but still: Build could explain how Fullbottles work, they could do it next episode and turn my complaints into dust, but I wish they would explained this sooner. Like, first episode.

Not in detail of course, but as I said: A few hints would've been cool.

To be fair, Sento was angry and wasn't thinking, he just wanted to beat some answers out of Night Rogue

Yeah okay, I can see that.

Here! Here!
Liked episode 2 - show isn't quite wowing me just yet but, it's Rider and, being Rider, it's still great fun. Did love the girlfriend SMASH blasting herself - very tragic / Heisei stuff (and weird, very weird).

The use of RabbitTank is purely because he knows it's a Best Match, and because Rabbit gets the most height on the Y Axis for the coefficient to work. If he used Rabbit Diamond he would be too heavy and it would punch rather than shred like Tank does. And Hedgehog doesn't have enough power because it would result in a Trial Form. It's okay, not everyone gets it. You have to build up to that level of smartness. :D

Okay, gonna go hide now.

Yeah i see your point in here right now the reason he use best match is to use vortex finish or finisher.
I still remember OOO's combo is dangerous if you using it alot...
maybe build is somewhat want to apply KR W's rule but yeah if that so best matches feel redundant

That's the thing though. They both say G/D, and the label even has the colors on them. It's not exactly a big mystery. Banda- er I mean Sento designs these things to be easy to understand even if you were a little kid. Hypothetically, of course. :p

Of course I'm nitpicking here, though. It doesn't actually bother me at all. I just find it funny.

You and me having radically different opinions on something? Get outta here.

In all seriousness though, I genuinely do think the Drill Crusher is cool. I find Rabbit/Tank looks good holding it and the aesthetics match nicely, in a slightly more subtle way than simply painting it red and blue or something. It's got a bunch of crazy, high-tech looking gauges all over it that give the impression of something some mad scientist (i.e. Sento) made, and the diagonal, spiral pattern a drill naturally has compliments all the diagonal lines on Build himself.

Or at least that's my attempt at somewhat objectively defending it? Obviously this is hugely subjective and unlike you, it doesn't really bother me at this point when a Kamen Rider's toys look like, you know, toys. I'll also grant you the gun mode is an... acquired taste, to put it lightly.

And did I mention it reminds me of Megaranger? I can't understate the importance of that part. Reminding me of Megaranger is just about the quickest way to my heart. I mean, look at how long I've been rocking this lame signature. :lol

One of the funny things that I absolutely love about Rider and, particularly, Build is how plastic-y and toyetic the weaponry is. The Drill Crusher IS absurd in that it looks completely goofy and harmless - doubly so in the gun mode - but he still uses it to wreck house and that's great. All the wweapons they've shown thusfar are not quite as bizarre, but they definitely skew hard into the odd. I actually worry somewhat for toy sales (the Build Driver, especially!).

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Exactly. Well, at least they got it over with quickly. Is it just me or did the goofy vacuum cleaner make the dramatic scene even harder to take seriously? :lol

There are a lot of things I like about Build so far, such as:

- The opening
- The premise
- The fast pace, maybe because it reminds me of Ex-Aid (this episode was all over the place, but I didn't really mind)
- The bike action
- The comedy
- Himuro
- Ryuuga (a lot of overacting compared to Amazons, but his expressions are so much fun to watch! I also like that he's a boxer, wish there were more Riders with MA experience.)

The only thing I don't like is the gimmick (the henshin, the bottles, the physics stuff, etc., I've never been this disinterested in a Rider gimmick before). Love the suit, though!

I've been saying that I'm cautiously optimistic, but there's so much promise here that I'm not sure about the cautious part anymore.

So far I'm on board with this show if only because I like both Sento and Ryuga. Solid leads with solid actors with solid world building. This show has a good foundation. Hope they can build something great on it.


Random thought:
-The opening almost works. Like Ghost's theme, Be the One has a super long build up, but unlike Ghost's theme, Be the One has a good chorus. The problem is the visuals are suddenly to slow when the chorus kicks in. A lot of the issues can be fixed as they replace some of it with forms and Claws. All that said, the best put of the opening is shaking the bottles to the beat.

-I enjoyed the life story gag. It was just dumb enough to make me laugh.

-In general, I'm seeing a lot of Agito between Pandora's Box, Sento being an amnesiac, Sento living with a father and daughter household, and said daughter has mysterious powers (and the dad to, unlike Agito). Ryuga...I'll get to him.

-Loved the Guardians being dumb robots. Sento's cell phone trick should've never worked.

-We've already seen Ryuuga's actor act with his hands in Amazons, now we get foot acting!

-The more they call him "Bat Man" the more I want him to wear a cape.

-Hey, it's an Amazons set.

-MATH VISION!...wonder if they're make toys of that...

-If this show has a negative, there's a lack of punch in the action. Build smashing the robots and fading into a new scene is the best example of this, but a lot of the action seems this way. I still like the action, it just could use more polish.

-Small detail that I liked: Ryuga steals Build's sword. It's on his bike after he knocked out Sento. They never address it either, but it does show that Ryuga was thinking a weapon was a good thing to have right now.

-I didn't think the first use of Dust Bunny form would be in a mercy killing.

-So far Ryuga's life is pain. Ryuga is the new Kamen Rider Gills (And he's going to become Claws. Huh). He's an athlete who loses everything. His career, his freedom, his love. Someone get this man a puppy!...and don't kill it in a the novel sequel (Still mad about that).

-I want to talk more about Sento. He's the kind of protagonist I like. Somewhat easy going, but he's serious when needed. He gets rough with Ryuga when Ryuga gave up. I feel this early in the show, most Riders would take to laugh it off or just drag him out of there with no words. Instead Sento asks a very important question that kicks Ryuga out of his moment of despair.

-Sento's hair gimmick doesn't happen in this episode. Odd for the 2nd episode, but seeing how forced character gimmicks have been recently, I'm glad they're already using it when suitable rather then forcing it.


This was a strong episode even if a it feels a bit rushed in places. I don't mean that in necessarily a bad way either. This felt like the first episode of a Showa series where they get to the tragedy pretty quickly so you understand what drives the characters to be superheroes.

PS Dammit, I just noticed I used build puns in this post. That wasn't intentional. This is going to be ToQger all over again.

Holy pacing issues Batman. This felt like they crammed two episodes in one.

That aside, I thought it was a great episode. It was fun, energetic, especially when Sentou pushed Ryuga's flashback away. The fight was all right, but it served its purpose. Although, the vaccumm form kind of sucked. I'm liking the feel of these Smash Bros, especially Bat Industrial Complex Man.

Oh, the moment when he was being chased by the cops, hides behind the wood or whatever and when the bots come over there they just see Sentou was priceless.

That, or for someone to follow with "I am Vengence, I am the Night" :lol

I am the Night Rogue.

God that sounds like a stripper name.

But it has to be in the voice of Tommy Wiseau from the room. :lolol

Well, to be fair, the Ex-aid actually keeps a lot of the same colors in all of his forms after Mighty Brothers. Maybe not so much in Max's case, but I'd say the keyslasher looks really cool in Muteki's hands, arguably better than Mighty Brothers themselves. Certainly couldn't see him using the Breaker, if we're going to bring up clashing color schemes. Besides, it still ends up getting used by Genm instead, so, eh, whatever. Fairs better than the Sparrow or Magnum at least, although at least the latter kind of falling to the wayside makes sense, considering how Bang-Bang Simulations is.