Decided to cave and watch this one raw. Not much to say that wasn't already said in the news/rumors thread (namely pacing issues to allow two fights, and a cool design), but I like this one.
*It doesn't really feel like a carbon copy of any one show so far, which is usually a good sign (there are elements from a bunch of shows, but they're not just doing Gaim or Drive again).
*I REALLY like the gimmick that no one can see Ghost or the monsters (it's simple, effective, fairly creative, and doesn't require a huge budget like Drive's slow-down thing did).
*While this might change once I see a subbed version, so far, I like this cast much more than I liked Drive's cast (which I know isn't saying much, but at least they're not making goofy faces and being shoved down my throat).
*The Ganma are cool. I'm not usually big on monsters that talk (namely because they usually devolve into clowns at some point, like a lot of sentai villians), but these guys seem cool (though time will tell if they stay that way).
*The mood does seem a little odd (it seems like the actors are taking a comedic approach, yet we have a theme park getting destroyed), but I'm willing to wait and see where it goes (it has the potential to go really dark, like Gaim did).
To me, all of that sounds like a new writer getting used to a new format, and rider is ALWAYS at it's best when it's got fresh blood like that. So yeah, solid first impression (but after Drive nose-dived so far so fast, I'm still not totally hooked yet).
