What about Super Sentai? Granted, it doesn't have a huge gap like Rider, but if Ex-Aid is the last Heisei Rider, Zyuohger or the next Sentai will be the last Heisei Sentai.
Granted, I agree with NeonZ, that it probably won't be a big deal unless a big production change just happens to occur then. There does seem to be a bit of a change from Decade to W (in my eyes, more connection between series) but I think if any change occurs, it'll be because it's the relaunch's 20th anniversary (and be with Ex-Aid's successor).
Also, I think we're missing the point: An Emperor is planning to abdicate when tradition says it's a lifetime commitment (can't say I blame him). I'm more interested in that. I guess we'll see what happens and what effect it'll havery on the shows. My guess: they'll get pre-empted by the huge news stories about the event. Anything else will be by stuff that would've happen even if he stayed.
Super Sentai is the best example of why a new emperor taking over will not automatically change the tone of the series to come. When Japan transitioned from Showa to Heisei, Sentai did not undergo a massive change in its presentation. It happened gradually as the 90's continued, just as it did for the previous decade.
Look at the difference between Turboranger and Timeranger. It has nothing to do with Showa and Heisei. The same goes for BLACK RX and Kuuga.
IIRC Toei initially referred to Double as the first series in the 'Next Decade Project' but then never really used the term again afterwards.
I still think it's much more original than "Neo Heisei". Thanks, Gackt.
Except Toei always insist that the characters appearing in crossover movies are the same versions from the shows, even when that makes no sense as with Kuuga, Ryuki and Den-O or the infamous 'Black and RX as separate people' problem. Going back to the pre-Decade stuff, Agito's creative team publicly said that it was not in continuity with Kuuga. Kabuto features a cameo from the non-canon 'The First' version of Ichigo. Riderman famously didn't survive until the end of the V3 series but still appeared in every Showa-era team-up.
Rider really just kicks the very concept of continuity in the balls. :laugh:
Riderman's survival was explained, though not entirely on-screen. I wouldn't say that's a continuity problem, it's more like the typical case of a popular character surviving. I see it in the same way as (SPOILER ALERT FOR GAIM): [HIDE]Takatora being dead for a while, and then at the end of the penultimate episode, we discover he had survived all along.[/HIDE] Is that a problem with continuity?
I need to read up about the Kuuga-Agito connections again since I can't remember if they said that or the opposite. Even if they did, the first few episodes do have mentions of the Unidentified Lifeforms and Number 4.
When it comes to Kuuga, Ryuki, Den-O and the twin Kotaros, I'd argue Ryuki is the only one that lacks a good reason. These are things that are not ever explained on screen, but if you've seen their series (in the case of the Kotaros, it would be Decade), you can easily come up with an explanation.
If you realize how Kuuga works, you can easily see how he can come back. I won't go into details because of spoilers but the key is in episodes 18-19.
Den-O... wait, what's wrong with him? Why can't he come back?
BLACK and BLACK RX: It's all Decade's fault. One of those two is from another universe, probably BLACK. Decade did introduce a universe in which Kotaro never became RX. It's implied that Tsukasa is continuing his travel around worlds, and yet he keeps coming back for all the team-ups despite travelling through different universes. It's not too far-fetched to think BLACK also comes to the world that RX inhabits.
Hell, many people have come up with an easy explanation for Ryuki coming back, but it is something that sounds like overkill. Won't go into details on that.
I agree that Rider and Sentai are really made to be consumed as stand-alone series. I get a little annoyed when you have to see a crossover movie for something to make sense in the show because those films really can be tough for someone watching their first Rider.
Most of the time, the tie-ins to movies tend to be small for that very reason. I guess the only ones that absolutely need to be watched to avoid confusion are Den-O's and W's summer films, but they are not "crossovers".
There used to be a time when Riders teaming up would not be considered a crossover. I am under the belief we are back to that time, and whenever I see these referred as crossovers, I get a slight mental twitch that's quite similar to the one a grammar nazi feels. Not to say each series can't be stand-alone, though. It's always been that way, even back when there was seamless continuity between them.
Zeronos debuted in episode 17 and had his own unique belt (and sword!), unlike later movie-exclusive Riders that used modified versions of the main Rider's belt.
Accel debuted in episode 18 and had his own unique belt (and sword!), unlike later movie-exclusive Riders that used modified versions of the main Rider's belt.
Previously, Leangle debuted in episode 16 of Blade (though he got his belt the previous episode) and Todoroki debuted in episode 15 of Hibiki, and they both had their own toy transformation devices and weapons. So I suspect the timing (Q2) was already set. But having ONLY a primary and secondary Rider within the show and keeping the rest exclusively in movies? Den-O was first.
Both the K-Taros and the Xtreme Memory were third quarter toy releases. I'll grant you that Den-O Liner Form didn't debut until episode 36 (four later than Double CJX) but it uses the same toy as Climax Form, which debuted in episode 28 (four earlier than CJX). CJX is bang in the middle. Liner and CJX both got their own exclusive weapons too.
Though Den-O set up those standards, Kiva would later do things differently, and then Decade would continue them while at the same time being quite different from Den-O. It is with Double that they began to do it uninterrupted, which is one of the reasons why it's considered a new era. I'm not just thinking about introduction of Riders and forms... I'm also thinking about team-ups and multiple movies a year. Den-O started experimenting with that, and after seeing that it was succesful, Toei started to make it a tradition in 2009/2010.
Another reason why I think Double is considered the start has a lot to do with how Decade treated the past 9 series and how it introduced W in All Riders vs DaiShocker.