[TheTakoTank]

Finished Hibiki, or as I like to call it, "How Toei filed down a square peg to fit in a round hole". This might be the fastest I've ever finished a series. (~2 weeks, although I think I finished Double pretty fast, too) Major spoilers to follow.

I enjoyed most of it, and I loved it's unique approach to a Kamen Rider Series. But there were some problems, namely with the second half. (No surprise there)

Things I liked:
-All the Oni had very nice designs, and I liked that they were similar a la the Ryuki riders
-Very unique style during the first half of the show
-Kagayaki was a really good opening that also contributed to the show's style
-Soundtrack was pretty good
-Likable characters
-All the acting was very good; the episodes with Todoroki in the hospital and Zanki's death both had some very good emotional moments
-Even though they stopped using them, the first opening and ending songs are still kept as instrumental background music

Things I didn't like:
-Kiriya "Zeronos, what are you doing here?" Kyousukue. Absolutely hated his character and the way he influences the series, especially when they try to make him sympathetic/less of a dick, presumably so we'll accept his transformation into an Oni more
-Akira and Asumu quitting their Oni training, especially when you can tell they were supposed to continue based on their alliterative names
-The second opening, which isn't bad, but it just feels generic, and it has no discernible chorus. The only thing it really has over "Kagayaki" is the brief shot of all the oni. Other than that, the first opening is much better.
-The removal of "Shounen Yo!" as the ending
-Never showing us the whole purification ritual. They end it on a cliffhanger and just skip to one year later. Not cool.
-They introduce a new major plot thread in the last episode, which of course means we'll never learn about it.
-We only get to see 3 or 4 Oni regularly. I would have really liked to see more Oni in significant roles. (Other than Sabaki continually showing up just to get his ass kicked)
-The final episode doesn't have any satisfying resolution for the supporting cast. I think Ibuki and Todoroki only get a couple lines each in the finale
-Shuki's design. It's so different from the rest of the Oni, and it really feels like they did that to say "Look, this one's a girl! You can tell because she has a skirt!"
-Akira only being an Oni for all of 3 seconds, and we don't even see the full design
-Giving Hibiki a bike, even though he never had one and it's established that he's a terrible driver

Things they should have done:
-Made Asumu into an Oni and let Akira become a full Oni
-Introduced Eiki and Shouki as main characters as originally intended
-Not changed the production staff. That would have made the show infinitely better. At the very least they could have kept Inoue away from it.
-Kept the original opening.
-Had the final episode be instead a very powerful rare Makamou (or something similar) that they need to assemble all the Oni (Including Asumu) to defeat
-It also would have been nice to see more variety in instruments among the auxiliary Oni

Overall, I think they actually did a decent job bedding in the new storyline with the old one. The only real problems I had were the introduction of the new Douji and Hime, who then erase the Puppets/story that were being set up. Felt like a big middle finger to the previous staff. and the fact that they never explain the plot, or why the new Douji and Hime disintegrate, and who the people in the traditional clothes really are and their motives. Why do all Inoue shows relish never explaining what's going on? However, I was okay with the lack of a final battle, as the series didn't feel like it really needed one.

Overall, I give it an 7/10, mainly due to the exceptional first half. The show's second half took away a lot of its individuality and felt like the studio trying to make it into more a conventional series, which prevents it from being the 9/10 it could have been.