Accel and Akio improve when they start building a relationship.

That's good to hear. I'm looking forward to it!

He's basically like Zeronos where it takes a while to warm up to him.

Just checked out the first episode of Hibiki - wow, that is surprisingly arty for a tokusatsu! Great editing, really risky sound design, beautiful, atmospheric, cinematography - you wanna talk about thinking outside the box, Hibiki just about throws the box away! Will definitely take some getting used to as it is SO unlike all other Rider shows but it's definitely going to be watched sooner than later. That fight in the trees was amazing.

Be warned. Hibiki loses that later because Toei didn't like how Hibiki went over budget

Hibiki is so great. I got sucked into it so much that I couldn't bring myself to finish it after the change.

Yeah, I read elsewhere that it changes pretty radically mid-20's. I'm honestly not surprised, the show doesn't look cheap OR all that kid friendly (not in terms of violence but the tone is just... unique), certainly Toei were like "this isn't art - it's Kamen Rider, dammit - let's sell some toys!".

I was actually surprised by how much it was still the same but it really does lose a lot of the flavor. The upside is that the last episode before the switch in writers (among other things), 29, is a great done-in-one episode all about Asumu. It really felt like the show's way of saying farewell before everything goes to crap.

I actually held out for about 6 or 7 episodes afterwards before in the middle of the one I was watching the thought just sort of hit me that "wow, this show is kind of terrible now". Considering how positive I am about Kamen Rider, that's kind of a big deal. I think there are redeeming qualities to the retool but it has the fatal flaw of not being Hibiki.

Armed Hibiki is a really great final form because of how symbolic it is on a meta level. They took the drummer and gave him a sword simply because the other guys had swords. Nevermind how little sense it makes.

Honestly I'm mostly angry giving him that sword meant he stopped using his drumsticks as Lightsabers. That was Hibiki's coolest trick. :lol

Yep, and toy sales were really bad with Hibiki. It sucks that it didn't end the way it was meant to, but at least we got the good 29 episodes.

Yeah, it's definitely the "smart kids" Kamen Rider. To paraphrase an old Mr. Show quip: "We had some fun, we had some laughs and, sometimes, we even made people think... and that's when the ratings tanked".

This. I didn't think the Hibiki retool was a huge nosedive and I stuck through it till the end, but yeah, if you liked what Hibiki was for 29 episodes it's disappointing to see the things that made it special either go away or be downplayed so much.

And the final battle is an even bigger cop out than not getting to see Ultimate Kuuga use his Rider Kick. For the record, I actually kinda appreciate Kuuga's final two episodes more in hindsight and plan a Kuuga rewatch.

Also, if you're familiar at all with Heisei Kamen Rider, you can totally tell Toshiki Inoue took over the writing at the exact moment Kiriya becomes a character in the show.

Started a Black RX rewatch this week. I remember after seeing Black and Black RX the first time round, I somehow ended up liking Black RX more. Earlier this year I rewatched Black on account of getting hold of it in HD from the Bluray releases, and I adored everything about it. So I thought I'd see the sequel again... I'm not liking it as much. On one level it's nice to see things get better for Kotaro after everything he went through, but also jarring.

So I'm where Ryuki gets Survive and the show is getting really good (not like it wasn't before)! The humor and drama are top-notch and none of it is out of place. I have a theory Odin is planning to have the other Riders kill each other and then murder the last one to get the wish and save Yui.

Never a bad thing to hear someone getting into Ryuki. I always really liked the Ore Journal guys. They're very wacky and yet never clash with the tone of the rest of the show. It's just a simple trick of having them be removed from a lot of the plot but it really works wonders.

Love Ryuki. That, Blade and Gaim are tops in my book (Hibiki will likely join this group); the shows that are aimed more toward a "young adult" audience. I don't want to say they're more "realistic" than other Rider series (they're not) but, I guess they don't take the viewer to be incapable of dealing with messed up, unpleasant, complicated storylines.

What really works for me with Ryuki is that the world it takes place in is only a few shades off from our own - tangible, unlike Gaim or Ghost (or the whacko anime reality EX-Aid seems poised to give us) which may as well take place on different planets altogether.


Speaking of... watching the first episode of Ghost yesterday (I respect the Fish, so thought I'd give'er another go), I realized my problem with it is that it's a true "kids" show. Recognizing that and watching it as a "kiddie drama", it's actually a lot better - you just have to bear with the corniness, cutesy-ness and exposition-o-rama-ness. It's still got some great ideas and the suits are great. Will I watch the entire thing?

Eventually, I'm sure, but not as a priority.

I really admire that vibe with the early Heisei stuff. It's why I always describe them as "soap-operas". Hibiki is probably the best example of it. As much as I like the new stuff too, I'd LOVE to see a new Kamen Rider show in that style again.

<3~

That was actually a problem I had with it too at first, believe it or not. It felt even more "childish" than most Neo-Heisei stuff. They even write the characters' given names in Katakana in the credits (it's a big deal!). What is this, Super Sentai?

But it became clear eventually I wasn't giving it enough credit. Ghost's style may be a bit off, but it's still got the same heart as ever. It can get surprisingly heavy for how cutesy it looks at times. It's still very much Kamen Rider at its core. I imagine Ex-Aid will be the same way.

You're probably right - EX-Aid also has a very 'mainstream anime' feel to it that Ghost also has (lending to the unreality I was speaking of); not a bad thing but, skewing younger. And, sure it can get heavy - it's still melodramatica, but toned for kids.

I think they're trying this with Amazons but season one was too hermetically sealed within the world of the Nozama Peston Service to really feel as "open" as Ryuki or Hibiki. I'm hoping that season two gets into the civilian Amazons world a bit more - good way to explore the global refugee crisis, now that I think of it.

Ryuki does feel like ti takes place in the real world, but why not Gaim? Is it because of the massive corporation in that one area being unrealsitic, the dance teams, the way the characters act?

I love this about the Heisei era too. Something I love about certain shows is that the tone it uses can create such a palpable feeling or atmosphere. Attack on Titan and Gundam Unicorn being some examples. I think Faiz, despite all of its problems, has a sort of atmosphere to it unlike any other Rider show. I think it has to do with just it focusing more on the fucked up parts of soceity, or at least in that world.

Pretty much, yeah.

I think it mostly comes down to the limited episode count. Amazons has to stay focused on its narrative but a show like Ryuki can feel free to "waste" time because it airs once a week for an entire year. If they want to focus on Shinji's hunt for a place to sleep for a while or some other boring thing it's no big deal.

Well from my perspective it's a simple matter of style. Gaim starts out pretty slow but by the time the apocalypse starts happening halfway through it's way too busy to make time for the ever critical boring normal stuff. It also has those same annoying ed-ed-editing gags Drive had which makes it come off a bit cartoony at times. Not that that's a bad thing! I just think Gaim is way more in line with the Neo-Heisei shows than the older ones.

Faiz was REALLY about the character drama. That's always what made me love it so much. The conflicts in it were on a more personal level instead of the simple "oh hey a monster" stuff in other shows. "Soap-opera" is how I describe the early Heisei shows in general but Faiz really owns that title.

So has Ghost become a show worth watching once it is over or should I just forget about giving it a second chance?

Forget it, Dr Kain. It's Kamen Rider Ghost.

I doubt it would be up your alley. It has its qualities but if you even have to ask that question the show won't do anything to win you over.

Or you could say that... :(

I just love to paraphrase that quote from Chinatown. :lol

So, feeling that I finally needed to move on after watching Gaim (all those feels) I decided to pick up Kabuto.

I made the right decision.

Cool - I'm waiting for this to show up in the mail. Go Blade next!

Okay, but jokes aside, I'm asking if the show's story is worth it? Did they tone down Not-Krillin's goofiness? Did the girl finally stop spouting that ghost can't be real?

No, and yes, in that order.
The main difference from the early episodes is all the mysteries were revealed to be bland and full of plot holes.

No, no, and yes, respectively.

I completely enjoy Ghost so I feel it's worth the watch.

Now onto the other show I am enjoying that I actually had time to watch:

Amazon Episode 8: Masahiko is one of the best kids in Toku, he's caring, wants to help, and has great instincts. He knew right away Gedon was attacking the school. Also he helped Amazon with his Sister's help get free from the angry people who thought that the guy who can't make a coherent sentence captured the kids lol. Amazon himself was great I loved him learning with the harmonica and making music with the other kid he met. Also he was brutal in his fight with the Crocodile Beastman and his fights have just been getting better as the season as progressed so far. Great to the Mole Beastman still being helpful and supportive to Amazon. Tachibana is fun and a little more helpful this time around. I can't wait for more.

Love Amazon! Rocking my Amazon t-shirt today, in fact!

Man I need to get around to Amazon. He was always my favorite classic Rider (weird design + cute noises = pure awesome) and I always found the whole history of the show interesting.

I watched like four episodes back in 2012 and I don't know why I didn't finish it because they were great. When I finally get around to watching the Showa series I think it's going first. Black can wait.

Don't bother with the Malay Amazon DVD, they're sourced from some really rough .mp4's - looking like they were ripped of Youtube or something.

I love the goofy graphic violence. Bizarre!

In real life, I can't imagine viral street dancers and drug dealers in smoothie shops. Ryuki seems more real since the monsters are in mirrors and not the real world, which makes it a little more plausible.

Don't forget the giant, corporate, carnival death swing in the center of the city!

Fixed it for you.

I'm currently watching Ghost. Got two episodes left of it then I think I might start Ex-Aid,

Finished the awesomesauce that was Kamen Rider Blade tonight!!! God I love that ending. Next week I make my friends suffer through Missing Ace. All I have to do is find fansubs from a BD rip of the Director's Cut because it seems like Nihon only did the regular edition.

I wouldn't say it's something you suffer through as long as you approach it like a Marvel What If comic.

Got it. Approach it like a subpar alternate telling of a way better story that has no real reason to exist other than wasting your time. :p

Disclaimer: I thought Missing Ace was alright. I find it improves with each rewatch.

I loved Missing Ace - pretty sure I got the director's cut that I have from Kissasian.