[Xtreme RX]

Wow, surprisingly well-paced first episode. A healthy balance of drama and action, leaning towards the latter but in a way that doesn't feel forced. Having Geats' debut take place during the last act of an initial battle royale is genius because it A.) Gives us a valid reason to show off the Rider at his strongest (initial) state and avoids the whole "civilian suddenly knows how to fight" issue and B.) It gives us a rundown of the series premise without needless exposition or weird contrivances. Juxtaposing Ace's overconfidence with Keiwa's more idealistic personality was great, reminded me not only of Kabuto but also of Donbrothers, where the civilian Haruka is more the focus while the experienced Momoi is more the foil. There's a lot going on here with all of the characters. Plenty of mystery and I'm really excited to see where this goes next.

Action-wise, wow. This was an impressive debut fight for both Geats and Buffa. The CG looked pretty decent, it didn't really pull me out of it like it usually does. Geats transformation gimmick is awesome and the sound effects seem minimal compared to recent years but still very effective. I love the jazz-inspired music too. If I have any complaint to make it is that the Jamato look really, really comedically low budget.

Really solid first episode, up there with Zero-One for me. It's nice to be excited for Kamen Rider again!