I'm Really sick of Tendou and Tsukasa Hate

[Seeker]

I was going to do a post on this very thing, and just happened to find this existing one to add to, because if I may go on for a bit I wanted to put out all my thoughts in defending Kamen Rider Kabuto. First a small technical note: I think Kabuto was the first year with REALLY good special Effects.

Now, I hear considerable dislikes of Kabuto, my favorite rider by the way. Here are things you might consider. Kabuto did one thing that is not really a solid tradition anymore: Lots of very cool riders, with Tendou in a brilliant first place! There was a way all the riders could do there own thing, and cooperate when it worked out for them.

People have complaints about Tendou's personallity. Consider for a moment, what if he really is that good? He is the one to Kamen Rider what Saijima Kouga is to Garo. Skilled and disciplined through absolute focus. In short that's the best way to sum it up. He knew there was preparation involved in becoming Kabuto since receiving the rider belt (I bet you know how he got it) so physical training was an everyday thing (ep 1).

Tendou was smart and capable, and his actor is multi-talented. Tendou could even make long speeches cool (much like the masked man "Zero" of the anime Code Geass). For me personally, this helped lead to the inspiration to start trying to learn Japanese. I wanted to come off as cool and confident as Tendou when I spoke Japanese. The actor has been a writer, director, and speaks English. I have total respect for both the actor and the character.

People talk about Kabuto being taken too seriously. That's what I like best. Most especially I think Kabuto was serious, and Kiva could get serious. One great example is Den-O. I would have liked it if the one possessing personality were Momotaros, Others, blue and purple were just relentless clowns.

So there is some of what I can give you. Obviously you will have your own reasons for keeping riders at the top of your list, but I wonder if some of you are persuadable to Kabuto being far better than the criticism. To barrow a quote from someone at HJU "I would go to court" for Kamen Rider Kabuto and then some. I really might be Kabuto's #1 fan in the world, and like Garo I have wished I could get a message to the cast of the show to say "Arigato Gozaimashita"!

 

[dannad]

That earlier post about merchandising determining the status of a "Kamen Rider" had me a bit curious. In my exorbitant 15 seconds of research, I have concluded that Shadowmoon is not a rider if he is less than 12 inches tall.

He's a Rider:

He's not a Rider:

 

[Lynxara]

Kabuto did one thing that is not really a solid tradition anymore: Lots of very cool riders, with Tendou in a brilliant first place!

Honestly, I feel like Kabuto is exactly the reason why Toei won't put more than three Riders in a show anymore. Kabuto's toy line flopped, and while Hiro Mizushima as Tendou was hugely popular, I've never heard of any of the secondary Riders being particularly well-regarded. (Yeah, the Western fans love Kagami, but I've never seen evidence of similar affection on the Japanese side. Granted, I haven't looked all that hard...)

Tendou was a great concept for a protagonist, and I think surrounding him with a half-dozen inferior secondary protagonist characters just weighed the show down. From the start of Kabuto, the main thing I wanted from the series was insight into Tendou's unique mindset and some idea of how he ended up that way. I think the secondary Rider horde just detracted from this basic appeal, eating up camera time in ways that just weren't entertaining.

Consider for a moment, what if he really is that good?

Nobody who's complaining about him cares about that, because Tendou's not real. He's not "really" that good or really anything else, because he's a fictional construct. He's exactly what his various creators chose to make. Most people who complain about Tendou ultimately are mad that the guy is allowed to upstage other characters who they like better, and that's not a complaint that really has anything to do with Tendou at all.

This is another reason why I think burdening Kabuto with so many secondary Riders was a mistake. If Tendou was the show's sole hero, or had only one or two assistants, then you wouldn't get people watching the show for Kagami or Drake or whoever and cussing out Tendou for existing the whole time. It would unquestionably be Tendou's show about why he's such a magnificent heroic bastard, and if you don't like that, why are you watching it?

He is the one to Kamen Rider what Saijima Kouga is to Garo.

I'm glad you bring this up, because I think it points out really clearly how having so many secondaries lead to Tendou's personality backfiring. Nobody spites Kouga for being who he is in Garo because he's not making anyone else look bad by comparison. It's not like they put the Garo 3 trio in the same show, forcing them to look on in awe whenever Kouga was simply being himself. If that was the case, Kouga would get the same nasty reaction that Tendou does.

Instead, the only other Makai Knight we see in the main series is Zero, who you could easily view as Kouga's rival and equal, or as a close second. Nobody pities Zero for being in the same show as Garo, the way people pitied the other Kabuto Riders for losing their Zecters whenever Hyper Kabuto did his finisher. The entire universe was designed to accommodate the size and scope of Kouga's character. Tendou needed the same consideration and didn't get it.

 

[Seeker]

I guess it will always come down to personal tastes, because I can hardly find any fault with Kabuto. It was still one of my inspirations and I don't think it can ever be less good in my opinion.

 

[KingRanger]

I guess it will always come down to personal tastes, because I can hardly find any fault with Kabuto. It was still one of my inspirations and I don't think it can ever be less good in my opinion.

Rose colored glasses tend to do that.