Which Kamen Rider Series Should I Start On?

[PsychoTherapist]

Good choice starting with Faiz. That's what I did when I first started watching Kamen Rider. A nice dark series, with an overall depressing/grim tone, probably never going to see another series quite like that nowadays!

After Faiz, assuming you wish to continue of course, continue with Blade and then Hibiki. Hibiki is great because it's so different, my overall favourite Rider series.

After that, the other good Heisei series to catch are Ryuki, Den-O & Decade (for the novelty factor of rider team-ups, not the really poor writing ). Kuuga is ok for a time, but turns boring half way through and ends poorly.

And people will probably flame me for this, but I thought Agito was absolutely dire! It was too lightweight, loved the reset button and generally just lingered for 40 episodes without advancing the plot. That ending was cringeworthy! Maybe I'm just spoiled with the later shows like Faiz & Blade etc and expected too much. Kabuto & Kiva are both also ones to avoid. Don't know about W, the comedy made me give up on Kamen Rider completely.

You should try some of the older series alongside Faiz, as they're quite different. Highly recommended: Black & the original series through to Stronger. Stronger's ending is quite epic!

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Kamen Rider Hibiki is one of the only tokusatsu shows I've seen to develop real, interesting characters. The show transcends from the horrid cliches and barriers built by Toei's biggest money-makes, and is real joy to watch. The production staff change was a real shame.

There are tons of shows out there that do this, Toei shows as well, though I think the one that did this the best was Keitai Sousakan 7.

 

[Smilodon]

Kamen Rider Hibiki is one of the only tokusatsu shows I've seen to develop real, interesting characters. The show transcends from the horrid cliches and barriers built by Toei's biggest money-makes, and is real joy to watch. The production staff change was a real shame.

I totally agree with this. Hibiki had some really intresting characters, and obviously focused on them alot. Granted, Ibuki's character development came after the staff changes, but Todoroki and Asumu really changed along the series.

The character of Hibiki itself is a pleasure to watch too, as a man who sorta reminds me of like a Qui-Gon Jinn of some sort, the teacher-student relationship between Hibiki and Asumu,as well as Zanki and Todoroki was really great, as it really made it seem like that being a Oni isnt a job, but a way of life.

The one thing I do wish they elaborated on in Hibiki was the Oni-barai. When Ibuki received orders from the head to eliminate Shuki, I thought it was an opportunity to really show a darker side to being an Oni. As Shuki was a corrupted Oni, blinded by the hate towards the Notsugo, and a rogue Oni needed to be eliminated. They instead, used it to show that Ibuki was afraid etc.

 

[wavehawk]

It all depends on what you want or expect in a Rider series. I've tried to get friends of mine onto different series and have found they all gravitate to different ones--and that's just the HEISEI Rider series.

The only thing I'd advise is that most of the Heisei Rider series are different enough in theme and pacing that you might like one and totally hate another. I have a friend whom I started out on Kabuto, then went on to Hibiki--needless to say, he absolutely loves Kabuto, but called Hibiki "The most useless **** I've ever seen--why'd you make me watch that f----ng crap" after two episodes. On the flip side, I've got a friend who positively adores Kuuga and Agito, but hates any Heisei riders since then (and he hates Showa Riders, too).

Obviously, these two guys try to kill each other every time they see each other... -_-

So the best thing to do is ask yourself what you're expecting, then we point you in the direction of which Rider series you want. Obviously, if you're looking for old-school heroic action, you can't go wrong with most of the Showa Riders. Kuuga (and Agito, to an extent) works well if you're fond of mysterious monsters. Faiz gets top billing for really, REALLY dark Heisei series. Hibiki has character development, Kabuto (IMHO) has some of the best action sequences ever in Heisei. Den-O is for people who have a working sense of humor or just don't want a totally serious series. Kiva, I can;t really speak for (must see it in it's entirety sometime), same goes for W, though I'm hearing lots of good things about it.

Definitely DO NOT WATCH DECADE AS YOUR FIRST RIDER SERIES. The whole premise of Decade only works if you're at least strongly familiar with the Heisei Riders and the Kamen Rider mythos as a whole--it's best enjoyed as a fan-service (or fan disservice, whichever way you feel abotu Decade)--it'll be utterly meaningless to someone who's totally new to Kamen Rider as a whole.

 

[Black Ranger RX]

Kamen Rider Black...then Black RX.

What he said.

 

[Neon]

Stick with your plan Mach.

I agree.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Definitely DO NOT WATCH DECADE AS YOUR FIRST RIDER SERIES. The whole premise of Decade only works if you're at least strongly familiar with the Heisei Riders and the Kamen Rider mythos as a whole--it's best enjoyed as a fan-service (or fan disservice, whichever way you feel abotu Decade)--it'll be utterly meaningless to someone who's totally new to Kamen Rider as a whole.

Why do people say this? All you're really getting 99% of the time was suits from past series, you don't need to be indoctrinated in the ways of Kamen Rider for that. I know a couple of people who got into Kamen Rider through Decade, so I'd say it's a decent starting point. Well, visually at least.

 

[Khaiden]

I've given a lot of thought into this, and concluded that you should stick to your plan.
By this point you should already know the differences between this series and the other, at least to a certain degree based on what everyone posted here.
It's your choice really, you should know what to expect from every series now.
I said to stick to your plan not because I want everyone to begin like this, but because it's your choices. (And I meant that in a good way)

As to the Decade issue of above...
I think it really depends on the mentality the person has while approaching it.
It can end up in 2 ways:

After watching it, the person concludes: ''This was really cool, and now I want to see the original stories, the original Kuuga and everyone else. I can't wait''
*Sometime later*
''This was even better than what Decade had showed us, I enjoyed it from beginning to end.''

Or

''The Riders are like this and when I see their 'original' stories I'm expecting them to be the same or at least extremely similar to what was shown here.''
*Sometime later*
''I loved Den-O, and a little bit of Hibiki, but the rest was just stupid''

 

[Mr. Yellow]

Start with Ryuki, it's the earliest that's been fully subbed by TV-Nihon, then make your way through, and hopefully by the time you get done with Kiva, Kuuga and Agito will have been fully subbed, watch those and then watch Decade. You could also watch Double before Decade, but you might not understand the movie.

 

[big_j_ny]

Definitely DO NOT WATCH DECADE AS YOUR FIRST RIDER SERIES. The whole premise of Decade only works if you're at least strongly familiar with the Heisei Riders and the Kamen Rider mythos as a whole--it's best enjoyed as a fan-service (or fan disservice, whichever way you feel abotu Decade)--it'll be utterly meaningless to someone who's totally new to Kamen Rider as a whole.

I slightly disagree with this premise..........primarily because Kamen Rider Decade is the reason why I've managed to start watching the other Heisei Rider series outside of Kiva. The only Kamen Rider experience I had prior to Kiva was Kamen Rider Black (short clips), Black RX (short clips again), and Saban's Masked Rider

But if it wasn't for Decade, I would have never been convinced to watch the other Heisei Rider series Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki (still watching), 555, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, and Den-O (regretted watching this one).

But the reason I slightly agree with your premise is.......Kiva was my first Heisei Rider series I've watched in full, not Decade. If anything, Decade should be the Rider series to persuade a "new Rider watcher" to watch the rest of the franchise primarily because Decade seems to be the series that gives a new Rider watcher "a crash course" in the Heisei Rider era (and some Showa).

I doubt Decade should be used as the first series to watch b/c the first Rider series for any new viewer should be the one that will "bait them" into the franchise. Decade seems to be the type of Rider series that will convince a new Rider viewer to watch the other series in the franchise.