[Magnugiga]

Prefer that they tell the origin story immediately. The faster you know the full background story and motivation of the main character, the easier it is to sympathize and root for them.

Saving the origin story for later can still work tho, I suppose. For instance, showing our hero being competent and confident in their first appearance, then some time later show them when they're still a scared and clumsy newbie struggling to harness their newfound power, emphasizing how far they've come in the process (not a KR show, but there's a show that did that really well)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

I don't really prefer one over the other. Both have been done really effectively in the past. My favorite first episode in the franchise is actually a bit of both: Kamen Rider Black, which begins with a recently escaped Kotaro running away from the Gorgom priests before instinctively triggering his first transformation.

Yeah, that's a great one, love the intensity and horror movie vibe of that whole scene.

My favorite one in terms of the MC's immediate reaction of becoming a Rider is Kouta's (Gaim) pure giddiness and joy, trying out various Henshin poses and all. Boy, he really has no idea.