Yep.
And Black takes it up a notch further.
They should seriously consider ova-ing Ishinomori titles again.
Kikaider was perfect in capturing that classic aesthetic.

To be fair, he warms up more and more throughout the show, especially with Kagami

Adding to what you said he had his vulnerable moments.

It still really isn't that much in the grand scheme of things.

True, but it's there. I also get really defensive about Tendou when people say he has no flaws and is a Mary Sue

Bumping into the discussion but I want to ask something. Can someone give any list of main Riders who ACTUALLY still used their lower and weaker forms from the 1st quarter during the time on the 3rd quarter or when the Final Form? Seeing main Riders nowadays, I'm thinking about any Riders who still didn't forget he had some useful forms.

Kabuto did, he even used Masked Form after his final form to trick an opponent.

Blade pretty much never stopped using Ace Form until the very end, IIRC.

Pretty much all the Riders before Den-O primarily used their main forms for most of the series.

That's actually something I was thinking about the other day: I miss the days when Riders had to actually train in order to fight more powerful monsters. I really fondly remember all the episodes where V3, Black, or Kuuga went through extra training in order to become better fighters. Nowadays any time a Rider meets an overwhelming foe it's just an excuse to roll out the newest form change gimmick.

That's a big reason King Form will always be so special to me. Kenzaki has to earn it in a climactic fight that proves he doesn't need it, rather than getting it and then using it in a climactic fight.

The fight against the king of spades simply can't beat most fights. One of the most memorable fights in KR