[Kiwami]

I've finished Kamen Rider Agito. It's on par with Kuuga for me and one of my favorite shows so far. I won't make a full on review since spoilers, but I really enjoyed the show.

It surpasses Kuuga in characterization and the overall storyline, the only thing that brings it down for me a little bit are the Lords. They are just boring plot-tools compared to the Gurongi which had personalities and agendas of their own. And while I really appreciated the storyline revolving the Overlord and mankind/the Agitos and I have to admit they are on a much larger scale, the final battle with Kuuga vs. Daguva was much more intense and epic IMO.

I love Agito and Kuuga for their characters, Agito has more lovable and memorable characters and I do feel they are better executed. With Kuuga you only really had Godai and Ichijo, the rest of the bunch were obvious side-characters, Agito handled that better. Both with the other Riders and non-Rider characters.

In my book both shows take place in the same universe, even though only a few words in the first couple of episodes hint on this. But after I searched around on the net I found other clues which are handled in books and novels, the most interesting IMO being that the Lords are actually of the Linto-tribe from Kuuga, taken in by the Overlord and transformed into his angels.

One thing that I do need to say is that in the final episodes Agito picked up interesting plots and handled them very well, Kuuga on the other hand was all about the way to the last fight, and the ending in Agito is not as corny as Kuuga's. It's short and takes a backseat to the storylines that started in the last episodes and the plot lines that still needed to be resolved, I liked that a lot.

Overall both Kuuga and Agito take the second place of favorite Rider-show for me and I'm absolutely willing to recommend these to everyone even remotely interested in Kamen Rider. If you do want to watch those, watch Kuuga first. Not only will you appreciate Agito's improvements more, you'll also get the feeling of watching one big show with two seasons. Two very good seasons.

No Fear, No Pain, Awaken the Soul!

Next up is a show that's not only the favorite of one of my best Rider-bros, it's also a favorite of many users on this site judging avatars & signatures I saw since I joined. Time to flip some cards and break some mirrors, Ryuki!