Kamen Rider Gaim: Full Series TALK UP!

[Captain Shark]

Now with Gaim over I can rank it among the other major entries in the franchise.

Skyrider > OOO > Black RX > Wizard > Decade > Stronger > Fourze > Black > Amazon > Kiva > Agito > J > ZO > ZX > V3 > Kuuga > 555 > Hibiki > Gaim > Den-O > W > Shin > Ryuki > Blade > G > SD > The First > Kabuto > The Next

Oh my. Well, here is to Drive.:shakefist

 

[KamenRiderUNDERGROUND]

For me my list will be:

Blade > Gaim > W > OOO > Kabuto> Kiva > Ryuki > Decade > Wizard > Faiz > Kuuga > Agito > Den-O > Fourze > Hibiki

 

[SentaiRiderFan]

Well, since Everyone else is doing it:
Gaim > OOO > Agito > Kabuto > Black > Kuuga > W > Decade > Faiz > Blade
(That's only what I've seen all the way through).

 

[HurricaneDragon]

Gaim > OOO > Kuuga > Agito = Ryuki = W = Hibiki (1-30) > Kabuto = Den-O > Blade > Fourze > Faiz = Hibiki (Complete) > Wizard > Hibiki (31-48) > Shin

Yes, Hibiki had to get put on there three separate times. Ignore the incomplete ones if you wish. I didn't put the other stand alone movies or any Showa shows because I wanted to keep it Heisei, but Shin always gets a special spot on the bottom of any Rider-related ranking list in my heart.

 

[cobabooy]

1. W (my first full series, so it's kinda special to me)
2. Gaim
3. Faiz
4. OOO
5. Den-O
6. Kabuto
7. Decade
8. Wizard
9. Fourze
Still watching Kuuga and more, so this is it for now

 

[GWolf]

So how good was Gaim

Ok, I think, objectively speaking and excluding all thoughts of personal favourites and just going with as detached a view as is possible looking at the writing, story, acting etc, I think there's a very strong case for Gaim to be thought of as arguably the best Kamen Rider show. Ever. I mean, when you look at the shows as a unit, not in terms of raw enjoyability or favouritismness, the Heisei shows are superior to the Showa shows. Again, if we go super detached and just look at the shows as a unit. It's not a hard and fast rule, but one on one, a Heisei show is better than a Showa. And Gaim succeeds in every element bar perhaps the fights, and even then those vastly improve as the series goes on. Whereas Blade has a weak opening and an amazing end, OOO has a slower build that takes lacks the grandioseness, Double is very steady but lacks exceptional individual highs outside of its established formula, Den-O can be too comedic, Kuuga can suffer in the side acting etc etc. Gaim managed to do every single thing it needed to be an exceptional show and I don't think that any other Rider show pulled that off. I think Gaim is so well done that it could severely disappoint people who started with it and went to the more classic shows like Kabuto or Agito, because it is just on another level in terms of execution. I'd honestly say it's one of the best crafted shows I've ever seen, toku or not. It's not flawless but it's as close as you're likely to get.

Now does that mean it's my favourite rider show? No. I think if I had a top 5 it'd be very close to the top but my favourite is still going to be OOO because of how amazing the Eiji/Ankh/Maki writing was. But OOO has more failings in terms of early development and some hiccups in pre-putotyra arc steadiness relative to Gaim. Still amazing but if it's a one on one, Gaim is technically better. I just don't love it as much.

 

[HurricaneDragon]

the Heisei shows are superior to the Showa shows [...] Kuuga can suffer in the side acting etc etc.

No and no. Heisei vs Showa is always going to heavily be about preference, and Kuuga has arguably one of the best side casts in the franchise.

 

[GWolf]

No and no. Heisei vs Showa is always going to heavily be about preference, and Kuuga has arguably one of the best side casts in the franchise.

That's....kind of my entire point. Preference (subjectivity) vs analysis (objectivity). Now there is no such thing as truly objective viewpoint as every approach is at least somewhat coloured. But the Heisei Showa "rivalry" is a perfect example. Which shows you enjoy is a matter of preference. Which show are better written, filmed, plotted, characterised etc isn't. It's like...I don't enjoy Game of Thrones. At all. It bores me to tears to be honest. That's a preference. But I can't deny it's a finally crafted piece. It's got all the goods to make things amazing. They just don't gel with me. Showa shows are often more loved and rightly so. They're fun, quirky, occasionally mad with flashes of brilliance and ooddles of charm. They are Knight Rider, McGuyver and The A-Team. McGuyver is a TERRIBLE show. I love it to death but it is awful. The core components just aren't there. I'm not saying the Showa era is terrible it's not. In fact, it's better than all the above shows...mmm maybe not Knight Rider, but it's a great era. But when you break down the elements, they are not as well constructed or put togther as the majority of Heisei shows. It's Iron Vs Steel. Which you use is up to you, but your sword will be stronger with steel. You use Kuuga's side cast there. I think that's a very strong argument for the difference between the two -ivities. First off, I think Kuuga is a genuinely great show and should ALWAYS be the first Heisei show someone sees (it wasn't mine, but wish it had been). But the side cast is not...good. It's got a powerful secondary protagonist...an then...the girl...who...types. And the doctor. Who reacts a lot. Two brilliant protagonists, a couple of well utilised but not massivel developed secondaries and a large number of plot only characters. And I include the Grongi in that. Hell, N-Daguba-Zeba is an AMAZING plot point, but not exactly a good character.

My point towards Gaim is...I think hating it is fine. I think loving it is fine. But I think if you distill it to it's basest elements, there has never been a Kamen Rider show that got it this right. This is the Game of Thrones. The Legend of Aang. I think the series will struggle to hit this kind of quality again. But it gives me hope that the series will have this to aim for.

And again, still not my favourite. Muttha Hubbarding Ankh. God I love Ankh.

 

[TheNoMoreHero]

For now, I'm just gonna rank Gaim among the Neo Heisei era:
1. Gaim (After finally abandoning the two episode structure that worked for W but not so much for the series that followed, Gaim took a goofy premise of sengoku war between fruit warriors and made it work. I've never used the phrase "ruined the next series for me" but after watching the first episode of Drive, I'm scared that it has. It just hit the right balance for characters and story. I found the worst episodes are the filler episodes (Kikader and the soccer episodes) because they broke up the main story, which says something. It has some hiccups, but nothings perfect.
2. W (Basically the go-to series when I recommend people to Kamen Rider. Nice story, good characters, and was able to have tons of toys without feeling like a toy commercial.)
3. Fourze (A fun and lighthearted ride. It had its problems but there was heart to this series.)
4. OOO (Pretty good series with interesting character arcs, however it had a pretty bad midseason rot that I would start skimming/skipping episodes. Also the villains suffered with the two episode structure and the chronic backstabbing)
5. Wizard (Bland protagonist, incompetent villains, useless/pointless supporting cast, and so much wasted potential. Wizard is the prime example of all flash no substance.)
-Sadly OOO's has to be next to Wizard in this ranking but it is far above Wizard in score-

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I may have stopped commenting on each episode individually, but I never stopped watching. I just didn't comment because of my schedule. By the time I'd have free time to watch something, I'd be like 3 or 4 episodes behind. The same is true with ToQger. But now that I am caught up, I can give my thoughts...

I have to say, it may not be your traditional Rider show, but Gaim is definitely one of my TOP favorite all time Super Hero shows EVER. It's going to be really hard to top this.

I all ready have a love/bias for Japan and the samurai class, so when you mix samurais with super heroes, you KNOW I am going to be all over that! But then you throw in Masked Riders who are themed after international warriors (knights, Chinese warriors, etc), as well as some western folklore (Wasn't an apple the fruit that grew from the tree of knowledge in the biblical/christian story?), and so many other things... You have made something that is pure gold!

And it was so nice to see the stakes in the story reach international levels. People have joked about Giant Monsters and Giant Robots being just another average thing in Japan, but if all this was going on, wouldn't the rest of the world have a steak in this? And this story acknowledges that for once!

The drama was great, the characters and character building was great. Somehow, a show that should have been the silliest thing ever rose up to be the GREATEST thing ever! It may be a while before Tokusatsu can top itself like this, but until then, this will be the greatest gem I can think of in Tokusatsu. Would DEFINITELY watch again over and over. :thumbs: