[Switchblade]

I can see where you're coming from, Die. I don't have the same take on the show, but I get it. I love that they went for something different here and I actually quite like the action scenes. The giant CGI monster fights are very much limited by 2005 kid's TV show budget CGI, but I still think we get some good action scenes. Of course, at the end of the day I'm here for Hibiki and Asumu's relationship and the warm feelings of being with this cast of characters that I love. I'm fine with the show not having as much focus on the monster fighting because goddamn is this some good steakhouse chicken.

I think one of the biggest tragedies about what happened with Hibiki is that it brought the really experimental part of the early Heisei era to an end. Kabuto is a much more conventional Rider show and after that we got Den-O, which was such a big hit that almost every show that came after it would copy a lot of its elements. We wouldn't get a show that really tried anything radically different again until Gaim. I love so many of the shows that came after this, but I can't help but wonder how things might have been different if Toei were still more willing to experiment with the show.

And I'm glad catwhowalks brought up Daimajin Kanon. It's very much the spiritual sequel to Hibiki and is absolutely delightful in many of the same ways. You also get a lot of catharsis from it, as the core plot is about a young woman who's dealing with depression after a deeply personal creative work gets stolen from her and crassly commercialized.

I'll also join FreshToku in hoping you enjoy the movie. I think it's one of the more fun movies from this era, even if its inspirations are kind of obvious.