Kamen Rider General Discussion

[Patriot's Blade]

its about time that somebody pointed that out.....

[Seijaku Saiko]

Ep 1 was unexpected good xD

Got addicted to the op lately so i ripped it.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?uuz59aqxx81fu5o

[LoweGear]

You know, this is the first time I would use the word "Ballin'" to describe a Kamen Rider:




2012's entry, Kamen Rider Wizard.

Seriously, DAT COAT. We haven't seen a rider look this pimp since Orga. Also, after the oddity that is Fourze in terms of suit designs, some simplicity is a breath of fresh air.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by LoweGear

2012's entry, Kamen Rider Wizard.

Seriously, DAT COAT. We haven't seen a rider look this pimp since Orga. Also, after the oddity that is Fourze in terms of suit designs, some simplicity is a breath of fresh air.

DAT PIC. Kamen Rider has become more and more like Power Rangers. Sigh......

Ok, enough with the rant. So, after cards, cellphones, cards again, music instruments, trains, another cards, flashdisks, coins-vending machine, what’s the gimmick of this one?

[zingycreations]

Nice outfit lol

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

DAT PIC. Kamen Rider has become more and more like Power Rangers. Sigh......

Ok, enough with the rant. So, after cards, cellphones, cards again, music instruments, trains, another cards, flashdisks, coins-vending machine, what’s the gimmick of this one?

You forgot Astro Switches Also, you never noticed Kamen Rider becoming more Sentai-esque this past decade?

The gimmick this time is rings. Wizard uses rings in combination with slapping that belt to transform and use its powers. The ring he wears on his left hand determines which suit form he'll use (as seen in the above image), while the right hand ring determines the kind of powers (cloning, enlargement, portal etc...).

Spoiler for Size:

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by LoweGear

You forgot Astro Switches Also, you never noticed Kamen Rider becoming more Sentai-esque this past decade?

I know that Kamen has become more and more Sentai, but not as obvious as that image of riders standing with their own respective colors.

Originally Posted by LoweGear

The gimmick this time is rings. Wizard uses rings in combination with slapping that belt to transform and use its powers. The ring he wears on his left hand determines which suit form he'll use (as seen in the above image), while the right hand ring determines the kind of powers (cloning, enlargement, portal etc...).

Ah, now that’s interesting. A magic that sourced from rings sounds more like Arabian magic (Jeanie and that stuff) than European magic. I just hope this show has more decent plot and not a rip-off of Magiranger.

If I’m allowed to rant a bit more: what I find really lacking from kamen rider shows is the choreography. It’s the endless cycle of punch & kick + shoot & slash + 2nd grade VFX (since all riders have all kinds of weapons nowadays). I want to see a compelling fight godammit! Why don’t those Japanese AT LEAST learn from American Power Rangers? The choreography in that show has developed pretty well these days. [/end rant]

[justavisitor]

I really don't like the hand symbol on the belt lol, especially on that peculiar position...it just tells the mutant to touch there and slide down....

On another note, a psp/nds game of kamen rider is coming out in august...it's called rider generation 2..can't wait..the first one is pretty good for a rider fan

[Estavali]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

If I’m allowed to rant a bit more: what I find really lacking from kamen rider shows is the choreography. It’s the endless cycle of punch & kick + shoot & slash + 2nd grade VFX (since all riders have all kinds of weapons nowadays). I want to see a compelling fight godammit! Why don’t those Japanese AT LEAST learn from American Power Rangers? The choreography in that show has developed pretty well these days. [/end rant]

GARO does show good fight choreography, which as I understand is rare for toku shows these days =3.

Then again, GARO is for a more mature audience compared to Kamen Rider and the Sentai series, and the comedic brawling we see in Kamen Rider would be out of sorts in that series =3. I think thus the atmosphere generated by the show may have been a big factor deciding how the producers want their heroes to handle fights: if you're going to show people killed and/or eaten in gruesome ways by unabashedly horrific monsters, the last thing you want are light-hearted battles that are more likely to evoke amused chuckles than gasps of withheld tension from your viewers =3

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Estavali

Then again, GARO is for a more mature audience compared to Kamen Rider and the Sentai series, and the comedic brawling we see in Kamen Rider would be out of sorts in that series =3. I think thus the atmosphere generated by the show may have been a big factor deciding how the producers want their heroes to handle fights: if you're going to show people killed and/or eaten in gruesome ways by unabashedly horrific monsters, the last thing you want are light-hearted battles that are more likely to evoke amused chuckles than gasps of withheld tension from your viewers =3

No no. I wasn’t talking about gruesome death or bloody fights. I was just talking about choreography. Surely you can show good choreography in a kids show, ok scratch that, especially in a kids show (like my American Power Ranger example).

Also, good choreography =/= no tension. Chinese wuxia movies are solid proof of that.

[Estavali]

Well, I can relate to good choreography =/= gore.

Just that I still think that, to the studios, if they think the show is light-hearted enough to get away with a goofy brawl, they'll most likely do that, to save costs among other possible reasons.

[RRW]

so kinda like this new KR wizard. definitely fell fresh than wacky fourze and OOO

[justavisitor]

I think Wizard definitely has the potential to become a really popular show. It all comes down to see how the staff will execute it, but the potential is pretty obvious imo.

And the OP could suggest that we finally have the romantic plot between both leading characters. This is something I have been hoping for since Kuuga!! (BL doesn't count XD)

[Yu Ominae]

Checking out Wizard.

It's not bad IMO.

[Kanon]

Reviving this thread.

I've been wanting to try out this franchise for ages and I think I'll finally do it this year. The problem is that I'm not sure where to start as there are dozens of series. Ryuki's similarities with Madoka intrigued me so I've been thinking about watching that one first. Good idea?

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Reviving this thread.

I've been wanting to try out this franchise for ages and I think I'll finally do it this year. The problem is that I'm not sure where to start as there are dozens of series. Ryuki's similarities with Madoka intrigued me so I've been thinking about watching that one first. Good idea?

Beside Madoka, I’d say that Ryuki is also the Kamen Rider equivalent of Highlander. Those Riders fighting each other to determine “the one” who survive and has his/her wish granted in the end. Just note that Ryuki is still your typical Japanese series so you will see dodgy special FX, not-so-good acting, and story full of plot holes. As for Ryuki, beside the main series, I think you also need to watch the special episodes and the movie. Just go to its Wikipedia page to see all things you need to watch. Those are needed to fill some of the series' holes since originally there are 13 Riders + 1 Alternate who battle each other, but not all of them appear in the main series.

I personally prefer you to start with the one series who revived the Kamen Rider franchise in Heisei era namely: Kamen Rider Kuuga. It has even more dodgy special FX (due to its age) but a more traditional and non-convoluted story that Kamen Rider fans love. After that, you can continue with Agito, Ryuuki, Faiz and maybe Hibiki & Kiva. In my opinion, Heisei Kamen Rider stopped being “intense” after the success of Kamen Rider Den-O with its full-comedy approach. Thanx to Den-O, almost all Kamen Rider series after that have goofy stories and characters. Oh, you can still watch Den-O to check out the one series that started all the comedy trend in Kamen Rider series (and watch Takeru Sato playing different characters ).

So here’s my suggestion of the essential ones:
Kuuga -> Agito -> Ryuki -> Faiz -> Den-O
IIRC, each one of them has a movie that’s worth checking out. Also, I find other Kamen Rider series other than the ones mentioned above a bit lacking, but you can still check them out at your own risk .

EDIT:
If you want an even shorter introduction into the franchise, you can watch Kamen Riders who are only featured in movies. For the good-old-fun Showa-era oldies, you can watch Kamen Rider ZO, Kamen Rider ZX, and Kamen Rider J. If you want a modern take on the original Kamen Riders (Kamen Rider Ichigo, Niigo, and V3) you can watch Kamen Rider: The First and Kamen Rider: The Next in a row. All of them are movies that won’t take much of your time.

[Shyni]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Beside Madoka, I’d say that Ryuki is also the Kamen Rider equivalent of Highlander. Those Riders fighting each other to determine “the one” who survive and has his/her wish granted in the end. Just note that Ryuki is still your typical Japanese series so you will see dodgy special FX, not-so-good acting, and story full of plot holes. As for Ryuki, beside the main series, I think you also need to watch the special episodes and the movie. Just go to its Wikipedia page to see all things you need to watch. Those are needed to fill some of the series' holes since originally there are 13 Riders + 1 Alternate who battle each other, but not all of them appear in the main series.

Ryuki has two Alternatives, actually. And the movies aren't really necessary. Episode Final is an alternate ending, 13 Riders is just some story compression thing that doesn't really connect to the main storyline, and Ryuki vs. Agito... well,

Spoiler for Ryuki vs. Agito:

technically never even happened.

But Episode Final is at least good in that if you don't like the TV ending, you have something else.

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

So here’s my suggestion of the essential ones:
Kuuga -> Agito -> Ryuki -> Faiz -> Den-O
IIRC, each one of them has a movie that’s worth checking out. Also, I find other Kamen Rider series other than the ones mentioned above a bit lacking, but you can still check them out at your own risk .

Kuuga didn't have a movie, actually.

Faiz has some infamy about excessive drama and characters misunderstanding each other, so be warned, at least. I only watched it on some crappy bootleg DVDs so I'm not sure what to say.

I'd say Kamen Rider W is at least pretty fun.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Shyni

Ryuki has two Alternatives, actually.

Oh right. Since their designs are really similar (if not the same), I'm just too lazy to put it in my memory and just consider them as one .

Originally Posted by Shyni

And the movies aren't really necessary. Episode Final is an alternate ending, 13 Riders is just some story compression thing that doesn't really connect to the main storyline, and Ryuki vs. Agito... well,

Well, I meant to say that he needs to watch them in order to see all those 13+ Riders in their full glory action. The main series rarely show it.

Originally Posted by Shyni

Kuuga didn't have a movie, actually.

Yeah, that’s why I said IIRC (If I Remember Correctly) . There are so many mash-up movies lately it screwed up my memories .

Originally Posted by Shyni

Faiz has some infamy about excessive drama and characters misunderstanding each other, so be warned, at least. I only watched it on some crappy bootleg DVDs so I'm not sure what to say.

I recommend Faiz exactly because it is more drama than action. I'd say that aspect makes the series a bit unique. But I agree that it can be polarizing. You either love it or hate it.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

I personally prefer you to start with the one series who revived the Kamen Rider franchise in Heisei era namely: Kamen Rider Kuuga. It has even more dodgy special FX (due to its age) but a more traditional and non-convoluted story that Kamen Rider fans love. After that, you can continue with Agito, Ryuuki, Faiz and maybe Hibiki & Kiva. In my opinion, Heisei Kamen Rider stopped being “intense” after the success of Kamen Rider Den-O with its full-comedy approach. Thanx to Den-O, almost all Kamen Rider series after that have goofy stories and characters. Oh, you can still watch Den-O to check out the one series that started all the comedy trend in Kamen Rider series (and watch Takeru Sato playing different characters ).

I had considered starting with Kuuga since it was the series that revived the franchise, but the synopsis doesn't appeal to me. At all. It seems a bit too conventional for Tokusatsu/super sentai (not that I've actually watched any of them besides Power ranger and Akibarangers ). Is it actually better than it sounds?

Regarding Ryuki, I don't have any overblown expectations. I know the special effects and the acting will suck, but I suppose they have their charms. What you say about plot holes worries me though, but if the story is compelling enough I can overlook them.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I had considered starting with Kuuga since it was the series that revived the franchise, but the synopsis doesn't appeal to me. At all. It seems a bit too conventional for Tokusatsu/super sentai (not that I've actually watched any of them besides Power ranger and Akibarangers ). Is it actually better than it sounds?

The story seems standard if you just read it from the synopsis, but the execution is actually pretty good. You will actually feel like you’re watching a horror or thriller (for your standard kids show, of course). The strange and creepy antagonists certainly adds to the frightening element. Also, the MC, Godai Yuusuke is quite likable due to his honest and nice nature. The way he slowly and gradually uncover his mysterious ability as a Kamen Rider is quite exciting to watch.

That said, I may have to warn you that the early Heisei Kamen Rider shows (Kuuga & Agito) tend to be a bit of a slow-starter. The shows took their sweet time developing characters and powers. Some people (especially the young’uns who want constant splosions) may not like it, but I do, and many fans still consider Kuuga as one of the best Kamen Rider series out there (a classic, if you will). But still with dodgy effects and some not-so-good acting sometimes.

Originally Posted by Kanon

Regarding Ryuki, I don't have any overblown expectations. I know the special effects and the acting will suck, but I suppose they have their charms. What you say about plot holes worries me though, but if the story is compelling enough I can overlook them.

Ryuki has its charm for sure, and if you already got used to watching Power Rangers, the plot holes won't bother you. Just finish the main series, and if you still want more information, watch the additional materials.

Now it's your choice which one to watch first, but my recommendation is still to start with Kuuga .