Vampire Science

So, 15 weeks into the Kamen Rider series for 2008, with a new episode coming up this weekend. You've read the weekly recaps, but what do I really think about Kamen Rider Kiva? Has it lived up to the hype (and believe me, there was some serious hype) as one of the greatest Rider series of all time, or is it a crushing disappointment deserving of cancellation as soon as possible? Or does it fall somewhere in the middle?

First of all, I feel that it's hard to fairly judge anything before it's finished. Some people dismiss a Rider series after a few episodes (or just 1, if it's Hibiki) which I think really is a shame. Because most of the shows that start off weaker tend to improve with time, and conversely, some of the ones that hit the ground running suffer from the occasional weak points, but they can still bounce back. This is especially the case with an ongoing series, where nobody knows where it's going to go- I can tell you all about why you should watch this show or that show, but I can't say the same about Kiva, not yet.

The secret trick of the Kamen Rider series I like most is that they make me want to see the next episode; the first time I watched Kamen Rider Blade, I sat down and watched the first 4 in one go, then watched them all again over and over until the next volume came in (this was during an experimental phase where I tried the HK DVDs. Don't worry, I later upgraded to the official releases.) So maybe you can see why I have no idea what people are talking about when they say Blade starts out slow.

But let's go back to this time last year, when Den-O was ruling the world (and some would say it still is!) Depending on you view, the first 15-16 episodes are either 1) Relaxed, methodical character pieces that introduce us to the main cast, with special attention given to properly introducing the Imagin and Den-O's various forms, or 2) a plodding, overlong appetizer that fills us up before the main course, but by the time that comes, we've lost interest.

I would lean more towards the former, but I will admit that I while I enjoyed recapping each new episode as it came out, I never felt an overwhelming, dying obsession to see the next one like I do with some other series. Especially after #15, which features what I'd pretty seriously call one of the worst cliffhangers ever done in Kamen Rider. Of course, I didn't give it up after that, and look what happened: The show went from being just "pretty good, if lightweight" to "really freakin' good with some seriously involving stuff" right around the early 20's(and ironically, that's about the point where it became increasingly difficult for me to recap the show at all.)

The debut of Zeronos & Deneb helped that a lot, plus having a movie that, for once, mattered, some clever form upgrades, character reinvention that turned goofy ciphers like Owner & Airi into people I actually cared about, and a helluva good ending! Long story short, I'd probably put Den-O's show just below my main Heisei series favorites, Agito & Blade.

But enough about all them: this is supposed to be about Kiva! Or Kiva thus far, that being the first 15 episodes (I'll overlook his little movie appearance until a later date, since that's still a hot issue.) And I'll do just that, in a little thing I like to call:

I worked a long time on coming up with that title, you can see. I also just noticed that it actually says "Igadevi'ls Kamen Rider Blog" Um... oops?

Anyway, let's get on with it!

The Basic Concept

First of all, the shock of Kamen Rider running consecutively for more than 5 series wore off a long time ago, as has the shock of once-unorthodox concepts like the hero having a million billion forms; radical non-insectoid designs; guys that could probably get the discount on ladies' night, etc. So when the announcement came out that 2008's Rider series would have a vampire in it, my reaction was essentially this:

"Hm. My friend John loves vampire stuff, maybe he'll dig this too."

And then the pictures started coming out. I'll talk about all the stuff individually below, but as with previous years it was mostly a lot of "looks cool" and "I might buy that". And of course, the villain designs were the thing I paid attention to the most; Kamen Rider has always been about the villains as much as everything else to me, so them 1) looking cool and 2) having good motivation/personality/character are big points.

And of course there's the whole two-in-one stories thing, but again, I'll get to that below. The basic concept works about as well as a Rider who travels through time on a train or a Rider who fights evil with a cell phone gun, so no complaints there.

The Story

Based on the first batch of episodes, it's clear that Kiva is, like Den-O before it, trying to be different from what came before whilst also maintaining a consistent feel. What I mean by that is, it's going for a darker, grittier, more dangerous feel that its predecessor, where by and large if you were good, you got through the whole thing okay, and there was an undeniable comedic/light-hearted overtone to the proceedings. And all that made a nice change of pace from Kabuto, which had done the same from Hibiki, and so on.

In contrast to last year's series, Kiva has already given us a couple time-honored "So-and-so's death" flashbacks, a secondary Rider who is quite clearly a little disturbed upstairs, and a fairly important main character who sometimes flips out and kills innocent people... and he's one of the good guys! And yet, it still has that Kamen Rider feel to it too. It's still fundamentally a good-vs.-evil story. There's a healthy dosage of in-betweeners and gray area philosophy, but we still know who the real good guys are. Even if everyone around them is evil or crazy, the hero shines through as a role model for the kiddies. The villains feel like villains. And there's enough wacky comedy to show that it doesn't take itself deadly seriously all the time. And there's no killer pop stars.

As for the actual way the story is told... I have to say the 2008/1986 gimmick is one that does work, although only when they go the extra mile to make it work. Mainly with the 1986 parts. Sometimes, there's a clear intent to show you that it's 1986, by way of the clothes, the hair, the music, etc. Sometimes, it's basically just Otoya, Yuri, etc. walking around somewhere and the cameraman hoping to God there's no anachronisms in the background (like cares, clothes, hair, etc.) So far, they've made this idea work pretty well, and the added bonus of having Romantic Ga Tomaranai be in Kamen Rider is more than enough justification for doing it in the first place.

As for the issue of events in the past lacking impact because it's, well, in the past: I don't think this has been too much of a problem. Yes, it does mean that the nearly every monster that shows up in 1986 will survive and live to fight in 2008 (bar one so far.) But like any good prequel or extended flashback, the real fun to be had is in just seeing how events play out. I mean, we know that something will happen to Otoya, Yuri etc. since they're not around in 2008 (unless, of course, they turn up in 2008, which may yet happen!) But we still follow their story, and are gripped by the events as they unfold. I'm dying to know how the helper monsters wind up in Castle Dran, for example.

I do think that it can get a little hard to keep track of things during some scenes when there's a lot of switching back and forth, but on the whole, it's an idea that's worked out so far.

As for the plot itself: It's interesting enough to hold my attention, and the fact that we've had plenty of developments in just 15 episodes doesn't hurt. Two Riders, four forms, a bunch of new toys... and that's not even getting into things like character relations. Speaking of characters...

The Characters

Okay, confession time: When the lead for a new Rider series is revealed, 99.9% of the time, my reaction is this: "Who?"

I had no clue who Seto Kôji was prior to seeing him in this. All I knew was, the initial write-up of his character did not sound promising. A germaphobe who thinks the whole world is dirty and hates speaking to people? Not exactly a hero I'd look up to. And then there's the fact that one of the earliest publicity stills of him was this:

What a smug-looking bastard! Then again, you really can't judge a character (or costume, might I add) based on photos alone. I mean look:

Based on that photo, Nago looks like the kind of guy you'd want to chill with, have a few brews, maybe bring home to meet the parents if you work that way. HAHAHAHAHA... if only you knew the truth.

So that said... I ended up liking Wataru a lot, even before his drastic character change (which happened about two episodes in!) The germaphobe/no talking business was played for laughs, and mercifully dropped before it got stale. In the episodes since then, he's had some pretty good moments, especially his angered reaction to the Rhinoceros Fangire's targeting of Kengo. He's grown up a lot, and I'd wager that a big part of the show revolves around him growing up and becoming... well, not quite like Otoya, but maybe something more.

Which brings us to Rider #2... well, in the present. Nago Keisuke, as I've said before, is a Grade-A, Stone-Cold, Flat-Out, Stuck-Up, Snot-Nosed, Mother-@#$%ing Bastard. So of course I like him, or rather, the drama he brings to the show. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love it when the Riders get along and are true friends. I mean, Double Riders much? Yeah.

But I also enjoy the relations/conflicts between Riders, especially when one is clearly in the wrong but so nutbar they can't see the forest from the trees. Provided, of course, they get their comeuppance in the end, and don't have their perfect, ironic death ruined when they magically get revived 10 minutes like a certain somebody from Ryuki. Obviously, it's far too early to tell where Nago will end up, but if he dies horribly after a life of being a prick to everybody around him, obsessed with his own narrow-minded edicts, I won't shed any tears.

And then there was Otoya. Okay, truth be told: I like Otoya, but I don't think he's been much more than comic relief so far though. True, he's gotten to become IXA, get some OH THE DRAMA screaming moments, and the one scene where he coldly turned down Yuri's half-hearted advances was well played. Beyond that though, I just don't see where his "pimp" reputation comes from. Yes, he reels in the girls... and then promptly forgets/abandons them, and the one he's actually pining for thinks he's a chump.

It seems to me he's more wannabe Casanova than the real deal: Compared to Urataros, who very possibly made it with Smart Lady in his debut appearance, there's not much for Otoya to brag about. Also, a lot of the time Otoya is shown to be inept at everything he does... with the exception of violin playing. Which is why I do believe there's a lot of dramatic potential in the character. It has been hinted that deep down, there's a lot more to him than has been revealed. So far though, he's mostly been the class clown, and admittedly, a very, very funny one at that. His first scuffle with Jirô (briefly interrupted by Shima) is without a doubt one of the funniest moments in the show yet. And the dancing!

So those are the big three. How about the rest? Most of the characters have just sort of fallen into the "I like them okay" category. Shizuka is sweet, the kind of support Wataru needs. Yuri & Megumi are both butt-kicking girls (always a plus in my book) and the connections and deeper story hinted at for them has a lot of potential. Kido is the standard-issue "older guy/woman who's there for moral support if nothing else" and Shima is the standard-issue "older guy/woman who's there for speaking cryptically and probably has more to them than we've seen."

Kengo... um, I don't know if he's a regular or not (all signs point to it so far) but he's a fun character, and although there's rumors of him becoming a Rider, I'd kind of like it if he was just Wataru's human through-and-through buddy, the kind of character who's prone to screwing up now and then (as he did when he was blinded by dreams of making it big, ignoring Wataru's concern) but ultimately has a good heart beneath it all. A bit like a new-age Taki, who was, you might recall, introduced as Hongô's rival.

Of course, we can't forget the more supernatural side. Jirô, Ramon & Riki (or Garulu, Basshaa & Dogga) are great fun. Jirô alone is a really well-conceived character, and Matsuda hits it out of the park once again. He's a scenery-chewer alright, but always in a good way. His backstory, and motivations for his actions, are intriguing, and I'm still bowled over by the fact that a regular, "good" character has also been killing people week in and week out. I'm sure that'll come back to haunt him somehow...

Ramon feels to me like a sort of like a mellowed, mature Ryuutaros (it might just be the gun thing though) and Riki I have high hopes for, because I like big tough sidekick guys. While comparisons with the Imagin are expected (I even just made one myself), I think the characters will, over time, really come into their own. Garulu's pretty much already there, now let's see some development for the others.

Kivat-Bat, as I've said before, I'm still sort of "eh" on. Considering I was expecting him to be a squeaky-voiced, "cutesy" (re: annoying) CGI thing that butted into shot all the time, the fact that he's a deep-voiced, oddball CGI thing that butts into shot all the time is a refreshing surprise. As a character, he hasn't really stood out much yet (despite the fact that he's a talking bat thing that transforms our hero.) It just feels a bit like he's a talking Zecter that likes to take baths, which I guess is probably better than what they could have done with him. So I'm still going to wait on this one. The DX toy is great though.

And lastly... Spider Fangire! What the hell happened to him? I have no idea, but he's an whacko, isn't he? The other Fangire have thus far been pretty cool. At worst, they're the usual "jump-out-of-the-bushes glorified henchmen" types that have plagued the Heisei Rider shows lately. At best, they're like Frog Fangire: a really 3-dimensional character who manages to be both good and evil at the same time.

I'll hold off on talking about Dai-chan for now...

The Designs

This thing has turned out to be a lot longer than I originally intended, so I'll try to get through this quick. The basic design of Kiva (Kiva Form) is pretty good. I like the color scheme (silver, red & black always look good together... just like on the Double Riders!) and the little details like the chains and claw-like hands are really nice. The Kivat Belt stuck out like a sore thumb at first, but I've gotten used to it. The whole basic Kiva look is a pretty solid design, no argument from me.

As for the other forms... hmmm. I liked the "half-changed" thing when they did it with Agito, and it's growing on me here. I do wish they had change a few more colors. The red parts of the helmet in Garulu, Basshaa & Dogga Forms look a little odd, but otherwise they work well enough. I should note though that Dogga Form (which changes the most, covering both arms) is probably my favorite of the bunch.

As for the weapons... well, what can I say? I've bought the DX Garulu Saber & Basshaa Magnum, and will probably get Dogga Hammer (it being my favorite one in the show.) Yes, they look very gimmicky and toylike, especially after the ingeniously multi-purpose Den-Gassher, but I like 'em.

IXA... well, he's clunktastic. That's not a bad thing though, and truth be told the suit does look great in action. The belt's nifty, and again, a fun toy. I love gunswords (or swordguns) so the IXA Calibur is on my shopping list. Prior to the Demo version of IXA (aka the IXA '86 Edition), Save Mode basically felt like this year's version of Power-Down Gills (remember that? No? There's a reason why.)

That said, I like the "T"-visor it has, although Burst Mode edges it out just slightly because it's got the multi-facet eyes, which I've always loved ever since seeing the original Kamen Rider way back when.

The bikes... hey, they've got some, that's what matters. Bron Booster... eh, get back to me when it turns up again.

Castle Dran, Powered IXA, etc... Like the Den-Liner, I don't have a real opinion on these. They serve their purpose, and at the end of the day they're big CGI thingies. They're cool enough, I suppose.

The Fangire... still need to think on this one. The stain glass look is cool, and they've certainly gone for some strange ones (Earwig? Sheep? Prawn?)

The Action

There's been some really good fights to go along with the more ho-hum ones. The first two episodes and the Kiva-IXA rumbles are really good stuff. The debut for Dogga Form is also a favorite.

The Music

I love the OP (song and sequence) a lot.

The BGM is pretty good, waiting for the soundtrack.

I have the ED CD sitting on my desk, I should probably listen to it one of these days. To be honest, I couldn't call up the song in my head like so many other Rider themes, but based on when I hear it in the show, it does the job.

Overall (So Far)

My lasting thoughts of the first 15 episodes:

1) The first episode, dur. Nice beginning.

2) The one where he uses the bike for the first time. And the Octopus Fangire randomly gets a set of wheels.

3) Nago smacks around a German guy. Also, sucks to be Wataru!

4) Garulu Form debuts, and Otoya turns out to be not all that ba... well, they didn't really resolve much, did they? It turns out the lawyer lady was an evil Fangire anyway, so who knows? She's dead now!

5) It took forever for me to realize that the Sheep Fangire and Nago were two different people. I know it sounds horrible, but I was busy jotting down notes as the show went on and I totally thought it was Nago hiding in the bushes with Wataru.

6) This:

7) This episode was mostly people yelling at each other. And some cookin'.

8) I wonder if we'll see any other Fangire do that?

9) IXA debuts and we find out what really happened to President Murakami.

10) YOU KILLED HIM! YOU BLEW HIM UP! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU TO HELL!

11) Kengo joins the show, and IXA beats the crap out of Kiva.

12) Nago is at an all-time low here, and you know he must be evil: hates the good ol' rock & roll! But watch as it all turns around in the course of one episode, and he's left at the end moping in a puddle while Kiva tears up the road on his new to... er, power-up weapon thing.

13) Hey, it's Alternative Zero! Also, Jirô strongly implies that he wants to make it to third base with Yuri to save his people.

14) Two Words: Bigass Hammer. Okay fine, three words if you must...

15) Lion Fangire beats everybody up.

And that's it for now. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this ongoing series... um... eventually.

"Wake Up!"

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