[Magnugiga]

Finished Faiz some time ago, and my feelings on it were super mixed. I posted in this thread about how the first dozen of episodes really got me into the show and characters, and I still stand by that. I was really invested in the pair of trios and enjoyed many of their interaction together. I even like Kusaka as a character; there's something in the idea of an unapologetic anti-villain character, and whom a show has no interest in redeeming, that appeals to me. He's often terribly used though, and that's one of the many frustrating aspects about Faiz's writing: poor utilization of characters with great potential.

I love Mari and Keitaro as characters, but I could swear they didn't actually do anything functionally useful in the story beyond screaming "TAKKUN, HELP! ORPHNOCH!" at their phones. The antagonists are just a bunch of perplexing douches who wander around getting into each other's way; Smart Brain, more like No Brain, amirite. Smart Brain Lady was actually the only one I found interesting, and that's mostly because of a single awesome acting moment when she momentarily discarded her faux happy-go-lucky persona and made a genuinely scary face as she threatened Kiba (*then of course she was barely featured for the rest of the show). I couldn't care less about Orphnoch King and that obligatory 'problem child' character with one of the most wooden child actor in the not so glorious history of KR child actors, too.

What else? Lots of repetitive defeat-and-retreat scenes at conspicuously empty streets and dark tunnels. Over-reliance on coincidence and silly misunderstandings to move the plot forward. Groan-worthy attempts at rom-com sub-plot. A fairly underwhelming ending when all is said and done.

And yet, there are genuinely great moments and ideas. Just when I thought the show's beyond saving, there's the mid-show game-changing twist that I totally didn't see coming. The Rider belts being treated like a used condom was initially hilarious to see, but also very interesting, eventually bringing to the fore the major theme of identity fluidity that the show's all about.

So, yeah, Faiz is a deeply flawed one that I personally rate above many other KR shows that might be objectively better or could be recommended to others without as much caveats, simply because its emotional highs (e.g. The Hug) moved me in a way that many other Rider shows couldn't come close to touching. There's just something with the core characters and the general bittersweet vibe that really got me.

(Paradise Lost: cool movie without many of the issues from the series! Much more interesting setting, two new Riders with awesome design, terrific battle scenes, and a concise plot that's both coherent and propulsive. Kaido not being an annoying creep and Keitaro finally given the opportunity to henshin were also major pluses. The downsides: still relying on characters being gullible idiot to manufacture the climactic conflict, and crummy treatment of its main two female characters. All in all, still one of the finer KR movies I've ever seen, and I definitely prefer the AU approach of early Heisei Phase I when it comes to movie narrative; it makes for a way more unpredictable, anything-can-happen, spectacle.)