[DreamSword]

Now up through episode 33 of Wizard, and I feel that the show is in a really weird place with me right now, because my enjoyment really seems to fluctuate with each arc, which is especially catching me off guard given the general perception that the Phoenix arc had.

First off, just to get out of the way, Kosuke might just equal Date as my most disliked Kamen Rider character at the rate he's going. Every two-parter that's had him as a primary focus has been dreadful for me to watch, and has only made me dislike his character even more. He's not funny, he's obnoxious, he interrupts the natural chemistry the rest of the cast has with eachother whenever he appears, and he never seems to learn from any of his mistakes. The only enjoyment I've been able to get out of him so far is when the rest of the cast makes fun of him or outright acknowledges how lame he is. Hyper Beast is also probably the lamest upgrade form in terms of my personal tastes, having now surpassed Meteor Storm from Fourze.

Meanwhile, the arcs that have had a very distinct lack of Kosuke in them, I've mostly really enjoyed! The Mayu two-parter was actually really, really good! Probably my favorite two-parter in Wizard so far! The Infinity Form two-parter was also pretty well done for the most part(despite them acting like Koyomi totally hasn't been out of focus for 90% of the show)! And whenever there's a lack of Kosuke, the wonderful character interactions of everyone else get to continue to shine! I also love that the Dress Up Ring continues to be useful.

I dunno, maybe I'm totally full of it, but to me it feels like they wanted to make Kamen Rider Beast be a literal second main protagonist with his own story, only to not fully commit to the idea, making him feel overall redundant.

Speaking of disliked characters: Gremlin. I can see why people don't like this guy too much, especially given his status as the replacement for Phoenix. And yes, I do like Phoenix better. But like, here's the thing. I get that Gremlin is supposed to be disliked and annoying; the show is very upfront about that. What I don't like however, is how every other character acts in regards to Gremlin. Like, maybe I'm jumping the gun, not having finished the season yet, but to me it really seems like no one has a good reason to not just kill the guy. Like, you'd think Medusa would tell Wiseman that Gremlin outright admitted to not giving a crap about Wiseman's' orders, and that Wiseman would just want the guy out and out dead considering Gremlin outright sabotaged Wiseman's' plans multiple times.

Gremlin and Medusa also go to show that power scale in Wizard is seemingly non-existent, given the entirety of the Phoenix arc.

But! To end this on a positive note...




(ironically these screenshots come from a two-parter that I didn't like)

Sunpei continues to be a constant highlight for me. He's funny, he's good-hearted, his actor does a great job giving him life and energy, and while not a major character by any means, he's been a constant source of great moral support and nice character moments. He certainly makes it out alot better than, say, Koyomi, who has barely existed up to this point. Honestly, I really wish that Shunpei had ended up becoming Beast, because I feel like it would've made for a really interesting character arc and furthered the dynamic between him and Haruto even more(and the two already make a great couple as-is).

I am still overall having a good time with the show, but alot of its decisions are just confusing to me at the given moment.