BL - Can confirm the BL aspect is very light but enjoyable and definitely not broken up with a het romance! I promise the show will be way more fun if you're not fretting about whether every new female character is supposed to be a forced love interest - they're not. Actually, a lot of people are pretty shippable in this show imo, but you have to like non-canon pairings.
That said, if you're hoping for a more romance-y story (like the way Untamed or Guardian, even with the BL technically removed, was heavily focused on the main leads and their relationship), this really isn't that kind of show. But if you're like me and enjoy stories where the "couple" are doing other things and there are just some side hints at romance, that's more of what this show is.
Story - this one went a bit back and forth for me, as the pacing earlier in the show was a bit slow in places. Several of the Dorla scenes felt unnecessary and slow, and the Yunhe arc could have probably been better condensed. The later part of the show (about the last quarter) was very fast-paced and much better in this regard, and there were a lot of tie-ins that came back, which I loved. Probably one of the biggest weaknesses is that it does sometimes rely on people missing things that seem obvious to the viewer - it's often fair in-story why they would, but it can be frustrating if you're used to American-style procedurals.
Note that this show isn't exactly a whodunnit/procedural, and more of a story-based crime-themed show, so I recommend setting your expectations accordingly.
Cast/Characters - the actors all did a great job, but the top spot has to go to Wang Zhi for me. You'll find yourself rooting for a eunuch! Who is adorable! And he has a tiny gun and rolls his eyes like a PRO.
The two leads (Tang and Sui) admittedly get a bit of a slow start, and it will take a while to like them and get more of a sense of chemistry in their relationship, but it's very very cute by the end. I didn't read the novel so Tang's character didn't bother me, but it sounds like he's pretty different from how a lot of people thought of him from the book. I still enjoyed him even if sometimes he was a complete idiot. Also don't let anyone tell you Sui Zhou was too emotionless because he had the BEST facial expressions. I also got pretty used to his looks and accent after a few episodes (although warning: he keeps getting demoted and forced to wear really dorky uniforms).
The side characters are all excellently done - I loved the Emperor and consort (who were adorable, badass, and harsh all at once), Eunuch Ding and Jia Kui (who were just super competent), the brothel Madam (hilarious), General Chen (just a good guy surrounded by corrupt shitty people), General Gao (bad. ass.) and Dr. Pei (super cute and has a great friendship with Tang Fan). Even many of the antagonists were well done albeit often intentionally unlikable - I especially want to mention Sui's boss, who was /hilarious/ even if a terrible person. And since I saw this mentioned, I just want to say I actually didn't mind the sister of Dong'er, or any of the other female characters. Dorla even gets way better once we move on from the weird vaguely romantic vibes they give her with Tang Fan earlier on.
Production - overall really nice for a drama. There are a few props/effects that look a bit cheap or feel unrealistic if you think too hard about it, but I was willing to overlook it because everything else was so enjoyable. The fight scenes are SUPER nicely choreographed (even if occasionally a bit wuxia) and the costumes and sets are gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. The use of music is really well done too.
The one big issue with production is the weird cuts. Several episodes end on very odd cuts, especially later. Also, due to fan complaints about Dorla, it seems like they cut a bunch of her scenes (and possibly some with Qingge later?), which was mostly fine since her earlier scenes were often slow and repetitive, but this did result in a) some weird scene transitions, and b) an occasional scene where someone confusingly mentions something that presumably only occurred in a removed scene.
Overall, I had a really good time, and there were some great tense moments! I loved the vast majority of the characters (or, at least, how they were portrayed) and the story kept me hooked, especially as we approached the end.
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Kamen Rider Fourze the Movie: Space, Here We Come!
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Stuff I liked:
- Gen is adorable and the actor is trying really hard to carry the movie
- The parts that mostly focused on the club members were fun and cute! Loved Yuuki and Tomoko figuring out how to fight the bad guys together, Miu being randomly badass, and some of JK's little comedic moments. Kengo and Gen even get a brief spotlight of friendship toward the end, which was nice to see
- Ryuusei is really pretty, as usual
- Gen befriending an orbital weapons satellite is hilarious as a concept and works really well with the premise of the show
- Wizard! Loved the little interaction with Fourze and Meteor
Stuff I didn't like:
- This felt too short to properly get the setup it needed, so most of the movie-only characters were underdeveloped (or just not developed at all). Inga and Black Knight basically could have been completely removed with no detriment to the story, and the other two characters are really wtf due to the lazy setup for them
- The story is really rushed and messy (which tbf is typical of these films), especially in the context of the show. I'm willing to take a certain amount of continuity wackiness, but having the initial setup be that a bunch of teens need to go to space alone to set up explosives on a weapon satellite is...pretty out there, and doesn't really fit at all with the show. Honestly I think this entire movie would have made more sense if they had removed Inga's character entirely, and just had some mysterious "scientists" reach out from the orbital station asking the Rabbit Hatch for help.
- The ending tries to use built-up goodwill from the show to have all the previous characters Gen has befriended pitch in to help, but not only does this feel weird in terms of continuity, the lack of buildup time in the film makes this choice feel more like a lazy emotional manipulation.
- I know this is standard in KR movies of this era, but the attempt to squeeze in every single switch/move/power-up as fanservice in every movie is starting to get stale for me, especially when it just feels like the fight is rushing to get through as many gimmicks as possible
Finally, I just want to say I don't like Sakamoto's style. There, I said it. I think he wants to be making Fast and the Furious, and is instead stuck with Kamen Rider, and ends up forcing the movies to be the adult action version of themselves, so that they feel jarringly disconnected from the shows at a basic level. The camera tends to leer at female characters and his movies always seems to need at least one fanservice girl (in this one it was Inga with an uncomfortable-looking pushed-up bust). People seem to defend this with "but he's so good at action!" but is he? Multiple movies so far in Heisei 2 have been by him, but I've never been watching a TV episode of a Kamen Rider series directed by someone else and thought, wow the stunts are super lacking compared to the movies. The movies just up the amount of random explosions, guns, and female fanservice, none of which I feel like are things that have ever been a crucial feature of Kamen Rider.
Look, I don't hate action flicks. I enjoyed the heck out of "Shoot 'Em Up", which is pretty much as far as you can go into intentional B-movie action flick for action's sake. I just don't understand the need to mash so much adult action style into these Kamen Rider films, when the franchise is aimed at younger audiences and the TV series do not have this vibe.
I didn't hate this movie entirely, but...honestly I don't recommend this unless you really love Fourze and want to see all of the related content, or you actively like Sakamoto's style.
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Is Wizard the best-written season? Well, it definitely has some inconsistencies and a few frustrating elements. The side characters are a bit thin on development, and Shunpei in particular can often be very annoying, not helped by the fact that the constant switching of writers seems to occasionally result in an episode that seems to revert any character development that has happened. I read that the head writer on this show struggled with the deadlines and a guest writer ended up writing almost half the show, and that context does explain some of the weird inconsistencies. (That guest writer is now the head writer for Gavv, which makes me excited for Gavv.) The other major issue with the show is the beginning and end; in my opinion the slowest and least plot-related filler sections are the bookends, which can leave people with a bad first/last impression.
That all said, I really liked this show. Once we got to episode 17 when Nitou shows up, things really start picking up. My theory is that Haruto is not a bad main character, just a relatively less active one than other riders, and he really needed someone to play off of. Once Nitou was introduced and took that role, the show's pacing really worked for me. Nitou is also an amazing character, a great foil for Haruto but also just really fun.
If you watch Kamen Rider because you like wholesome fun, cool fights, and the genuine but kooky vibe of a low budget action series for kids, there is nothing inherently terrible about this show and I recommend giving it a try to see if it works for you. If you're looking for a tightly paced HBO/Netflix-style series, or a highly shippable saga focused on the relationship of two of the main characters, or a hero who will fulfill your Gary Stu fantasies of being a shounen hero and getting all the girls, Wizard will probably not be as enjoyable for you as other Kamen Riders.
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Positive:
The visuals were admittedly nice, particularly the scenery and CGI. The music was fine.
Negative:
I had trouble understanding what was going on even before the skipping, and the film felt like it was trying too hard to condense a complicated story into an oversimplified movie-sized one. What I could get of the story (even based on my friend's description of the drama) seemed like a really cliche marysue love story.
The actors were not good at all - I don't like Crystal Liu to begin with and her acting seemed particularly one-note here, and she had no chemistry with the awkward male lead. They also weren't helped by the bad writing, as the change of heart seemed really abrupt.
If you really love the drama, I suspect there's at least some chance you'll like the film if just for additional content for an IP you enjoy (no judgment, I do that all the time), but there's also some chance it'll disappoint you. My friend wasn't very impressed and told me the drama was much better. If you haven't seen the drama but you like cheesy romance stories that will make you get out the tissues, you might like this one and at least it's nice to look at. But if you're like me and have no connection to the original AND dislike cheesy romances, there's not much there that will be worth your time.
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All the characters you like appear and actually have some breathing room so that it doesn't feel like we're just rushing through cameos and power-ups. Nitou's portion is (just like the TV show) the best part of the movie, and Haruto is really cute. The movie-exclusive characters are intentionally secondary characters, which avoids the problems of movies like W's Gaia Memories of Fate, the OOO/Fourze crossover, or the Fourze summer movie where we spend way too long following a completely new and underdeveloped character instead of the ones we already liked from the show.
Like most KR movies, it probably doesn't make sense to watch this if you weren't into the TV show it came from. Unlike most KR movies (at least of this era), the fanservice is more for people who enjoyed the story and characters of Wizard, rather than gratuitous panty shots and inexplicable explosions. You can tell the director knows how to properly direct a fight scene without leering since Haruto's kick-heavy fighting style didn't result in some weird crotch shots this time, and the random barrel piles were fairly minimal. I did not miss Sakamoto and am hoping the trend continues of decently written movies that don't feel like they're weirdly trying to be Die Hard.
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Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze Movie Taisen Ultimatum
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- Maybe partially because I watched the director's cut this time, but the writing was WAY more palatable in this than basically any of the previous Heisei 2 movies - the Fourze and Wizard parts were both coherently about the main plot, so that the 3rd part with the crossover actually made sense. The tones of the two segments didn't feel completely disparate either.
- We get to see a lot of our favorite characters again. I loved the rider interactions, adult Ryuusei is beautiful, and I actually ended up enjoying some of the movie-only female characters (Inga and Nadeshiko, primarily) a bit more than in their original movies.
- Fourze's section was adorable and wholesome (Gen as a teacher is the best), and I loved seeing Kengo again!
- The Wizard section does a wonderful job with its fight scenes, not just with nice choreography but also by letting Haruto actually do physical fight movements without the usual randomly spaced barrel piles or explosions out of nowhere. Also, Haruto's reactions were funny as usual, and I love how he interacts with Gen throughout the movie.
- I also loved Eiji's cameo, and the summons of the previous riders was charming for me since I loved those series. I am still laughing about Nadeshiko and Meteor having to hold on to Accel to fly.
That being said I did still have some criticisms:
- There is a LOT of fanservice that feels really unneeded and particularly uncomfortable in a Kamen Rider movie that is (ostensibly) aimed at kids. Incessant panty/thigh shots (including of Gen's students), Nadeshiko literally fights with her butt, Inga still has her weirdly pushed up bust, and also there is as always a really high instance of female NPCs being noticeably shiny. I really don't need to know so much about the director's preferences.
- The final fight is ridiculous, and at one point crosses the line into not making sense. I am willing to accept a certain amount of shenanigans due to the situation, but the randomly spaced stacks of barrels are back, and at one point Wizard and Fourze drive over barrels toward each other, despite previously driving alongside each other and having no reason to suddenly turn. The explosions here are SUPER overused as well - things just explode all over the ground despite there not being much reason for this, and at a few points the visual quality of the explosion footage doesn't even look that well combined with the rider footage.
- The use of random GoPro footage in this movie, particularly in the Fourze and crossover sections. I don't really understand this choice, so I can only assume that GoPros were trendy and/or becoming more accessible when this movie was made. Unfortunately, the movie cuts in and out of this footage, and this makes obvious the differences in quality and style of the two. I don't think they really had a great plan for how to use this and wish they would have stuck to normal filming techniques.
Side note: I did think it was slightly funny that, due to Haruto's very leggy fighting style, he actually ends up getting some of the weird panty-shot style camerawork usually reserved for female characters.
Overall, I think this was my favorite of the Heisei 2 movies so far. I still don't really like Sakamoto's style, particularly the weird objectifying shots and excessive battle scenes, and I'm looking forward to seeing some KR movies that don't involve him (at this point, I am of the personal opinion that he is basically the Michael Bay of Japan). Also, I believe this is the last of the films that use the 3 part system, which I am also hoping will be a positive change despite not minding it in this particular movie.
If you can stomach Sakamoto's idiosyncracies, or are willing to overlook them, this is actually a pretty fun movie aside from them.
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Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010
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This review may contain spoilers
Super bizarre as a movie. Probably great for people who watched both Decade and W, but as someone watching this to round out my W experience, this was just really weird. I may be biased, but I think the W parts are more understandable even if you haven't seen W, but the Decade parts were really confusing with no knowledge of that show. The tone shifts are really crazy, as the W section (while it has some emotion to it) is overall more lighthearted and slapstick, and the Decade section is split between edgy protagonist angst and ridiculously campy villain scenes. I want to reiterate that, at the point where the storylines converge, Decade has been going through deep discussions about his moral compass and struggle to be seen and is facing down a giant nazi airship, whereas W is chasing a character who has turned into a tire and is making onomatopeia sounds as he rolls down the highway.
Overall, though I ended up fast-forwarding through some of the Decade parts, I did enjoy the W bits, and the rating is primarily for the fact that I liked the Shoutarou/Philip backstory and that Skull is really really cool.
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