What does the fanbase in general think of Kamen Rider Faiz?

[SentaiRiderFan]

So, the last poll I made kinda exploded in my face, and since people seemed to enjoy the chance to talk about an older rider show, I thought I'd offer that chance for another polarizing Kamen Rider series.

Like Blade, I've seen some serious mixed opinions about this show and I'd really like to know just how many people like this show and how many don't. Like my Blade poll, I'd appreciate any effort to explain why you voted the way you did (even if it's for reasons that other people have mentioned, or because "it's the first one I ever watched"). Also, as usual, I won't give my own thoughts just yet, for fear of coloring this thread.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate knowing exactly how well-liked these shows are.

EDIT: I guess I should probably add in my own thoughts at some point.

For me, Faiz came right up to the edge to being a soap opera, but it thankfully had a few things that kept me going. However, looking back, most of Faiz is good ideas with bad (or at least very dated) execution. The concept of having two groups of heroes was a neat one, but Kiba and company really only serve as an extra set of supporting characters (aside from Kiba playing hero a few times), and really, did we need TWO rivals for our main hero? Speaking of Takumi, I really like the idea of a hero who really isn't one, it kept things interesting, and Takumi himself seemed like a prototype for Tendo Souji, though that just made him seem all the more dated.
Speaking of jerk riders, I friggin' LOVE Kusaka. Don't get me wrong, he's an awful human being, and he completely deserved what he got. However, he was so sadistic and so over-the-top that he's just fun to watch. He's like the principal in Ferris Bueller, he's just fun to watch despite being a jerk. On the topic of main riders, I also really liked Delta. Before Mihara got the belt. Seriously, Kitazaki is, like Kusaka, so unforgiving that he's a lot of fun to watch. He's certainly more memorable that Mihara (seriously, why not just give the belt to Kiba. God knows he deserved it).
I should probably also mention the action. It's good. For the time, at least. I just wish they hadn't put most of the CG budget into the transformations. If they hadn't, Blaster form probably would've looked a lot better. Plus, kudos to Inoue for creating riders who I can easily see wanting to hit each other (even if he had to resort to that stupid "I'm gonna punch you out and refuse to explain myself so we can have a fight scene" thing). It is dated, but it's still enjoyable to watch (I refer you to Actar's post if you still don't believe me). I also really like the suits (though Faiz's helmet never grew on me), and I REALLY hope Toei takes another shot at the Cybernetic Rider thing at some point. And yes, the Auto Vajin is the best bike in Rider history.
Lastly, story. Like I said, Faiz's pacing could make it feel like a soap opera, but the interesting ideas and the main characters kept me satisfied until the fight at the end, but very little of it (aside from whatever Kusaka happened to be doing) was truly memorable. I don't care much for the ending, but I wasn't terribly invested in the story to begin with.
Overall, Faiz is undoubtedly a flawed series, but it's action and a few story elements kept me going until the very end. Not bad, but not one of my favorites.

 

[cypsiman2]

I did not like Faiz at all; well, I liked the designs on the Riders and the Orphenocs, but I hated the characters and the story. Takumi was a pathetic lump who refused to be Faiz for a good chunk of the early episodes and it is not until the last third of the series that we find out why it has to be him who's Faiz by which point I did not care, I hate Kusaka with the fire of a thousand suns, and whoever the guy was who became Delta's primary user was so forgettable I don't even remember what his name was. Plus, for a company called Smart Brain, they had some real, real stupid plans.

 

[Masked Biker]

Faiz was an interesting series, not a very well written one, but interesting non the less.

The problems that this series had was that it tried way too hard to be dramatic, all the contrived misunderstandings with characters acting like fools doesn't help either. I found the cinematography decent as well as most of the fights, though non of them stand out all that much exept a few. Although Faiz had some similiar camera angle issues with Blade, though not as apparent. The actors we also decent, though nothing great. The show keeps you interested for the most part and it's mostly hit or miss.

[HIDE]The ending doesn't really have a good payoff and with the orphenoch king alive, as well as Saeko, the story leaves things unsettled. The ending would only be fine if they planned to continue the series, which they didn't. [/HIDE]

I didn't really care for Mihara or any of the other Ryusei School members, the only thing they did anyway was being killed by the orphenoch.

I liked Kiba, [HIDE]well until the end, when he became a bad guy and killed the most hated character of the show Kusaka(who I didn't really hate as much as everyone else did)[/HIDE]. I liked Takumi a bit and Kusaka in the first episode he appeared in.

[HIDE]The whole story of Takumi being an orphenoch was spoiled for me because of Decade, but I still found the story kind of interesting[/HIDE]

Now for the side characters, I kind of liked Mari, though not one of my favorites. I didn't care for Keitaro, Rina, or Yuka at all. I found Kaido semi interesting.

For the bad guys:

[HIDE]I found the Riotroopers to be entirely useless, Lucky Clover was interesting for some episodes, Sawada was interesting until he became overused, I found the orphenoch king to be pretty lame and Murakami's motives were pretty ambiguous until the end.[/HIDE]

Over all the series is a mixed bag, I don't really love it, but I don't hate it either. I find the series to be decent

 

[EXE]

I liked the series overall. The concept of the Orphenochs was really intriguing to me. The fact that either you die and are resurrected as an Orphenoch or you're killed by an Orphenoch and turned into one.

Character-wise the back stories involving Kiba, Yuka and Kaido really kept me going. The heroes themselves not so much, they were pretty basic. As much as I hate Kusaka, if he wasn't in the mix, the story would be pretty bland. Speaking of story, the mystery of the belts kept me interested as well. Why they were created, who created them, why only certain people can use them. The Riders and the gimmicks were cool (I like my tech riders) and the music is great as well.

The major flaw I have with the series was in the final arc. It just turned into an X-Men type of story. It felt more of a side story that wasn't necessary. I understand that throughout the series they used the theme of Orphenochs being superior to humans and some humans hating Orphenochs like a whole racist angle. But for some reason the way they tried to expand that theme in the final arc really didn't work for me. Other than that though, it's one of my favorite series that I would recommend giving a shot.

 

[Black Fang]

I was more discerning of Faiz's flaws when I rewatched it a few years back, than when I first saw it. But I still think it has enough good points to make it worth a viewing. It's certainly better than Decade or Wizard at any rate. And at least you could see the traces of Agito in the script, I suppose that being Inoue trying to rehash its success. The ending, strange at it is, is still not nearly as random and unsatisfying as Shougeki Gouraigan's... so that's something.

Speaking of which, apparently Hiroko Sato of Ryukendo, Decade and Garo season 3 fame appears in episode 3. I'm guessing as one of Yuka's schoolmates.

Also, as usual, I won't give my own thoughts just yet, for fear of coloring this thread.

I think I can guess what they are >>

 

[SentaiRiderFan]

I think I can guess what they are >>

Let's just say it's more "interesting" than Blade.

 

[goldlantern]

I liked it. I still look up that guitar song on youtube every so often.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2UyQwHyXb4]Yume no Kakera[/ame]

So, it goes without saying how memorable some of the episodes were. The costume designs were great, the gadgets were mostly believable (I'm looking at you funny, Side Bashaa), and I enjoyed the evil genius of Smart Brain.

The show had sort of a "wheel of morality" feel to it, with characters that had viewpoints and actions based on how they were treated, how they were raised - and questions of good and evil (and what those terms mean) were thoughtfully addressed.

I'm also going to say that, well, er, the actresses were visually appealing. Yuria Haga, Yoshika Katou, Hitomi Kurihara - it was enjoyable watching them interact with others. (Somehow I never realized that Kurihara was also in Ryuki)

Characters: Takumi, the unwilling nekojita hero. Liked this one. His character faults were believable as well.

Kusaka, the backstabbing duplicitous creep possessive stalker. Haaaated this one.

Clean laundry boy there for comic relief: Hated this one.

But a great series. I tried to introduce this one to my wife by buying a malaysian dub DVD - the translators kept calling the belt a "girdle" - and she would just start rolling around laughing and be unable to sit through the plot.


EDIT: I just found this:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blvOa9AcoQQ]Guitar Plotline[/ame]

And now I want to watch the series all over again. Thanks, SRF. Thanks a lot.

 

[Actar]

As mentioned by others, it's not the most tightly-written Rider show out there. I'm not going to deny that it has flaws. Some pretty big ones at that. The series had average to pathetic villains and it had a number of sub-plots that didn't go anywhere (like those detectives). Smart Brain and the Orphnochs themselves weren't developed well at all.

Delta was nerfed bad after the heroes got a hold of it, though it was kind of explained. (Evidently, those who are strong-willed will become addicted to its power, so only the weaker ones can use it without being influenced... or something.) Blaster form was also severely underused.

...and as everyone knows, the ending arc was really poorly handled.

HOWEVER. Despite its flaws, I love it. Yes, I'll admit it. I simply adore it to the point of it being my favorite Rider series of all time. The thing about Faiz is, aside from the flawed story (that I can't remember much of now since it's been ages since I last saw it), pretty much everything else clicks with me.

- The premise is great and it deals with a somewhat cliched but nonetheless interesting "who are the monsters" idea of X-men.

- It goes deep into the human drama and really takes its time to build up the characters. Character interactions are sometimes overly dramatic but believable and enticing to follow. Questions of morality entice the viewer to think and add a level of depth to the story. Not to mention, the idea of two teams of protagonists on opposing sides was brilliant.

- I really do enjoy Takumi's devil-may-care attitude. He's a Rider who's confident and jaded, but not unwilling to help out when the situation calls for it. He's just so charismatic without even trying!

- The suits and equipment are beautiful. Smooth, technological and menacing, all three Rider suits are similar, yet distinct. The incorporation of the everyday-gadget motif into the Rider Gear is clever and they all have unique functions that make for some splendid action scenes and final attacks. Also, need I say more about the voices?

- Speaking of the fights, for its time, it had some great visuals. Axel form and its speed-up/time-slowing ability won me over the instant I saw episode 22. Another stellar fight would be the one from episode 17.

- ...and last but not least, that d@mn Auto Vajin. Good lord is it a gorgeous bike. Undeniably my favorite Rider bike, it excels in both form and functionality, being able to transform into a battle-ready robot. Seriously, that headpiece is so well-designed that I would even say it's handsome. Transformation-wise, it easily outclasses any Transformer bike-former out there.



It participates actively in the series (not as much as I would like though) and is a legitimate partner to Faiz, serving as back-up and as a means of transportation. It's loyal, unquestioning and powerful. Essentially, it's everything I want to see in a Rider bike.

All in all, it's an average series at best, but my favorite nonetheless.

(Have to say though, the movie was amazing. It's like the series, but distilled down to its bare essentials with a tighter plot and phenomenal action scenes. One of the better, if not the best, Rider movies.)

 

[King Gainer]

In my opinion Faiz is in the bottom tier of Heisei Riders. People above have already mentioned its numerous plot problems, but I also realy dislike the main cast. Comic relife dude was lame and unfunny as usual for Heisei Rider, and Takumi and Mari both felt like really unpleasant people to me; not to mention their relationship had little chemistry and seemed fairly disfuctional. I get that the audience is supposed to view it as cute, in a "They really do love each other" way, but it really didn't click with me.

Additionally I think that the Orphnochs had the worst villain suit designs in the entire franchise. All of them are just spiky grey messes with little unique visual identity. I can't even remember what most of them looked like because they all just blend together in my mind. I think it showcases how important color is to a good design.

 

[HurricaneDragon]

It's a flawed show, definitely, but looking back, I think I can still say I like it. I liked most of the characters all throughout, and after seeing Hibiki first, Kusaka had nothing on the rage inducer that was Kiriya. I liked most of the main cast (maybe even all?) and I found the ending to actually be one of the more satisfying ones. Even the misunderstandings that I'd heard so much about going in weren't even half as bad as I expected them to be once I actually saw them happen for myself. Oh, they DO definitely happen, but with how people complain about them? I was expecting something a hell of a lot worse.

The movie is also probably one of the franchise's best standalone movies.

Additionally I think that the Orphnochs had the worst villain suit designs in the entire franchise. All of them are just spiky grey messes with little unique visual identity. I can't even remember what most of them looked like because they all just blend together in my mind. I think it showcases how important color is to a good design.

I have the exact opposite opinion. I've always loved the marble sort of look they have to them, and they've always been some of my favorite designs, at a time I even considered them the best and proof why color ISN'T necessary to have a good design. I love it when monster designs really follow a tight theme like that instead of being more loosely connected.