See, I actually think Kousuke is holding the show back a little. If he were more serious (and we lost Shunpei), Haruto could have the more serious Rider series that he's supposed to be in instead of this odd beast that can't decide if it wants to be serious drama or goofball comedy.

And Haruto can definitely hold down the show on his own. He's one of the best main Riders we've had in years, second only to Shotaro.

I feel the contrary. Haruto really can't hold a show, in my opinion.

I... disagree with that to a point so sharp I just poked my eye out. Youre arguement has blinded me.

I think the problem a lot of people have with Haruto is that he's a really subdued character. Coming off of year after year of Riders who were in one way or another really over-the-top, it's odd to have a hero who isn't shouting his head off, hugely overreacting to everything, or waving around his underpants all over the place. Haruto, to me, is at least as likable as any of those characters, he's just more willing to get down to business - in a lot of ways he's probably the most old school Rider of the entire Heisei era. He reminds me a lot of guys like Kazami Shiro or Jo Shigeru. As a big Showa fan I really enjoy that. The problem is that this isn't the kind of hero that a lot of people are used to in Kamen Rider anymore.

I also like how he can do comedy, but he does so in a much more subtle way than the last few Riders. The shoe bit in the first Mayu episode, for example, was great.

I like Underpants Hermit, Fedora Detective, and Greaser Astronaut!

You know Haruto reminds me of? Troy.

ok, OOO 14, were they goin for a freddy krueger thing here? :lol

I like all of those characters, too. Shotaro's great, Gentaro is fun, and Eiji is really likable. I just think that Haruto makes for a stronger protagonist than the latter two.

And Haruto is stoic as a stylistic choice, Troy is stoic because he can't act. There's a difference.

And if you're going to tell me that Shunya Shiraishi can't act, go back and watch the Mayu episodes or the first episode with Infinite. Then feel ashamed.

He can act, there's nothing wrong with that.
Hell, there's nothing wrong with a subdued performance. One of the reasons why I loved Hajime in Blade was because he wasn't so...Loud.

But it just seems Wizard isn't the right series for Haruto. He's trying to be subtle in a series that wants to be over the top, and as a result, he's having a hard time carrying the show.

Yeah, this is exactly what is keeping Wizard overall at the mid-tier level for me. Unless the last ten episodes absolutely blow my mind it's going to end up in the middle of the pack for me, alongside shows like Fourze and Kabuto.

Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, that's probably where Wizard will be ranked for me, too.
Better than Decade, at least.