2
9
1
silly but heartfelt
When I was kid, I was very into Kamen Rider Black even before I had seen the actual series. Around when Mighty Morphin Power Rangers debuted, as I was watching that, my uncle got me a set of Viet-dubbed Kamen Rider Black VHS and later Kamen Rider Black RX VHS as I had a lot of Kamen Rider Black toys and figurines. I'm not exactly sure what it was about Kamen Rider Black that I took a liking to, but I just thought he was so cool. Other than the Black series, I've only seen Kamen Rider Kuuga. There are so many Kamen Rider series I've yet to see, so why did I pick Ex-Aid as my starting point? Mostly because I'm familiar with the main lead actor Hiroki Iijima, who I've seen in "Bokura no Shokutaku". Also, the gaming theme merged with medicine seems like a cool idea. The series was very colorful and fun. It consistently kept me engaged and curious enough to want to keep binging. I will keep the review short, but I mostly just wanted to say that Kamen Rider Ex-Aid definitely reawakened my childhood love for Kamen Riders and I will be slowly exploring more.
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● REVIEW
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[ --LIKES-- ]
✔ Visual effects that would've been bad or cheesy for other series actually work well for this series due to the video game aspect.
✔ The characters all had interesting back stories and great development. I like that they all had a reason or motivation for why they act they way they do.
✔ I never felt bored. Lots of action and something was always happening. Very fun, I really enjoyed the gaming theme a lot.
✔ Very catchy opening OST.
✔ For a such visually bright, colorful and silly show, there are lots of heartfelt moments. We explore theme of friendship, family, loss/grief, guilt, and more.
[ --DISLIKES-- ]
✖ Part of this is partially due to the fact that I am an adult now, but fakeness/plastic-ness of the costumes and weapons in addition to the colorfulness makes everyone just seems like a living toy. And maybe that's the goal, to sell more toys, but these Kamen Riders definitely felt different to the ones I've seen before. I also don't like the bulkiness of some of the form, but that's just a me thing.
✖ There's a lot of side stories and movies that further explore the stories that I wish was part of the actual main series.
✖ A lot of the character interactions are a result of the Bugster viruses, so I wish there was more bonding time while doing normal, everyday activity. I know for a big chunk of the series, most of heroes weren't friends so there isn't much of a reason they would interact outside of their hero work, but having some quiet slice of life moments without the hero stuff would be cool.
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● NOTE
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I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.
♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥
-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------
[ --LIKES-- ]
✔ Visual effects that would've been bad or cheesy for other series actually work well for this series due to the video game aspect.
✔ The characters all had interesting back stories and great development. I like that they all had a reason or motivation for why they act they way they do.
✔ I never felt bored. Lots of action and something was always happening. Very fun, I really enjoyed the gaming theme a lot.
✔ Very catchy opening OST.
✔ For a such visually bright, colorful and silly show, there are lots of heartfelt moments. We explore theme of friendship, family, loss/grief, guilt, and more.
[ --DISLIKES-- ]
✖ Part of this is partially due to the fact that I am an adult now, but fakeness/plastic-ness of the costumes and weapons in addition to the colorfulness makes everyone just seems like a living toy. And maybe that's the goal, to sell more toys, but these Kamen Riders definitely felt different to the ones I've seen before. I also don't like the bulkiness of some of the form, but that's just a me thing.
✖ There's a lot of side stories and movies that further explore the stories that I wish was part of the actual main series.
✖ A lot of the character interactions are a result of the Bugster viruses, so I wish there was more bonding time while doing normal, everyday activity. I know for a big chunk of the series, most of heroes weren't friends so there isn't much of a reason they would interact outside of their hero work, but having some quiet slice of life moments without the hero stuff would be cool.
-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------
I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.
♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥
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