[Megabattimus]

Hmm, what I have been watching that's Rider related lately?

Well, before I get into that, I figure since I never brought them up previously I should talk about the last two Rider shows I finished: NO FEAR, NO PAIN (Kamen Rider Kuuga) and CLOCK UP (Kamen Rider Kabuto).

Lets get the lesser of the two out of the way first: Kabuto.
Overall I liked it, but holy crap did it shove way too much shit into its last 15 or so episodes. Seriously, what the hell guys? By some sheer miracle it didn't completely derail the show and was offset by some awesome stuff (mainly the Hopper Bros.), but it did impact on my enjoyment of the show enough to mention it as a negative. Other than that, it was solid. I dug basically every Rider (yes, even Drake) and really liked seeing Kagami grow and evolve as a character...and on the flipside seeing Kageyama get promoted to a position that he was not in any way trained for and get shat on repeatedly by the show for it. Like at one point, Gorou-Chan uses TheBee Zecter through sheer force of will and despite the Zecter fighting against him, STILL does a better job than Kageyama. Really the only reason he got the thing was because TheBee's preferred user (Kagami) rejected it in order to become his own man.

Now, the movie on the other-hand (God Speed Love)...was downright awful. Just holy crap, how did they fuck this up so badly? What made it worse was the damn ending, which turns Tendou into the thing that people that hate the character think he is: an unbeatable asshole that can make EVERYTHING better just by using Hyper Kabuto to stop an asteroid, go back in time and use said asteroid to hit another asteroid and URGH. Just thinking about that movie hurts my brain.

On to something amazing: Kamen Rider Kuuga.
This...this is my favourite Rider show, just edging out W for the spot. It was...sniff...just everything I could ever want out a Rider show. Great fight choreography that isn't overly flashy, great use of the bike, TERRIFYING villains that actually KILL civilians and that you can't understand the motives of, leaving you just as confused as the characters are as to why everything is happening, one of the best supporting casts ever that all contribute in some way to the world, the best police force in the HISTORY of the franchise (or at of the Heisei era) that actually HELPS the Rider out, the greatest non-secondary Rider character to ever support a Rider (motherfucking Ichijo), one the best main villains ever, the best Rider of the Heisei era (baring Shotaro of course), one the best uses of form changes in a show, some of the best MOTW designs of any Rider show, one of the best worlds of any Rider show (baring the Windy City of Fuuto), one the best OPs ever, and, of course, one of the GREATEST endings to ever grace a Rider show.
I just can't say enough how much I ADORE this show. Everything worked and even when the plot wasn't moving; stuff was STILL happening, so I was NEVER bored. I honestly hope that MCS can get their v3 versions of the episodes back on track again once they finish Stronger, because I can't wait to watch this show again.

Now, onto what I've being watching lately:

Started Blade. I'm 6 episodes in. Its great. Haven't watched any of it recently but I figure I'll resume it sometime within the next couple of weeks; which I'll be doing raw since the TVN versions are...really awful. Not to mention I've kinda sworn off ever watching TVN again unless I ABSOLUTELY have to after a little blog post they made a week or so ago.

Up to episode 20 something in Fourze. Really enjoying it. Gonna watch more of it probably next week. Also watched Megamax, which was amazing. Didn't watch the OOO section since I didn't wanna spoil myself on that, but everything else was beautiful.

Up to episode 3 of the first Kamen Rider, aka Kamen Rider: The Adventures of Hongo and Ichimonji. Really digging it. Well...except for the MISUNDERSTANDING subplot in the first two episodes. Was not a fan of that. Everything else was excellent though.

And finally, I've been counting medals (Kamen Rider OOO for those not in the know) lately. Up to episode 13. Really digging it. Also watched Movie War Core which...I didn't hate as much as I thought. Sure, it, apart from the AMAZING Skull section and the ending in Fuuto, was awful: but it didn't hurt me or anything. Mainly because I went into those sections with SUPER low expectations and knew what to expect. The Skull section exceeded my expectations and I now join SPLIT LIP in the boat of wanting a Kamen Rider W Returns: Skull movie. Like holy crap was that amazing.