As long as the story ends well I don't care how long it is. I mean I want it to go longer obviously but if it ends in the 30's or if it ends in the 40's makes no difference to me.

I how it goes for 40 because I would more episodes for Zack/Knuckle and more development of some of the characters.

I honestly wouldn't mind if it ended early. Gaim has for the most part played a good chunk of it's cards since episode 1, so carrying it on for 50 or more could possibly end up in some lackluster stuff. I think ending it near the 40 45 mark would be a really smart idea.

The show has been excellent up to now and I'd really prefer it to end on a solid note than be drug out. If it ends early it ends early. Either way this World Cup will preempt Super Hero Time for an entire month this summer :(

... So no ToQ either.

Screw Soccer.

This sucks either way.

It would make sense, and I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but personally I find a LOT of toku way too long anyway. I'd rather what a thirty episode show that is focused for its entire run, than a show which is twenty episodes longer but runs itself into the ground half way through until it has to wrap itself up at the end.

Now if this means Gaim ends early I will be a little upset that I have to get the toys faster now bit I'm not going to cry over it.

Now if this says anything it should be that more rider shows should be about 30 episodes long, let Gaimu be the begginging of a new way of writing.

I don't know. The idea of Gaim unexpectedly ending 15-ish episodes early sounds kind of suspect, but at the same time it's not entirely unthinkable.

The show has been really fast-paced to this point and I know I've been wondering how in the hell so much has happened before the traditional halfway mark; a lot of what's happened would make more sense if we'd actually passed that mark awhile back without realizing it. Urobuchi's a pretty high profile writer, too, Toei may not have been able to lock him down for a full year but didn't want to mess with his story by sticking in random filler (last week notwithstanding).

At the same time, though, some of the stuff in this report is kinda fishy. Superhero Time has never been pre-empted for the World Cup before. Sure, the occasional marathon or golf tournament has bumped one or both shows for a week before, but that's only once or twice a year. I know ratings are down, but I can't see Rider and Sentai going away for an entire month. Plus, while I don't know how Gaim's actual ratings are doing, the toy sales are through the roof. Bandai has a lot of pull as far as Kamen Rider is concerned and I can't imagine they'd want to shut this money train down early.

Assuming we don't get any confirmation on this one way or the other, what I'm going to be looking for is rumors about the next series. Usually those don't start floating around until late May. If we start hearing anything about the next series by the end of this month, then and only then am I going to start writing the eulogy for Gaim.

It's an error to say that EVERY western show has a break. Aside from Dr. Who last year (and look how that turned out) its only been since January that a few American imports like the Big Bang Theory say that have been forced onto a break. Of course because of the offset between here and the US we got like only two episodes in before the hiatus.... Not great planning there.

Frankly, while I could see the world cup knocking Super Hero Time aside for a little while, the real answer to this is to look at time zones. If you assume that a match kicks off at x time on x day then would Japan have to air it in a 7:30 slot in order to play it live?

If no matches encroach on the time slot then there's no pressing reason barring a ridiculously long warm up that they'd really want to cancel a money spinner like Gaim. Remember Kamen Rider is pretty big in their culture too, and far older than the soccer craze dare I say.

Now that aside, I could totally believe them ending Gaim early, just not because of sports. I've had a strong inkling about this from the start. Gen came at us with so much story, so many characters, just so quickly that I have literally no idea how he'd sustain the thing until the 50 episode mark without falling back on filler and ruining it.

Of course, this is a show that has been wildly different in tone and plot from the beginning to now. Who says the Butcher won't shake it up again? He's a more than capable writer so...


NOTE: If he pulls off 52 episodes at the current pace, I'm studying the hell out of Gaim and applying that shit to my own writing.

I feel this series can last into at least 40 episodes, especially since they like to drag the final form for many episodes. However, I won't mind a shorter show, in fact, I may actually prefer it. As long as the story is good, anything goes for length.