[Fish Sandwich]

Episode 1 -- "The Ringed Wizard"



Wizard's premiere begins with a quick bit of narration establishing the basic idea of a man who wields the power of magic in our modern technological age, which is fair. One of the interesting things about Kamen Rider as an ongoing franchise is how each new installment exists in part as a reaction to the previous one, so even if it sounds like you're watching the trailer rather than the show, stressing immediately that we're dealing with a much more supernatural setup than Fourze's astronaut appeal is logical. It's a choice that sticks out to me as sort of boring in spite of this, however, because nearly every choice the episode makes after those first 20 seconds is at least as smart, and magnitudes more exciting. Just take a look at how they transition from that magical circle into the actual episode.



A donut! You couldn't pick anything better or more humorous to cut to! Right away, the viewer is learning lots of stuff about the protagonist, and a lot of that is conveyed directly through the visuals and the situations, which helps keeps a fast-paced story like this from getting too bogged down with dialogue. Before it's even made apparent that this guy's name is Haruto Souma, his whole vibe is crystal clear just from a quick scene of him chilling on top of a street light enjoying a tasty snack before heading out to fight evil. I'd imagine this is another deliberate contrast to Fourze, but Haruto is generally a pretty laid-back lead character, so it's as fitting an introduction as you can get, that's also showing off his magical powers, his cool bike, his pet magic bird, and how all of those things factor into the basic routine of how this show's hero finds a monster to do battle with. We're still under a minute in, if you're wondering.



Over where the action is happening, it's police drama excitement as a ton of cops ready to move into a warehouse, including Rinko Daimon, who functions as the most direct viewpoint character for the audience here. Haruto already lives in a fantastic world, but Rinko doesn't, so through her eyes, you can see how surprising it is to walk into that building and suddenly stumble upon a bunch of workers in the middle of getting roughed up by a pack of weird golem-looking monster mooks. By emphasizing the ordinary, and how powerless cops with handguns are up against these Ghouls, it makes it feel all the more special when the extraordinary hero busts in to clean up the mess.



And make no mistake, once Haruto shows up to the scene, things become *real* special. There's a lot to digest in what happens next, so I'm going to preface this whole section with some staff trivia before I forget. A lot of the key people behind Wizard were mostly working on Super Sentai prior to it. Most notably, it was the first (and still only) time Takaaki Utsunomiya was the chief producer on a Rider show, and he brought with him main director Shoujirou Nakazawa and action director Hirofumi Ishigaki. The three of them had the same roles in making Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger right before Wizard, but more importantly to the scene I'm about to discuss, they also all filled those roles for Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. I bring this all up because Shinkenger began with an awesome scene where a fiery red hero expertly fights through a group of the series' main goons over the opening credits, all set to the theme song, and evidently they knew when an idea was good enough to use again.

Kamen Rider Wizard's grand entrance is less of a rehash and more an evolution, if anything. I'm tempted to talk about nearly every individual beat, because it's just that masterful... so I think that's exactly what I'll do!



Kicking things off with the hero on his bike! That's an A+ already and Haruto hasn't even transformed! Instead, he makes sure to clear some space first by smacking all the Ghouls around spinning dramatically on the Machine Winger, which is but the first of many instances to come of Wizard's trademark spinning action.



The next instance comes when he spins his way off the bike, grabbing the WizarSwordGun out of a magic portal and then firing off a burst of shots (in a spinning motion, naturally), which magically curve right past an astonished Rinko to instead hit the monster that currently has her in his grip. But of course, Minotauros doesn't like that one bit, so he throws a big fireball at Haruto! But wait! Emerging from the flames... it's... it's...!







It's basically the coolest guy you're ever gonna see. It might seem like I'm going nuts with the pictures, and maybe I am, but what's even more nuts is how much of this I'm still leaving out, like the perfect zoom-in reaction shot from Rinko. Basically every single shot is worth commenting on in some way. A fire-themed hero makes his debut surrounded by flames. The light bursting in from outside frames him in an almost divine manner. His outstretched arm blocks those who would dare harm innocent lives. Seiji Takaiwa's typically perfect body language, with the gracefully crossed legs to make Wizard's robe stand out. Having the bike in the big reveal shot with him. That's just from the shots I chose to feature, and the fight proper hasn't even started!

Needless to say, it continues with that level of perfection once Wizard's very first showtime starts. The beauty of every shot and the way it's all cut together is obvious simply from watching it, so what I'll instead highlight is how much this is all once again informing you about the character and the show visually. Wizard is very much in control throughout the fight, shooting at approaching Ghouls without breaking the leisurely pace he's walking at, and effortlessly weaving around attacks once he switches to swordplay. The sense of composure, of precision, of style, of a hero who almost seems unbeatable, all that stuff is pretty critical to the overall identity of Wizard as a character, and thus the appeal of Wizard as a show. If you liked this opening sequence, there's more where that came from. And good thing too, because there's a ton I still haven't said about Wizard's fighting style, and with the majority of the first episode still left to talk about, I'm going to have to move on for now. It's a dense one, this premiere!

After the fight, Haruto needs to track down the escaped Minotauros, which gets us the somewhat surreal visual of this modern Wizard on his flip-phone, checking in with more of the supporting cast to establish more of how Haruto's daily routine goes in a suitably smooth manner. Wajima doesn't even get a line of dialogue in his first of two scenes here, but when you see him working on making a magic ring and giving a warm, almost fatherly smile as Koyomi and Haruto bicker over the phone, you kinda know his basic role from that alone. The more straightforward verbal exposition is saved for when Rinko starts asking Haruto all the questions she'd naturally have after the turn her day has taken. He starts explaining the key concepts of monsters called Phantoms and people with latent magical potential called Gates, and because this episode knows how to keep moving, we get Phoenix and Medusa's introduction in the middle of that, reminding a humiliated Minotauros of the their goal to drive those Gates to despair, giving birth to new Phantoms at the cost of the lives of the Gates.

I'll also take this chance to mention that, in addition to Minotauros during the opening, Medusa calls Wizard by that English name in this scene, which is one of the vanishingly few instances of this series using any sort of terminology like that. Haruto is pretty strictly a mahoutsukai outside of these rare exceptions, because that's a more natural way to refer to him if you're speaking Japanese, much like how Haruto uses familiars instead of Plamonsters, and things like that. Don't expect to hear the words "Kamen Rider" spoken too much, either. It might seem like a weirdly insignificant thing for the series to make a point of, but much like a lot of early Heisei Rider shows that had similar attitudes, I think it really helps in setting a certain grounded atmosphere for the world.

When Haruto tries to walk off in classic mysterious hero style, Rinko goes ahead and slaps handcuffs on him. It's a great comedic moment, but that stubborn refusal to simply let the matter go also says a lot about her character. The scene with Haruto behind bars where the two of them continue their conversation is probably the highlight of the episode in terms of the normal drama side of things. There's a great contrast between Haruto's seemingly carefree attitude and Rinko's obvious frustration at her own inability to do anything to stop the Phantoms. Rinko's earnest desire to protect people makes her easy to like, and even though Haruto is almost obnoxiously committed to the cool guy shtick the whole time they're talking, you can get the sense there's a lot more to him than he's letting on. Like so many other things in the episode, it's working on multiple layers at the same time, building two of the protagonists, those all-important themes of hope and despair, plus giving the audience their first glimpse into Wizard's origin while it's at it.

Things start coming together for the climax as a fellow officer Rinko is talking to turns out to be Minotauros (he was even suspiciously absent for most of the warehouse scene if you go back and check), having figured out exactly how to drive her to despair after she opens up about what an inspiration her small-town cop dad was to her. Fortunately, Koyomi, who was on her way to the station as the two of them were leaving, can tell when someone is a Phantom, so she's able to give Haruto the heads up he needs to break out of his cell and go save the day. In a more boring show, he might just bust out some magic to walk through walls or something, but instead, we get him shrinking down to ride his model kit unicorn through a small opening, which is, in my book, the most hilarious thing in the entire episode simply for how absurd the visual is.



Haruto and Koyomi show up to where Rinko and Minotauros are, which means not only is it time for the second fight scene, it's time for Haruto's first transformation. (You see, because the fireball thing at the start had the extra purpose of hiding that to save it for the actual climax. Again, all about the layers with this premiere.) Haruto's transformation pose is actually one of my favorites. It's underplayed in a way that gels nicely with the overall vibe of the show and the character. All he really does is flash the ring over the belt and then hold out his arm, but it's the grace with which he does that simple motion that makes it work. It maybe works less than usual here though, I must admit.



It's the first episode, so obviously it's not that surprising that Haruto's actor, Shunya Shiraishi, hasn't developed the subtle nuances I associate with it yet. For one thing, he keeps his legs spread apart the whole time, rather than bringing the left one in as he moves the arm out, like he often does later on, which makes it look much more dynamic. Beyond that, though, you can tell he just doesn't quite know how to hold himself yet. Mostly in retrospect, mind you. I don't think this is anything you'd ever think about unless you're some crazy Wizard fanatic going back to the start after seeing the whole show, but hey, that *is* what I'm here to do. And the whole process of putting the ring on and flipping the little visor down and all that, that's all pretty much in order already. Shiraishi's minor growing pains also stand out to me in part because, Takaiwa being Takaiwa, there's no notable issues once Wizard is in costume.



Speaking of the costume! This is maybe the last thing about Wizard I would ever need to justify to anybody, but the suit is as cool as they come. We're talking about a Rider so stylish, he doesn't have Forms, he literally has Styles. The long flowing robe is perfect for both how well it fits the motif and how pretty it can look flapping around during the action. The ring face is worked in so smoothly I've seen people not realize it even is an entire ring, looping all the way around the back of the head. I'm also personally quite fond of how the chest incorporates the classic Rider #1 six-pack in there. Most importantly, however, is not any of the things it does, but all the things it's not doing. It's a very minimalistic design by later Heisei standards, actively avoiding stuff like elaborate patterns on the undersuit or the like. It's cleanly and elegant, and there couldn't be anything better for the hero they were trying to create that year.

The fight against Minotauros is plenty of fun in own right, placing more emphasis on showing off Wizard's magic than his stunts, bringing in two more Styles right away, and finishing with a nifty Rider Kick you unfortunately won't get to see that much after this, but, honestly, what I really want to talk about from this episode is what comes immediately after all that.



If there's any one thing from Kamen Rider Wizard that I believe best encapsulates what's made this show stick with me for more than a decade, it can't anything else but the Engage Rings. It's like the ultimate nexus point concept where everything that makes Wizard what it is comes together. He's a magic hero, so he uses magic rings, and he brings hope to people who are lost in despair, so what if one of those rings was a ring he put on someone else's hand? The connection to actual engagement rings, and all the imagery that comes with that, it might seem arbitrary at first, or like just another playful bit of theming, but it's *extremely* meaningful to the kind of hero this show wants to portray. It speaks to the intimate scale Wizard's storytelling generally works on, which is a topic I'll no doubt be coming back to throughout this thread. An engagement ring represents a promise, and that much is no different for Haruto. Wizard is more than just a hero who will fight off a monster to protect you -- he's a hero who will be there, right by your side, when you're at your absolute lowest. When it's all just too much to take, when you're about to fall apart, Wizard will be there, helping you find the hope to keep moving forward.

It's a wonderful, beautiful idea, and like so, so many of the smart ideas in this episode, there's more than just the one angle it works from. The whole point of the Engage Ring, of course, is to let Haruto travel inside the Underworld of a Gate, essentially the world inside their heart, to defeat a Phantom before it can break out and be born into the real world, killing the Gate in the process. First of all, this is also insanely strong thematically.



If the show wants to explore the things that keep people going in life, letting Wizard literally explore those precious memories as physical locations just makes sense. It's a kind of opportunity for real humanity you can only get from fantasy, and that's one of the things that draws me to a franchise like Kamen Rider to begin with. I especially love how the Underworlds and flashbacks often have that specific filter on them. Brighter colors create this blinding, brilliant glow that suggests the nostalgic warmth these formative memories must hold for the people recalling them.

The flashy action is also a focus of this series, however, and since Haruto dives into this place to fight a Phantom, that means we get a third distinct fight scene, this time with Haruto summoning a big CG Dragon to fight a big CG Jabberwock. The dragon doesn't seem to like Haruto either, because even here, they're still establishing threads to explore later within the surface level story being told. And when you've got a Kamen Rider whose bike transforms into a saddle and huge wings to ride a dragon with, you could probably get away with coasting by on the surface level pleasures!



Despite being a totally different flavor of action, it's just as cool a fight as the rest, if that needs saying. Even with so many more Rider shows that have come later to compare to, the Big CG Things Fighting scenes in Wizard have a downright uncanny ability to genuinely look pretty good. The downside of that is you can't expect to see them that frequently, but... is that even a downside? You can flip that right around and say it's nice they don't overstay their welcome, so take your pick, I guess.

The episode wraps up in feel-good fashion, with Rinko waking up as if from a dream, left only with the ring as a reminder of the strange wizard who saved her from despair, as Haruto and Koyomi ride off to a year's worth of further adventures.

They pretty much nailed this one down tight. It's kind of scary to think I said this much about it and still glossed over so many things so quickly, but that's also the crux of why it's so remarkable. It's not even a little bloated or messy or anything of the sort. It's breezy and fast and thrilling, yet it fits so much in, thanks to the strength of its sharp script and the impeccable craftsmanship of how it was filmed and edited. I have no clue what more I or anyone else could ever ask out of the premiere of a television show.