Wait, it's underrated? I did not know that. I've always heard it mentioned in the company of Agito, W and Kuuga as being the best Rider shows.

That's awesome!

Hm...I really want to check it out. I think I'll go with that after I'm done with Kiva which will be...whenever...technical limitations...*igh*

I gotta get back to watching Blade.Never finished it,Kabuto,or Ryuki.Did finish Den-O,Kiva,Decade,W,OOO,and Fourze.Need to start Faiz too as well as Agito,Kuuga,and Hibiki.Then I'll have all Heisei Riders watched.

Ryuki's a show that's been kind of rediscovered in recent years. It was really divisive when it first aired, but eventually it built up a really good fanbase the further away it gets from being "that crazy-ass show that came out after Agito and was really weird and different."

Yeah, I figured it would've divided the fandom bit; especially with the Rider against Rider thing.

Yeah. It's really a show that only received the bulk of popularity recently. I remember back when I frequented HJU there was tons of Ryuki hate for it being "Really dark and mean spirited."

And the Rider Vs. Rider thing didn't really split opinions. It was more Ryuki was probably the first Rider to be the weak, inept, learner type character (While some Riders were also just learning their powers, they weren't as physically embarrassing as Ryuki was), and any other series would have us following Knight.

The darkness and inexperience of the main character are what made it memorable for me. It felt really different from Kuuga and Agito, which themselves were really dark. I think it's unfair to say Shinji was embarrassing considering he literally got thrown into this whole mess though. He grew and as he did his skills improved too.

Agreed. You can really see him coming into his own after his first henshin.

And the Rider vs Rider thing, while not something that bothers me, I think it works in context, is kinda of weird thing for me after coming off W; where despite being initially hostile at first towards W, Accel and W really ended up becoming great allies. Though I keep hearing that the secondary Rider hating the first was a thing in the Heisei era before W changed it, so it's no biggie.

Pretty much every modern rider series has had the secondary rider begin as hostile towards the man rider. Then they come around. Especially in the last few years since Den-O with Zeronos. Ixa, Diend, Accel, Birth, Meteor, and now Beast have all followed that basic example.

And, going off W and what I've heard about Wizard, the show really picks up when the secondary rider shows up.

You can't disregard Shinji being an embarrassment. That was the entire point of the first fight. To show that you're not following the hyper competent super warrior, but the newbie who has no idea what he's doing. It was supposed to be face palm worthy (And I agree that Shinji grew into his own character. I loved Ryuki, both the show and the character).

As for the Rider vs. Rider situation, the fact was that the people who got Rider decks were either desperate and broken or sick and twisted, sans Shinji. That's why there was so much animosity between each other (That and the prize. Gathering the Twisted Metal cast and removing the cars doesn't make them any less murderous).

Also, to be fair, technically, Birth never followed the jerk rider pattern. Gotou was antagonistic towards Eiji, but it was before he became birth, and Date was always friendly with Eiji.

You're right in the initial encounters he may not have been an outright douche but he did butt into battles to steal cell medals very often and was a jerk about it. And then Date wasn't so friendly and he briefly allied himself with Maki .

I guess that's true. But the Maki alliance was short lived, and very rarely was it Birth vs. OOO

I've only now found the time to get to Blade 42.
So far, my theory is that everyone is going to turn into something by the end of the show but Garren. Mutsuki is going to give up being a Rider because of Nozomi stopping him from becoming the Spider Undead, but Hajime is totally going to go full Joker, and Kenzaki will need to use King Form to seal him. In doing so, Kenzaki will become a Joker as well, and be sealed by Garren.
I'm probably completely wrong, but this is getting so good. Even if I didn't like the whole Tiger Undead woman, I think she really does well to contrast Nozomi, who I really like. I'm wondering where the third Rouze Absorber came from though. I don't remember anyone handing it off to her. (Nevermind.)
I also think it's really cool that Mutsuki's King Form is technically Shima.

Working on Episode 7 of W right now (progress has been slow on this series for me for some reason). Really am enjoying the show, I like the tone it has, love the theme and mood, the whole detective angle and whatnot, I love the main cast so far, especially Phillip. I do wish W had a bit more to his design though, I like the concept immensely, and it was done well, but all of his forms are just palette swaps, which is kinda lame IMO, at least Wizard's forms have different designs to them despite mostly being color changes, and Fourze had a lot of differences between states and just when using his various modules. Not to say I dislike W's design, I like it for the most part, I just wished he did more than change colors.

Really loving the talk about Ryuki as I am currently in the middle of it, episode 24 to be exact. I felt bad for Raia and I'm really digging Ouja. Can't wait for the other Riders to show up. I'm really enjoying watching KR as I enjoyed Kuuga then Agito and now Ryuki though I'm slightly worried since not a lot of people have nice things to say about Faiz and its next up for me since I like to watch the series in order.

I believe the Absorber was Garren's, but it's been awhile since I saw that episode. There is definitely not a third one.

Kamen rider black- 5. Lord goat takes control of a small village. 5 episodes in and we've had 1 suicide and 1 attempted suicide! I never did catch a reason that Golgam wanted this village in the first place. If their even was one.

Considering he swaps between different combos, I'm wondering if the fact that he's merely a colour swap was so that every form is symmetrical. I like Cyclone Joker the best, though.

Just finished episode 36 of Agito last night. I really like Agito's powered up form. Very cool and sort of Showa-era looking. I don't think I'm going to like Another Agito though. The design looks very retro but I dislike the character at this point. Also...that new theme that started with episode 36? It needs to die horribly in a fire. I preferred the original version much more than this abomination. I get that they're trying to do what Kuuga did and update the theme when the show took a dramatic turn but at least Kuuga's music was the same theme with new lyrics! This new Agito theme is grating on the ears...thank goodness for the fast forward button! :p

At least it's just a remix of the last song. Some shows get a whole new opening that sucks. See: Go-Busters. :cry

Yeah I know...It just really jarred me when I was expecting the usual ballad like opening and instead I'm greeted by a weird techno remix :lol

Well...not entirely, the markings on the W pattern on his chest, and the markings on his cuffs change, and I agree with SPLIT LIP. It was probably so that every form would be symmetrical.

HeatJoker's my favorite ^_^

Yeah, I totally forgot about that, but there was a flashback when Mutsuki was crying. That's how you do an emotional scene.

Perhaps, it just makes him a bit less visually interesting to me, I dunno maybe I do like the more complex designs (Dark Kiva being my favorite of any Rider design to date) most..but eh I kinda hate OOOs design.

I really love how Fang Joker looks, definitely my favorite W form..based on the Figuarts releases anyways. Skull is my favorite suit from the series though (again just based on designs I've seen the Figuarts for).

Skull was the reason I got into W.

Speaking of, I just finished the show! :D

Nice. I'm about to start Episode 10, things are getting good.

I just watched Kenzaki assault Hajime with a lemon. Deep, engaging Kamen Rider plot developments.

This doppelganger plot is really interesting though. I suggest scarves to tell people from the Undead. The answer is always scarves.

Great! Have you watched the movies (A To Z/Gaia Memories of Fate, Double Returns Accel and Double Returns Eternal) or just Core?

Blade 45's finale arc had a rather interesting opening with the whole narrator thing. Still, I'm totally looking forward to finishing this show. It's getting intense.

They really just keep getting good, in my humble opinion. And the actual quality of individual stories and episodes is pretty great. I totally understand why this show is one of the most popular of Kamen Rider.

I think I'll try Kuuga next, then either Kabuto or Agito. (probably Agito since it's suits have the same elements I like about Kuuga's)

I've seen all the movies in the order they were advetised/fit into the series. (plan on rewatching the Skull bits of core now that I'm done)

Without spoilers, I gotta say that second to last episode was downright moving. Like, to tears almost. I liked the last episode alright, but it didn't feel like the same level as the previous ep, but I don't care because it was a feel-good ending.

Agito is considered Kuuga's sequel (Generally speaking). I've yet to see either, so I can't comment on how much of one it is.

And that's great. The second to last episode was amazing. I seriously loved that episode, to the point that I felt Philip's return just one episode later actually cheapened, possibly ruined it.

Not for me I felt very uplifted. I've seen so many shows with at times downright depressing endings. I wouldn't have disliked the show, as Philip's depature was very moving and, well, basically everythign about episode 48 was perfect, but I miss when shows had happy endings. And I figured, when hitns at his return were being dropped druing the final ep, as they left possibilities and outright doors open for his return. Afterall, why couldn't he be reconstructed somehow? Especially since his sister who had total control over the Earth's memory, was still alive. But that episode was just great. When Shotaro opened the present with Philip's blank book and the Lost Driver I just... man.

The only thing I don't get is, did Wakana travel back in time? She saw the tower still under construction, and Philip said it took him a year to come back. Is that just something the Earth Memory can do?

Shotaro is truely a man among men. A great character. I've been eagerly awaiting the MG Figurerise Cyclone Joker model to come back in stock on HLJ and I'm wishing so bad that a Kamen Rider Joker model existed.

Casting about for new stuff to try, so I'm watching Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost.

It's . . .unusual, certainly.

I finally got to watch the first episode of Kiva. It was pretty good. Wataru...how dare you try to steal a kitty's meal?!? Anyway, those 2 girls fighting the Fangire become the 2 female IXAs, no? It moved kinda fast, but I guess that's what happens when you do two seperate storylines in two seperate timelines. Which is an interesting concept, it'll be interesting to see how well it works later on in the series. Kind of funny how Wataru immediately went out and knew how to henshin already, I'm sure it gets explained later on. Wataru also didn't do much during that fight before using the Darnkness Moon Break (that's the name of his Rider Kick right?). Do they ever show the inside of Castle Doran?

You're in for a treat. I still think that Blade has the best ending of any Rider series. W's close, but I think Blade just edges it out.

No, the Wakana scenes all took place a year before the present episode. the busted Fuuto Tower was meant to illustrate that.

Hot damn. I just finished Blade.
Wow, I was absolutely not expecting that to happen. That ending was fantastic. I think it would have been a little more intense if Tachibana and Mutsuki stayed dead, but that would sort of ruin all of Mutsuki's development. Tachibana's revival seemed kinda tacked on though. Still, I love how all of the strange things Kenzaki seemed to be doing ended up making sense in the end.
What was the last shot about though? Was it hinting at Kenzaki staying near the place where Amane's father died, or am I missing something obvious?

Next, I think I'll either continue on my backwards Heisei streak and finally tackle Faiz after my 4th or 5th try, or do something out of left field. I'm kind of interested in Daimajin Kanon (if only for the theme song, which comes to mind every time I see Switchblade's posts), but I don't know if I really want to put much emotional investment in my next toku venture.

Yeah, Blade's ending is really, really great. Absolutely love it.

Daimajin Kanon is a really great show. If you liked the first 29 episodes of Hibiki you'll love Kanon. Good luck not getting emotionally invested, though; Kanon is designed to provoke some strong emotional reactions. So is Faiz, in fairness, but it tends to overdo it and fall flat on its face.

I know, but what I'm saying is how did she know Philip would die and she'd need to sacrifice herself when it was a surprise to her when Shotaro let it slip?

That was also a flashback. It happened very shortly after episode 48, not a year later.