Simeon Scott

This was one of the best experiences I have had with a Toku in a long time, the level of craftsmanship that is evident in the attention to detail in this show is just astounding. No character feels wasted or like the story would have been fine without them, the acting felt like everyone really cared about the material and loved what they were getting to do, The music and directing work together really well to create both a very down to earth and grounded feel for most of the show and some of the most creepily atmospheric stuff I have ever seen in the Grongi scenes and the effects and suits are just so wonderfully "We know we don't have the budget to make this look amazing and the technology isn't even quite there yet, but damn it we're still gonna try!". I absolutely loved this show and while it needs some time to sit, I think it's highly likely that it could be my new favorite Rider show.

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Not the best series but a good starting point.

I've been a on again off again week to week watcher of Kamen Rider since Wizard so I was very interested to see how the first series to be simulcasted in the west would go and I gotta say it's pretty good, though far from perfect. The secret Agent aesthetic early on is probably one of it's strongest points, it really succeeds in evoking stuff like James Bond without straight up copying it, giving it that Rider spin so to say. Though I honestly found the Rider and Kaijin suit design the be quite wanting this series, with only the base and final forms of Zeztz fitting my own tastes enough to make me want figures just based on the looks and all the others just coming off as an oddly colored collection of shapes, sometimes with a very entertaining characters inside. I think the cast is also pretty entertaining, the younger actors are a little rough at times but they mostly hit their marks and the veteran character actors they join have some really fun out there moments when they're allowed to cut loose. Plus, while it is used quite repetitively, the score is very solid and helps to sell moments that would otherwise feel a little weak ether due to the acting or story. Personally though, I feel like the writing really falls off after the big mid series reveal and because of that I'm kinda leaning towards this being my least favorite Takahashi Yuya Rider series, it just goes in a direction that really feels like it's ignoring a greater point it seemed to be building towards in favor of something that feels more generic and makes some of the leads look like fools to me as a more critical viewer. It's not terrible though, the final arc still has a few very good episodes, the action direction stays good throughout almost the entire series if a bit special effects relient for my taste and the finale left me feeling fairly satisfied and interested in seeing what My-th will have to offer. Overall, I think this show did it's job as a good introductory series for new fans that was neat enough for long time ones like myself, but that's really all it works as, this isn't a show I think I'll ever feel the pull to revisit.

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Having just sat through this for the first time and being a toku fan who got into Rider several years after it aired, I gotta say that this was a fascinating experience. So much of this is just testing out rougher versions of concepts that would go on to be fully explored in later rider shows and the whole plot of the show is literally "all the old art assets of the franchise are being screwed up, so let's play around with them some more!" and that can be a lot of fun, especially if you don't already know a lot about Rider. But as a long time fan I can imagine the fact that most of the worlds have next to nothing to do with the show they're based on got really annoying and the way the over arcing plot plays out is probably one of the most frustratingly beautiful trolls I have ever seen. The cast are clearly doing the best they can with the clusterfuck they're given though and the score is one of the best I've heard in a while. Overall I really enjoyed finally getting to see Decade's show after having only experienced him through is later appearances for so long but this is not a show I would recommend people go seek out and watch on it's own, that ending alone requires you to go watch another movie to get the rest of the story and I'm not really down with that kinda stuff. Plus, if you don't know the reputation Decade the character and his actor have earned over the years a lot of the actual story here is just gonna annoy you so while I had a good time, I'd feel bad if I gave it anything higher then a 4 out of 10.

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Much like Kamen Rider 71', Goranger and any other first installment in a long running Tokusatsu series, Ultraman really has the air of something that's finding it's footing. That's not to say I dislike the show though, unlike the two shows I just name dropped I actually made it through all of the series as, while the series overall had some problems, there were a lot of individual episodes I really enjoyed and the format of the series rarely felt repetitive. They almost always tried do something new or experiment around with it in some way and a lot of the time it pays off. However, there are still problems and a lot of them are really typical of early showa era Toku. My biggest issue is Ultraman himself, a lot of the time they'll have him pull new powers out of nowhere and only explain what they are every other time, plus Hayata tends to come off as a very cold and distend member of the cast even though he's the main character. Though depending on your interpretation of the ending, that may actually end up working for you, I know it did for me. The rest of the main cast are all very well developed though and I thought everyone in gave a pretty good performance, though of course, no one tops Kobayashi Akiji. The effect were kind of all over the place though, they could go from really impressive for the time to showing their age in a really bad way, sometimes within the same sequence. And I also felt like the show would have improved a lot if it had added in a main villain, because while all the villains of the week are enjoyable, they often feel like they have a weird disconnect with our heroes due to the fact that over half of them are mindless monsters that don't get any lines beside growling. Like I said though, I found the series pretty enjoyable, and if you don't have a problem with the pacing and story telling style of the showa era I'd recommend it.

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A pretty alright little sci-fi series with great effects for it's time, some decent performances, pretty solid music and some of the worst formatting I've ever seen. (Seriously, who's idea was it to have every episode open with a full recap of the last one and then immediately follow that up with the intro which has more exposition before we get to see any new content?) I've only seen three Ultra shows counting this one but I'd say this is the best one I've encountered so far, in that it's very short and has no episodes I outright disliked. Really though I wouldn't recommend this to people unless they're already Ultra series fans. Felt very good but not like it had any unique elements to offer.

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I usually find myself having a hard time with pre Power Rangers toku, but this was a very fun and interesting watch. To my knowledge it's one of the only really experimental sentai's and seeing all those little things they were trying out for the first time and figuring out here was lots of fun and gave great perspective to the rest of the franchise. Putting aside the more historical aspects, this was also just a really fun show with a very diverse set of characters, some on the very goofy and fun end of the spectrum and others in the really serious (for the time) and clearly extensively thought out end. And holy crap, this show actually manages to have tones of "Kid of the week" plots without it getting super annoying and repetitive just by having those plots be a kid who is a regular member of the cast half the time! Sure there were some serious low points for quality, but it's normally just two or three episodes followed by another five enjoyable ones. This isn't going at the top of my "Toku's I highly recommend" list any time but it was a damn solid watch.

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An overlooked banger

I have no idea how this became known as the original black sheep of the franchise other then people just not being up for a new lead, because it is one of the best toku shows I've watched in a while. The stylistic one off episodes that make up a majority of the series are just brilliant aesthetic experiences and the main story is really charming by the end of it. Sure, that min story is a little run of he mill for the franchise and the acting isn't anything better than you'd expect, but the reversal of the main character and love interest's personalities for the new duo is really entertaining and some of the effects they use to show that story and the way they shoot them can be just stunning at times. If you like Garo or are into toku for the filmmaking and haven't checked this out, it is well worth your time.

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A very mixed ending

There's some neat concepts going on here with the desert city & more exploration into what the other priest clans are like, a couple spectacular fights in the middle episodes and one very fun performance by Kodama Taichi that reminded me a lot of Zac Oyama but what should be a fond farewell to a character we're been following for 13 years is let down by some bland ass dialogue and the fact that the whole show was seemingly shot on LED screen sets which is never not obvious and distractingly cheap feeling for a series that used to have so much production value. If you really care about Ryuga & Rian you'll probably need to watch this, but if they're just another set of characters to you by all means skip it.

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A very standards sentai plot that takes a good bit from past seasons with some really strong characters that remarkably do all get a good amount of time to shine in a majorly overcrowded cast, though that only goes for the heroes, the rest of the cast is a bit on the weak side what with things like the main villains origin not getting revealed until the last episode. However the effects, both practical and digital are all very strong for the time and this show features some of the strongest hero suits I have ever seen in sentai that's supported by top notch suit actors. The music however is a bit on the weak side with a solid opening and some good inserts but a very basic and lack luster feeling score that does little to elevate a scene when used. Overall this is a very solid series and would probably make for a good entry point into sentai for people as it's themes are very true to the core ones of the franchise, but I wouldn't call it a must watch.

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