[Kiwami]

Open your eyes for the next Faiz!

…

Yeah I’d rather not, but I did it anyways. First 10 episodes down. And after the first 4 it became less of a task, it actually feels like I’m watching something worthwhile now.

The first couple of episodes, to be precise until the gang arrives in Tokyo, are really bad IMO. I mean there’s some good stuff, like all Orphenoch things are okay in my book, even though they are kinda super edgy tragedy, but the protagonists are super annoying. Mostly because Takumi and Mari do nothing but argue all the freaking time, it’s so bad. And then there’s Keitaro who feels like a one-off character, and is also annoying. I was really skeptical when it became clear he would stay.

The action scenes feel weird too. Like I’m glad they’re there, but it feels out of place. Kinda like a bad horror movie where the two monsters needlessly battle each other to the death at the end.

That being said, once they go to Tokyo, once they open the cleaning shop the setup for a more traditional Rider story is there and the show finally achieves a place where I can watch and be like "This… this is something". It’s not great or anything but it’s there. The characters finally come out of their shells, there are some great scenes like Takumi finally admitting what’s the deal with him when he thinks he’s about to die, and the Orphenoch characters are really interesting. Kaido is my favorite, he’s great. Maybe because he immediately got a focus episode which was awesome, but I think he brings a dynamic to the Orphenoch side of characters which shakes things up a bit. And Keitaro settles down and becomes more of a character himself than a talking doll, especially since he now comes in contact with Yuka.

This is what I feel is good about Faiz: The fights take a backseat, the characters are allowed to experience unique events and you have enough runtime to show two groups of people and develop them. Our cleaning maids and the newborn Orphenoch. I feel like that’s a good way to handle things since the enemy immediately has a face. With Rider it’s often kinda "Battle MOTW’s until episode 30 then we introduce the bad guy who was just standing around the entire time but we knew nothing about him", with Faiz the Orphenoch are immediately in the focus and develop and grow alongside the human characters. Okay, there’s still Smart Brain and the president, they will suffer the same fate in that they do vague shadowy stuff now and only directly impact the show latter, but at least we have some bad guys to watch.

I currently feel like I enjoy Faiz for all the wrong reasons: I enjoy it once it feels like Kamen Rider, once I break it down to a basic formula and forget most of the curveballs this show throws at you. Because there are a lot. There’s the whole tragedy thing for example, which is like I get it it’s a drama, but damn. Shit’s real. Or unreal rather.

So what do I like about the show? First off, suit designs are top-notch. Faiz himself looks great, love the look of the suit, love the gimmicks, and I love how they keep the glowing effects on. The Orphenoch aren’t bad either, I like the animal human hybrid suits. Yeah color-wise they are lame, but it’s intentional and I can get behind it from a story perspective.

I like the characters, currently. It can go down the drain very soon and I kinda feel it will, but currently the characters are likeable and do something worth watching. They develop and they face obstacles. That goes for both the humans and the "rogue" Orphenoch.

I like where the setup is going. Or rather what I think it’ll be going, it probably won’t. But Smart Brains seems interesting, there’s some witchcraft going on (class room underground and stuff) and there are more Riders on the way.

What do I dislike? Mostly the random scenes with police and stuff, because it feels like lazy build-up, but also some gags that don’t work, and the complete lack of anything funny. I know I seem like I hate the comedy characters but this show also lacks funny interaction between the cast. And it’s not like they aren’t trying, Keitaro attempts to do comedy, but it’s just not working. Most times when there’s nothing important to talk about the cast kinda seems like they read their lines from the paper, it’s a bit weird.

That plays into my next concern: The tragedy aspect. We all know what this show does, I heard about it before watching it, and after experiencing some of it I agree: It’s too grimdark. You might think Gaim does some hardcore stuff, and people who watched Agito know what the Angels do to their victims, but with Faiz they bring it down to a human level which is even more depressing. Like, the episodes with Yuka before she turned? Damn. Same with what happened to Kiba and Kaido. It’s on the brink of being too much drama for me.

And the action – this is weird because I talked about how I like it when they take time with the characters instead of fighting and how I love the suits, but the action is really not good. It’s short and boring. Punch and kick a dude, finisher, that’s it. There’s no finesse to it, no style. The Faiz gear itself can impress since it’s so well done, but the fights themselves are not good. Like this is one of the rare times where the fights are the "Let’s get this over with"-part for me. I hope it gets better; maybe the other Riders can do something about this.

Anyways, there you have it, I’m watching this now. I will finish it. Currently it’s enjoyable to some degree, but man I hope it stays that way. And just to push Fish Sandwich’s buttons a bit, I think it’s better than Ghost so far