The inventor of Stomp and a man of 2000 skills against a housekeeper? I'm not loving Agito's odds! Still, if anyone's got a reason why up-to-episode-14 Agito could win a dance battle against Kuuga, let me know.

The genius is in the fact that it will be agito vs Kuuga, not Godai vs shouichi. Maybe I just wanna see the super serene agito put his ancient warrior skills to the test in a matter of EPIC DANCE MOVES.

This is a terrible idea and should in no way, shape or form be made. If it is made, I want houjo giving the commentary for a bit before gills attacks him and G3 takes over.

I mean, if you're suggesting a dance battle would undercut the intense drama of a Kamen Rider series, *gestures at the cast of Kamen Rider Gaim, specifically at Baron, I'm looking you dead in the eyes right now and pointing at Baron, do you see him, are you looking at Baron right now*

So, taking this seriously? I just don't feel like the serenity of Agito's dance moves are a match for the improvisational stylings of Kuuga. Kuuga's going to work to win over the crowd, while Agito's technical proficiency won't make up for his lack of showmanship. It's about emotional connection, and I don't think Agito (at this point in the series, anyway) has that.

Well in that case, I want it on the record that when I did my epic rewatch of all the Rider shows Yasuko Kobayashi wrote last year over in the "What are you watching" thread, I specifically included the one episode of this series she did largely as an excuse to talk about how great Ryou is. I'm doing my part! It's the rest of you who need to step it up! :p

In all seriousness though, it's warming my heart how much love you're giving Shouichi. He's always been a huge favorite of mine for how atypical he is as a lead, and it's great to see that clicking with you the same way.

Great work! You've exhibited real dedication to the fandom. +5 Rider Points, and Miu Kazashiro declares you to be the eighth-most important member of the Kamen Rider Club. Please adjust your TokuNation Scorecard appropriately.

Thanks! Yeah, I just love how sweet and heartfelt his character is. I love him because he's a gigantic, earnest dork. Honestly, that's what I want out of my Riders, the main ones, anyway. I want them to be weird and courageous and slightly dopey and funny and in desperate need of people to care about them. I think that's a main reason why Wizard never really clicked with me as a Rider. He's just, like, a cool guy. He's a former soccer player who becomes a motorcycle-riding magic-using badass. He's always the coolest guy in the room, never loses his shit, doesn't look stupid, doesn't have any weird flaws besides always getting the same donut. And, even then, it's mostly how weird everyone gets about making him try different donuts, not his pickiness or whatever. He's too cool for me to care about, if that makes any sense. Shouichi's such a sweet puppy dog of a Rider that, like, I'd fight for him. I wouldn't fight for Haruto. (I mean, Beast or Rinko, god, yes.)

See, those are a lot of the reasons why I like Haruto so much. Especially coming in after several years of the main Rider being some form of goofball if was nice to have a protagonist who was more serious and straightforward, but without being a total dick like Tendou or Tsukasa. For me, Haruto is the one Heisei era Rider that feels like he’s the hero of a Showa era series. I don’t need that every year, but it was nice to see for a change.

And, you know, that's fair. I don't think Haruto's a flawed character. (I do think Wizard is a flawed show, however.) I think Haruto's a collection of character traits that I just find... not unappealing, per se, but dull. He's such a perfect hero that I can't invest in him emotionally. But, "emotionally", so it's totally subjective. Just because those attributes were dull for me, I'm sure they completely worked for someone else. Every Rider is someone's favorite.

I mean, not Accel, obviously, but every other Rider.

What's wrong with Accel?

Oh yeah, no, Wizard is a deeply problematic series that completely falls apart by the end. I really like Haruto, though.

And there’s nothing wrong with Accel. Wait a couple more series and you’ll find the real Kamen Rider with no fans.

Honestly, I was just picking Accel to see if someone would be all How Dare You Accel Is My Spirit Animal. I don't mind Accel! I'm mostly into the fact that folks will feel strongly about Riders I wouldn't think too much about. That's pretty fun for me to see, the passion for Riders that are barely a blip on my radar. Accel and Meteor are maybe my two least-favorite Phase 2 Riders (I don't even dislike them, I'm largely indifferent to them), and I wonder if anyone out there just, like, adores them. I guess I was trolling, a bit, to see if someone would want to argue on behalf of Ryu Terui. Somebody's probably got feelings about that guy! (I will say this: dude says the best Henshin of the entire franchise, maybe.) (To clarify, the way he says Henshin is my favorite. "Hen... ... ... ... SHIN!" It's like he's forcing it out of his body. He's going to give himself a hernia saying Henshin someday!)

As to Wizard, what kills me is that I think it gets better by the end. The last string of episodes have some smart plotting and difficult emotions. It's a lot of the first two thirds that I find criminally dull.