True that.
After a reinvigoration by Beast, Wizard is starting to lose it's luster again.

I do often wonder why so many Toku seasons are so long, especially since most seem to stay around a lot longer than the writers really seem to have ideas for.

Most are long enough to last a year.

Oh is that what they stretch it for?

Yep, give or take a few weeks for holidays/sports.

They're usually around 40 episodes. They need to do a Kai approach. If you cut out all of the filler episodes where nothing much happens, and I could name ten Wizard episodes right now, they'd make for a better series.

I agree about Beast. Without him, without Nitou, Wizard would outright suck. I love Wizard, I love the suit, I love the powers... most of them. But Haruto cannot carry a season by himself.

And seriously, I called some of the Fourze switches useless? Dress Up Ring says Hi.

As I'm quite far behind, are there any episodes of Wizard then that I can just completely skip?

I don't think a Kai approach would be the right way to go about it. Toku has an odd tendency to put plot-centric moments and upgrades and the like during filler episodes.

The christmas episode. For a start.

Because Toei is a cruel sob.

What episode number is that?

See, I actually think Kousuke is holding the show back a little. If he were more serious (and we lost Shunpei), Haruto could have the more serious Rider series that he's supposed to be in instead of this odd beast that can't decide if it wants to be serious drama or goofball comedy.

And Haruto can definitely hold down the show on his own. He's one of the best main Riders we've had in years, second only to Shotaro.

I feel the contrary. Haruto really can't hold a show, in my opinion.

I... disagree with that to a point so sharp I just poked my eye out. Youre arguement has blinded me.

I think the problem a lot of people have with Haruto is that he's a really subdued character. Coming off of year after year of Riders who were in one way or another really over-the-top, it's odd to have a hero who isn't shouting his head off, hugely overreacting to everything, or waving around his underpants all over the place. Haruto, to me, is at least as likable as any of those characters, he's just more willing to get down to business - in a lot of ways he's probably the most old school Rider of the entire Heisei era. He reminds me a lot of guys like Kazami Shiro or Jo Shigeru. As a big Showa fan I really enjoy that. The problem is that this isn't the kind of hero that a lot of people are used to in Kamen Rider anymore.

I also like how he can do comedy, but he does so in a much more subtle way than the last few Riders. The shoe bit in the first Mayu episode, for example, was great.

I like Underpants Hermit, Fedora Detective, and Greaser Astronaut!

You know Haruto reminds me of? Troy.

ok, OOO 14, were they goin for a freddy krueger thing here? :lol

I like all of those characters, too. Shotaro's great, Gentaro is fun, and Eiji is really likable. I just think that Haruto makes for a stronger protagonist than the latter two.

And Haruto is stoic as a stylistic choice, Troy is stoic because he can't act. There's a difference.

And if you're going to tell me that Shunya Shiraishi can't act, go back and watch the Mayu episodes or the first episode with Infinite. Then feel ashamed.

He can act, there's nothing wrong with that.
Hell, there's nothing wrong with a subdued performance. One of the reasons why I loved Hajime in Blade was because he wasn't so...Loud.

But it just seems Wizard isn't the right series for Haruto. He's trying to be subtle in a series that wants to be over the top, and as a result, he's having a hard time carrying the show.

Yeah, this is exactly what is keeping Wizard overall at the mid-tier level for me. Unless the last ten episodes absolutely blow my mind it's going to end up in the middle of the pack for me, alongside shows like Fourze and Kabuto.

Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, that's probably where Wizard will be ranked for me, too.
Better than Decade, at least.

Definitely. The question for me now is if it will end up better overall than Fourze for me. Probably safe to say I like it more than Kabuto, though.

Even in the early episodes that I'm at Wizard has some serious tonal clashes.

Like the whole concept of the Gates and the Phantoms and stuff is really dark and played exactly as such. And Wizard's design really reminds me of a lot of the 90s comics reboots.

But then you have that ridiculous and noisy Driver shouting gibberish and singing insane songs and the fact that Wizard's main arsenal are incredibly plasticy rings that look like something you'd win from an arcade...

Eh. For me, I can probably already tell that Wizard is gonna be right smack dab between Fourze and Kabuto. The last set of episodes might win me over and put it ahead of Fourze, but it's unlikely.

It's basically trying to be Kuuga and Den-O at the same time. It's turning out slightly better than that sounds, but not by much.

So the first Den-O movie is canon right? Which episode does it take place after?

The series lets you know.
Like, seriously, it's hard to avoid it. :lol

But to answer the question, it takes place between 27 and 28.

See this is why I like Juggling the series because each one keeps its shine to me so far.

I never had any interest in juggling series. I'd always start to focus on one I liked the most.

Decade Episode 7:

Well...the show's improving. That's good. I still don't get Narutaki, or what his goals are. I liked Tsukasa's speech at the end, but it kind of came out of nowhere. When did he get all inspirational all of the sudden? As always the fight scenes were good. I found that I never comment on the acting. That was good too, then again, Kamen Rider has had a habit of casting good actors (Takeru Satoh anyone?).

You say that like you expect it to change and now I feel sad for you. :(

Ahh, you had to remind me that Narutaki is just as big of a plot chasm as Decade :(

I like them all too much! lol

I'm still liking Black and I just finished Episode 4: I find this show interesting, since it's a lot like Agito where it's a very subdued series, but it's pace is much improved. Episodes go by fast in a good way, there's enough genuine intrigue and suspense to keep me interested in the overall story, and unlike Agito, Black seems genuinely heroic and at odds with his enemy. He's not just reacting like a robot, he's helping people and engaging the enemy in his human form, and you feel the weight that follows him when he's not in rider form.

:(

Sorry.

Why are we all so sad? :(

I'm not sad. I'm watching Black.

But I guess everyone else is sad because Decade.

:cry Why does Matrix have to be right?

You guess?
I know.
Decade does that.

Why do you have to say that like you're either disappointed or surprised?
I'm not preaching the Decade hate because Tsukasa stole my girlfriend or anything. I preach it because I genuinely find it to be a bad show.

I am so fucking curious about Decade the more and more I hear about it.

Just keep a few things in mind if you decide to plunge.

- There are many many holes of which plot goes to be forgotten and never resolved.

- We never get the War episode One promises. We come close a few times, but it never delivers.

- Tsukasa will, at some point, make you wish he was dead.

- The Hibiki Episodes are two of the Best Episodes