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Why Decade Sucks. A brief essay on my thoughts.
First of all, let me say this. Entertainment is a subjective point. A game that's heralded as one of the greatest of all time you could find to be poor and boring. A movie that's derided as terrible, even for bad movie standards, you could enjoy and love. There is nothing that I can do to stop anyone from liking Decade.
That said, Decade is terrible, and while I won't stop any of you from liking it, I will stop anyone from calling it "Good." Now then, let's get started (Please note: I am not watching the movies.) The story. Kamen Rider Decade is about the titular character, Tsukasa, as he travels through the various Rider universes, soon revealed to be alternate universes to what we saw in past series. In each world he is assigned an unknown task which will, in some way, aide that universe's Rider's current issue. On his journey, he's joined by Natsumi, an annoyed friend who puts up with his arrogant antics, assuming Tsukasa has a heart of gold (And soon develops feelings for him) and Yuusuke Onodera, the AU version of Kamen Rider Kuuga. Though he's not the powerhouse that the original was, he makes up for that in his ability to bond with anyone. They are later met with Kaito Daiki, also known as Diend, a phantom thief who travels to the various worlds for treasures to steal, and the only one to know anything of Tsukasa's past. Stalked by the mysterious Narutaki, Decade travels between worlds, questioning his own life, and whether he's the destroyer Narutaki claims him to be. Now, this all sounds interesting, right? And looks like it could set up an awesome show, right? Well, don't bother. I just told you everything. Nothing is further expanded on or explored again. This is the biggest flaw in Decade's story. It sets up so much, from Tsukasa's amnesia, to Kaito claiming to know of his past, to Narutaki himself. But it's all set up to events that never occur. We never learn of Tsukasa's past, we never learn anything about Narutaki, and Kaito's knowledge flip flops from episode to episode. Decade's story never gets resolution, hindering any ability to get invested in the series, as the AU Riders will receive more focus for the first 20 episodes, and the remaining 11 all focus on other characters or aspects in various worlds. Basically, there is no story. Decade has a plot, but there is no story to go with it. And then there's the ending. There are two endings to pick from for the series, the first is a sequel bait for the movie to pick up, involving Diend shooting Decade in the face, which is followed by clips from a movie that never happens, the second is a rehash of the Rider War scene, ending with everyone dead, Decade floating in the air, and Natsumi saying "Decade." Implying the series ended there, with everything destroyed and everyone dead. Decade's ending is probably the worst, first setting up a movie that never got made in the first place, and after parents complained about having to take kids to a movie just to finish the show, then replacing the ending with the Rider War scene in a gigantic "Fuck you" to anyone who liked these characters (As the implication was that they were the originals, not the AU). The characters. Tsukasa Kadoya, Kamen Rider Decade. An asshole that makes Tendou look lovable. It's claimed he would do the right thing at the end of the day, but the series makes it clear this is not the case, having to be dragged and forced to go help a character or advance the arc. He insults others in a condescending manner that is completely serious (Evidenced in Blade world, where Yuusuke misunderstood his insults as "Tough love", despite the show lacking any form of subtlety to prove that's not the case). He sees himself as above everyone else and perfect and, unlike Tendou, he doesn't have the skills to back it up. Nastumi, the eventual Kamen Rider Kivala (But not in the actual series). A character who spends the first 3rd of the series either standing around looking awkwardly or forcing Tsukasa to do the right thing, and the remainder of the series just saying "Tsukasa-kun" a lot or pointlessly defending his assholeness for no reason other than the fact that she has a crush on him. She really has no bearings, spending episodes more as a set piece than an actual character. Her motivations are vague, and it seems her only real use in the latter portion of the series was to flash back/forward to the Rider War scene. Onodera Yuusuke, Kamen Rider Kuuga (AU). He is the nicest guy ever, bonding with the AU riders Decade would rather just ignore, he pretty much single handedly saved Kiva, Blade, Agito, and Ryuki, not through fighting, but through his actions and words. Tsukasa didn't deserve a damn one of the speeches he gave out when it was Yuusuke who did all the work. He fell out of prominence when Diend showed up, unfortunately. The only problem with Onodera was that he decided to side with Decade, choosing to save his life and let his entire world die Kaito Daiki, Kamen Rider Diend. Guis. Guis. He's super cool and he has all the powers and he can summon other riders and he can move at super speed and he can steal everything and he can kill monsters easily and he can shoot to henshin and he can beat up decade and he's the only one who knows about the past. Yeah, I don't like Diend. They character shill him out way too much, and it leads to a character that's boring to watch. His knowledge of the past is never expanded upon and takes up too much time. His power is dumb and he's blatantly overpowered, reaching the point that it's inconveivable why he ever loses at any point. The other characters are...Okay. Eijiro, Natsumi's grandfather, was nice, keeping the camera studio/home nice and clean, making sure that the heroes always have a home to come back to. The AU Riders ranged from nice to dull. The worlds they came from were very creative takes on the original, and they were filled with interesting variations on the original cast. Narutaki receives no explanation or back story, and Kivala just kind of...Exists. The designs There were only 5 original designs in this series, 6 if you count Chinomanako-Diend as a separate design. I do not like the Decade design. The head being split like cards doesn't mesh well with me, the X design across the chest was interesting, but I, personally, am not a fan of asymmetry in my Rider designs. The rest of the suit uses too much white for me to my liking. Decade complete is ugly. The cards across the chest are an eyesore and I don't like the prominence of silver, completely overtaking most of the magenta and white. Diend's suit is stupid. Abyss's is alright, keeping the Ryuki aesthetic well. It's a bit overdesigned for the simplistic nature of Ryuki, but it's not too bad. Paradoxa Undead...Eh, not that big a fan. In the end, Decade is a series that sets up possible stories and plots, but completely refuses to resolve them, and that's where my anger comes from, ultimately. I'll get angry seeing powerhouses like Kabuto or Agito fall to Decade, yes, but it's not really enough for me to decry the entire series for. No, it's the story. It feels like everything that had happened. Tsukasa befriending the 9 Riders, saving world after world, was all for nil. The AU Riders all die during a struggle for dominance or just vanish due to the world merging, Tsukasa apparently accepts that he's a destroyer and goes on a rampage, choosing to kill all the Riders despite the previous 30 episodes showing that his general actions are to the contrary, and the non-ending means that there is no possible resolution. The movies pick up from a completely different point, and it's all ultimately meaningless. The series starts a climax, and before anything can further be explained or occur, it flashes "THE END" across the screen, flips off the viewer, and leaves. That's why I hate Decade so much, knowing that around 15 hours was wasted to reach an ending that doesn't respect the viewer. The most common argument to this is "It's not about the destination, but the journey getting there." To which I say, fine. The journey had it's fun points, but it's not a journey I ever wish to go on again. |
You forgot to add the part about the theme sucking.
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Ok...that took a while to read. So, you said that "we never find out anything about Tsukasa's past" In All Riders vs. Dai Shocker...we get some. We find out that he has a sister whom he abandoned to I assume go be the ruler of Shocker/Dai Shocker. We also find out that he was a jerk since he was a kid. However, if All Riders is non-cannon...then there goes my argument. It was a good read though.
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I need to add a point that I'm not watching the movies. |
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Personally, I like Decade. I know you are going to devour my soul for this, but I thought it was good. There were a lot of great ideas, and for a children's show, they were executed a little above decently (the movies included, of course). |
Wow okay. I had fun watching Decade, but your whole essay there is all the reasons I didn't like it. So as a show it's pretty bad. I do like some of the characters, but they have their pitfalls.
The one thing that I do really like is the DecaDriver and all the sound effects. The card thing I don't have a problem with either. |
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But anything that's bad could have been good. |
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No, Matrix. Tell us what you really think :lol And hey. Tendou atleast trolls in a way that's charming, and you can forgive. Tsukasa.. just trolls.
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I can agree with Matrix here on every point except his design. That is the only thing I absolutely love about Decade. Otherwise, you are right on point
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Oh Matrixbeast, this wasn't in your agreement :p
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Anyways... Quote:
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PS Funny how you call Decade a waste of time when you waste a ton of time trying to convince other people it's a waste of time. Just sayin'. :p |
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And like some have already said, te movies pretty much tie everything together, I obviously like the series (whole point of this) but I must ask, would you say this series sucks because most series out of japan are amazing and this One seems terrible for being average? Or is it actually terrible compared to anything? |
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I didn't contradict myself. Entertainment is a subjective point, but quality is objective. Quote:
Decade is bad on every level. An "Average" series would be Fourze, and I loved that show. No, Decade is terrible by virtue of horrible characters and a nonexistent story. |
Sorry I meant by japanese show I meant kamen rider :lol
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Oh Matrix, you really hate Decade that much, huh? :lol
I'd have to go with Blade Raider here though, what people mean by "good" is subjective. Whether this defines what is objectively "good" or not is another matter, but I think people usually use the term "good" to signify that they enjoyed it. So for most people "entertaining" is synonymous with "good", just like how I'd say my McDonald's quarter pounder is "good" even though by objective standards it is on the low end of the quality scale. Of course, you could argue that words such as "tasty" or "relatively good for a McDonalds' burger" are better descriptors, but I think saying that it's "good" is sufficient. Even if we're talking about objective good in terms of quality (without the inverted commas), I don't think we can all agree. I personally believe that there is an objective standard of good in entertainment, and for me that objective standard is whether it can entertain and teach a good message at the same time. (Decade probably fails at this, I don't know, I haven't watched the series proper) I know many people will disagree with me on this, though. |
Decade had such potential, that is the killer. On paper, it should have been the coolest series...but no one could agree just where to take it. There were 3 potential "big baddies" that just went no where...just snippets of cool surrounded by meh. I have said this many times, that Decade shouldn't have been a true series, but a bunch of movies, like New Den-O, maybe even appearing in various series because of his nature.
While Diend was the secondary Rider, and Geist the sorta adversary...I thought Diend's brother would have been a better badguy with his world's big evil as the BIG EVIL. More use of the darker Riders as shock troops...and such. But in the end we have a runaway story so bad they cut it to 30 episodes, and we didn't even mind. I love the figures, I love the concept, the equipment...but the execution...alas... |
Yeah, I'll echo meteor, agree with matrix on everything but the design. Decades normal form I really like. Complete sucks though.
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PS I may debate many things Matrix on many things, but man are Decade and DiEnd ugly designs. I don't think they're the worst Rider designs, but top 5 (at least for Heisei). EDIT: Actually, I will debate that DiEnd's design is far worse than one four word sentence can do justice. |
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However, do yourself a favor and just skip over Decade. Quote:
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I'm glad someone else knows how bad the suits are, and you don't even need to debate it. I just didn't want to type out why I thought Diend's suit was ugly. :lol Quote:
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That is not what ''brief'' means.
I don't hate decade, but I don't think I'll ever watch it based on the premise. I really dislike seasons where the gimmick is revisiting past series. It's just a lazy way to appeal to the older audiences who watched the past shows, and almost never works out from a thematic standpoint. |
Story issues aside. I just couldn't get over the fact that Decade was such an unlikeable tool. I had only seen OOO , Den-O , Fourze and W before I watched Decade and every Rider I had witnessed before that was a well defined hero that genuinely wanted to help people.
Decade is a dick... It's a good thing his costume is cool |
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Anyway, there's only one real reason I'd ever suggest watching Decade, and that's for completion's sake. I wouldn't quite call it a way to appeal to older audiences because, while the suits were the same, the characters inside them were vastly different from what anyone would remember. Quote:
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I feel like I'm the only person that actually likes Decade...
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I think this pretty much sums up how I feel about Decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBJtJ7L1ybg |
I like Decade too. Even if it's for the rider suits appearing.
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The thing about Decade.....is that is HURTS to think about it. In it's first 4 minutes it built up INCALCULABLE good will, we would forgive ANYTHING this series did....because we already saw the ending, and knew it was all going to pay off!
.......And then it didn't...... We got an "ending" that would make Faiz blush, a movie that made it all worse, and a villian who still makes no sense. The only thing Decade ever did was give Shotaro Closure in the Begins night film. (because he sure as heck didn't contribute anything to the final fight!" BUT! we can take heart because I have figured out who Narutaki is! He is one of us! he is from our universe and has traveled through the veil to stop Decade from being so terrible.....no you may say "But he has failed! Decade was awful!" but I posit that you are wrong! The Kamen Rider Decades series that Narutaki endured was in fact infinitely worse, but working as a stumbling block to Decade he has improved the show in ways we cannot even imagine! and we should thank him for his sacrifice! |
My gripe about the show is how they managed their resources. After collecting all of the 9 Heisei Rider cards, one way they could have finished the show without as much anger and rage was to have Tsukasa fight a PROPER evil organization for the remaining eps and call it a day. While the Black/Black RX episodes were fun, other eps like Shinkenger, Missing Ace(Diend's world), Amazon were just useless.
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I think Decade would've been better had they made it a full 40-50 episode series.
Thing is, there was hardly any time to really make Tsukasa his own character outside of the whole changes to past Riders gimmick. They really needed a full series run to make him the bad ass they wanted him to be. |
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So ok, Im just now getting into KR. If Decade takes place in all these messed up Universes, what about Super Hero Taisen? Was that one of his au worlds too? This makes my head hurt.
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Super Hero Taisen can't occur since events occur that's not possibly in canon with their series. Notably, the resurrection of certain villains. |
Damn Decade breaking crap!
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I already know one, but because it spoils a series, I'm not going to blatantly reveal it. |
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