[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

As the story unfolds, you will notice several differences between Ichijou and Nijou. Compared to his previous "incarnation", he is:
- less c********,
- less t****,
- less s******,
- less a********,
- waaay more secretly q*****,
- and the last one, THE highlight of interaction between him and Shouichi: he is c*****.

And he complements all those qualities with courage and sheer d***********, making him my 3rd favorite Rider, ever.

What are those qualities? I will reveal them as the story unfolds.

Hooray!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Layton13

Ahhhh! Finally, we reach the stretch of series I feel really strongly about, in either direction. Agito definitely falls into the love category.

And your description of how you felt during the first three episodes reminds me a lot of how I felt when I watched them. I slogged through the end of Kuuga. I knew it wasn't bad, I just wasn't invested. Agito reminded me why I loved Rider after Kuuga left me so unaffected. Why I had watched everything from W-Ex-Aid at this point. Characters. Seeing characters struggle and trie to come out the other end as better people, and some failing. Kuuga didn't really give me that, especially with how it's lead was so optimistic with seemingly no reason for it. Agito immediately made it clear, that these people weren't just gonna be alright, they would have to fight for it. That things wouldn't just magically work out, they had a long, hard road in front of them.

And yeah, Agito has a certain feel to it. It isn't overly dark and depressing, but it's also not happy. There is this looming darkness everywhere, seemingly waiting to strike at any moment.

Also, the way you described the way G3 felt in these episodes, good catch. That is a first teaser on what this series will focus itself on later on when it establishes its own identity more. I didn't even catch that the first time, but really cool that stuff like this was already around from episode one.

I hope you have as much fun with this show as I did.

I'm really looking forward to watching more of it! I was... trepidatious, I guess, to start this one up. What if it didn't click with me, the same way Kuuga never quite clicked? How many more Kamen Rider series could I do that I respected intellectually but tolerated emotionally?

But, luckily, 100% not the case. It's still got that Working Class Kamen Rider vibe of Kuuga, but it feels more into being a superhero show this time. The Kamen Rider parts and the police procedural parts and the drama parts and the humor parts, they're all working together in harmony this time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BagJo

Agito is a real favorite of mine (I think it was my 2nd Rider tattoo) and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far Die.

As others have said, it finds it's own identity as it goes along, but it definitely has that "This is what we learned from Kuuga" vibe going for it. I actually saw Agito about 4 years before I watched Kuuga, which is probably why I don't hold it as (almost) "Sacred" as some.

I also have to agree that the Hikawa/Hojou G3 stuff is some of the strongest in the show.

I joke about it (because I was dying watching it, so goddamn funny) but I think the idea of a guy who was, like, Proto-G3 just loathing the dude who took his job, it's great. Like the scene with Mana and Shouichi from Episode 4, I understand that motivation. I get why someone would be furious and still trying to to their job, but they just can't let it go. It's nice that it's multi-faceted, that Houjou has a legit beef but exhibits his displeasure in the most unproductive, childish ways possible, and that Nijou is kind-of screwing up way more than you'd hope for, but he sticks with it and finds success. It's a fun plot to explore.