[MagiRed]

So, I just finished watching Kamen Rider ZO.

Right off the bat, I gotta say that I seriously love the monsters in this movie. While I like the two other organisms, which seem to be nice little callbacks to "Bat Kaijin" and "Spider Kaijin" from the original show, Doras especially is delightfully creepy. Kinda reminds me of Cell, in a way. If Cell had a creepy "little kid in a spandex ring" form going on. So, I was already sold on this one thanks to the creatures in it.

One thing I will say though is that it's a shame that ZO didn't really get as much time to shine as say, Shin did. I'd definitely argue that this one is a better movie overall, but it just feels like we didn't really get much of a chance to meet and learn about ZO as much as we did with Shin. It almost feels like this one was supposed to be the TV pilot, since the story seems a bit incomplete for some reason.

So yeah, the focus on the Main Rider was a bit lacking and I also have to say that going from Shin's hulk-esque mutation into his "Rider" form to what we get in here for a transformation effect is...rather underwhelming. It just feels like this one had so much more potential than Shin did at the time, at it was just kinda squandered.

Though as a quick side note, having the story centered on a mysterious Rider who acts as a brother figure to some kid named Hiroshi just makes me wonder how much shorter this movie might've been if Chase was involved in the plot. Appropriate enough, since Doras' final form looks like someone put Heart and Creation King into a blender.

So overall, I felt like it was a bit disappointing that there wasn't more to the movie, as I would've loved to have learned more about ZO and seen what other monsters he would've face, but I still liked it for what it is. Not quite as brutal and "eventful" as the Bixby-Hulk style movie that was Shin, but it was still entertaining. Probably my favorite of the Showa movies so far.

But of course, that might change after I watch the last one. Here's hoping J has a bit more to it.