[Kiwami]

Watching this episode did something for me I did not expect, it really made me like Emu even more. Like, I already liked him before, but now I think he’s a great protagonist.

And I did not expect this because going into the episode I was like “Yay, Brave! I’ll love this dude, he uses a Dragon Quest-esque Gashat after all” but I quickly realized I don’t care for Hiiro all that much. I mean this early on it’s exactly the kind of reaction his character is supposed to cause; I’m sure he’ll grow a bit softer over time and learn a few things from Emu. And of course we’ll get the tragic backstory which made young Hiiro snap and decide to seal his emotions for patients forever. But for now? He’s just a rival for Emu and it makes me like Emu even more.

Brave as a Rider is kinda lame too. I mean yeah, his LV. 2 sequence is pretty great with the door, but that’s about it. I don’t like the animations of the sword, I hate that it turns to switch elements like the toy does even though there’s no need to do that in the show, and to be honest his swordplay was lame. Ex-Aid did way more cool stuff with his sword in episode 1, the fight choreography was just better. Another thing I like more about Ex-Aid is that his fighting style is so much fun to watch. Like how he sneaks up on the Mage Bugstar and swings his hammer like a golf club.

The more I think about it, this makes sense. Emu is a gamer, fighting as a Rider is fun for him so he’s more creative. For Hiiro it’s a job, so he gets things done quickly without any nonsense. It’s kinda stupid that I only realize this now but I like it.

Anyways, I like Asuna / Poppipippawhatever, I enjoy how she switches between her serious and playful character. I don’t like that she’s a computer program, I would’ve enjoyed her being human with a special ability better, but again: We don’t know anything about her, she could very well be some kind of digital backup of an actual human and we might meet the real Asuna later.

As far as the rest goes, I really like it. I hope they can keep the videogame effects up because so far they tie the battles together very nicely, I like the chest spawns form the Taddle Quest level, and I hope they don’t forget about stuff like this later. Also, I like the LV. 1 suits a lot even though I did not think I would. I think they look good in a battle on their own; the suits look to be well built since the actors can still be very expressive through them, and they do go well with the theme. Yes they look stupid, but I already forgot about that. I think they work in the show.

I could write a bit more but we’re so early in the run I feel like I shouldn’t overcomplicate things. So far it’s a fun Rider show and that’s exactly what I needed after Ghost.

What I also needed after Ghost was a kickass opening, and Ex-Aid delivered in that department as well, I love it.