[DreamSword]

Just recently finished the next entry in my Kamen Rider journey: The not-at-all controversial Kamen Rider Kiva!

I think people are starting to forget it more and more as time goes on, but up until stuff like Wizard and Ghost premiered, Kiva was pretty much the definitive "worst Rider show ever" for a number of reasons.

So what was my take? Honestly, I just found it overall very... "whatever."

Like, yeah, there are its ups and downs like with any show, but as an overall, my main emotional state throughout a majority of the thing was just me sort of shrugging and going "sure." The key thing in all of that, I feel, was that once Act 2 hit, it was clear that this was not a story aimed at someone with my tastes.

Because really, I found the plot to be the weakest aspect of it all, with most of the character arcs severely suffering because of it. Meanwhile, the music and general aesthetic of the show were pretty well done, and what few characters I did like were ones that almost made the entire experience worth it despite my gripes. And for the record, yes, I like both Wataru and Otoya.

The show oddly enough reminded me of Dynazenon in that, every time a potential story hook or character arc would get proposed that I found interesting, it would immediately get thrown out to instead focus on romance that I felt nothing for. Inoue writes for plot, and unfortunately the plot we wanted to hard focus on in Kiva was romance and race relations, two things that I personally feel he's never been well equipped to handle.

I found alot of the more interesting stuff to be in Act 1 as a result. Stuff like Nago and how his black and white view of morality does more harm than good, Wataru learning to express himself through music and friendship, Kengo needing to learn that's he's more than just his guitar, Megumi's idol career and how it interferes with her job as a warrior, and of course, where in the heck half of the stuff in the world of Kiva even comes from. All of these are things brought up in Act 1 only to get immediately get thrown out once Act 2 hits.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that "thinking with your dick" is very much a thing, but even with that in mind I found alot of character choices to be ones that either didn't make sense or were very forced. My favorite example being how Nago turns into an entirely different character the moment he gets slapped by Maya. It's incredibly lazy to begin with, and makes it so that Nago doesn't ever get a full blown, naturally flowing arc as a result. Same deal goes for Kengo, who goes through two wild swings in character with only exposition given by other characters, which not only makes it feel not genuine, but also ends up contradicted throughout the show's' run regardless.

It also makes me wonder what it must've been like for anyone who watched the show weekly, because I full on binged this show(as I usually do), and still felt like alot of Act 2 was a serious drag. Meanwhile with Act 3, I felt was solid enough in seclusion, but in context to the rest of the show? Really I wouldn't blame anyone who felt like all three acts were written by different writers. Because yet again, when it comes to characterization, there are things that rub me the wrong way. For example, Taiga not caring at all about Sagarc dying, despite Sagarc being Taiga's' friend since Taiga was a toddler.

That's another thing too. One thing I've read certain defenders of Kiva's' story choices say is that they "don't care about where the toys come from." And sure, for many other toku shows I could see that, but when it comes to Kiva I really can't agree, because this is one of the tokusatsu where not only are many of the toys closely tied to the characters, in alot of cases the toys ARE actual characters. Kivat, Tatsulot, Sagarc, the three Servants... they are all toys, and also all characters with their own personalities. So to me, saying one doesn't care about the toys is to also say that they don't care about the characters, and that's a notion that I personally just can't agree with. Characters are my primary appeal: If I'd liked most of the cast, the plot being dumb wouldn't matter!

But, so as to not end all of this on a sour note, I'm now gonna list off all of the positives that I took away from Kiva.

• The soundtrack is pretty good, not that you get to hear it very often.
• The general gothic aesthetic of the show really works. Wataru and Taiga having entire Hallmark paragraphs on their shirts is certainly a fun fashion statement.
• Really loved the characterization and arcs of Yuri, Megumi, and Maya, and how it showcased the importance of mothers. Especially in a franchise that more often than not honors horrible fathers.
• Liked both Otoya and Wataru as protagonists. Otoya for his wonderful charisma, and Wataru's' steady(if a bit messy) growth and for being one of the few protags I've seen with Asperger's Syndrome.
• The few times the show went for comedy, it typically worked. Really only falling flat during bits with Nago and Kengo.
• The execution was a bit messy at times, but I overall ended up liking the jumping back and forth between time periods. It's not a bad idea!

When all is said and done though, I give Kamen Rider Kiva a 2/6. It's not horrible, but it's a show that's very much not for me.

The song I ended up choosing to represent Kiva on my Kamen Rider Playlist is "Weaving the Threads of Time" which is a song that not only has a fitting name, but heavily features violin work, which was basically a necessity for a show that has such a deep appreciation for the instrument. Even if they only ever played like two songs on it.