Wizard Episode 17: "Another Wizard" Discussion
 

Waiting on the sub. This is the first episode that's aired since I've been caught up on the show, so not sure exactly when to expect it.

Late Sunday night/Monday morning ish

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Henshin sequence

Humans in Kamen Rider are the most fashionable people on tv.

I really hate that prolonged Hen.................shin. It's not nearly as cool as when Accel did it.

Now that I've seen it in action, that is the 2nd worst rider belt I have ever seen. That thing looks heavy and unconformable. Plus, it copies Samurai's crotch face and I can't figure out why anyone would copy that.

The rest of Beast is okay. The body design is well done. The helmet is...ugly. That's all I have to say about that. He has some nice powers and a good fighting style. I do like Beast's rings better than Wizard's ring. Beast's rings don't look nearly as unconformable to wear. He kind of reminds me of Accel design wise.

Everything else will have to wait until subs.

After seeing the suit in action I love it even more. The only complaint I might have is that the actors voice isn't nearly badass enough for a suit that awesome.

Mayo on corndogs (or whatever that was supposed to be)?

. . .ew.

EDIT: Likewise with the donuts.

Not sure what to think of Beast yet. I like the suit(slicked back Latorata or not) but it's definitely a clash with the personality of the character. Something Wiseman said about him being "the primitive wizard" reminds me of that leaked character bio that said he was an ancient wizard. So maybe his childish personality is kind of an overcompensation for his extreme age. Like he's been wandering the earth for a very long time(think the Doctor in Doctor Who and how he's usually depicted as being goofy despite his advanced age).

Otherwise he seems like the parent of a yummy in OOO.

Beast. I like the guy. His upbeat personality and cheery way of doing things is a much appreciated step away from the douche secondary riders we've been getting since Den-O.
That said, I don't like the belt. The pictures didn't do justice to how chunky that thing is. Feels like the Samurai opening thing was pointlessly forced, especially considering his rings are inserted from the side.
Still not digging that helmet. And I'm still not a fan of the asymmetry. The character is nice though.

Yeah the belt is terrible. I'm probably never going to buy a DX driver because they never look as good as in the show and its such a money sink, but Beast looks like he's actually wearing a toy already.

Loving Beast. I like it's a bit like OOO where the riders are just rivals, not full on enemies. Well, Beast thinks they're rivals at least :lol Can't wait to hear why exactly Beast needs mana to survive, I'm wondering why he can't just get it from food like Haruto (if it worked that way for him he would never run dry on mana thanks to all that mayonnaise).

See I really like the design but I think the character is gonna have to grow on me. He seems to be weird and offbeat simply just a little too much. I love the way the belt and sword work though. And people can say that helmet is a watered down LaToraTa all they want, it still looks great. I've been digging asymmetry with my heroes the last 2 years. Meteor was great, Beast is great, and the Kyoryugers look great.

I wonder if they are going to make a "We'll defeat the Phantom together, you can eat it" kind of contract,

Really? His character is like Shunpei-lite, and that's a godsend for this show. He's energetic, he's happy (Hell, this fact alone makes him stand out from every secondary rider ever), and he's not a complete jerk. While his suit is ugly and his powers very meh, his character is what completely redeems him in my eyes.

I like beast so far. I can't remember off-hand the last time we had a secondary Rider this goofy. He looks to be a good foil for the more stoic Haruto. The suit is pretty cool, too, although I have to agree that the belt is terrible - maybe even worse than the Fourze driver.

Overall I liked this episode. So, Haruto has doughnuts and (I can't remember his name) Beast has mayonnaise. Ok. I like how Beast isn't a jerk like Ryusei or Yuuto, he's just a regular dude. I like how he's straight up "we're going to be rivals" I like how the different rings give him a different cape, I wonder how the Figuart will handle that. It's a wonder how he fights with those capes on though. I find the concept of him consuming Phantom's mana very interesting as well. That said...I'm not getting the DX Beast Driver. It was also very interesting to see Wiseman be out and about with Phoenix and Medusa. So yeah, bring one the next episode!

EDIT: I agree with Den-O the prolonged "Hen........shin" isn't as cool as when Accel did it. I like his henshin pose though.

Well, that's a good point. I guess I'll have to see how he alters the dynamic of the existing cast. It'll be nice to have someone on the show who doesn't just hover around Haruto looking for his approval.

With a name like Beast I thought the character would be pensive, brooding and a little dark. Man I'm waaaaay off. I do know how hotdogs with mayo taste like but donuts? Hmm... time for some experimentations.

I haven't formed an opinion on...on... whatever Beast's name is. He's livily at least.

That, doesn't make him better. I've had a mild hatred of Shunpei ever since his first appearance. And I dont find Haruto nearly as boring as most people. I was incredibly happy to see a halfway normal rider who wasnt insane and all over the place like Gentarou.

Simply put everything about beast is cool, and makes a good foil to Haruto. Cant wait to see the fight between the 2 of them.

I actually realized why I don't like Haruto.
It's because he's Tendou-Lite. Every characters' lives in the series revolves around him. Their actions don't pertain to anything but to help Haruto. Shunpei's dreams aren't to be a wizard anymore, but to be Haruto's personal assistant. Rinko will casually ditch her job so she can shine Haruto's boots. Koyumi, as cold as she is, does nothing but fawn over Haruto, and Wajima doesn't exist for anything beyond making more rings for Haruto.
This is where Beast comes in. He has his own agenda. Granted, he's revolving around Haruto, but he's not kneeling before him and praying to not-Tendou for the opportunity to eat a Phantom.

As for his personality, there's a reason why I love Shunpei, a character who I would loathe as hard as I do Decade in any other series. He brings the smiles, he brings the energy and happiness to the series. I'll admit that more recently Haruto has been getting into things a bit more, and I do hope that it's a permanent change, but until he does, Shunpei and Shunpei 2/Beast are the only reasons why I'm still watching.

Having seen the subs, I have more things to say.

Beast is really interesting in that he seems be something of an inversion of Haruto in terms of character--Haruto is introverted and reserved and Beast is anything but. He's kinda goofy, and I think I'll have to disagree about mayo being the greatest food ever invented, but it should set up an interesting dynamic going forward and the conflict oughta bring Haurto out a bit more.

I like Beast's suit a lot more than I did from the magazine pics--the gold on the helmet looks a bit more in line with the gold on the suit and feels more of a piece. The matador thing works better than I thought it would (they do love twirling capes, don't they?) The Figuart should be quite splendid.

Looking forward to next week!

My first impressions of Beast are pretty positive. The concept of "crisis=opportunity" or that despair can lead to even greater hope is an interesting contrast to Haruto's protection stance. And the idea of consuming mana may help both of them evolve as magic users or by extension characters.

Also, I wonder if Kosuke is a fan of Timmy P's.

I like the character of Beast,for the simple fact that he's his Rival instead of just plain enemy.It's a nice change of pace.And he's his rival cause he thinks all wizards feed on phantom's mana,which makes it even better.I still think the suit design could be much better,but the character is great to watch.

P.S.I also totally called the mayonnaise on doughnuts happening.lol

I just noticed he starts the transformation with a pelvic thrust.>_<

When I first watched this episode, I was infuriated that the episode didn't take the arrival of Beast seriously. Most of the beginning was slapstick setting up the episode. But then I had a thought that changed my perspective completely.

If Beast's entrance was taken seriously, we would have had another dick to the main hero Secondary Rider. And we got something different then that this time. So my perspective on the episode changed from being bad to good. I still don't like the slapstick with Beast's human form and mayonnaise. It might be subjective genius, as we all know Beast is going to show up and it's gonna be this wack-o guy so maybe this was establishing character.

I don't like the fact that Haruto got poisoned and cured in one episode. It could have set up so much potential in dealing with the Phantoms while Haruto was hurt when they had to trust this Beast guy they have never met and could turn on them at any given point. But I guess next week's episode is going on a different path, storyline with Beast is going to be interesting.

EDIT: This guy still looks like Jayden from Power Rangers Samurai.

Great to have another one shot episode. I'm still not a fan of Beast's design, but I love the voice of the belt and his character looks like he'll make Wizard interesting again. I just hope he doesn't fall into any miscommunication tropes and that Haruto was just too shocked to explain things.

Considering Inoue hasn't been let near Kamen Rider since Core, I'd say chances are good he won't

Well what do you know, Beast might actually be what saves this show for me.

I'm still warming up to the design (although seeing it in action has made me appreciate it a lot more), but I'm already loving the character. He's an excellent foil to Haruto in both beliefs and personality, even if he has a weird mayonnaise fetish.

This is a very good start!

So I'm actually up to date for a change.. my thoughts:

I already liked beasts design, it in action is even better. The belt sucks, but the overall aesthetic I like. As for character wise he's alright. I like that he's rather care free and a bit cocky.

Wouldn't it be cool if Haruto actually took the douche baggy route? The amount of times he harps on about being the only one who can fight the phantoms and give people hope... it'd be nice if Beast actually ended up causing Haruto to fall into despair a bit. y'know stealing his lime light and what not. I know he said he wouldn't but it looks like they're going to have their compulsory heroes first meeting fight, so who knows.

I still dont get the basis of his character.I mean I get the Chimera part,but Matador-Wizard-Gambler?

The dart board of gimmicks can be a harsh mistress.

I can see Haruto getting a bit pissed at beast for not taking the Phantoms as seriously as he does/treating it like a game. This is just based of my impressions of Beast in this episode though but it wouldn't be a bad way to cause conflict.

Dartboard of gimmicks? Then where the hell is my Platypus Rider who transforms using books already? :lol

A harsh mistress, indeed :p

Well, got up to this point. Didn't really like the show... but, for some reason. Intro to beast? Made it a bit watchable.

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The Horror...The Horror!