[DreamSword]

I am currently 14 episodes into Saban's Masked Rider and I...

I...



I think I actually kinda like this show?

Maybe it's just me being a nostalgic old man for the time this show aired, but you genuinely don't really get Toku shows like this anymore(atleast in the US).

There's just this air of wholesomeness and fun all throughout every episode, and the farther I go in the more I end up surprised as to just how much effort actually did go into its production despite how very obviously low budget it is.

Stuff like very closely matching the outfits Kotaro wears in the episodes they pull stock footage from, or how much consideration the script gives as to the internal logic of each of its characters; Answering questions like "Why don't the bad guys just nuke Dex from orbit?" "Why don't they just send an army of monsters?" and so on.

But really, I think the biggest draw for me so far is actually Dex himself. He's a genuinely good character played by a very likable actor! He's awkward, he's weird, he's a bug alien, and his quirks are played just as much for character development as they are gags. And surprisingly funny gags too!

There's also a surprising amount of world building going on in regards to both Leawood, the town the show takes place in, as well as Edenoi, the planet that Dex comes from. For example, Dex's' people evolved from insects, so not only can he talk to insects, but stuff like bug spray actually makes him sick. It's alot of little things stretched out over the run, but it's all so endearing in its own right. And again, solid character humor comes out of it too.

Having also now seen Black RX, it is actually interesting to me in the ways they repurposed alot of the footage. Sure, a good chunk of it ain't handled the best; Like how US censorship presents Masked Rider from impaling his opponents with his Electro Saber, so he just kinda shoots an energy bolt at them and they blow up, but other ideas are rather interesting like reframing Robo Rider and Bio Rider as different upgrades for the Masked Rider powers, given that Dex isn't a cyborg like Kotaro is.

My good time so far with the show of course lead me to wondering why little me wasn't as into it, I think I might've pinpointed why: Pacing. Now, the pacing isn't bad, I've experienced far worse, even from other Kamen Rider shows, but Masked Rider doesn't have the breakneck "go so fast you don't even have time to think" pacing that classic Power Rangers does, instead slowing things down a bit; and that kinda bites it sometimes? There have definitely been a few episodes so far that felt a bit longer than they actually were, and that's likely where the show lost my attention as a kid.

But, yeah. I'm not gonna claim whether the show is "objectively" good or not, but so far I'm honestly having fun watching it. It's given me alot of laughs both genuine and ironic, and that's alot more than I can say about some of my more disliked Toku shows such as Decade and Build.

You can call it stupid, but atleast it's stupid in the fun way.