I've never had a huge level of attachment to those episodes (I think watching them right after the proper finale with no break was a bad chance for a good first impression), but over time I've started to come around to the idea they're ~maybe~ loaded with some of the most poignant meta commentary the franchise has ever done? And it's just in these two random episodes that only exist because Gaim couldn't get its production moving along quick enough even with Wizard already being one of the longer Heisei shows? A really curious footnote in Rider history all around, these ones!

The Imagin don't even form the sword so much as they sit around on the train for Liner Form (and then of course there's Final Countdown), which makes the idea of anyone but Ryoutarou using it THAT much more silly. :lol

Actually, that might've been what they were going for, given the first thing Decade says when he shows up is "So this is Wizard's world, huh?" Nice catch!

Oh definitely, the plot itself is basically a giant backseat for the episodes to take a brief look back at the elements that make Kamen Rider what it is, and I definitely did appreciate those moments.

Man, between all the trivia I've gotten lately, ontop of the impressions Blassreiter has been giving me about Urobochi, Gaim is definitely gonna be an interesting watch whenever I finally get around to it.

Honestly, I liked Wizard, as I may have mentioned. As someone who's had a lot of bouts with depression, it was a really nice show to watch. And that's something I look for in a show, enjoyability. Yeah, there are some, or perhaps many flaws, but I don't think it's a terrible series.

And while we're here, I'm just going to say, I actually really enjoyed the Wizard Movie. I don't know why, but it was a visual treat for me, as a sucker for wizard cities and such, sure, it has it's flaws, but it wasn't bad.

For the Decade crossover episodes, I did really enjoy those. I always thought Tsukasa and Haruto were pretty similar in personality, and seeing them together was pretty fun. And the portrayal of Kamen Riders was nicely done, so I appreciate that.

Now, I know Ghost isn't well liked, but I might plan to see it at some point in the future. But first, I have other shows to watch, and if I do watch any more Rider series, I might try finishing Amazon 1974, or watch one of the other Showa or early Heisei shows.

Man! That crossover was always fun to watch. nothing too deep, but fun. And it really introduced me to the Cross of Fire.

But most importantly, its definition of what Kamen Rider are always stuck with me the most. People who come running when someone calls for help. It even seeped into my writing :D

In actuality, Liner Form isn’t that different to turn into. You just plug a phone onto the belt before scanning the pass. The fact the DX toys put the henshin sound in the sword is just an anti-spoiler thing.

So I just got finished watching the 6 Legend Rider specials for Ghost (as in the ones before the anniversary movie and the DVD heisei eyecon special), and... for the most part there's not much to them; obviously like any of these sorts of legend rider specials they're just put out there as an extra bit of mindless harmless fun with a basic mystery to keep you hooked. It's a platform to sell some Premium Bandai toys and an excuse to get out some sick suits (W Damashii and Wizard Damashii are probably some of the best Legend Rider suits ever made).

... but then there's this.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...14/unknown.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...32/unknown.png


This? This is fascinating to me. It's a happy coincidence, sure, but this specific line with its specific focus kinda shook me because it shows what a perfect villain someone like Wiseman could be for Ghost! It bounces off Takeru's personal philosophy in such an interesting and twisted way, and in a completely unique dimension that no other Ghost villain really has. The way that it completely recontextualises and refocuses Takeru's philosophy to re-inforce that it's not just the lives right next to him that he is personally connected to that matters, but all life everywhere; and that is what sets him apart from this villain.

It's not something I'm going to say was missing from Ghost or anything - I again think it handles its themes very well - and it's unfortunately not fleshed out here because, again, mindless 5-minute specials put out to promote some Legend Rider toys; but it's a moment I love a lot and it makes me appreciate that this was the last Legend Rider eyecon Takeru needed to get and that Wiseman was the last one he took down. It's so interesting and I would easily have bought someone like Wiseman being a mid-season villain or something for Ghost.

Specter and Dr. Maki facing off due to their respective, varying sister issues is also a rather amusing coincidence.

Also hearing Takeru saying "Tomari-San" when asked to use Drive Powers is just heartwarming. It happend with Emu using Ghost during his little webisodes.

It was pretty cute; just a little nod to their relationship in Movie Wars Genesis -- which while not a movie I overall liked, that was the best part of it, so that works out for me!

I have a massive soft-spot for these things. They were written by Nobuhiro Mouri, rather than being handed off to some random up-and-comer or something, and I think that really comes across in how, despite the short length, each one manages to just... like, totally *cram* a full first-arc episode of Ghost in there. The whole formula of the early episodes, with all the dramatic speeches and thematic connection the Hero of the week, but smooshed down into five minutes a pop, to the point it's basically wall-to-wall debates and moralizing while everyone punches each other. They are adorable in how blunt they are, but just like you with that White Wizard line (Wise-who? Doesn't sound related to me:p), I really appreciate those little glimpses of proper substantial storytelling that managed to poke through. These things are going way above what's required of them, and I love them for that.

So, I’m at the end of the “Ghost Stories” series in Skyrider. I think it was something of an improvement over the “return of the old Riders” arc (even GanGanG felt somewhat useful in these episodes), but not really up to par with the first half of the series. Well, there’s just 8 episodes left, so I’ll just see how they go.

Also, what was with all the female monsters in this arc? Are women just that inherently scarier than men?

https://i.imgur.com/fByCuIE.png

TIL that Agito is apparently dragon themed. Completely missed that when I watched Agito.

Anyway, I watched the HBV and Net Movies for Wizard, as well as the Net Movies for Super Hero Taisen Z!

When it came to the Wizard side of things, I actually didn't like them all too much. I didn't find any of it to be offensively bad or anything, but the HBV was just kinda there and most of the Net Movies failed to get a laugh out of me. Probably my favorites were the Detective Rider bits.

The ones I most certainly liked the least though were the ones I imagine many would've figured I'd've been all for.

https://i.imgur.com/XyC4xVj.png

The Mage Shunpei skits are incredibly shallow, with the punchline of every single one of them being "Shunpei is useless" (which isn't even true) ontop of featuring flanderization of nearly everyone in the cast.

And then ya know, as soon as I saw this happen my soul broke.

https://i.imgur.com/y9f5CZr.png

Shunpei, honey, you can do SO much better.

Now, the SHTZ Net Movies, on the other hands...

https://i.imgur.com/MjSdFd7.png

They...

https://i.imgur.com/QXW93ul.png

Are...

https://i.imgur.com/mfQfcWh.png

Perfect.

I give them the award for my favorite Net Movies in the franchise, which is saying alot due to just how much I loved the Fourze Net Movies. Toei, for the love of all that is good, bring these back!

Award for best HBV still goes to Faiz though. Seihou Faiz better come with the boombox or I riot.

That’s pretty much the end of net movies for you. After this, the closest you’ll get is Zi-O’s Supplementary Plans (wherein the cast break the fourth wall to explain aspects of the show).

This has always bothered me and by the looks of it I wasn't alone. Agito is Dragon themed by label alone. The actual design is clearly in the same insect motif as Kuuga.

And this is as official as you can get:

https://twitter.com/cron204/status/1236640083274432513

Such a shame. Guess I have those to look forward to when I get to seeing Zi-O in like 3 years.

Yeah I always assumed he was a stag beetle like Kuuga for obvious reasons. Still gonna personally count Ryuki as the first Dragon Rider.

Wow, forgot that was a thing.

By the way, where can we watch Super Hero Otsu? I remember watching some low quality sub-less ones on Youtube back in the day. I haven't seen if nice quality subs exist yet.

TV-N is where I found 'em. Under their Wizard category.

What about Burning form? I've always thought it was where the dragon motif became noticeable

Ah of course. I always forget that crossover/war movies and associated content are tied to the Rider of the time when they are released.

So I decided to watch the most recent followup they did to the April Fools joke Toei made yesterday. If only because it felt weird they'd follow that up in some fashion...

https://twitter.com/toei_zero_one/st...57669075783689

Um...

NANI?!

Genm vs. Thouser when?

https://64.media.tumblr.com/5d1feba4...d6b9dbb508.jpg
Just watched the first episode of Black. Absolutely increblible. Felt like a Kamihoriuchi episode at times. Full of stunning and iconic visuals. I'm so excited for Black Sun, because if it even comes close to being as good as this, it'll be one of the best things to come out of this franchise in years. Don't quite have time to watch the entire show right now, but I'm definitely tempted to go through one of those lists of just the main plot relevant episodes sometime soon, because that was one of the best first episodes in the franchise

"You have successfully summoned Switchblade to the thread."

I agree though, Kamen Rider Black's first episode is fantastic.

Also agreed. A work of art.

I was glad to see Black turn up on Toei Tokusatsu World last night too, I loved it, I should get round to RX and other Showa shows sometime as well!

That fist clench when he begins transforming is just really cool. I just love how it is a mix of the first two riders.

I mean, yeah.

The first sixth episodes of Black are some of the best opening episodes of KR.

Just wish most of the rest of the show had followed through on its tone and atmosphere.

W is also up at the Toei Tokusatsu channel.

https://youtu.be/lr77oI4DP1E

Well, I made it to the end of Skyrider, after a hiatus of over a year.

I definitely think it was stronger as a show in the first half. The second half just had a load of loose mini-series that didn’t seem to accomplish anything. And then there’s GanGan-G. Even at the end, I never figured out what they wanted to do with him.

Kurona's Rider Rewatch

It’s Kamen Rider’s 50th anniversary, and while I've got one particular main way of celebrating that occasion, with something new I'll get to in a second... it feels almost wrong to celebrate such a momentous anniversary - 50 years!! - of a franchise that is very beloved and dear to my heart, without going back and revisiting seasons I’ve seen that hold a lot of significance to me. So... once a day, for the next week or so; I’m going to go back to the first episode of a season that has grand importance to Kamen Rider as a whole and/or is one of my favourites that had a big impact on me. This is going to be in three parts, as there's 9 series I'm looking at here and they divide very neatly into three categories at a time each; so I won't take up much of your time. Heck, for all I know I won't even take up that much -- I had a little OOO and Ghost rewatch blog going on here and I didn't find the energy to keep that up, so fingers crossed I stick with this little one!

Regardless, I'm gonna kick this off already -- with the starts to this franchise's three eras.



Kamen Rider Episode 1

https://i.imgur.com/LDQPTjy.jpeg

So. Episode 1 of Kamen Rider! Ever! This is the big way I'm celebrating this year, as I put up top -- I haven't dug into Showa much at all, really. I can list the totality of it right now: I've seen Amazon, Black, the three Ishinomori movies (which... do they even really count??), and even outside of Rider I've only gone as far as watching Ultra Q, a couple episodes of Goranger and most of Dynaman (still watching! Still loving!). Heck, Amazon and the three movies were literally because they were the shortest ones and Black because it was the 'closest' to Heisei! And that's just not right for such a big fan of these franchises and who defends Showa and its traits and ideals so much, y'know? So... yeah, screw it; I'm gonna go ahead and take on the massive task of the 98-episode original Kamen Rider. This oughta be quite a time!

That said... this actually isn’t my first time watching this first episode; I watched it when it went up on Toei’s channel not long ago, but that didn't take away from how much... reverence I had watching it this time? I watched this on the day of Rider's 50th itself, not long after the clocks hit midnight in Japan; so this was a very special one to me -- I wanted to commemorate this franchise I love so much on its biggest day in a while with something big, and as such this is going to lead into me watching the entire show for the first time. I wanted to really pay attention, soak it in and not dismiss it as something silly.

Which is almost a shame, because there’s a lot of silly funny parts! I think there’s a very big tendency to overlook that in retrospect -- the setting and world the show paints is dark and foreboding enough, but the way it’s done involves weirdness upon weirdness even for Toku. Shocker’s ideal candidate is someone with 600 IQ and ‘is good at sports’; Takeshi Hongou just has 600 IQ for that matter; there’s these weird Shocker Girls in swimsuits and fishnets that show up just to giggle and do a scene transition.

And that’s sort of the tone of the show’s storytelling, too -- if I had one word for it, it would be that it's very raw storytelling. It’s quite compact, mind; very tight storytelling that doesn’t dally too much on a single element and packs a lot into its introduction. It also is not subtle in the slightest about anything and wears its symbolism and themes on its sleeves -- Takeshi Hongou’s heroism isn’t portrayed primarily through his actions or with little hints and puzzle pieces; but through his grand declaration quite out of nowhere that he will always fight for peace and justice immediately after escaping. His fears and insecurities of being seen as a monster are almost portrayed in a strictly visual sense through his newfound super strength preventing him from helping the man in his care; before he goes on a lengthy monologue about how others won’t see him as human. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a criticism; something the show really had to figure out... but I’d also be lying if I said there wasn’t an inherent appeal in Ishinomori’s strict dedication to ideals and to portraying heroism against fascism here; and how it’s completely thrown in your face as an abject statement of intent. There’s really quite something to all conventional storytelling methods being abandoned for “Fascism sucks, Takeshi Hongou feels he’s not human but will fight for humanity anyway, here’s him beating up a spider guy”.

It’s very panto-like and that’s something I’ve found in the limited amount of Showa I’ve watched; grand declarations and leaving absolutely nothing to imagination or subtext to the degree there’s no doubt in the viewer’s mind about what you’re saying or much room for interpretation. It’s a play that knows what it’s about, wants you to know just as much, and does so in large sweeping strokes. It’s a fascinating start to this franchise and I’m excited to get into more of it!



Kamen Rider Kuuga Episode 1

https://i.imgur.com/UBO8Lqi.png

Kamen Rider Kuuga. Where do I start with this one? It’s well-renowned as a beautiful, artistic series; one where many - including myself - would go as far as arguing that every single shot of every episode is deeply intentional and considered, a show that’s coming both from a place of love and nostalgia and a place of interrogating what does and doesn’t work about its genre; a show that puts so much faith in its messages of non-violence that it risked toy sales in such a way that Bandai would surely have pulled the plug were it not for its being a runaway success with its audience. It’s a magical show and one that I don’t think is ever going to run out of interesting things to discuss. I think there might be a thread on this website about that? Something about a fish watching every episode again and going into great detail and inviting constructive discussion?

But one thing that I think does go understated is how much work goes into making its cast and setting feel normal. Perhaps more than most Tokusatsu seasons I could name (only Hibiki comes to mind) Kuuga’s characters from the outset are made to feel so grounded in the normal and mundane. Godai Yusuke is introduced to us doing that classic Kamen Rider deed of helping a kid he found... but it’s not necessarily any extraordinary feat, it’s simply that he happened to come across this crying kid and decides to try and make him smile before their parents can find them. Godai’s concern for people in need, Sawatari’s shock and horror, Ichijou’s simple offer to turn off video evidence if it gets too much for the two -- every moment with these characters reminds me of why I fell in love with them, because they’re all so human. Exaggeration can be an important tool to a genre like this but Kuuga has always stood out to me for how genuine it makes its characters in every scene, and that’s the strength of the show to me.

And it’s perfect for Kamen Rider because it translates into what’s so wonderful about this show: like so many before him and so many to succeed him, Godai decides to become Kamen Rider Kuuga and grab the belt because he saw people in danger, and disregarded all risks to himself to do something about it. And it leads to a hell of a battle -- there’s obvious props to not even debuting Kuuga’s actual main form in the first episode and leaving it till the second, but that’s not all in this show’s bag of tricks. The way they portray the power yet weakness of Kuuga Growing through his pushing the van; the way skirmishes in tight spaces like the helicopter and the rooftop ledge invite real fear; the way that this first battle is no heroic entrance but a downright struggle which the second episode will reveal did not even end in victory? Like I said, the creative team’s decisions with this show are a constant gamble that were it not for Kuuga’s immediate popularity would not have paid off, and it’s the sort of thing that makes this show all the more rewarding and impressive. Kuuga’s dedication to its portrayal of violence as nothing that’s ever good or noble is present not just in its infamous final battle but right here in the first episode that’s supposed to get people hooked and excited, and that’s fantastic.

Which, finally, leads to one of the last shots of the episode and one of the single things about Kuuga’s first episode and Kuuga as a whole -- Godai, transformed into this terrible powerful monster is alone on a helicopter with Ichijou, the police officer he just saved. Ichijou wonders out loud if this creature has just saved him, but it’s a tense and doubtful situation for sure -- so what does Godai do? He gives a simple thumbs up. It’s what Kuuga is famous for, for sure; but it’s the most perfect thing in the world -- a universal symbol that means peace and approval but is also obviously one that’s so casual and normal and human -- and that’s the one Godai chooses, that’s the motion that captures what a thousand words could not: the simple, normal human he is that just chose to help because he could. I love Kuuga.



Kamen Rider Zero-One Episode 1

https://i.imgur.com/9fUojoK.jpg

Zero-One... is easily the series I'm rewatching here that I have the most mixed feelings about. I'd be lying if I said I didn't largely base the choice to watch this off of being the start to the Reiwa Era, and my issues with it I really haven't made a secret of on this website! Like... wow, actually, I really did go on about those last episodes more than I wanted to back when. But this is about celebrating Rider's 50th, not going into those criticisms again -- especially when there's plenty of things I adore about this show, this very episode being one of them!

There's a lot of things in this episode to praise -- like Kamen Rider up there and a lot of other Rider season premieres it's a very compact first episode, fitting in a lot of things with the very natural and easy-to-grasp worldbuilding, Aruto's wonderful characterisation, the themes of dreams and even a small look and foreshadowing into Fuwa's journey, which just goes to show how far that amazing character came. And all of that is awesome! Very awesome, in fact -- I know a lot of people didn't like Aruto's mugging to the camera and over-the-top humour, but... heck with it, maybe I'm a sucker for that kind of thing but I sure liked it; endeared him to me very quickly and stood out as different compared to just about any main Rider I can recall. Definitely stands as a contrast to Kuuga's down-to-earth approach, at least -- heck, he even has the same "oh shoot someone's in danger? Give me that driver" approach, how can I not love him here?

But the thing that stands out most to me? This should probably come as no surprise at all, but my god the style in this show is INSANE! Everything from the striking Humagear suits instantly selling you on the concept; to the blimps in the air not making you blink an eye and drawing you into this world; to the sponsor page being a beauty to behold; to the set design to the bombastic music to the camera angles to every little frame from the fight scene... good god this is an assault on your senses in the best of ways. I've got a bit of criticism with the bus scene (CGI in Rider has never been good but this one really took me out of it), but everything else here is a sheer rush of adrenaline that makes sure to leave a mark. I've long felt that Zero-One has never truly felt like the start of a new era as much as W - who doesn't get such a moniker - did, but you can tell they were trying with how they constructed each scene. A lot of people cite Wizard as being one of the most stylish seasons in the franchise, and I'll agree with that, but for me Zero-One has taken the top spot of that category. If nothing else, this was an unforgettable start to Reiwa!

Kuuga really was a product of its time, huh? Before any of the TV Asahi guidelines, restrictions, and what not. Really makes it look a lot more different. I love Godai's struggle with the Growing suit. It's always tense in the later parts of the show where the Growing form shows up again. 10-ish episodes I think there the times it showed up. Somehow I also haven't found the thought of grabbing the SS SHF of any Kuuga lol.

This does make me think, what're your favorite ways to introduce a main rider. I love the "Rider struggles really hard as he transforms for the first time", but I did like Build's way "Oh, he's already a rider before the show started." It doesn't get in the way of introducing the belt, the main hero's resolve to use it, and the trinkets all in the one episode. Instead, opting to explain it further in to the story.

This is something that I feel people who turn their noses up at "simplistic" stories tend to miss. "Keep It Simple Stupid" is a phrase for a reason, and when you've got something to say, you should make your intent and message as crystal clear as possible, so as to not cause a mixed message or outright confusion. Plus, the beauty of simplicity is that by keeping your story with a direct, well, direction, there's alot less for you to actually mess up.

I believe we've had a thread asking this question before! For me the answer comes down to... all of them! Looking at my three favourite seasons - OOO, Build and Kuuga - there's very different approaches there to each one which leads to their own interesting paths, so... while it may be a bit of a boring answer, I really can't choose between "was already a rider" and "becomes a rider" for an introduction when they're both so so good. The one thing I will say is that the former is really not done enough; seasons like Build and Decade really show how well you can craft a mystery with that format!

Watching the first part of the series is really interesting. The show's tone and visual style changes a lot after Ichimonji takes over as the lead. It's not a bad change, just a really noticeable one.

Yay! :)

This was exactly the sort of pick-me-up I needed after spending a ton of time digging through Nobuhiro Suzumura tweets. Just a couple thoughts to chip in real quick:

- The theatricality of older toku shows like the OG Kamen Rider is something I really hope never goes totally unappreciated. I get that shows like Kuuga represent progress and all, but I'll also always see that kind of thing of as more of a shift than anything. I think there's absolutely a validity to the blunt approach those shows employed. I guess to put it in the most pithy way possible, TV screens back in those days were tiny, but the heroes on them still seemed as large as ever.

- The phrase "I love Kuuga" definitely sums it up! :p

- Sugihara's visual style for Zero-One is seriously something else. His work on Lupinranger VS Patranger was crazy impressive, those Agito episodes of Zi-O were crazy impressive, and his episodes of Zero-One are crazy impressive, which in retrospect was also probably helped out a great deal by Jun Watanabe's role as the action director. Between that, the really tight script, and the immediate talent of the cast, Zero-One's premiere would probably easily slide into a top 10 of the whole franchise for me. There's not a moment in it I feel is wasted, nor anything that feels missing.

That we did!

I always consider how different things were culturally and in society when I go back to older shows like this. Like, it's difficult to appreciate when you've no direct experience of it; but we're talking about an era where you had no internet or wider discussion about these sorts of things, there were limited timeslots and channels for heroes to even exist on, TV and its genres as a whole had been around for very little time comparatively and following on from that you don't have many if any formal education and schools teaching conventional storytelling techniques for writers and directors to come from; and a large part of it is experience... I look back on shows like this and I see for the creative team the same passion and love for what's being done, but without all the technical skill and theory that would evolve later; and for audiences that this is the one time every week they get to see a cool hero save the day and be wowed by something as simple as a giant robot fight or a henshin. It's a far simpler time and I always feel the need to appreciate that context!

I was born in 92 and can actually remember 1998 and 9 for what it's worth, for actual 90s toku memories though being in Britain it is just basically one time in summer 1999 when SM:tv Live happened to alternately show the odd In Space episode and I remember seeing Grandma Matchmaker! :lol

Well, given we’ve got three years of it being Rider’s 50th (according to the livestream), I decided now was as good a time as any to watch Birth of the 10th.

Boy does this thing spend a lot of time on info dumps. They take so long I’m not even sure if we’re supposed to care about the professor and the little girl. And apparently, if time and space are broken, you can fix it by kicking a dude.

Though I like that Mikage got a little more character than the usual “guy turned into a monster” in Showa series.