So I've finished Hibiki at last and... [SPOILERS]

[Filadelfo]

...now I know why all the fuss about the staff changes were about.
I translated a wiki article for my sempai Ryoutarou about a year ago that now can be seen in the english wiki page.
Having done it a priori, I couldn't see why everyone everywhere reacted like that to the producer change, not even knowing about all the changes done to the series.
But now, in a a posteriori review. I was left with a very unpleasant feeling that there was no closure and the whole story and script fell apart in the 24 minutes the last ep lasted.
There are a few points I'd like to note.

-Hibiki's first opening was absolutely great, the imagery, the design, the music, it all concentrated the traditional feel of the series along with the innovation in the themes and designs.
-This time the storyline followed a different pattern. This was mostly a story about Asumu and what happened when he met Hibiki.
-Angles, illumination and direction. In both comic scenes and action scenes, angles and filters were used in a way I've never seen on tv.
-Kaeru no uta. A really cute and effective leitmotif.
-Something that I was a little let down about at first was the Makamo. I'm a tokusatsu villain mania and at first I didn't think it was a good idea to use CG monsters. But as the series progressed, and we knew more about the battle between them and the Oni, leading me to understand that part of the series theme was nature, and the Makamo were a good idea. However, something that I didn't like through the whole series was the unexplained origin of the Man and the Woman and the eventual revelation that they were Kugutsu of another couple...
-Now, onto the staff changes. I think they pulled the Summer Makamo thing quite well, I don't have complaints on that one. Some of the monster designs were pretty cool. However, killing off the Kugutsu and introducing those lame lame lame Super Douji And hime... Was it necessary? Cutting off Asumu's narration, preventing him from becoming an Oni, making Akira resign, introducing that uncomprehensible character Kyousuke....
-And then that ending... What's that about? It is worse that using a Deus Ex Machina, why? Cause the whole episode was one!

I'm a really bad reviewer and my english is not good so please be patient...
I know the series may have been reviewed countless times but I absolutely loved Hibiki and the way it ended was worth this lines...

Tell me what you think, heroes of Justice.

 

[KamiKaxxe]

Hibiki was new serie.. Kamen Rider?.. another complete tokusatsu new series?.. we never know.. I think that many lines were writing before.. about that.

Hibiki is a good show.. but the second part.. when the director changed.. add many Rider features to the show.. I Remember the bike

I like the end.. the focus of the story and plot..

 

[Zuric]

The only part I didn't like was the inclusion of Kyousuke, and him becoming a rider while Asumu dropped out.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Personally, I didn't mind the second half too much. The introduction episodes with the new staff were pretty bad and I felt they had no idea what they were doing, but by the time the Suki arc started, I felt that the staff knew how to make this series their own while still keeping the feeling of the first half, even emo!Ibuki wasn't too much of a deterrent in my liking of the second half.

I know I'll be in the minority here, but I didn't mind Kiriya too much, at least not the idea of him, his execution could have gone better. It was nice that now not only did Asumu have to deal with his own inner demons, he had to deal with a rival as well. Like I said, just wish it could have been done better. Even with him thrown in the mix, for the most part, I felt that the characters all remained the way they were supposed to be. Well except for Asumu suddenly dropping band and becoming a doctor, yeah, I know, helping people through his own strength and stuff, but really, a doctor? There was almost no build up to that and I felt like the band stuff was just sort of wasted.

As for the ending, I actually didn't mind it that much. It gave the Oni side of things a great ending, but yeah, the human side could have been worked on a lot better, which is why I think there needs to be some sort of extra direct to DVD episode(s) or something like that put out.


Trying to keep it concise, but there were a few other things that did bother me, like Fila said, killing off the pair of Makamou we had for a new, stupid pair seemed really strange, and I would have loved it if we still got some of those forest scenes more in the second half.

 

[DarkWolf]

You guys pretty much just listed everything I was thinking of when I watched Hibiki. The biggest problem I had was Asumu being told off by Hibiki and never becoming an Oni. It's as if all the character development and focus given to him throughout the show were all for naught! You think it's gonna happen, then you're damn sure it's gonna happen; hell, you even HOPE it happens! But then Hibiki basically tells him to **** off and the whole thing falls apart from there! :shakefist

It's like the moral of the show ended up being "You can be anything you want to be in life. Just not an Oni! You are not worthy..."

And the final battle... you didn't even get to see it the whole way through. They just skip to one year later; Asumu's working at a doctor's office and everyone lives happily ever after! Ugh... :redface2:

It had potential, but there really wasn't any closure at the end of it all. It still had a decent ending with Hibiki and Asumu, but it just didn't feel right. I was disappointed in how Asumu ended up. I really was rooting for him. Truly a disappointment.

 

[Eldar]

I don't know if there is any truth to this, but according to one of the previous versions of the wiki article on Hibiki, the original intended ending before the shakeup was suppose to have him start the first step to training to be an oni.

 

[Tetsu]

I don't know if there is any truth to this, but according to one of the previous versions of the wiki article on Hibiki, the original intended ending before the shakeup was suppose to have him start the first step to training to be an oni.

That still stands there ^^

 

[Kamen_Rider_Ryuki]

well if you watch the hyper battle video of hibiki(sorry, he's not a rider in my book) asumu does become a oni(hibiki) cuz the real ending was of hibiki dying and asumu carrying on his steps

 

[JFC]

well if you watch the hyper battle video of hibiki(sorry, he's not a rider in my book) asumu does become a oni(hibiki) cuz the real ending was of hibiki dying and asumu carrying on his steps

If they had done that, man that would have been one hell of an ending. :O_O:

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Wasn't that just a rumor for episode 30 long before it actually aired?