Woah, read through all those posts to make a post... tiring, but here's my opinion if anyone wants to listen,
I think Faiz having a non ending is ok. The series ended, the story didn't. Now, the thing about Kamen Rider is, what it could actually do is instead of making a new hero every year, they could continue the series with going with Season 2s or 3s or even more, but they don't, which is why we have what we have today. Now, I assume Faiz was very popular in it's days because I remembered it being popular enough to take up all the toys section with promo vids in Thailand Department Stores. Commercials all over, different language dubbing and subs went out like mad.
Now, I think... you guys got it wrong. Cinematography is supposed to be about documenting human history, everyday life. If you are to take a piece of fiction and film it, you have to remember that setting is everything. Not just where and when, the politics, the law, the environment, culture. It's all taken into account. To say that a story having no ending isn't a story could be a valid argument, but the thing is, that's not the purpose of filming. With filming a series, you want to show just those moments that matter. Only those segments that are on screen is what the writers and directors want you to see because they are trying to tell a story from the segments, and really, what every writer wants is to essentially give off some form of moral or inspire the audience about something new.
Inui Takumi doesn't have any dreams, but he can protect other's dreams. Mari gives him that purpose, by giving him people to care about that he soon calls friends, he's not so lonely anymore.
I just think Faiz could have been a much better story if it was filmed by a sane man. The characters on it had too much problems. It was teenagers with attitudes all over the place, and each character was just psychologically fucked in the head one way or another.
The idea though, it's pretty revolutionary. Technology, human evolution, life after death, immortality. All of it's explored, and I think, I could dare say that Agito and Faiz could be compared to two things: Religion and Science. Agito used religion to tell the story about human life, and it's potential, all the while trying to accommodate modern science into it. Faiz used science as a base, with subliminal hints to religion and the Orphenoch King being this "Messiah" like figure in a really advanced futuristic human potential form.
Personally, I think a Kamen Rider story that spins misunderstandings like Faiz should be given a round of applause. Because I feel like every time Kiba and Takumi misunderstand each other, somehow, they make up in the end. They're just these two guys that understand each other, and they feel at ease when they're close to each other. They're both loners in a sense. Kiba lived a life filled with false hope before the accident, only to wake up and have his good nature be trashed at by those around him. Inui takes any insult and blame, and doesn't defend himself. They progress, from being losers to eventual saviours. People hate them, give them a hard time, but they both shared the same ideals.
It's pretty much a what if Ren and Shinji worked together to close down Mirror World for good. But then again, stories are boring if you let everyone have their happy endings, right?