FreedomR8G6B1
New Member
The impossible happened...fruits are badass!!!!
And FU Saban!!!
And FU Saban!!!
Kamen Rider Gaim: Full Series TALK UP!
- Thread starter KamenRiderUNDERGROUND
- Start date
Ultra Rider
Lurker
What happened with Saban.
Don't forget too many movie tie-ins and specials that killed concepts and momentums for the writters. Also, echoing my thoughts on Gaim.
Don't forget too many movie tie-ins and specials that killed concepts and momentums for the writters. Also, echoing my thoughts on Gaim.
SentaiRiderFan
MV Maker
Kamen Rider Gaim is a perfect example of why I love Rider so much. It took a ridiculous concept, played it completely straight (with some humor, and even that worked), and told an intense, well-crafted, character-driven story the likes of which I can't think I've ever seen before. Not to mention, it had some of my favorite Riders in ages, namely Kota, Kaito, and Micchy, each interesting and likable in their own right, but with wonderful chemistry together. On top of that, while a little shaky at first, some of the action sequences were just a blast to watch, particularly Gaim and Baron's final battle. But above all else, Gaim was just so different. In a time where every series was a rehash of the last, Gaim was a great breath of fresh air, and made me excited about this franchise again. This isn't just the absolute best Kamen Rider series ever made, it's one of the best pieces of television ever made.
That's not to say it's perfect (a fact that I hope others start to pick up on once the hype has passed), it did have some underdeveloped characters (namely Sid, Zach, Yoko, and perhaps Ryoma), but in a show with 15+ riders, I can forgive it. Additionally, while the overall narrative is great, many individual episodes were very unfulfilled, on account of it being a weekly tv series.
However, it doesn't really need to be a perfect show (I don't really believe in such a thing anyway). The pros vastly outweighed the cons (and just about anyone who disagrees with that is nitpicking. I'm lookin' at you, Captain Shark) and it was just a great breath of fresh air. I can only hope that Toei learns a few things from this and that Gaim goes on to be a standard to follow for years to come (much like Double was), but even if it doesn't, Gaim will still stand out as this neat little oddity in the Kamen Rider franchise that I'll happily revisit any time.
That's not to say it's perfect (a fact that I hope others start to pick up on once the hype has passed), it did have some underdeveloped characters (namely Sid, Zach, Yoko, and perhaps Ryoma), but in a show with 15+ riders, I can forgive it. Additionally, while the overall narrative is great, many individual episodes were very unfulfilled, on account of it being a weekly tv series.
However, it doesn't really need to be a perfect show (I don't really believe in such a thing anyway). The pros vastly outweighed the cons (and just about anyone who disagrees with that is nitpicking. I'm lookin' at you, Captain Shark) and it was just a great breath of fresh air. I can only hope that Toei learns a few things from this and that Gaim goes on to be a standard to follow for years to come (much like Double was), but even if it doesn't, Gaim will still stand out as this neat little oddity in the Kamen Rider franchise that I'll happily revisit any time.
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kuroihikari
Member
I highly doubt Gaim will be a standard to follow. Unlike Double (also a well-loved, but flawed series), Gaim didn't actually perform particularly well to merit that treatment.
SentaiRiderFan
MV Maker
Tell that to the toys. Gaim's ratings weren't so good because it's story was hard to follow for casuals, that doesn't mean it wasn't a success. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm pretty sure it outsold OOO, the previous best-selling Heisei series. As for being a standard, call it a hunch, but it looks like Mashin Chaser is taking some cues from Baron. It doesn't have to have it's formula copied to be influential.
bleachjoj
Member
W got the treatment it because it was a ratings success and the fact it had not only great toy sales but great DVD sales. I don't know how well Gaim does on that front. And how does Chaser take cues from Baron? Baron himself is a common secondary rider trope.
SentaiRiderFan
MV Maker
Gaim had good DVD sales, two (I think that's actually counted towards the toy sales, though I could be wrong). Also, Chaser appears to be an anti-hero character who has less than zero regard for the main hero, just like Baron was (look at the magazine scans and that trailer to see what I mean). Not to mention, Baron was a popular character (he got Lemon Energy arms for that reason alone) and I suspect Toei is going to try something like that again. But, like I said, it is just a hunch.
Artisan
Blade Adept
The Yggdrasil/Helheim arcs were the peak of the series. After Kiwami is attained, a clanger is dropped somewhere, and despite the massive elevation of the stakes, the show peters out a bit as the thirties roll in. Despite the supposed arma-friggin-geddon occurring, it's all peripheral and in the background, while the show meanders into the closest it's ever been to MOTW territory. Were lesser Overlords necessary, when they essentially diluted the label of Overlord? Did that peacock Overlord have to exist only to drag out an episode long Zangetsu Shin Punch & Judy episode? While Mitsuzane's arc never took up as much screen time as say, Mutsuki's, it still dragged, and it took too long for the guy to get to the point and deliver the betrayal to Kouta.
I can't remember who was it on this board that used the drama play analogy, and it's quite appropriate for the Forbidden Fruit arc. The stakes have grown so high - almost outlandishly - and yet we're only confined to what we can see on the stage itself, which at first was some MOTW cleanup work, because Overlord Bandai issued a diktat that Kiwami must be ubiquitous from hereon forth. Has America been hit? Oh, I barely realised. Everyone just seemed somewhat apathetic back at base.
I share the disappointment that certain plot points end with weak resolutions. Redyue conspires with Rosyuo to drain human energy to revive the Overlord Queen. That sounds mighty significant. Instead, characters spin their heels as the draining process mysteriously occurs for a full few episodes up until Kaito smashes the machine without any of the victims dying. The Overlord Queen subplot resolution can be simply summed up as "huh?" and the disposal of the Overlords themselves felt abrupt and predictable, albeit very well directed. Crazy Redyue has indeed been one of the standout moments of the series. Meanwhile, the show makes the point that the world has abandoned Zawame, enough to warrant dropping missiles on it, but wait! suddenly the SDF show up after all! And the moment Yggdrasil as an organisation collapses, every Kurokage soldier decides to GTFO. Not one stopped for a moment to say "wait a fucking moment. I LIVE here! This is my HOME! I'm staying to fight!", and what command chain is left to order them to leave? Are there no soldiers with belts left but the main characters by the time Redyue cements her authority over the city?
Then there are a few plot points that mysteriously fizzle out of relevance, because reasons. Those Helheim fruits are damn alluring, aren't they? Anyone recall what happened to Hase, when some psychological battering left him to forage a fruit? With the Overlord invasion, isn't Zawame now covered with the deadly fruits? Oh, never mind. I'm sure they're now harmless. What about Minato? She's the walking wasted potential of the entire show. I don't know if there was an alternative subplot brewing beneath there that was ultimately aborted, but it's strange to now look back in retrospect Ryouma hinting of her hidden potential.
Now. It's still a great show. It makes up massively for last year's tepid Wizard. It could supplant W as the best of what Neo-Heisei has had to offer us thus far, but I've currently yet to make up my mind. But on my rankings list, Agito and Kuuga are still comfortably above. Gaim's a show that left me wanting for more episode after episode. I recall finishing episode 14, and replaying the preview for the 15th episode over and over again. I was bloody excited. It's been sooooo long since a Rider series has done that to me at its 14th episode, because usually I expect the resolution or the start of another banal, consequence-free two-parter.
It's not a show I'm going to forget anytime too soon, and I suspect we'll still be talking about it for a little while to come.
I can't remember who was it on this board that used the drama play analogy, and it's quite appropriate for the Forbidden Fruit arc. The stakes have grown so high - almost outlandishly - and yet we're only confined to what we can see on the stage itself, which at first was some MOTW cleanup work, because Overlord Bandai issued a diktat that Kiwami must be ubiquitous from hereon forth. Has America been hit? Oh, I barely realised. Everyone just seemed somewhat apathetic back at base.
I share the disappointment that certain plot points end with weak resolutions. Redyue conspires with Rosyuo to drain human energy to revive the Overlord Queen. That sounds mighty significant. Instead, characters spin their heels as the draining process mysteriously occurs for a full few episodes up until Kaito smashes the machine without any of the victims dying. The Overlord Queen subplot resolution can be simply summed up as "huh?" and the disposal of the Overlords themselves felt abrupt and predictable, albeit very well directed. Crazy Redyue has indeed been one of the standout moments of the series. Meanwhile, the show makes the point that the world has abandoned Zawame, enough to warrant dropping missiles on it, but wait! suddenly the SDF show up after all! And the moment Yggdrasil as an organisation collapses, every Kurokage soldier decides to GTFO. Not one stopped for a moment to say "wait a fucking moment. I LIVE here! This is my HOME! I'm staying to fight!", and what command chain is left to order them to leave? Are there no soldiers with belts left but the main characters by the time Redyue cements her authority over the city?
Then there are a few plot points that mysteriously fizzle out of relevance, because reasons. Those Helheim fruits are damn alluring, aren't they? Anyone recall what happened to Hase, when some psychological battering left him to forage a fruit? With the Overlord invasion, isn't Zawame now covered with the deadly fruits? Oh, never mind. I'm sure they're now harmless. What about Minato? She's the walking wasted potential of the entire show. I don't know if there was an alternative subplot brewing beneath there that was ultimately aborted, but it's strange to now look back in retrospect Ryouma hinting of her hidden potential.
Now. It's still a great show. It makes up massively for last year's tepid Wizard. It could supplant W as the best of what Neo-Heisei has had to offer us thus far, but I've currently yet to make up my mind. But on my rankings list, Agito and Kuuga are still comfortably above. Gaim's a show that left me wanting for more episode after episode. I recall finishing episode 14, and replaying the preview for the 15th episode over and over again. I was bloody excited. It's been sooooo long since a Rider series has done that to me at its 14th episode, because usually I expect the resolution or the start of another banal, consequence-free two-parter.
It's not a show I'm going to forget anytime too soon, and I suspect we'll still be talking about it for a little while to come.
What shows got the V cinema is less to do with success. Look at Hurricaneger or Space Sheriff the New Generation (the Gavan movie wasn't exactly a success). Success is only one component, but it's not a determinant if it was you would think Gaoranger would have gotten one. I think it really boils down to the staff and people at Toei pushing the projects. All three projects (W/Hurricanger/Space Sheriff) were produced by Hideaki Tsukada and pushed by people around him. The former two projects were especially heavily associated with him.
So Gaim probably won't get anything because it's more of Takabe's show and not because of perceived success or lack of it.
SentaiRiderFan
MV Maker
No one's talking about V-Cinemas. We're talking about W's formula being copied in OOO, Fourze, and Wizard, and how Gaim will hopefully be influential in similar ways.
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