SHOWA! I should've known...

I'm definitely loving parts of it! The character-based storytelling is incredibly addictive, to a degree that's making me less tolerant of the weaker monster storytelling. Speaking of which...

I've never been fond of Kamen Rider shows doing CG fights in lieu of two or more guys in suits pushing each other around, preferably in a quarry or under a bridge, so this is going to be a Don't Fix What Ain't Broken situation for me and Hibiki. (And I'm saying this as a dude who came into the franchise on Ex-Aid.) It's nice that they wanted to try some new things, but it being a combination of not what I want out of Kamen Rider fights, alongside just generally not having the budget to execute those ideas well... I don't feel like giving them Points For Trying is as fulfilling as actually having solid fights that I enjoy watching?

Maybe this is different for folks that are more/equally into the Sentai or Ultra aesthetic, where I assume there's more fights like Hibiki's had in 2 and 4? Giant monsters and huge size differentials? For me, I want to see more fights like what he's having with Douji and Hime, and less of him running from/after a giant monster until he Drum Solos it into oblivion.

Sentai can be like that, but Ultra shows usually still have opponents of roughly equal size. Of the major toku franchises, Ultraman is usually the one where the fights more closely resemble wrestling - it’s hard to pull off a lot of martial arts moves when you’re wearing a bulky two-headed monster suit.

I actually don't mind Rider shows doing stuff like that. Maybe It just the fact that I like innovatian even if it look really crappy. And to me Tokusatsu is and always will be about the suits at the end of the day so I'm fine with them indulging themselves with more visual effect heavy fights. It more of what I can see we get out of it. For example Hibiki running around doging a gaint monster can help future shows with composite shots and help give Sentai some good prespective shots for thier giant monsters. Or Saber giving us the most bike action we've had in years for the tv shows thanks to it's green screen and uses of the Unity engine.

I think that I’ll bring up that the idea of the Riders meeting at a cafe in the first place came from the writer’s son. Which is ironic, if you know who that son is. And I remember that Die at least knows that.

Good to know about the Ultra franchise! I'll have to check those out someday.

I mean, that's fine, I get that these shows are all building off of each other, but I'd rather not intellectually appreciate the theoretical things this show paved the way for, when I could be viscerally enjoying high-quality fight scenes. Like, an article about the ways Hibiki led to great CG is interesting to read, but two minutes of Hibiki pushing a giant appendage is not that fun for me to watch.

Fantastic. It wouldn't surprise me if that's why Inoue avoids using restaurants. It's something he was into as a kid, you know? Restaurants are played out, Dad.

I'd be happy to suggest a starting point and any long-time member of the board knows exactly what it would be.

Back-pocket it, and we'll circle back in... let's say 2022? Late-ish 2022? Is that good for you?

I’d say something but, like, I’ve had this same signature for I think a month now so...

The story here is set on Asumu's perceptive, while the hero is Hibiki.... this is a major change, the main protagonist Asumi isn't the Kamen Rider, and the lead Rider Hibiki isn't the main protagonist! And, probably by Hibiki's debut, it shows that, being cool and confident can be shown by heroism too, instead of only toxic acts... right?

Hibiki, as a more different take of Kamen Rider (well, it's not supposed to be Kamen Rider after all...), it takes in a slice of life type, of where Asumu's life is detailed, his schedule of biking, him watching the school's opera, him sailing in a ferry, etc. Probably until now that he goes to a mountain that makes others disappear, in rumor.

Hibiki... this one's known as a non-Kamen Rider entry, it's like Kamen Rider only in name only, so yeah, something that you've never seen a Kamen Rider reach will happen here.

Wut? Even with it not being named, it should be obvious. Any Kamen Rider series is titled after the lead Rider, which means obviously that is Hibiki. I guess with it not feeling too perilous comes from Hibiki's confidence of his abilities to take on those.

TikTok? Lol, this comes way before TikTok means TikTok is a rip-off of this Hibiki scene!

Yeah, Hibiki is more of a Fun Hero, rather than the Flawed Warriors and Well-Meaning Scumbags we're used to at this point in the Heisei era. I like all types, so Hibiki is only a lateral move from Blade or Faiz.

Like, I get the backstory of the series' genesis, but it's definitely a Kamen Rider series. Specifically, it is very very Kuuga. The template is just Family Comedy, rather than Cop Drama.

There're Kamen Rider trappings they're not really doing (no "Henshin!", no belt/driver, how often Hibiki takes his helmet off, no bike), but the storytelling is 100% Kamen Rider.

It's all based on Hibiki?! That's why those kids never say Henshin when they do their choreographed transformations!