Getting back into Kamen Rider
 

So if you listened to the Podcast I was one of the emails they read. So I figured I'd ask what would you recommend to get back in to Kamen Rider I am currently watching Gaim and am loving it. But he is the 1st out of the Heisei era of rider I've really liked. Now I tried with Forze and Wizard and really couldn't get into them. I also heard good things about W, Balde (and i missed the LWW), and 555. Now out of all the Kamen Rider's Black and Black Rx our my favorite if that helps with with the recommendation Thanks for you time and input

W, thats it.

Gaim kills W, but tW is watchable.

The rest are dated drivel compared to Gaim, the only show with actual life, planning, acting, story and the action and suits to back it up

Ryuki. Nuff said.

I've heard a lot of strong things about both W and OOO, but both apparently suffer from weak "middles", as did both Fourze and Wizard. Though if you can stomach 10 to 15 episodes of "filler" with Kamen Rider Fourze, it does pick up. I was one of those individuals that watched Fourze until a few episodes after Kamen Rider Meteor appeared and nothing happened with that story, and lost interest. I forced myself to stomach through about 10 to 15 episodes, and the series immediately picked up.

With Fourze, by episode 31, the series takes a dramatic shift leading up to its conclusion and will leave you hanging by the seat of your pants until the finale. But everything from like 18 to 31 is simply filler, the only thing being shown are 1 or 2 Horoscopes, and even then they are so unimportant to the story that it's one episode to reveal the Horoscope, one episode to resolve it.

W is probably the easiest to recommend. Kickback made a thread asking for a season recommendation and someone, I believe it may have been Switchblade, did a fantastic write-up giving several good reasons to check it out. It's really easy to recommend because it has a lot of aspects that can appeal to different kinds of rider fans. It has a lot of fun, lighthearted moments that appeals to the crowd more interested in something like Fourze or Den-O. It has some nice drama and serious moments that can appeal to those of us that love Ryuki or Faiz. It's a near perfect balance between the two. It also has some of the best characters in the franchise, including one of the strongest leads in Shotaro, and a fantastic set of primary antagonists. And the action is absolutely top-notch stuff. It even has some decent movies.

Ryuki I'll just recommend as my personal favorite season that, while not without its flaws (mostly from a somewhat tough start and some inconsistent logic regarding the "rules") but there is more than enough quality there that I can look passed all that (even if the last 10 minutes of the season pissed me off for like a week straight). Good fight scenes, some INCREDIBLE characters, and it manages to be a "dark/mature" season that, for the most part, does that aspect right.

I don't know why the Ryuki characters do . . . Anything. It's dense from bad plotting and acting, not from depth of story telling.. It's the opposite of Gaim, except both had rad suits

But week middles aren't that bad if you watch all the episodes within a short time. At least in W and OOO, the "weak middle part" is really easy to look over if you watch it fast.

W didnt really have a weak middle part. For me thats were most of the really good stuff happened xD

W had some of the same pacing issues that all of the shows that focus mostly ontwo-part, victim-of-the-fortnight shows had. It worked better than many, though, because of the strong characters and well-developed villains.

OOO, Faiz, Kuuga, Blade, Kabuto, Kiva, and Decade are some of my favorites that are good from the Heisei Era, but I love mostly everything Kamen Rider.

Basically, whatever looks fun to you probably will be.

Pretty much every Rider show out there has weaknesses and strengths, so there's no real magic bullet here.

That being said, Agito comes to mind a being a very balanced show, but it's not like the others aren't worth your time.

W, Ryuki (you also kind have to watch the movie if you want to see the final 2 riders), OOO,Kiva, Decade, and Hibiki.

For getting back into the show, I wouldn't recommend Decade. Decade is a show that you either love or hate, so to be on the safe side, I'd say it's better to watch some other Heisei rider before.

I'd say just find a show with a premise/designs you like and go straight in.

So i watched W and loved it i tried watching Fourze again i don't know if it is the high school theme, or the just how annoying the lead character is but i can not get into it (sorry Kickback) I'm going to try OOO next.

A dose of W, Kuuga, Den-O, Ryuki, and Fourze.

Ryuki, W and do try to keep up with Gaim because Gaim is slowly turning into my favorite season.