Speaking solely for myself here, not only does his actor bring alot of charisma to the role, but he's also one of the few characters in Kiva whose arc and personality is not only kept consistent, but is fully realized by the end. Him being responsible for most of Kiva's' few genuinely funny moments doesn't hurt either.

I thought Otoya was the best part of the show the first time through because he was so lively and dynamic in comparison to Sulky Bathtub Boy. On a rewatch, my opinion of him really changed because so much about the dude is PROBLEMATIC with a every letter capitalized. He's a creep, he's an emotional manipulator, and he has a lot of narcissistic character traits that are a whole lot less fun to watch in the 2020s than it was in the 2000s. Granted, Sulky Bathtub Boy is also still a shitty protagonist, but at this point I think Otoya is just as bad, albeit in very different ways. Megumi is 100% Kiva's MVP.

The good news is that I am now down the final three to four episodes of Kiva and I will finally get that damn show finished right around tomorrow, if not today. I might even watch the not-quite crossover movie between Kiva and Den-O just for funsies afterwards and then, finally continue right I left off on Wizard.

Oh this movie! But, oddly enough, although Kiva?s role there is not even a supporting one, he copes with the task of advertising the new hero perfectly. Plus, due to the invasion of the imagin, Wataru reveals himself from an unusual side.

I was surprised to find out that Climax Deka is unpopular, as I personally thought this movie was pretty enjoyable.

I think the fact is that the film was released at a time when Den-O was already starting to get boring, and Kiva never won the audience?s love. But thanks for Negataros.

I assume it is due to there not having much of a crossover aspect as the film supposedly advertised. I did enjoy what little bits of interactions we did get out of Ryotaro and Wataru though and we even see the latter briefly getting possessed by Momotaros at one point. I also liked that parts of Kiva's own soundtrack did get used throughout the film. It did even make me wonder what Kiva as a series would've been like if Kobayashi was the show's head writer rather than Inoue.

Well, it was still popular enough for Toei to make two more consecutive movies and a trilogy of V-Cinemas. But yeah, Negataros was cool.

Yeah, it's a cool Den-O movie, but not really a Kiva movie, despite being advertised as a crossover. Which also happens to Decade in Chou Den-O & Decade and then Super Sentai in Super Hero War GP. Climax Deka seems like the inspiration for the Movie War series, albeit without a story for Kiva. That team-up between Denliner and Castle Doran was awesome!

Well, I think movie became unpopular later, among fans who came to it having already watched most of Den-O's solo content. And at the time of release, I think it collected quite well, considering that the Imagins even advertised Kiva?s solo film.

Speaking of this movie, I watched the version where Decade only appears in the final battle, but apparently there is also a scene with Tsukasa in ofuro and other characters from his show. I don't like Decade enough to look for her.

Very cool. This is why I say that the film still copes with the task of selling Kiva to unfamiliar viewers. In fact, this is less a crossover than an extended version of the next rider`s debut.

I think it's one of the weaker Den-O films. The cop set-up is both weird and never mentioned again, the villain isn't very memorable, and Wataru is in it.

Loved it when it came out because I was caught up in the hype and the show was very popular when it aired. Years later, I don't hate it but feel like there are better ones out there and it was the beginning of forcefully trying to keep the hype alive for as much as they can. That said, being the toku trivia lover that I am I love the guest appearances by Murai who went on to be Kuuga in Decade after the movie, Morimoto who played Chalice in Blade appear in a small but meaningful role, and Takeda as Otoya.

Kugga slaps, it's quite good so far
 

Kugga slaps. Like I gotta say kugga himself Is pretty much the standard for the Morden rider all though I do kinda wish ichijjo ( hope I spelled it right) had his own rider form, like. Kamen rider tantei Or something.

Glad you're enjoying my favorite Rider! And yeah, I will never not say that Ichijo was the first Secondary Rider, haha.

Planning on watching every single heisei/rewia rider season on episode 28 of kugga, only 1,112 to go.

That is complete Riderman erasure and I do not appreciate it.

Riderman is considered the main one. It doesn't make sense, but he counts as forth main rider, and without that, the entire Showa timeline goes to hell. But on the other hand, then the title of the first secondary "unarmored rider" should belong to Taki from the original show, whose updated version is Ichijo. But the fearless policeman may be the first of the Heisei era.

I think the reason riderman counts is because back then there were way less riders in each series so it was easy to just count all of them main riders. To increase the numbers maybe?

More likely. And this is another reason to scold Toei for not including Tackle in the list of riders. Yes, she died and didn't have her faceplate. But this is also true for Riderman.

Yeah it stinks tackle doesn't count.

Anyway planning to watch kugga from ep30-40 wish me luck :)

Good luck!
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...wNDgy._V1_.jpg

Technically, he?s considered a main Rider, but he?s the character that established many of the elements that became hallmarks of secondary Riders.

It's a shame that the heroic death at the end wasn't one of them.

Picked Saber back up, and finally made it past episode 10, the first time I've done so after attempting to watch this show on two other occasions. Now on episode 16. Never thought I'd make it this far.

Anyway, I think Saber's weakness in it's first quarter is a very poor introduction. Why is there a green haired man dressed like an idiot talking to the audience? Why is Touma proclaiming that books can save the world and stupid shit like that? Why is Mei still talking?

It has a amnesia subplot for Touma that is basically solved by episode 10, making it feel kind of pointless, but even worse, it's incredibly repetitive. It's like watching Luna get sucked into the portal is the stock filler footage to pad out episode time.

I also just don't like Touma as a whole from the first batch. He should come across as someone who enjoys books, but instead it feels like he honestly believes the power of books can create miracles for some reason.

The show finally caught my attention when Calibur's identity was revealed. I think that twist was actually interesting, and the proceeding events finally had me wanting to know what happened next, rather than just going "I've got nothing better to do. Might as well watch an episode of Saber."

Saber is a slow starter, but once it gets good it gets really good. You're getting close to the point where I think it really takes off.

I agree with poor introduction in Saber's first half. And I think the show seems to hype up its mysteries (e.g. the repetitive Luna getting sucked footage) that aren't that world exploring or figuring out due to being too small to figure out or its impact on the show and cast, like just a simple identity of who betrayed SoL as Calibur. Maybe if they focus on the cast that the viewers know enough, be in in present or any other way (rather than showing how Daichi was in flashbacks) to guess who's the i̶m̶p̶o̶s̶t̶o̶r̶/̶D̶e̶z̶a̶S̶t̶a̶r̶/̶traitor, it can be more impactful. The show caught my attention more since Daichi's death. dunno if that's related to the above too, where the mystery is a bit more compelling there about SoL's corruption and conspiracy.

IMO some shows that does the domino of mysteries setup right are Gaim, Build, and Geats (please don't get the Daichi confused), both the Gs coming from Takebe. Like Die said I guess, I think the key is to find balance of a status quo that's intriguing without being frustrating and a series of twists that aren't the only source of tension in a plot, which isn't something easy, not many Rider shows get it right. The twists that add additional layers of meaning to previous exciting scenes and stories.

Tassel's role so far is to serve as the show's narrator. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶g̶u̶e̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶'̶d̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶v̶i̶l̶l̶a̶i̶n̶o̶u̶s̶.̶ Maybe Touma proclaims books can save the world because reading gives creativity and imagination, which Touma uses to great effect in some of his first fights (I do like this stuff the best from Touma) that surprised Rintaro, improvising in his fights to make up for his relative lack of swordsman skills.

When exactly is this point? I'm on episode 3 and while I'm sure it picks up, it's kinda dull so far

While the show makes it clear there's more to Tassel than meets the eye, it doesn't delve into that for a few episodes. So for the first 5 or 6 episodes, he's just a weirdo narrating the show, which considering that's over a month's work of episodes, it's not a strong start.

With Daichi dead, Yuri's introduction, and this whole Southern Base thing beginning, I think the show is finally starting to hit it's stride.

It didn't start picking up until episode 14 for me, so...Good luck :lol

That's what I wanna know, I stopped at episode 48 and it didn't happen for me yet.

Really? This is an episode with a threat to the life of recurring character and a family theme, like the third episode of Geats; hostage taking as the third episode of Revice and the debut of a new rider as the third episode of Zero-One. And all these episodes received favorable reviews during their ongoings. (yes, Revice was praised in the beginning). So there seems to be nothing uniquely stupid in Saber, other than the theme of fairy tales.
Speaking about the beginning of Saber, it is obvious that Fukuda wanted to quickly fulfill Bandai?s order, so as not to tie the plot to the release of the next toy. Plus, don't forget about the impact of the pandemic. The beginning of Saber in this regard is very reminiscent of the Power Rangers seasons divided into two (although, in its case, it was more likely divided into three) and was filmed with the expectation that it would have to end/pause unexpectedly. Even at the beginning of the 16th episode they recall the events of the 15th (not a clip of the show, but simply emphasizing the status quo), which may well be a rudiment of Covid plans.

It's simply less enjoyable to me right now by comparison. There's more to watching a show than seeing the story, that's all

For me it was when Yuri shows, so about episode 13-ish.

Saber got his berserk form, Primative Dragon, and I'm kind of mixed. I'm not a fan of how it basically mind controls him into using it. I do enjoy that he holds his sword by the blade though. Nice touch.

Generally speaking, I'm not really a fan of berserk forms, though. It tends to be the same story, different dressing for how they resolve. When Revice of all things manages to turn the berserk form story on it's head, you know things have gotten too repetitive :lol

Saber's solution is quite unique. Perhaps the most unique of all. Plus, Primitive Dragon is different from other forms of berserker and is closer to possession than madness.

Yeah, I love the way that storyline plays out. Very uniquely Saber.

Finished up 11 episodes of straight mid so far, but I am fascinated by Kento's storyline, if only a bit

So Saber got control of Primative Dragon, that's all well and good.
Can anyone remind me why Legeiel had such beef with him, again? I genuinely can't remember what happened that made him so obsessive over beating him.

He lost to Saber and wants revenge. Hurt pride. Legiel was unlucky enough to be the first of the Megid trio to leave, so his character consists of pride and playing the organ.

So Blades has gotten his final form. Looks neat. Love the mane. That may be my Kurojishi Rio bias shining through, but hey, if it works it works.

In other news, good lord, Yuri has been jobbing lately. For a guy who became a living sword, it certainly seems like it wasn't worth it for how much he's been tossed around. At least Buster has the excuse of carrying around a literal buster sword for why he's losing.

Reika also seems to be losing her faith in the guild now. It's a damn shame she spent the previous 20 episodes being an absolutely horrible person, or else I'd care. Durendal at least had the decency to only show up 3 episodes ago so he doesn't seem like a total ass.

Well she is a villain (and a redeemed one, even if not tamed), so ofc she'd be shown as a horrible person before losing her faith in the guild as a path to redemption.

But Reika's traits (or characters similar to her) seems to be commonly viewed (and sold) as tough, cool, and badass capability, making it viewed as a hallmark of how she's a "strong female character". Her scheming to turn people against each other and beating up those who don't comply (e.g. her Sabela debut) is depicted as as cunning, competent, and mysterious, getting the job done, and torturing Sophia is seen being no-nonsense girlboss. It's common that "strong female character" is depicted by giving them toxic masculinity traits like making them cold, unpleasant, emotionally distant, ruthless, merciless, with feminine and vulnerable traits being viewed as weakness.

True that she is cool and badass, as being a highly skilled fighter and her power usage as Sabela dominating both Slash and Buster is that, but wish that those horrible traits won't be twisted as being strong, like what you noticed here if they're perhaps selling those as being tough (her hate came due to being reduced to fawning to Ryoga). U̶n̶p̶o̶p̶u̶l̶a̶r̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶Z̶i̶-̶O̶,̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶b̶o̶t̶h̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶n̶e̶v̶o̶l̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶T̶s̶u̶k̶u̶y̶o̶m̶i̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶s̶t̶ ̶S̶w̶a̶r̶t̶z̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶a̶p̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶u̶t̶h̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶O̶r̶a̶,̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶T̶s̶u̶k̶u̶y̶o̶m̶i̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶d̶v̶a̶n̶t̶a̶g̶e̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶.