[ShyGuy]

Finished Den-O last night, one I’d really been anticipating considering how ubiquitous it is throughout the franchise and fanbase. I wasn’t completely sure what to expect going into it, I knew that it’s widely liked but was a bit hesitant because, while I typically prefer shows with a lighter tone, the emphasis on humor worried me. The humor in Kamen Rider is usually really not my thing, and so I was a bit worried Den-O would end up being the same kind of grating, annoying humor that characterizes a lot of the later Heisei stuff. I am glad to say my fears were proven wrong very early on, and Den-O was a fun, enjoyable time from start to finish (Or I guess I should say from start to climax).

My favorite thing about Den-O was definitely the characters, the Imagin specifically. They were just so much fun, with a lot of character and personality and they played off each other very well. It didn’t rely on the kind of obnoxiously loud slapstick comedy that I hate from later Heisei, the humor all came from the interactions between the characters and felt very natural and came from a place of genuine characterization. As the star of the group, Momotaros certainly got a bit more depth than the others, especially at the end as he finally becomes willing to acknowledge how much he cares about Ryotaro and the other Imagin as friends. None of the others really go through much in terms of character development or growth, though they do all have their moments. But considering that Den-O isn’t a show that’s really trying to go for serious character drama, that’s not a criticism of it since it succeeds greatly at its goal of creating a fun, humorous atmosphere based on all these over-the-top characters.

I didn’t care for the human characters quite as much as I did the Imagin, I certainly liked them but they didn’t steal the show the way the Imagin did. Ryotaro is a fine protagonist, but really not that interesting a character for most of the show. He does get some good material at the end that lets him come into his own, but for a lot of the series he didn’t interest me that much honestly. I was more interested in Yuto, whose storyline had more interesting developments for the most part and who got stronger characterization overall. I especially liked his interactions with Deneb, they were an amazing comedic pair and the clash of their polar opposite personalities made for so many great moments. Their scenes together were some of my favorite in the show.

Besides the characters, the other thing I really liked about Den-O was the tone. The lighter, fun-centric style was such a refreshing change after having to endure the grim, self-serious slog of shows like Faiz or Kabuto. That was getting quite tiresome, and it was a very welcome change to see Den-O come along and focus on just having a good time. Even the villains were fun, the villainous Imagin are some of my favorite kaijin in the series now. Each one had a clear and distinct personality, and they were often a great source of humor too. I really liked that since the kaijin are usually my least favorite part of a KR series, they’re usually only mindless monsters who exist just to facilitate fight scenes. The livelier, more well-realized Imagin were a great break from that and infused even intense fight scenes with a sense of lighter fun.

If I had to come up with any criticisms of Den-O, it’s that the two-part format did get a bit too formulaic at times and the plot often didn’t go anywhere or took a long time to do anything. There were some plot holes around the time travel stuff (As there always is in time travel stories) and most of all, Kai was not an effective villain to me at all. It never addresses key points such as who he even really is or his motivations. He was definitely the weakest part of the show and the only thing in it I didn’t really care for.

Other than those minor things though, I thought Den-O was fantastic and I had such a great time with it. There’s so much more I want to say about all the characters, the story, the tone, but the length of this would just become completely unreasonable if I wrote out all the things I want to say. Ultimately, Den-O ended up as some of the most fun I’ve had with Kamen Rider and I will miss these characters greatly as I move on to Kiva.