Kamen Rider Kabuto Re-Evaluations Thread

[Sentaifan'07 Xman]

Well, I've just finished re-watching Kamen Rider Kabuto after eight years. Yeah, it has been eight years since I've last seen that show and I've decided to re-visit it to see if it's still good now than I thought it was back then and......it wasn't as great as I remembered it. I mean, that's kind of the problems with re-evaluations and re-watching certain shows that you remembered from a long time ago, not everything is gonna be great. And that's kind of the problem when you have a lot of shows that has lasted for over 40 years like Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Ultraman, Doctor Who, etc.. And with that, let's get back to how I really feel about Kamen Rider Kabuto. Look guys, I'm not gonna lie to you when I say this, but Kamen Rider Kabuto was just weird (and not in a good way), but also frustrating and confusing for me to understand. I mean, the story was just all over the place, and the finale just felt a little lack-lustering. Plus, the villains' motifs were just really, really underwhelming to me. I don't even know what their real goals were from the beginning even after it was revealed that the Natives were the real brains behind the development of the Masked Rider system in Kabuto's storyline. The characters are just.....not that engaging to watch, except for Tsurugi Kameshiro/Kamen Rider Sasword and maybe Yagaruma/Kamen Rider TheBee (I)/Kamen Rider Kick Hopper. But, I also feel like this show was being really mean-spirited to the character of Daisuke Kazuma/Kamen Rider Drake and it's not just his story arc from the TV show, but also from the movie as well. It's almost as if the producers and writers actually despise his character or if they have an issue with the actor. But what really boggled me about this show was that it was trying to make ZECT feel like they're the real enemies, but it sort of didn't really do anything into making the organization feel as secretive and evil as Shocker, Destron, G.O.D. or Smart Brain for that matter. I'm sorry, but I just can't understand what were the villains' primary motivation this entire time. Did they wanted to mimic the humans or enslave them or eradicate them or just turn them all into Natives? I just don't know. I don't even know if the villains of this show even have an actual plan to take over the world.

Final thoughts.....I just didn't like this series and I don't think it's even worth having an U.S. adaptation at all, even if Saban Brands plans on actually re-introducing Kamen Rider into "Power Rider". Oh well, I mean Kamen Rider OOO, Drive, W, Fourze, Agito, Gaim, Blade, and Faiz were better Kamen Rider shows than this one anyways.

So what do you guys think of Kamen Rider Kabuto? Did you like it, or did you not?

Let me know....

 

[BLASTMATIC]

i loved kabuto when it came out and even now i've rewatched it three times and the show is definately disjointed but good enough not great but a good enough rider show to be a good show overall. the story was there, the ideas were there with the riders and other charecters but some of it felt like they didn't know wtf they were doing at times. not really a big bad per-say and the dark kabuto arc shoulda been doing since the mid 20's but they waited too late to do one of the better arcs of the show. either way i still love the show for what it is.

 

[Black Fang]

I'd say the show was fairly good until Drake showed up. He and Sasword derailed the show with both their absences from various key moments, and Tsurugi's general annoying behavior, whether as a snob or as a lobotomized clown. Then of course there was the Dark Kabuto plot, the imPerfect Zecter that stole things from others (even in the middle of a fight), the stupid Hoppers, and a whole bunch of things that either don't get explained or are explained rather poorly.

Regarding the Riders, what the show ought to have done is this:

- Drake (having become a Rider against his choice) meets Kabuto and, finding out what ZECT really is and that he'll be targeted, after becomes his ally, making cameos here and there to accommodate the actor's schedule. None of that stupid fighting between each other for no reason. I'd include him in the final arc where Tendou is destroying those Native necklaces.

- Sasword is of samurai descent. He begins as a ZECT agent after the Sasword Zecter finds him, since through ZECT he can avenge himself on the Worms. He fights Kabuto as part of the job, not because he "wants to kill the Worm first". But he escapes from ZECT after they try to take the Zecter back once Gatack is born, becomes a fugitive, and later an ally of Tendou. So now we have three Riders, Kabuto, Drake and Sasword working to fight both the Worms and ZECT. Gatack is still with ZECT but becomes ambivalent after his adventures with Tendou and Co., which will climax in the final arcs.

- No Hoppers, but Yaguruma steals back the Zabee Zecter and begins his own revenge plot against ZECT (perhaps Bandai can give him a new toy in the process), which might possibly derail Tendou's own plans to destroy them. Kageyama is killed by Rena after he does his wormy dealings with her.

- Definitely tie God Speed Love into the show. That would mean either abolishing or altering the Dark Kabuto plot. Maybe Dark Kabuto can be the "Worm King" that took on GSL Tendou's form but was captured by ZECT and held in Area X all these years before escaping. The Dark Kabuto Zecter may in fact be the Zecter that ZECT had created in this timeline for Kabuto, while "red" Kabro is from the GSL future.

 

[TheLastBlade]

I have a special type of hatred reserved for Kamen Rider Kabuto.

 

[Zensrive]

Somehow, the Hoppers are my favourite parts of Kabuto.

 

[FreedomR8G6B1]

Adapt this series Steve Wang...SUPER HERO TIME...ON NICK!!!

 

[Kamen Rider IXA]

Kabuto, while not being as strong as some seasons before, was definitely a fan ride for me.
It's probably one of the best seasons in terms of visual appeal (on pair with Fourze), remarkable characters and great humour.

Plot was really one of the weak points, though.