Up to Episode 40 of Faiz now.

So this last little arc regarding Takumi as an orphenoc and him doubting himself and a big series of misunderstandings and misleadings and all that...well, I did LOVE the twist. It was almost out of nowhere, though there were a few things leading up to it so it wasn't a complete "pull out of the ass" twist, but done really well. I wasn't super fond of how long they dragged on Takumi doubting himself, and questioning his humanity. I mean I get that he was misled by Murakami and that was a big part of it, but even after Mari explained to him what really happened you'd think he'd come to. Yeah yeah, Sawada lost his humanity, but he wanted to give it up. Still, it wasn't a bad arc, and being that this is apparently the arc that was leading up to Faiz getting his final form, it's one of the better final form arcs we've had.

Speaking of forms, Accel form was pretty cool but uh...it wasn't really all that well used. We've only really seen it a few times, and the last time it was used by Kiba it didn't even DO anything. I get it was meant to show how powerful Kitazaki is, but what a way to waste an upgrade form. I'm glad the concept was revisited as Kabuto's main gimmick at least, since it was just completely underutilized here.

Also, my God is Mihara useless. Delta was built up for so long and made out to be so powerful and so badass and...one of the most worthless possible characters ends up with the belt. I would have so much rather have had Keitaro or even Kaido or Kiba end up with the Delta gear.

I'm also rather impressed that the show has managed to defy my expectations so often. I was seriously expecting something to happen and completely set Kiba off, that he was going to end up being our big bad this season and there would be a huge conflict between him and Faiz, with them finding out the other's identity either being the setting off point or being the big "oh my God" moment when all is said and done or something...I really did expect there to end up being some big conflict between the "hero" orphenocs and the main cast, I mean they definitely fought but they've managed to stay friends through it all. And as I've said before I really do like the drama that dynamic gave the earlier half of the season.

Something else I've enjoyed was the passing around of the rider gear. While in most seasons it would just feel kinda wrong, being that there is usually some connection between the belt and the rider, with the techy theme of this show and the belts having their own purpose and not really being something meant to be tied to someone, it's a nice element and we get to see a few different people don the suits every now and then, and hell we even get to see a girl in the suit at one point, even if she does just get her ass kicked.

Getting down to the wire, with 11 episodes (counting episode 40) to go. The plot really hasn't been much of a thing really though. For the majority of the show it was Smart Brain trying to get the Faiz belt, then the Faiz and Kaixa belts, then it was "who has the Delta belt", then it was getting the belts back from Smart Brain, and Smart Brain trying to get a fourth member of Lucky Clover, then it was all a big misunderstanding. We're entering the endgame or at least getting close to it and there isn't really much of an overall direction at this point. We've had a few twists and some mysteries solved/revealed, but there are still quite a few unanswered questions and it just doesn't feel like this is all leading up to something.

I know Hibiki gets a bad rep for having a similar problem, but that season wasn't about the conflict (and I've said this before) but the show was about Asumu and coming of age and etc. Whereas Faiz has basically all been about the conflict and defeating the orphenocs and..I guess that's where it's heading, trying to take down Smart Brain?

Mihara is probably the most forgettable major Kamen Rider of all time. I am constantly forgetting that he existed.

Totally agree. There were a million different candidates for the Delta gear, and they instead write up a totally new character for it. Delta was probably my favorite suit in Faiz and I really wish I would have actually cared about the character in it.

In my Figuarts collection, he'll forever be Kitazaki. At least that way, he could remain a kinda cool villain.

I just watched the Wizard X Gaim movie and it was better than I expected. Wizard's segment wasn't boring since it wasn't stuck in the mad libs formula and Gaim's was good, everyone was pretty much in character and acting like they should be. Also enjoyed the previous actor cameos.

So I just saw the episode with Infinity's intro and a I have to say here is that the driver should SHUT UP!!!!

I rewatched that scene the other day, I forgot how great it is. First it really showcases that Haruto really does have emotions, in the plainest way possible for everyone who in the audience found the dry, downplayed way they went about his character too hard to comprehend. Plus Infinity is a WAY better design than I remember it being, and that introductory action sequence is excellent.

God I really wanna rewatch Wizard, wasn't someone rereleasing them in HD?

The Infinity belt noise is about the only one I like, because it sounds like a spell being cast rather than just the same word(s) repeated over and over.

Eh. I still can't get over the lack of explanation behind the Infinity ring: Haruto cries out a ring on to his finger - I guess it came from mana mustered up by his willpower and too many feels... or something - and dragon comes back because the audience clapped together and believed hard enough. I haven't watched the episode since it aired, but it all just seemed nonsensical to me. Regardless of how it got here, Infinity is one of my favorite final form designs. So awesome.

Infinity is the embodiment of his OWN power not the Phantom within him where he's been drawing all his power from up until this point. The Dragon comes back, because he's so blown away by Haruto's strength of heart that he's willing to add to Infinity's own power. It's like the one hundred percent synchronisation thing from Shaman King. The two power sources, fully in sync.

The only bit I'm not all that clear of is where the line is drawn between the two, when Haruto first uses the weapon he says "come on Dragon" so I dunno whether it's meant to imply that Dragon's extension of the power is literally in the shape of that weapon?

It's a damned shame too because the Delta suit is freaking awesome.

Aye, the suit looks so damn cool, and Delta was built up so much and they made such a big deal out of it. It was completely wasted, just like Accel form was for Faiz, but at least that didn't have the kinda build up that the Delta gear received.

And yeah, Kitazaki was the best thing about Delta. He made that suit look good, especially with his mannerisms. I think he's probably one of my favorite villains in the show. Though his whiny streak after getting beat did put me off a touch. I mean I get why he got like that, but it still annoyed me a bit because it's so cliche.

I really liked the scene as well. It's one of my favorite scenes in the season honestly. I loved the chanting "infinity" over and over personally. Then again, I think I'm the only person that didn't completely hate the Wizardriver's sounds in general.

So, finished episode 43 and we FINALLY after almost an entire season get the payoff for all the close calls and all the anticipation between Keitaro and Yuka and I'm quite happy with the way it paid off. Especially because of the awesome cat fight between Yuka and Saeko, mrow! And that embrace at the end, pulled the heart strings a bit.

It just truly feels like an extension of Haruto's own inner strength which is what it is meant to be. From the way it looks more like a knight than the other forms to how downplayed it fights despite the awesome shit it is doing, it's just perfect really.

Plus it just looks cool hahaha.

That too. :lol

Eh. It was always my least favorite of the three main suits from Faiz. I honestly prefer Orga to it, too.

Delta always just seemed so bulky to me due to has triangular design and the bold white lines. It just made him look a little too big. The actual Faiz suit is one of my least favorites, but I prefer it over to Delta.

I think Faiz had pretty great suits all round. The action was like the only reason to watch that show.

Watched Wizard in Magic Land and it was better than I expected, a combination of low expectations and breaking out of the episodic formula that plagued Wizard.

Just finished episode 45 of Faiz.

Things have taken yet another dark turn. Yuka's death the episode prior and the ramifications of that were pretty major events, incredibly tragic and the thing to finally push Kiba over the edge. Sad to see it finally happen honestly. They're introducing a lot of mysteries and ideas here in the endgame though, and that is always a risky thing to do. I dunno if the show will be able to pull it off.

Watching the Fourze/OOO Mega Max movie right now. Kamen Rider Aqua really intrigues me...do you guys think they could build something off of him, or would it be too late to? I think a Kamen Rider Aqua series could be big time for Toei.

We watched teh first episode of Hibiki yesterday. It is so nice to see the show clearly and it was pretty good for a first episode. I've grown to appreciate this series more than I did when it first aired. I love the cinematography, use of sound, and the way they cut the scenes up.

I know someone was doing a discussion on the KR movies a few pages back but I was too busy at the time to really pay attention. For me, the movies are pretty much bad, really bad.

Here are the movies I have seen and my grade of them:

Black 1 - 6/10
Black 2 - 7/10
Agito - 7/10
Ryuki - 7/10
555 - 3/10
Blade - 3/10
Kiva - 4/10
Decade - 2/10
W - 7/10
OOO - 6/10
Fourze - 6/10

The biggest problem I have with the movies are they are flat out boring. A lot of them run about 20 minutes longer than they need to be, while the Sentai movies run 20 minutes shorter than they should be. Each movie should run at about 50 minutes rather than a 30 minute movie and a 90 minute movie, especially when one cannot even develop a plot and the other's plot is so paper thin that half the movie is spent on convoluted banter. Or there are those movies that try to throw too much in when half of the movie cast is irrelevant and just there to die.

EDIT: Crap, I just realized I double posted. Oops, my bad.

Black Episode 12: Wow Road Sector is a beast, with how fast it can go, and I really like the top part that goes over it too. Just like Super-1 I like both of Black's bikes right now. I really like the connections between Akira Daimon and Kotaro with both of their parents being involved with Golgom but didn't want their sons to be involved with them. I love how Kotaro convinced him to let himself deal with getting revenge then have his son do it. Also I love that Kotaro always made sure they were save before he went on attacking. I love how the Golgom priests get more involved with some of the fights too. I also love seeing Kotaro using his cybernetic abilities when he isn't transformed like his super-hearing and being able to hear the motorcycle and Bat Mutant. Great to get back to this after not being able to from the weekend.

I actually feel the biggest problem with most movies is that they tend to take place in an AU, which instantly throws out any connection I feel to a character since they're acting completely differently or they're in an entirely new situation and setting.
I'm liking that, recently, they tend to take place in canon (To an extent) with the actual series. Despite DVD release and subs meaning I get to watch them far, far later than their intended place in the series, it's nice to see that the movies aren't immediately written off.

This. Every word.

I have absolutely no interest in the upcoming Gaim movie precisely because it's completely non-canon. W and Fourze really did a great job with their films and it sucks to see the franchise backsliding into AUs again.

Imho, AU isn't bad as long as it tells a cool story. The early Heisei movies were not that exciting, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to the Gaim movie, basically because it will also feature characters that we didn't see much of because the died early, namely Hase and Yuya. I'll just wait and see and then judge the movie for what it is and not for what I would've wanted it to be.

I, on the other hand, really like AUs and fully embrace them. It was interesting in Blade's to see how things could have turned out if events went differently, and in the case of Kabuto's it was a chance to make an all round (if not rushed) better product.

That isn't to say I dislike canon movies, but I really like seeing characters set in completely different scenarios.

I like the movies personally, and I don't mind the AU aspect either. Paradise Lost to me is an example of a perfect rider movie and AU story. Heck it handled some of the show's plot points better then the show itself, plus it also made the story a bit more interesting IMO.

I kind of have that same problem too, with the exceptions of the Agito's which kind of fits in somewhere there and Kabuto's which is technically a prequel kind of. I hated Blade's (Though I might rewatch it because I don't think I'll hate it as much) and enjoyed Faiz's. I mean out of all the movies I've watched I think the AU ones even if they don't fit in are better than say the OOO Wonderful movie (Which is one of my favorites) it happened but you never see Burakawani form in the series even though if the movie did happen then Eiji should have the medals to go into the form, so I know he uses them later appearances so I'll just say they forgot about them. Though I wish a lot of the movie Exclusive Riders appeared in the series even in different ways than the movie. Though the Decade/All Riders movie and the OOO/Den-O/All Riders movie were both very excellent and took place with the series and didn't introduce anything that wasn't used later. I mean I don't think they kept the Imagin medal or whatever.
I love the movies though especially when you watch them later after it's been a while since you've seen the series. I just rather the movies be either AU movies, or have exclusives that show up in the show later than just in the movie and forgotten about in the show.

Just finished episode 48 of Faiz.

Damn.

First, gonna say I'm still not sure how I feel about the Orphenoc King plot, it was something that had a bit of mention earlier, but it still feels like a bit of a "we need some kind of endgame scenario" pull from the ass, especially since it came up so late in the game.

The far far more interesting thing has been Kiba's fall. It has been handled incredibly well, built up over the course of the entire series, was fairly believable, tragic, and one of the high points for the series I think. And it is accompanied with Kusaka's death. It was absolutely brutal and..I almost felt something, almost. But he was just such an unlikable character and a lot of the dick moves he pulled..you really don't ever get any kind of reason or justification. He didn't want Takumi and Kiba getting closer because he Faiz having allies and getting stronger was an inconvenience for him...umm, why? I may have just glossed over or missed the reasoning behind it, but all we ever really got from him was he has some deeper reason and agenda for why he was doing these things, but aside from wanting revenge and to protect Mari, yeah there really was no good reason to do just about any of the dick things he did. I can understand his distrust for the Orphenocs, even when he was a complete dick to Takumi about it it was at least somewhat understandable, but..I digress.

Getting to the final run here, two episodes remain.

This is what frustrates me most about Ryuki. When Odin first appears, he specifically says that he's the last of the 13 Riders, yet only 10 riders show up in the actual series. Then, at the end, Knight is crowned as the sole survivor of the Kamen Riders , so are we to just assume that the 3 we didn't see just died off-screen and never once interacted with the main series Riders?

So, I finally found myself watching the first episode of Hibiki... It was interesting to say the least.

It's definitely not like the other Rider shows, and I had to re-watch the first couple of minutes because I was caught flat-footed by the random musical number.

Still, I'm digging the Rider design (though not so much the monster ones), and Hibiki himself seems like a pretty chill guy. I'm gonna have to watch more of it.

Well, it is a giant war. It's reasonable to make that assumption.

I can understand that. The build up to it was definitely better than when it actually happened. That said, there had to be some breaking point that finally pushed him over the edge, and I feel that Yuka's death was probably the strongest thing they could have gone with to act as such. His initial reaction was also quite believable, completely overtaken with emotion, seeking out revenge and for the first time in a long time attacking humans to vent his anger and frustration. It was what followed that, how quickly he just sorta accepted it and became the major villain that was a bit poorly executed, that was very Anakin in RotS I think.

Finished episode 49. Not a ton to say about it, the episode as a whole wasn't particularly strong.

Kitazaki's death was unfortunate. He was amongst my favorite villains this season simply for his mannerisms and he was just an interesting character. I also wish that he had had either a more meaningful death or at least a more memorable one. Hell, even despite my hatred for Kusaka I almost wish at least he had had the opportunity to get his revenge against him because at least then Kitazaki's death would have been something beyond food for the King.

And again, I really am not feeling the King plot.

The only real noteworthy things about this episode were the scene where Takumi tells Mari and Keitaro about Kusaka's death and some of the revelations to/between characters.

I also feel like this is a good time to talk a bit about someone that has become a surprising favorite from the cast for me. Kaido. I wasn't really sure what to think about him when we were first introduced to him early in the show. Hell, I didn't even know if he was going to be a permanent addition to the cast or not. He had a really strong story early on, passing his musical legacy on, that was really well done. The love rectangle with him, Mari, Yuka, and Keitaro was done better than I'd have expected, and his antics with Keitaro were quite fun, and I really enjoyed their friendship. And his arc with Terou has done a lot to mature him and was again handled pretty well. Definitely going to be interested with how that goes given what we know.

Probably more I can say, but I only have one episode left so I shall hold off until after then.

Time to open my eyes for the final Faiz.

Kamen Rider Black Episode 15


So Black's MOTW this episode is a Turtle...Mutant.



....nope, too easy.

And as the credits roll to the sounds of the excellent "Justi-faiz" another season comes to its end.

Kamen Rider Faiz was the 6th full season of Kamen Rider I have watched from start to finish. Of the seasons, it was far and away the darkest and most dramatic, topping Ryuki, which previously held that distinction. It featured an extraordinary cast of characters, both heroes and villains, and incredible action.

The characters and drama were definitely where Faiz excelled the most, and the way the two were interwoven was nothing short of superb. Some of my favorite moments came from the interactions between our heroes and the main cast of orphenocs, the dramatic irony of knowing the two were rival factions and that there would come a point where things would come to a head added some real tension to the earlier stages of the show as the characters and their relationships grew and developed.

The action is also worth mentioning, Faiz has some of the strongest action scenes of any toku that I have seen at least.

The overall techy theme of the riders was really interesting and something I would like to see explored again. The belts being treated as something that actually has to be carried around and the risk and burden that poses was refreshing after getting so used to riders being able to pull their magical henshin device out of their ass with no risk of ever losing it, or worse having the enemy got hold of it. That was another interesting aspect, the belts were not locked to any one specific individual, being able to see different personalities behind each suit was something I think was only really done again in Kabuto, and it added a nice dynamic. Another thing I enjoyed was how all of the different attacks and gadgets had at least some semblance of, not necessarily realism, but you at least can see how they work and why. It made for a relatively grounded season, which was a smart move given the tone and style of it.

I firmly stand by my belief that the orphenocs, particularly the main three, are the strongest set of villains (and in their particular case I do use the term villain lightly) we've ever had. You actually feel for them as characters, they have interesting story arcs and growth and development, you actually care about what happens to them. The Lucky Clover orphenocs were a touch less interesting, with Kitazaki being the only one that really really stood out to me. Saeko was alright, but more or less your typical femme fatale. Mr. J wasn't around long enough to leave too much of an impression, and the relationship between him and his dog seemed like there may have been an interesting story to it, one that we never got. I can't even really recall the name of the other one, he went from being kinda badass to a shivering coward and seemed to soften the major villains a tad too much. Sawada was a fun wildcard, his earliest appearances were quite cool, and he played an important part in some major character arcs. Murakami was a pretty decent mastermind/main villain role player, the actor did a good job and he was always a fun, charismatic..character to watch.

Takumi really grew on me as a rider. He had some good ups and downs in his development. The big twist with him was unexpected, but done in just the right way, especially given that the hints were there if you could catch them. Kusaka was probably my least favorite character in the season, amongst my least favorite characters in the franchise. I've said my spiel on him before and have nothing to add really. Mihara was just straight up useless. Disgraceful how they built up the Delta gear and then stick it with just about the least worthy person on the show. I'd have rather it stay with the orphenocs or gone to just about anyone else besides him. I may have hated Kusaka, but at least he added something to the show.

I already said what I really had to say about Kaido and Kiba previously with little to add now.

Going into the finale a bit. I do see why people were not happy with the ending, if you can call it that. Hibiki ending as it did I totally got and was totally behind it, the conflict the riders were involved in was ongoing before the season started and was not the main focus of the show, there was no need for it to end just because Asumu's story and involvement in it did. Faiz basically introduces it's major plot points near the tail end of the series, quickly sorta wraps them up, and gives us a cliffhanger we're likely to never actually see anything come of.

Kiba was a bit over the top as well, particularly with the experimentation on Takumi and the flip flopping after having his life spared. I get they were trying to go for a redemption angle, showing that, as Takumi said, Kiba was still human, but I honestly didn't buy it. I felt him killing Kusaka the way he did was him truly letting go of his humanity. I didn't expect him to survive the series, but I really felt that Kiba's death should have come at the hands of Takumi in their final battle. Cut out the Orphenoc King nonsense entirely while we're at it.

Takumi finding his dream was a nice way to end things, and it falling in line with Keitaro's felt fitting enough.

Yeah, not much else I really have to say. Most anything I can think to add I brought up in previous posts, and I don't feel necessarily needs to be repeated here.

Final thoughts, I really enjoyed Faiz. It wasn't quite on the same level as Ryuki was for me, not even quite there with Hibiki, but I'd probably put it above just about everything else. The story was the only really weak aspect, the series was really driven more by the drama and the characters, with the plot coming mostly as an afterthought it felt.

If I were to rank everything I've watched up this point...

Ryuki
Hibiki
Faiz
W
Fourze
Wizard

Gaim is still ongoing so I don't feel it is fair to include it amongst the rankings just yet. It's been a very strong season, but it could still totally drop the ball and fall flat on its face before it finishes its run.

Kabuto is the only other season I've watched more than a few episodes of, but certainly not enough to rank it at all.

Kiva and OOO I've started a few times but never got more than a few episodes into. Den-O I think I only made it passed the first or second.

And that brings me to the obvious question. What do I watch from here? I know I probably should get back to watching Kabuto, but I'm not really feeling it quite right now.

OOO may deserve a second real shot. So many people seem to just love it, I really couldn't get into it when I attempted to.

Kiva I'll watch at some point, but now is not the time.

Also not really looking to watch any showa era seasons right now.

Given my tastes, what would you guys suggest?

Blade. If you liked Ryuki and Faiz you'll love Blade. My favorite Rider series. There’s a lot of people that says the show bores them though so your mileage may vary.

Gotta go with this. Blade is terrific. Has a slow start, but once it gets going, it REALLY gets going.

I still personally wouldn't call Faiz that dark of a show. True it's dark that you never see any sort of judicial action taken against the Orphenochs (especially Yuji and Yuka), but it's not that big of a thing to me. They're the villains and they're bound to do horrible things. The human forms for a lot of the main ones is just a mask used to help move around the world and lure the victims in. The Orphenochs just do what all the other kaijin do and just hide in a human form.

The drama is the best aspect though. Toku is indeed J-Drama with super heroes, and Faiz is the best example of that. I honestly forgot I was watching a Kamen Rider show at times and to be frank, if you took out the toku elements it would be a pretty nice drama. The characters vary in terms of quality, but a good few are pretty good. The action's amazing and the music is great. The only con is as many will state is the story.

As for suggestions, Agito, Agito all the way. It has that Kuuga-Blade vibe to it which if you like Ryuki and Faiz, you'll enjoy in these others. Not only that but it is single handidly the best tokusatsu program and one of the best TV shows I have ever seen.

I wouldn't necessarily say that. To me, the Orphnochs in Faiz are more comparable to, say, the mutants in X-Men, than a lot of the typical Toku kaijin. There's some that want to live in peace amongst humans and use their powers to protect them, like Kiba's group and Takumi, then there's extremists on both sides; those who think Orphnochs are the future of the 'human' race, like Smart Brain and its affiliates, and those who despise the orphnochs and want to get rid of them, like Kusaka. It's an interesting dynamic for me.