Y'know, I didn't catch it the first time, but rewatching I feel like this alll happened a bit too fast. Like he dies like five minutes in. I feel like it would've been better if he died near the very end then became Ghost. It feels like the episode was working too quickly to hit keynotes without sufficient in-between meat. On the plus side it felt fast-paced and not slow at all, so maybe it's the first ep jitters. A lot of my favourite KR series have had weak first episodes. I don't think subs will change that, but maybe they'll make things... smoother.

And yeah, that puppet may very well ruin the show for me.

I'm surprised there aren't more negative thoughts on Yurusen so far, honestly, but yeah, I can see him being a pretty divisive element in this show.

Personally, when we first saw Yurusen in the magazine scans I was remarkably concerned, because, I mean, look at him. But when he showed up in Drive last week, I was pleasantly surprised to find him actually really fun, and this episode just sold me completely on his inclusion. I can definitely see why he would rub people the wrong way, but I really like him.

Though I think any success Yurusen has had with me is owed in large part to the fact that Yuki Aoi is just a really good voice actor.

I don't see what "sold' you, honestly. It's an annoying puppet, with an annoying high voice, and it's so badly composited you can see where it's little cape is resting on the arm of whomevers puppeteering it. It's not even a good puppet, it's a lame handpuppet that can wiggle it's arms. I had more involved puppets in elementary school.

It really feels like pandering to, like, really little kids. Like, toddlers.

Well, the voice is one thing, which I really like. Personality-wise, it's also a tiny jerk, which I enjoy, and it really is a shitty puppet, which strangely has some charm on its own. It's not any sillier than the little sentient toy cars, and I didn't mind those either.

I like Kivat, Tatsulot, Mandora Boy, the acorn pixie in Gingaman, and Datas so honestly, I don't mind this new guy at all.

I havent seen the first episode yet though, so...

I hate all of those characters (especially Mandora Boy de gozarimasu desu). The notion of the puppet worries me a lot. Mind you, I haven't seen the episode yet, either, but his appearance in the Drive finale did not fill me with confidence.

(Given the voice, I'm going to consider Yurusen a girl until proven otherwise here. I don't think it's been confirmed yet.)

I usually dislike the annoying sidekick characters, too. But there's just something about Yurusen that I really like, personality wise. I for one loved the banter between her and Ghost in the crossover special. She's fun, sassy and keeps Takeru in line. So what if she's a silly puppet? It's not like the effects in Kamen Rider have ever been great before. At least she's practical and not some garbage CGI mock up.

I'm not against Yurusen, in fact I'll think he/she has the potential to become the next Ankh. Put your pitchforks and torchs away.

Yes, Ankh had a body so he wasn’t always a levitating hand, but I fully expect Yurusen to get a human form eventually.

I didn’t think he/she (I just call it "it" from now on) was that bad, it has a snippy personality and is fun to watch. The voice isn't that annoying to me.

If that's the shows idea of a comedic sidekick I take it over the atrocious SIU from Drive anytime. Just remember the shit these guys pulled throughout the first half of the show, it was disgusting. Weird faces starring into the camera, these terrible cuts and filters and the random sound-effects… yuck.

That is an incredibly valid point and I agree completely.

It is to early in my opinion to really state if Yurusen will be annoying or not, I would also say that annoying can be done well but for some reason I think the character will be be doing backhanded comments more than actually being stupid and annoying, but again to early to tell.