[DreamSword]

I just finished season 1 of Saban's Masked Rider.

And while there've certainly been some rough patches here and there, my overall view of the show hasn't really changed.

So rather than talk about the most current 13 episodes and end up repeating what I said before, I instead wanna turn attention to what is probably the most contentious aspect of the show: Ferbus



Even people who've never watched the show know who Ferbus is, as he's essentially the mascot of the show and the thing most people couldn't stand most in the whole affair. And to be honest, while I personally think he's just kinda there, I can easily see why he grew so hated.

Sure there's the common complaints, about Ferbus eating up screentime and being an obnoxious kid-appeal character, but I think the biggest detriment of it all is that Ferbus is a big reason why alot of things in the story either go wrong or are made worse off than what they were, and unfortunately he never learns even when scenarios blow up in his face, and is often easily forgiven.

Episodes 20 and 22 especially will test your patience when it comes to Ferbus, as those two episodes focus almost entirely on him and it's when he's at his absolute worst behavior. Heck, the 20s in general could be considered that, as even in episodes not with him at the forefront he often does something incredibly selfish or stupid that makes things worse for everyone else. It's very easy to hate this little fuzzball.

Do I hate him, and does he ruin the show for me? No, as I have experienced far, far worse, even if we're just strictly talking toku or even just Kamen Rider. But man, even I found myself either rolling my eyes or doing a deep exhale during certain moments or episodes. Luckily though, everyone else in the cast, even if they aren't exactly "deep" in terms of character writing, are likable enough to keep me invested. Especially Dex, who as I've noted before remains a very likable lead.

Similar to my stance on the second half of Super-1 where I said there was fun to be had if you could get passed the kids, there's some genuine heart to various aspects of Masked Rider if you can get passed Ferbus.