Best and Worst Kamen Rider Finales

[Guardian07]

[HIDE]On a personal note, I didn't like it mostly because I dislike the whole Airi and Yuuto storyline - I think the whole "star-crossed lovers" thing was melodramatic, tacky, and it disappointed me that the plot of the entire show hinged on something so soap-opera-ish. I also thought the outcome for Ryoutarou was very sad, he just seemed so defeated, like "Right, that's it, I've given up now, no more fun or adventures ever again, back to my crappy life." I know that wasn't the intended message, but it's the way the scene came across, with the delivery from the actor etc.[/HIDE]

Uhhh...I'm afraid I have to disagree entirely, on both accounts. I thought the story of Yuuto and Airi was really well done. Not so much as star-crossed lovers, they were forced to sacrifice their happiness and their future in order to save the world. And they're doomed to be separated.

It's been a long while since I watched the Den-O finale, but I remember thinking that the story ended on a light note, and the ending was upbeat and hopeful. They say their goodbyes and went their separate ways, but Ryoutarou is certain they will meet again. Not the perfect happy ending but it's positive enough.

 

[NateRiver]

Kuuga - Final Battle is amazing, but.. epilogue is a bit boring to me.

Wouldn't that be the reverse?I've never actually completed Kuuga (I started to watch it a few years ago but I just forgot about it.), but wasn't the fight just Godai and the dude with the white shirt punching each other?

 

[Smilodon]

And that fight was amazing. Mostly because of the symbolic meaning behind the fight. It's unique and is something that only something with Kuuga's theme could do. Of course, try doing it in another series, it'd be stupid.

But yeah, opinions are split on those who prefer something bigger as opposed to something we got. Sometimes, less is more.

 

[Toku Prime]

Wouldn't that be the reverse?I've never actually completed Kuuga (I started to watch it a few years ago but I just forgot about it.), but wasn't the fight just Godai and the dude with the white shirt punching each other?

And that fight was amazing. Mostly because of the symbolic meaning behind the fight. It's unique and is something that only something with Kuuga's theme could do. Of course, try doing it in another series, it'd be stupid.

But yeah, opinions are split on those who prefer something bigger as opposed to something we got. Sometimes, less is more.

I must admit I found the fight a let down and actually quite liked the epilogue lasting the entire episode. I can't really say why, as I normally hate full-episode epilogues. As for the fight, well yeah I was disappointed that Kuuga Ultimate is on screen for less than 30 seconds. It seemed like a waste of a suit. You see more of the stupid Rising Ultimate suit in Decade than of 'standard' Ultimate in it's own show.

 

[bluesilver12]

Faiz ending was disappointing. it could have been better if it lasted a few more episodes. Kiva and W's ending were a little cheezy but other than that, i've been satisfied with most heisei rider finales. OOO's was surprisingly good to me

 

[Burkion]

Really though, Ultimate Kuuga was never meant to be what Final Forms are now adays.

It was never meant to be a good thing, never meant to exist.

It had to, it was a tragedy that it did. But it should have never come to be.


This is the difference between Ultimate Kuuga and later final forms-later ones are super duper powerful typically and a great thing.

Ultimate Kuuga is the last step of a man becoming a monster, and only through the sacrifice of a man's happiness does it not end the world for the sake of all others.

Godai fought his war and protected the smiles of the world at the cost of his own.

He is done.

It's one reason why a sequel to Kuuga could never quite work. Anything more would trivialize what was done and what it meant.

It's also why Decade pisses me off so much with their version of Kuuga, who is the entire reason I watched the original Kuuga.

Rising Ultimate can be the bullshit ultimate final form that all Riders nowadays must have...


But Ultimate Kuuga was symbolic of everything about the series, and could never have been used the way Rising was. Ultimate Kuuga is the FINAL form for that reason-it is final.

 

[NateRiver]

....

You guys are just trying to excuse the lack of effort put into Ultimate Kuuga.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

I have a difficult time disliking the Decade finale. I really did love that cliffhanger...the fact that it wasn't followed up upon sucks, but it didn't enter my mind as I was watching it for the first time. I dunno, when it comes to Decade in general, I really like the series quite a lot. Despite that it doesn't do too much to connect the various stories as a coherent story, the individual arcs themselves are pretty well written and entertaining. Decade is one of those shows where I find myself being very forgiving of its faults because I was entertained a lot.

As far as favorite endings, the original, X, Stronger, Super-1, Agito, and Ryuki rank up there as my favorites.

My least favorite endings would probably include Black RX, Kabuto, Hibiki, and Faiz.

The problem I had with the Faiz ending isn't that it's supposed to be open ended, it's that...it doesn't feel like a conclusion of any sort. Even ambiguous endings are endings. It literally feels like Inoue thought he might get to do a 51st episode or that maybe Faiz would get a second series after Blade. I have to wonder if there's any truth to that or if it was an astronomical failure on his part.

... Yeah. That would definitely be a thing.

Although now I'm morbidly curious about it all. Maybe I'll track down Ryuki when I'm done with the original KR.

[hide]Though, depending on how you read the final scene in Ryuki, you can sort of make the assumption that the two main characters kinda of sorta have a hazy idea of who the other is.[/hide]

 

[Burkion]

....

You guys are just trying to excuse the lack of effort put into Ultimate Kuuga.

Clearly that is all we are trying to do.

Clearly the show where the big thing was that having more power was a terrible thing and that violence was ruining Godai's entire life but he put up with it regardless because he wanted to help people, clearly that wouldn't have had major subtext involving a final form of ultimate power.

 

[NateRiver]

Then Toei certainly made that plot to save money.