[Leo Novum]

Ryuki Ep.3: Oh my God, where was this show all my life? I thought I might end up hating it because it uses cards as the power source but man, was I wrong.

The overall plot of the episode was simple but the action was better than most modern Rider shows. There's something very cathartic about a Rider not relying on random powers-ups or form changes. It was just a monster and a man, duking the hell out. Why can't we have more fights like these anymore, Toei?

Another thing, the costumes and the props. Ryuki's costume and his sword look simplistic. This ends up adding a level of realism to the whole premise in my opinion. Let's look at Gaim, Drive and Ghost and their primary weapons. Gaim is a walking talking fruity samurai and his Daidaimaru is an orange slice. Drive is car and his Handle Sword is a steering wheel. As for Ghost, he's a an orange neon sign and his Gan Gan Saber looks positively outlandish.

I am not saying all of this is bad. The costumes of Kamen Rider are part of the reason why I'm such a fan of the franchise. But compared to these guys, Ryuki looks realistic.

The fight took place at a school, another thing I appreciate. There's not a whole lotta fight venues in Kamen Rider, aren't there? A change of scenery is always welcome in my book.

Finally, the characters have this older, more mature look to them, like they're actual people concerned about some supernatural event, not just a bunch of kids. Although I maybe being hard on modern Riders too much. I mean, Kouta turned out to be a pretty mature guy despite his initial naivety, Shoutarou is a private detective and Eiji isnt half bad. But these early Heisei guys seem to have more presence, you know? And I like that.