[DreamSword]

Episode 1: This is a Hero!

Pretty fun intro episode!

In terms of plot it's kind of a standard first episode, but there's some fun to be had in all the individual elements that make it up.

The story follows Kenji, a drifter who moves to Akebono City, a place that gets invaded by demons once a week. They're protected by the organization known as SHOT, as the police are rather useless in driving the demons back.

Kenji gets to know some townsfolk, gets into a fight with a CGI monster, and is eventually chosen to be Ryukendo, a transforming hero who uses a Keyblade before they were even a thing. Kingdom Hearts owes Takara some serious royalties on that one.

This is afterall only the first episode, so we only get the baseline for the cast's' personalities, but everyone begins off pretty likable. And I was actually impressed at how much effort was put into not only the effects and stunts, but also the world building when it came to Akebono City. Makes me hope that the show can reach Kamen Rider W levels when it comes to that.

I also rather like the suit design and the props too. The Keyblade is neat in how it functions, I like that the lead hero is Blue while the secondary is Red(a reverse of the usual standard), and the Wolf Bike that the Red Hero rides around on is very much My Aesthetic. And major shout out to the credits sequence, which was rather unexpected and very fun. The OP and ED songs are just kinda okay, but I could see them growing on me over time.

Overall, it's a fun start, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the show.