A_Fine_Egg

Don't Dive Into This

Holy moly what a letdown. After a fantastic Season 1 and a difficult Season 2, the movie wraps it all up by being probably the worst of it all. This feels, in all honesty, like it is trying its absolute hardest to not connect itself to the previous Season. They literally handwaive an incredibly important change to one of the characters with a snarky retort, that's how shoddily they treat Season 2. The only recurring reference to it is a single sentence and the visuals of Nanaha being deceased, but the latter could honestly be assumed through offscreen shenanigans or a timeskip between Season 1 and the movie. And as rough as I felt Season 2 was, I think avoiding any connection to the season is worse than sticking to your guns and continuing to reference the season. The plot is absolutely ridiculous - you're telling me the monsters who can easily overpower and kill and actively eat humans would be something that anyone at any point would think is a good idea to have as a form of cattle? Why did Tachibana think this is a good idea? Is he stupid? It reminded me of the story The Promised Neverland but at least in that story the villains are the creatures that overpower humans and not the other way around. It really didn't make much sense to me. The new character with his Neo-Alpha transformation ability was not explained - you're literally told "it's against the rules for me to tell" and then I guess everyone including the scriptwriters thought to themselves "I guess it would be rude for us to say anything else about it then". But like, the ending of Season 2 mentioned a new Sigma project as the stinger for further stories? Was he the new Sigma? But he wasn't Sigma, he was Neo-Alpha? What the hell is this?

I think the only thing that I liked about this movie was both Jin and Haruka crossing their personal borders to continue their fights - Jin killing a Human and Haruka eating a... Wait, Haruka didn't eat a human being, Haruka ate an Amazon. Is that the same thing in this world? I mean they're obviously meant to be humans but like, humans are eating Amazons, so are they not? If they are, did it satiate Haruka? What does this imply for any of the Amazons in the prior seasons? Did any of them try to eat each other?

This movie just ends up leaving so many questions, and not good ones. Really rough way to end a story.

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Fate Must Be Done, but this Season didn't have to be

I went into Season 2 of Amazons with high hopes. I really liked Season 1, and was interested in the possibility of Season 2 continuing that quality. Unfortunately... It didn't pan out. This is honestly one of the most difficult reviews for me to write. I haven't written and then deleted and rewritten a review this many times. Amazons Season 2 brings up some things that could be good ideas in concept but squanders them by writing new characters with little self-awareness, and the depth that can come of the writing is mostly projected onto it as it does not follow through with the questions it asks. The new cast is not as interesting or well-explored as the cast in the first season, my favorite character in season 1 gets a lot of rough writing in this season, the new suits aren't really that well designed, and the plot has some pretty big holes that are impossible to be ignored.

Jin's actor was fantastic as always, though.

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The Pain of Armor Zone

An incredibly interesting take on Kamen Rider as a whole. While it is named as if it is a reboot of Amazon itself, it is hardly similar - a new installment that uses designs based on the original Kamen Rider Amazon, but outside of that Amazons is its own beast. With a dark, brooding tone, it explores some of the themes most inherent to Kamen Rider as a whole - the lonely fight of one who has strength outside of human understanding, and the idea that human life is more important than truth or justice. It is clunky in places, and there are a few characters who suffer, but overall the story is heartbreaking and intriguing and entertaining. It brings up questions and honestly, earnestly explores them. Some people deem this series to be "too edgy", and when compared to other Kamen Riders it is definitely much darker, more brooding, and more despair-rich compared to others. It's not perfect - characters like Nanaha and Mizuki don't really have any personality outside of "caring about their brooding love interest", and the design of the main Kamen Rider, Omega, is one I don't really care for, especially when compared to the high-quality suits of other Riders in the series. However, overall, it is a really fun and interesting series that's definitely worth checking out.

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A show with HIGHSxLOWS

Kamen Rider Gotchard is an odd one. After the powerhouse meta story that was Kamen Rider Geats, Gotchard seemed like it wanted to be a return to the fun, monster-of-the-week format with silly jaunts and funny characters about. Unfortunately, I don't think it did so without sacrificing a lot of potential. I'd like to list my positives towards the show first, though! I think the suit designs in Gotchard are overall *stellar*. The monsters are really fun, weaving in a repeated aesthetic throughout them in new and interesting ways each time. The Rider Suits overall look really slick! Also, the first female secondary Rider! The Abyssalis Sisters are really interesting each in their own way.

Unfortunately, one way or another, each of these things that I state is a positive gets hampered. While several characters get plot threads and conclusions and character arcs, other arcs seem to be rushed to conclude, some seem to conclude poorly or without fanfare, and other characters just don't get one. The ending is really rough. The overall plot can be slow to progress at times and can seemingly be interrupted by sudden things that feel out of left-field. The appearance of a character akin to Decade or ZiO as a plot-sensitive character feels odd in a show that isn't an anniversary or celebration of an era. Overall while Gotchard had potential, it really stumbled and dropped the ball.

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Don't Say No, Just Watch More!

Getting past the silly concept of "Fruit Samurai", and despite the awkward, way-too-long dance scenes that happen early in the show, Gaim is a stellar entry into the Kamen Rider franchise. The characters here are written with great depth and are very interesting. The fight choreography is good and the suit designs are great. Oren Pierre Alphonso is one of my favorite characters in any Kamen Rider series. I do have to say it has its issues though. It frequently has to find time to insert crossovers to other things such as upcoming movies - between important plot points they will arbitrarily add in weird moments for the sake of making these things episodes. On top of that, watching the group dance is strange. It's like they wanted to do something like Sega's Jet Set Radio franchise, but they couldn't show their protagonists doing something illegal like spray painting, but they still wanted that "street" feeling, so they put in these silly dance scenes. However, you're gonna want to stick around to see the great way the characters develop through the series, the cool suit designs, and the interesting twists and turns of the plot. Amazing stuff!

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DRAW! RIDER CARD!

Kamen Rider Ryuki is a fun watch. I wouldn't necessarily call it perfect - the moments of levity feel a lot like Agito before it, which is a series I do not particularly like. I found, especially early on, the moments of the characters interacting with each other were kind of making me feel secondhand embarrassment rather than humor over the situation. I'm also not big on the suit designs in this series, especially the main character's. However, Ryuki is still a very good story when analyzed as a whole. Interesting concepts and characters, a solid character-driven story, a neat gimmick in the belts and transformations of the series. It's a series I have a lot of respect towards and one that I can look back on fondly, but can also recall the many times throughout the series that I found myself sort of let down by the ways characters interacted being a bit annoying. It's not perfect, but it is definitely a huge step up compared to the story before it in the early Heisei catalogue.

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Ultra Exciting

This movie is so much fun. To be honest, I have never been much for Ultraman - when I got into Tokusatsu I was mainly into Godzilla, and when I was considering tackling full-on Tokusatsu shows with substantial length, I decided to dive into Kamen Rider, not wanting to explore many other franchises mainly because of just how much overall time would be spent watching everything of all of these franchises. So, as a franchise outsider, I just have to say this is still quite enjoyable. The story does feel a bit cobbled together, like it's 3 episodes of the show in a movie instead of one standalone thing, but even with that issue the fights that are there are fun and interesting, the CGI is impressive, and I had a smile on my face the entire time.

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Has Its Demons, But Lives With It

Kamen Rider Revice is a lot of fun. Despite being an anniversary series, it can be easily watched without prior knowledge of the other Kamen Riders that proceeded it, with it at most showing homage to these past Riders in their suit designs. The story itself is mixed - it kinda drags, and some of the arcs that happen can be less engaging than others. But the interpersonal drama is very well written and the concepts of inner demons are approached in unique and interesting ways for everyone involved, keeping the show feeling fresh each time it touches on its themes. The midpoint made me start to worry about one of the important reasons I was interested in the series, but it came back around to being fun and enjoyable, with a great way to wrap up the end. The supporting cast is all very interesting and fun, with George and Ikki's father in particular being a highlight for me. The opening is SO MUCH FUN, with the music overall being good. Suit designs are really good, with base Revi being a standout for me. Fight choreography was great, and it has one of the most impactful fights in the entire franchise in a later episode. Overall, while it has some issues with the larger plot, the interpersonal moments are very good, I love how it went about studying its themes, and the combat is very fun to watch with it focusing on two Riders with very different personalities. Great stuff!

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Catch The Wave!

Kamen Rider Den-O is very silly. This can be interpreted in many ways. It contains an absolutely hilarious protagonist in Ryoutarou, with the energy I can only describe as "sad wet dog". The allies Ryoutarou gains along the way are all fun in their own way and they have a great, silly chemistry to them. Deneb is an adorable character. Den-O is very much carried by its characterization and its strong, well-written humor.

That being said, it has very many flaws in its writing of the plot. Spoilers Ahead.




There really isn't much of a plot. The series is, a large majority of the time, 2-parters where the group deals with a monster that goes into the past. There is a mystery that is introduced near the beginning of the series and does not truly elaborate on the mystery until the last few episodes. I was hoping even a little crumb of lore would be given, but the characters themselves even have issue talking about the plot. The villain introduced is very... Odd. I think the character has potential, and there are things about him that work, but at the end of the day he is introduced so soon it feels very sudden to finally have a single, solid villain. Overall, the series pushes too much of its plot into the very very back end and doesn't really give enough solid, story-changing lore throughout the series proper to say it has a gripping story.

Overall, I do think Den-O is very fun, but if you're getting into a Kamen Rider series for a strong/interesting plot like you'd find in Geats, Ryuki, or Build, you'll be thinking something is sorely missing from this entry.

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So gOOOd It Exceeds Infinity

HOLY PEAK. This series is amazing. The gimmick of the setting is cool and interesting and unique, and on top of that it doesn't feel disconnected to the plot of the series like some other Kamen Rider belt gimmicks can feel. Eiji and Ankh have great chemistry together as tentative allies, Eiji himself is a great character who gets analyzed and comes to an interesting conclusion in the story later on. The side characters are all entertaining and each have their own fun reason to be around. The story itself is a great combination of lighthearted fun and introspective. The music, good golly the MUSIC. Each form having their own insert song and the OP being a fun and upbeat ska track gives this one a unique and great style to it. The suit designs are really fun, and the way they frequently swap between them mid-fights gives each combat a fun and unique feeling to it! Even the filler episodes related to Kamen Rider's Anniversary are a lot of fun! This one has it all, in my opinion.

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Please Watch!

Kamen Rider Kuuga is a masterpiece. Godai is one of the greatest Riders I have watched up to this point. His chemistry with Ichijo is superb. The mystery around the belt and the appearances of the villains is interesting and actively studied by the cast. The personal interactions and drama are fantastic and heartwarming, and while they may be a mix of connected and disconnected from the overall interactions with the villains, they still are representative of Godai as a Rider and are emblematic to the story itself, meaning they don't feel shallow or fully irrelevant to the plot. Kuuga's design is simple but effective. The interactions of the villains with their own cypher language are fun and tense and interesting. Action scenes, while perhaps not always flashy and can be somewhat short, are good all the same. The ending is handled with an interesting, almost artsy grace that gives the story even more gravitas. The OP is absolutely stellar and the ED is comforting. Overall, a fantastically told story, one of the greatest Kamen Riders to date.

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It's no Secret this series is flawed

Kamen Rider V3 has a lot of problems. The plot itself is essentially a carbon copy of the 71 Kamen Rider - the main Rider is turned into a cyborg and put up against an evil team known as Destrom. Nothing special here. The main gimmick of the series, Kamen Rider V3's 26 Secrets, are utterly ridiculous deus ex machinas that come out of nowhere and he never really uses them again. He gets one that literally can make him impervious to attacks and he doesn't use it. And not to mention he doesn't even find out all 26 during the course of the series. I feel like that could be a mildly interesting thing about him if the story was written in a way where it felt purposeful. Instead, V3 feels like a story about writers struggling to continue to make Kamen Rider V3 seem interesting.

And it's not like they always fail at doing so. Especially in the latter half of the series, the story has more exploration of the isolation, fear, and turmoil that Shirou has as Kamen Rider V3. Legitimately beautiful shots are here. He gets a foil in Riderman, a character also fueled by revenge, like Kamen Rider 1, 2, and V3 himself. This has potential to be really great writing that explores the ways that stewing in revenge and hatred can be detrimental to your life, and that by overcoming these things you can be stronger. Riderman is also originally loyal to Destrom, giving him what seems to be the template for other heelturn Kamen Riders that will come afterwards. Unfortunately, Riderman was added in solely to make V3 seem stronger, as he's a constant jobber and only gets about 9 episodes where he exists before he bows out of the story. Most of the time he's doing something mildly supportive in order to help V3, or in need of being saved by V3.

Overall, it really feels like the story has a lot of potential behind it, a lot of interesting ideas, and the potential to explore things like revenge. Unfortunately it stumbles near constantly. It's hard for me to give it points for being the OG like I could for 71. This is just an uninteresting story.

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Not Hard-Boiled, Not Half-Boiled. Is Three-Quarters-Boiled a Thing?

Kamen Rider W is a series I had heard frequently was the single best Kamen Rider story in the franchise. It was the kind of series I avoided watching as one of my first due to its reputation - I didn't want to watch the best stuff too early on, after all. So I waited and waited until the time came for me to finally pop the proverbial cork of this Kamen Rider Champagne. And what did I find?

Not my favorite, but a good entry.

W has some solid story beats in its run. It handles its use of the monster-of-the-week format decently as well for the most part. Unfortunately it's also not great at the mystery portion of the series. "Investigating a mystery" tends to usually getting the case, going to like two different sets, then Philip says the exact words needed to know the entire story. It's not great mystery, it's moreso just a way to get to the fights, which was a bit of a shame. Additionally, while it has some solid writing storywise, some things are handled pretty poorly, and the ending can feel kind of clunky as a lot of things feel like they have to happen in the last, like, 2 episodes. So overall, the story is alright. Above average when compared to some other KRs I've watched, but not stellar. It touches on some good ideas but handles them poorly.

For things I do like: The suit design is neat - don't expect any *exciting* changes over the course of the series, but it makes up for that in a pretty consistent variety of abilities used over the course of the series, which leads to fights not feeling stale for the most part. The monster suit design is also pretty fun! A good series visually overall. The character writing is, for the most part, good. I feel like some of the characters like Akiko can be really annoying, but for the most part they're solidly written. I think Shotaro is a good character - someone who puts on the veneer of being a hard-boiled masculine man's man but in all actuality being soft, and that being a good thing that positively effects the other character we meet, Terui Ryu, who goes from being someone literally willing to kill another person before any confirmation that they were the one at fault to being a person willing to hear out someone who caused him harm. The villains are pretty good too, though some of the twists and things that they get feel like they come out of nowhere, unfortunately.

So overall, a good series! A solid entry into the Kamen Rider franchise, to be sure.

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Going Gigi!

Kamen Rider Amazon is a short-lived Showa-era Rider series that has a lot of things that really pulled me into it. For one, I really enjoy how plot-centric the episodes were for most of its runtime. Showa-era Riders, even one highly regarded for its plot like Kamen Rider Black, tend to fall into having episodic, monster-of-the-week stories for a large majority of their runtime due to the sheer amount of episodes that must be created. Amazon, on the flipside, is about half the length of the standard Kamen Rider series, giving it much less time to have meaningless fluff, and tends to have more opportunities to focus on its plot and character development. Seeing Amazon change throughout the story, going from a human-hating person who cannot speak any words to someone learning language and being able to trust other people, was interesting. It was also very interesting that half of the story focused on a group who were specifically aiming to kill Amazon to collect his power, and those around him became threatened due to this. It further drove the concept of someone's power, even if they are working for good, causing innocents harm, and it's a theme that Kamen Rider has toyed with in this era from time to time and I appreciate that. Unfortunately, in the latter half of the season, even including the penultimate episode, we get episodes that seem redundant, odd, unnecessary, and kind of boring. They star a villainous group with the generic goal to take over Japan and then the world, instead of their aim being to defeat Amazon itself. It changes the vibe of the series and makes it much less fun. I suppose even a Showa-Era series with half the runtime of a regular series ends up with pitfalls in plot.

The cast is for the most part alright. Unremarkable people, with some standouts being the return of Tobei Tachibana and the recurring Mole Beastman. Tobei is still kind of a doof from time to time - you'd think spending months fighting Shocker alongside Hongo years ago would teach him to be a little more on the defense, but ah well.

What I absolutely adore in this series, however, is the practical effects. Monsters release bursts of blood, whether it be humanlike red blood or spouts of multicolored foam. Amazon is seen taking chunks out of baddies, whether it be by chopping parts of it off with his hands or ripping it off with his teeth. It leads to a fun and grungey feeling that you just don't get when compared to the standard Toku fare of a monster falling down and then jump-cutting to an explosion. Not that I hate the explosions of Toku villains, it's just that the practical effects of "blood" and "gore" are a good change of pace that further sells the more grungey feeling of this series. I really like Amazon's design as well - the asymmetrical lines across the suit's body give it this sort of alien feel that helps to sell the more monstrous fighting style of Amazon and help sell how out-of-place Amazon is when compared to some of the other Riders. The monster suit designs are kind of rough, unfortunately.

Overall, I think Amazon is a really fun showa-era series. I've got myself a bit of a soft spot for it! I'd definitely recommend Kamen Rider fans check it out, as it touches on important things in Kamen Rider - whether it be for the better or for the worse.

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