[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Until yesterday, I thought Amazons would essentially be 5-10 minute extended commercials, like all the other net-based Toei Toku stuff. I have never been so thrilled to be wrong. 'Cause holy crap, this was so much better than it had any right to be.

I loved the first episode to bits. It was pulled straight out of the early Heisei Rider playbook, and I never thought we'd see anything that felt like Heisei Rider again. I love it when Kobayashi goes dark & serious, and with only 13 episodes, we can be assured that there won't be any of the pointless filler in the middle that often throws Kobayashi's yearlong toku series off course.

Honestly, a 13 episode Kamen Rider series that isn't as beholden to the commercial reality of being a toy commercial for toddlers is something I've dreamed of for years. It really feels like the streaming venue is a place where creators can potentially take a lot of risks.

Dare I dream of a Super Sentai equivalent? If that happened, my heart might literally explode. Here's hoping Amazons does super well and justifies more projects in this vein.