[Switchblade]

I'll start by saying that I don't think there's such a thing as a truly bad Kamen Rider show. I've enjoyed every single one that I've seen in some manner or another. Ultimately, however, there are some shows that I thought had some serious problems that kept them from living up to their full potential.

Of all of these, I'd have to say the most disappointing is definitely Faiz. Faiz has a cool concept: in a lot of ways it's like reverse X-Men; humanity fighting against the next evolution of the species. There are some good characters in the show and some awesome designs. It also has a fantastic plot twist midway through the show that makes perfect sense but still came out as a surprise.

Where the show fails, however, is that the writing gets so far up its own ass that it can no longer see the sunshine. The entire plot swings on every character refusing to engage in open dialogue with each other and the show goes to almost ridiculous lengths to be "dark and edgy." While a mature show isn't bad, most of Faiz's drama is reliant on over-the-top melodrama and people being idiots. It makes it even worse that we have Kusaka hanging around contributing nothing but more and more interpersonal conflict, none of which can be easily resolved without people talking (which means, of course, that it all goes unresolved). And then there's the end, which fails completely at wrapping up any ongoing plot lines.

It's just a huge mess of a show. There are a lot of parts I like, but they tend to get overshadowed by all the stupid.