The best Den-O ship to me is [SPOILER] and [SPOILER]. I just love their chemistry in [SPOILER]!

Or, as TV-Nihon translated it, "stinky flower woman."

I love the way you put this, it makes me clutch my heart and go awwww!

I absolutely second what you say bout the tone and presentation of some of the shows—I remember having a similar issue when DCD first came out, although I guess in the case of that particular anniversary show, it was a lot more self-contained in its retellings of those previous shows. With Zi-o though, I found myself honestly stumped as I can probably tell you even less about the Heisei shows after DCD, than the ones before.

I digress! What really matters is when you do find a show that clicks with you, it makes everything else seem worthwhile. Again, I'm really happy you're enjoying this!

I distinctly remember reading a TokuNation story about an Agito character appearing on a then-upcoming Zi-O storyline and feeling this crushing weight of Welp Gonna Have To Watch Another Ten Shows I Guess. Thought I could skate by with a measly ten Heisei shows, but no. Needed to do the full twenty, for better or worse.

On a different topic, it's been weird to me how little the tone evolved from Kuuga to Phase 2, versus what feels like seven of the same vaguely similar action/horror/drama approaches until BAM Phase 2 tone starts with Den-O. It's less like a steady introduction of different tonal elements, and more like a goddamn switch got flipped. I did not expect everything I loved about Phase 2's tone to just show up in one series, fully-formed! That was a bit of a swerve!

honestly if I wanted to get someone into Kamen Rider I'd recommend starting with this/OOO/Ex-Aid even if Gaim/Blade are my favorite Rider series I wouldn't recommend Blade to a newcomer because of how weird the pacing is at the start (As in most Rider shows begin with us explaining how our MC gets his suit/his powers and other things Blade our MC already got it before the start of the show) and I consider Gaim to be the franchise's Magnum Opus as in it's so good to the point where everything else seems like shit in comparison hell Drive was hated when it aired for the simple crime of having to follow Gaim (fortunately Ghost/Ninninger sucking so much made people give it a fair shot) and Gaim is kinda like another show I watched called Steven Universe where the first quarter of the show is much more lighthearted than the rest of the show and MUCH HARDER to get through if your going in blind/don't know what's coming though you do appreciate them more because of the foreshadowing

I relate so deeply! I remember during the OOO arc of Zi-o, and already I was on thin ice, having not watched anything but a handful of crossover movies featuring OOO, and then this guy turned up with his fan and his comic relief, and everyone kept telling me how clever it all was, and I was just like, whois this clown?! :p

It's like the most Kobayashi thing and the most un-Kobayashi thing ever, sometimes at the same time. I guess she has two settings, lol.

He did say no spoilers. Though it doesn’t help that the man comes from a different show altogether

As someone who started with Ex-Aid and fell hard for this franchise, I can definitely vouch for it as a good starter series. Empathetic Hero Has To Team With A Variety Of Charismatic Jerks To Prevent The Apocalypse is more-or-less the logline for every Phase 2 show, and that is Ex-Aid to death.

Other good starter series would be (to my mind) Double or Fourze, but it really depends on who I'd be recommending it to, you know?

So, yes, no spoilers... but the spoiler was thwarted by the fact that I literally have no idea which OOO character that could be. My inability to retain Kamen Rider information on a long-term basis saves the day!

Does my confusion at a successive show unrelated to Den-o count as a spoiler? I apologise all around if it does!

I'm mostly looking to stay clear of info from shows I haven't watched yet, which includes Kiva, Decade, and Zi-O up. But I brought up that Agito thing, so I can see why it would feel okay to elaborate on. I definitely opened the door! But, again, my own brain failed to connect the comment to a character, so we're all good. No harm, no foul.