Amazons is the only modern Rider series I haven't watched all the way through. I got about halfway into season two and decided I just couldn't tolerate it any more. Everything about it felt so awkward and staged that I just couldn't take it anymore.

Yeah, I think it's interesting that if you chart out the Kamen Rider series from (what little I've seen of) Showa, to Heisei Phase 1, to Heisei Phase 2, it's a pretty clear decline in violence and horror. I was a little shocked that the defeated Grongi in Kuuga blow up with body parts flying off. I do not expect that from kids entertainment!

Yeah, the sci-fi horror vibe to Kuuga keeps things from feeling too optimistic, which makes Godai's earnestness and enthusiasm seem both refreshing, and completely out of place. Ichijou and Sakurako are in this race against monsters to save lives and prevent god knows what, and Godai's here to help! He's going to help, you guys! :thumb: It's like you can see the spirit of what later series would do, but in this one it's still stuck in the cocoon of Showa grittiness and violence.

Okay, so, I wouldn't say Amazons gets good later into season 2, but it gets captivatingly weird. There's some choices they make that are so mind-bendingly bizarre that, while I don't love it, I grudgingly respect it. Maybe try a few more if you're feeling masochistic?

Never watch the movie, though. Just, no. I watched it last Christmas (I was under the impression that red and green Riders made it a Christmas movie) and, while I won't know for sure until this December, me watching it may have killed Santa Claus.

Kuuga hits a tone for me because he starts out so happy and optimistic and eventually is just beaten down and sort of traumatized by it all.

Being a Rider is a heavy burden and it turns a happy guy into a living weapon of extreme destruction.

There's a sadness to that particular Riders story that I dont see in many Riders.

The original 1971 Rider was like that in a way too. It was a curse to him and not a gift, to be a Rider.

Oh no!

Oh, the Mika episodes. Yeah, I don't know if it's the writing, the acting, or both, but this part of the story just didn't resonate with me. There's a lot of unique things I like from Kuuga (the atmosphere, the eventual theme, the teamwork with non-Rider human characters, piecing out just what the Grongi are up to), but some of the sub-plots and supporting characters just flat out didn't work.

Anyway, while I personally prefer my Rider shows to be mostly serious and heavy, it doesn't necessarily have to be so dark, violent, and brooding all the time. That's why my current Top 3 are Ryuki, Gaim, and W, which I feel have a healthy mix of tension, humour, tragedy, and fun factor.

I think, for these two episodes, it's the writing. The actors are trying, but there's just nothing on the page (the plot or the dialogue) to help them sell what's happening. There's no, like, specificity to what's going on. Her dad is killed by the monsters that are currently terrorizing the city, but her story is treated as some generic "a child has lost their parent" story. The Killer Bee doesn't even seem to be after her, it's mostly tracking Godai. And, Godai cares, he wants to help, but it mostly seems like he does it because everyone else is too busy. I don't get the feeling he needs to be the one to help her. He doesn't even mention her dad's work to her, or try to loop in his role as Kuuga. The whole plot of this sad girl is so divorced from everything else in the two-parter. Her story is so secondary to the events of the rest of the story, but it's weirdly given equal screen time.

Wait till you see Kamen Rider BLACK and Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue. Plenty of Kleenex boxes will be required.

That said, a very common element in Kamen Rider shows is that it is mostly a story of a person who uses the forces of evil to fight said evil despite the struggle. Not all shows are like that, but most of them are and I think it is something I don't mind seeing be regurgitated over and over again.

I wasn't trying to spoil anything (I hope I didn't), just addressing the overall tone of the show to me mirrors the Original Rider in some ways and that's part of the appeal.

Also Rising Ultimate Kuuga is probably one of the most powerful out of all the Riders, and he looks super cool.

I like to do things in order. I suspect I may be high functioning autistic and that kind of always doing things in order thing is typical. It really never occurred to me to do otherwise. Would have started with the original Kamen Rider if there were subs for everything, but Kuuga was where the unbroken line of subs started, so there I started.

@catwhowalks

I have every Rider series subbed. PM me if you need help finding them or something.

Cheers.

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


(yes there was much hunting involved to get the complete collection. hahaha)