[The Chaos Entity]

It's the lack of hope that kills Amazons for me. I don't dislike it, I just don't think it's better than the real Kamen Rider shows, either. Kamen Rider has always been a show where a man is given evil powers and uses them to do good and inspire hope...but Amazons is so mired in despair and blood and darkness and edginess that 'hope' becomes a laughable concept.

Even Rider shows that are almost more flaw than shows...have that hope. Kamen Rider Amazons is an amazing show...but it's not Kamen Rider to me. It's more like Garo - which is also a great show. It tried to be 'Kamen Rider for adults'...but I think it lost the 'Kamen Rider' elements somewhere along the way. Like, it tries - and in some ways it succeeds - like, for instance, with how Jin and Haruka staunchly believe in their own ideals. It's very Knight/Ryuki, Gaim/Baron etc...but with Amazon's tone, you can tell from day one how it will end.

Jin and Haruka kill each other. I will legitimately be shocked if the movie doesn't end that way. And yes, Gaim and Blade set up similar endings...but in Blade they both live, and in Gaim only one dies.

I'd take Takeru or Haruto over Haruka or Jin any day. Even if Haruka in particular tries to fight for hope, it feels pointless. Amazons feels like 'Hope' is a childish notion in its universe and that's...not Kamen Rider to me. Even Gaim, which is a lot like Amazons in many ways, really feels like there us hope - especially in the last leg.

Again, I like Amazons as a stand-alone show...but as a Kamen Rider show, its...a bit of a disappointment.

...I mean, I'm also in the camp that finds Amazon's gore over-the-top and IMTOTALLYADULTANDEDGY...but I find it charming in its hilarity. Like, it's something of a cheesy link to mainstream Kamen Rider. Amazon Omega might not have a five-minute long transformation sound, but he does rip a guys head off, which no less ridiculous XD