[TheJaz]

Hmmmm....

One of my initial reactions to this episode was "this show isn't going to be for everyone", and looking through here as well as elsewhere online, i think maybe that was a correct assessment lol

This show certainly doesn't have as big, and expectation-defying, of a first episode as Geats. Certainly, I could see a lot of people viewing this show as a downgrade from a show like Geats.

Before I state what I thought of the episode myself, I feel I should get some of my biases out in the open...

Personally I'm quite mixed on Keiichi Hasegawa as a writer, he's written numerous things I've enjoyed greatly but he's definitely delivered some shows and episodes I haven't vibed with at all... I believe he has a lot of potential as head writer, but going into this show I knew that for me personally the vibe was most likely going to be a “love it or hate it” situation

Now, while I really enjoyed Geats, I found it oddly difficult to watch each week, something about it wasn't strongly drawing me in, and watching it started to feel a bit like a chore, despite really enjoying a lot of the content and characters... And tbh, I didn't like Revice at all the year before, it was actually the first rider show I've ever stopped watching mid season solely bc I didn't like it, with no intent of going back to finish it... And while Saber holds a special place in my heart it was a very messy show... All this is to put into context how I was feeling ahead of Gotchard.
(Edit: Genuinely no shade to anyone who more strongly likes any of the listed shows, they all have their own strong points)

I desperately wanted Gotchard to be a show I would enjoy watching every week, and after Revice and Geats there were three main things I wanted from this show:
1. Fun! Something (that at least begins) more light hearted
2. Something that feels like "Kamen Rider" (a very subjective point)
3. I needed to be left with a feeling of “I can’t wait to see more!”

So those were the things I was looking for going into Gotchard... And I have to say...

10s across the board!

Genuinely this show was exactly what I wanted it to be lol

When the show’s premise and staff was first initially revealed a thought I genuinely had was “I want this show to feel like Fourze and Ghost, with a dash of Wizard and Saber”, which uh, probably not a lot of other people would want, but that’s how I felt, and it’s what I feel like I got!

I really cannot overstate how much this episode exactly matched my expectations, if not surpassing them on a few levels

While I could see people finding this episode generic, I found it to be extremely "rider like" in a way i haven't felt a lot of other recent shows to be, and i was just kinda vibing with that lol... I do think it has some of it's own unique and fun ideas too tho!

I really loved the general set-up of this episode, and it being a dedicated “origin” episode. I’m glad the bike, alchemy school, valvarad, and extended cast were not all crammed into this episode, very much appreciate that. I like what this episode chose to focus on, and I don’t think I could point to a single scene that I didn’t enjoy in the entire episode.

Oh also, I love Hotarou naming his own belt and rider form too! Super fun! Don't think we've seen something like that in a while...

I can already see some foreshadowing and set up being carefully placed into the show, and I’m very curious to see how the story and characters pan out as the series progresses

I finished this episode and immediately wanted to watch more, which I feel like I haven’t felt (for rider) in a couple years so I’m thoroughly happy!

Maybe I’ll rewatch the episode and do a point by point summary of everything I liked about the episode lol