Rewatching Kamen Rider Black and RX

[Black Fang]

Shadow Moon's return: This wasn't as bad as I was anticipating it to be. My only real complaint is that he's around for only two episodes and there's a bunch of filler in between them. They probably should've rearranged episodes 23 and 24 so that they came after episode 20. Then we'd have episode 21 that leads into episode 22 (Shadow Moon's first appearance) and then the 25-26 two-parter where Kotaro finds himself alone again just in time to face him again. Also, it wasn't necessary to align him with Crisis, at least the way they did it. He could've just been acting on his own to kill Black Sun purely out of instinct while Crisis decides if they can take advantage of this.

I like how each of Shadow Moon's two episodes is built up to. Kotaro is reminded of Nobuhiko with his friendship with Joe, a fellow cyborg, only to meet him once more. And as mentioned above, 25 and 26 leave Reiko and Joe injured, and Utako bans Kotaro from the Sahara house after Crisis threatens her.

Kotaro's "Bat Family": I've noticed starting from episode 28 that Kotaro has kind of developed a "Bat Family". You have sidekick Joe, Reiko, and then Kyoko, with I guess Shigeru and the Saharas for emotional support. It's not a bad idea. Not only does it give Reiko more to do and build her character, it drives home the whole theme of RX that you're not alone. (Episode 39 does this well after Utako blames Kotaro for her family's misfortunes.) In a sense you could say RX brings Kotaro full circle, from having family and friends, to losing everything, to people rallying with him despite his initial reluctance.

Granted though this concept isn't handled as well as it could've been. Kotaro ends up having to bail them out most of the time. Joe is more bumbling than he ought to be. Kyoko's psychic power and archery skills come out of nowhere. It feels like these were last minute characters brought in after the soft reset starting in episode 14 when the useless detective Hayami is written out. Joe and Kyoko should've been given some more development, and in the former's case a bit more competence.

 

[Black Fang]

The finale: Form what I understand, the reunion of the 10 Riders was a last-minute thing after Toei decided to cancel the show. In that respect, I can get why they're suit-only but the very least they could've done was something like the ZX movie where one or two actors returned to liaison with Kotaro and Co. while the others fight Crisis. As it is, this isn't one of the better Rider teamups, especially when you see them standing around in costume while Tetsuo Kurata is in regular dress.

As to the finale itself, it's enjoyable. I do question the last-minute reveal of the Demon World as a mirror of Earth that's suffering from humanity's evil when in earlier episodes we see people living there and that Crisis took over millennia ago. Was it Crisis that caused the Demon World to die? Or did they simply not let a good crisis go to waste (ha) to seize power and then cast themselves as victims of Earth's actions? There's a kind of 'Camp of the Saints' vibe to Crisis' invasion, in that respect. We end with Kotaro joining the other Riders on their adventures, as that's the role he's perhaps destined to have after all that happened.

I know generally consider Black as a classic and RX as disappointing. I don't know how much nostalgia plays a role in Black's popularity as it seems a lot of people saw it as kids. But I think it some areas RX is better than Black. It has less filler, especially after the two Shadow Moon episodes. Black suffers heavily from too much filler pre-Shadow Moon: it shoves aside the two big story arcs for the sake of solitary adventures and kid-of-the-week plots that advance nothing. And even after Shadow Moon appears we have some useless episodes before the moment we've been waiting for. Black starts off strong but slacks off toward the middle before gaining speed again. While RX is definitely at its weakest in its first 13 episodes (lacking a real transition from Kotaro at the end of Black to where he is now) it picks up speed incredibly from 14 onward and builds up the impending Crisis invasion and Kotaro's "Bat Family".

All in all, I enjoyed both Black and RX equally and I actually miss them now that I'm done rewatching both. I compared it to Zweig's "The World of Yesterday" earlier, and I think it applies to Kotaro. He was a carefree young man who would've continued life as is until Golgom stole it all away, much as Zweig's life in "Victorian Europe" was destroyed by World War I, despite his best efforts to make people see sense. Kotaro recovers a bit by the time of RX only for more tragedy to befall, as Zweig had picked up the pieces of his life until World War II crashed upon Europe. Black ends on a sad note with Kotaro alone, while RX is sad but more optimistic as Kotaro has friends that stuck by him, even despite Crisis' attempts to isolate him. I find it kinda funny when people bemoan how Kotaro's not angst-ridden and wallowing in self-pity in RX when too much angst has been a complaint about early Heisei Rider.

I'll be seeing Kotaro again in Kamen Rider Taisen and SHT Grand Prix/KR4, when I eventually start rewatching Gaim and Drive. Hopefully it won't be too cringe-inducing.

 

[BLASTMATIC]

still one of my favorite series next to kamen rider amazon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ama-----------zonnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dr Kain]

I never saw Black as a kid and I find it to be one of the best.

I will say this for Rx, the ending when

Spoiler

the villain killed the kids' parents was shockingly awesome.

 

[Ultraman_Meta777]

I absolutely LOVE both series! I love the ongoing storyline that permeates Black and I do like how it is followed up on in RX, I love how RX is still dark and serious but has a light hearted aspect here and there, but it does showcase the next stage of Kotaro's journey following how tragic and downbeat the end of Black was, and how things are better for him two years after the events of Black, he is living with a family and has a loving girlfriend and is basically now fighting to preserve the world and the life he has built for himself following the downfall of Golgom.

I love the monster designs, and I love the actor that played Kotaro, and the fact that he played the role for nearly 100 episodes with two back to back Kamen Rider series is AWESOME! And the fact that he continues to pop up every so often to reprise the role in other Kamen Rider programs/films showcases the love he clearly has for the role that made him a star and his love of the franchise overall.

 

[Black Fang]

Speaking of monsters designs, I have to say that from RX, Gun Gadin and Dogmalogma are two of the most unique monsters in toku. I think Ultraman is the only show I can recall with other unusual, creative designs. It's a nice change from the usual "biped rubber suit".

And Black, as I mentioned before, has some mutants where the actor's eyes can be seen, which makes them all the more freakish and scary. Even though some like Leopard Mutant looked a bit too much like a cosplaying outfit at a convention. (They even dressed up a dog in a leopard suit and hid its face with a superimposed bright light for the chase scene. I only noticed it this time around.)

 

[Toku Prime]

Exactly 28 years ago today, the King Stone was broken and the Black Sun became the Child of the Sun, as the first episode of Black RX was broadcast.