You'll probably first want to refresh your memory with the last one of these I did, since it covered a lot more points that I'll be skipping over this time. I don't need to tell you what I think of Dogga Form anymore, apart from the fact that I wished it showed up more often. Likewise, I already talked about the basics of reviewing a still-ongoing series (which I think is more difficult than reviewing a movie, or a series that has come and gone and is over with.) So let's cut to the chase with act II of...
And here we go!
The Story (And The Progress Thereof)
Since #15, we've had a few notable advancements in the overall plot. Several new long-term villains have been introduced, and one has been put to rest for good. There's romantic progression for the Kurenai of each era. Crossovers between 1986 & 2008 have occurred, first by Otoya's spiritual possession of Wataru, and then by Nago's time-travelling adventure. Both Riders have gotten an upgrade (or two), and their at-first tumultuous relationship has begun to mellow, slightly. Numerous important new characters have been added to the fold, with one in particular having been only hinted at thus far, but most know by now the role he will be going on to play.
It's during these "middle" episodes that a lot of things are set up which hopefully pay off in the final stretch. It's difficult to say right now how many of the ideas are flashes of brilliance or head-scratchers; like TheBee Tatoo, many could end up being done "cuz we thought it was cool at the time." I hope we get some elaboration on the fate of Otoya (and how he could take over Wataru, briefly), the time-travelling abilities of Castle Dran, that dark Kivat that first appeared fluttering around Maya, etc.
The Characters (New And Old Alike)
For the most part, everybody is the same as they were in the first 15 episodes. That is, a mostly likeable bunch. I don't think anyone in Kiva tops my list of favorite characters ever, but I like 'em just fine, and I care abou what happens with them, which is an important part of any story.
I took to Wataru early on, and he's still as good as ever now. Seto's certainly got the chops; he does the angrier moments especially effectively, and I'd like to see a really ticked-off Wataru again. His acting when possessed by Otoya tended to out-Otoya Otoya himself, so that took some skill. I also like the fact that he's getting his romantic groove on, because that never happens enough. Unfortunately, I get the feeling it won't have a happy ending though. Oh well, tis the fate of a Rider to be painfully single, apparently. Unless you're Todoroki.
And speaking of happy:
Nago's still Nago, but he feels like he has started to cool down a bit despite some bouts of near-insanity (#17~18 in particular.) I get the impression they are trying to take him somewhere, make him maybe not quite so antagonistic towards Wataru/Kiva and a generally more likeable semi-hero. A sort of tougher, meaner Tachibana Sakuya, keeping his slightly dangerous edge, whereas Blade's cohort was unquestionably a good guy, if a heavily-flawed-yet-well-meaning one. Or perhaps not, there is still that whole thing about Nago driving his father to death. I guess we'll be finding out real soon, given how #30 ends.
Oh, and Time-Travelling Nago is going down as one of my favorite moments of 2008 (specifically the time-punching.) Believe it.
Otoya. I like where he's going. In the first batch of episodes, he baffled me. Or not so much the character himself, but a lot of peoples' reactions to him. Was he really that great? Funny yes, but still out-pimped by Urataros, out-cooled by too many characters to name and possibly even out-danced by Kagami's dad. But... 15 episodes later, and now that he's gotten a chance to get in on some more serious action, I like him a lot more. His relationship with Yuri has come along nicely, so it's not just her kicking him the groin or something all the time. Maya adds that extra bit of intrigue and reminds us just how important to the whole thing he really is. I mean, without Otoya, there would be no Wataru. Kinda like how there'd be no Kiva without the original Kamen Rider, and there'd be no Leosoldiers without the Zectroopers. Actually, forget that last one. Otoya's still funny too, perhaps even funnier when hanging around Jirô, Ramon or Riki. For a guy who is very "Me-me-me" all the time, it's other people who bring out the best in him, as he brings out the best in them. Well sorta.
As for other old characters: Megumi & Yuri. I keep talking about them as a pair because they are easily the most "linked" characters in the show, even more than Wataru & Otoya. Stuff that happens to one usually happens to the other, apart from having a romantic relationship with Wataru's daddy. We even get split-screen action with them. Especially when it comes to Rook, who has given them both a very meaty subplot to chew on. They hate that bastard! It looks like things will be wrapping up soon, but that's for the next big recap. All during these 15, whenever Rook shows up, it puts the Asô girls front and center.
Shizuka... kinda dropped out of the show for a while, didn't she? She pops up every now and then, having an oddly important role in #29~30. Likewise, Kido ain't doing much lately, but he's funny most of the time he appears. Shima had a big moment in #27~28, sorta. At least we now have the sense that he's less of a master chess player/manipulator after the whole "arresting" thing. Speaking of that, how awesome is it that a dude spent 22 years plotting the downfall of the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization, all because... he couldn't finish a painting? In the next series, I want a character motivated to do evil by the fact that the heroes cut him off at a drive-through.
Kengo returned after his initial batch of episodes and took on a mostly-comical supporting role as Wataru's friend, Mio's-ex, fill-in Wonder Blue Sky member and Nago's disciple. #30 opened up a huge rift between him and Wataru, and it'll be interesting to see where it goes. Barring a potential one-time IXA use, I kinda doubt he's going to be a Rider like every other person wants him to be, but I'm fine with that; regular joe sidekicks are always good to have around. I do hope he gets a robot arm though. Come on, you know it would rock.
Jirô/Garulu & the boys from Castle Dran show up every now and then. I wouldn't say they've changed THAT much, although following his brief "Gotta Get Me Some Lovin'!" phase, Jirô has mellowed considerably, and I notice he doesn't seem to kill as many people lately. So he's going somewhere. Riki got some kinda-sorta development, although it was basically "He's a nice guy most of the time but he'll still kill you." They're both a load of laughs when interacting with Otoya though. I hope we see them together more often.
Kivat-Bat's the same as ever. Giving him Tatsulot to boss around has helped a bit.
And Spider Fangire... wow. He went totally bonkers by the end, and then had a pretty awesome death. I'm still not sure what to make of that one. Which brings us to...
The new characters. Dai-chan, or Rook, was actually around before #15, but I held off on commenting on him then, as I will do with Taiga here, because he was so new we knew like, nothing about him. Now, many episodes later, he's fast approaching what looks like his end. His intro was interesting, being shown to be a brutal killer in '86 and a big huggy bear in '08. I'll guess we get the reasoning for this in his final episode, where he'll die in the present and lose his memory (but probably be thought dead) in the past, giving both Megumi & Yuri some peace of mind.
The character's an odd one. He's a bit aimless at times; apart from his demented Time Play games, his actual role in the grander scheme is a mystery. He's one of the Checkmate Four, the best of the best, yes, but... what exactly is their purpose? Queen's there to kill off those who reject their Fangire heritage, Bishop's there to tell everybody what to do, King we have yet to see, and Rook... just kinda goes around being tough.
I do like the character, especially in Fangire mode, but he isn't the most complex villain, more Capricorn Undead than say, Tiger Undead. Sometimes though, that's all you need: a villain who is just plain bad-to-the-bone and one mean sonnuva. The latest development with him wanting to go to heaven has kind of thrown me, but maybe #31 will make some sense of it.
Mio, apart from the fact that I'm always going to see her and say "It's Mari!", has been pretty intriguing, especially with the revelation that beneath the klutzy exterior, she's something very, very dark. As I said, I like her relationship with Wataru, but I can see the set-up for something very bad to happen between them.
Her counterpart in 1986, essentially, is Maya. Put aside for a moment the fact that I'm thrilled to have another character named "Maya" in Kamen Rider, and there's a lot of interesting stuff going on with her too. We haven't yet quite gotten a good grasp on just what she's after, apart from a growing infatuation with Otoya and the whole kill-people-rejecting-their-inner-Fangireness thing.
On the former, I like the whole "What is love?" angle. Or more like the "What does it mean to be human?" angle. Because, and I could be all wrong here, I've been under the impression that the Fangire are basically the walking dead. Like the Orphenochs, sorta. Which begs the question, if Maya used to be human herself, why does she find humanity so strange and alien?
Maybe that's not it at all, and the Fangire only look human, or are born as Fangire before all else and they only manifest later in life... but if you go with the idea that they were humans first and foremost who have since lost something, it's a great concept: in becoming a Fangire, you basically forgot what it was like to even be human. It sort of goes with the whole kaizô-ningen concept of the earlier series, with the immortal question of "How does it feel?" Which of course, anybody who has become one can't answer, because they stopped knowing how it felt to be any different— to be human— a long time ago.
In any event, even though she's mostly just been a background player who turns up now and then to speak cryptically, I like Maya, or Queen, if you prefer. I still want to know who that other Kivat was though.
Likewise, I like Bishop, and expect him to be the mastermind in the end (unless it's King, which is also very likely.) He's one I'll be watching closely.
Megumi's brother Mitsuhide... we have yet to see if he's going to be a regular or not. He's okay though.
Tatsulot... um, he's not much of a character so much as a catchphrase-spouting toy, but I don't dislike him or anything, and as said, I like that he gives Kivat something else to relate to.
And Taiga... not gonna talk about him yet!
The Designs (The New Ones At Least)
So following the introduction of the 3 additional forms (who all changed part, but not all, of Kiva's body) it seemed only natural that we'd get another. And it would be a combo form, because, hey, it worked for Agito & Den-O. And like Agito's Trinity Form, DoGaBaKi (DOgga GArulu BAsshaa KIva) Form had its 15 minutes of fame, and that was it. Even less actually, it's in like, one episode! I don't know if we'll ever see it again, but I wouldn't mind it. Despite the obvious cost-effectiveness of the costume, it gets the job done and doesn't look too horribly thrown together. Although Trinity still beats it in the "looking like they planned it this way" category.
The shiny gold Emperor Form quickly made that one void though. Some would say it's made everything void, given how Kiva's used it for everything since he got it. But then, I figure, you get a new toy, you're going to play with it a lot. I do think they picked an odd time to debut it: Grizzly Fangire was bad, but was he *that* tough? I would have thought it'd be used to finally beat Rook, or something. As for the design itself, well... final forms, like movie Riders, can get away with a lot.
I believe that the most important design in the show is the main Rider; if the central figure doesn't work then everything else sort of falls apart. With the secondary guys, the upgrade forms, the movie dudes, etc. you can get a little more wacky. With the villains, you can go to town. But the main man should be a solid look. Instantly recognizable, highly memorable, very functional, and ideally easy to draw for kids. The nice thing is, by and large, every Rider series has mostly gotten this down. Even when it throws us some kraaaaaaaaaaaaazeeeeeeeeeee stuff, if the main Rider look works, it all balances out in the end.
So that said, I feel the basic Kiva design works well enough that I don't mind his upgrade being a big shiny clunktastic mess of gold, black and red. I make it sound like I don't like it; I do, but like Liner Form, Hyper Kabuto... basically most of the big "final" upgrade forms, it works as what it is, but it would not work as a 24/7 all-the-time main hero design. It does so some neat stuff though; I like the black "crusher" mouthpiece, and the faux-scarf cape "wings" are cool. The silver feet look a bit odd standing out amidst all the gold. I think I like the cheapness of some toys which don't bother to paint them and just leave 'em gold; it actually looks better!
His transformation scene is cool, and as upgrade devices go I kinda like Tatsulot. It's a unique idea, although that little guy seems to love pulling out Wake Up Fever. I guess the others have a 1/150 chance of happening or something.
As for IXA... Rising IXA, from a design standpoint, looks okay. Again, I think it works as an upgrade form design. Maybe I'm just used to clunky regular IXA now, but I prefer that still (and again, in Burst Mode.) That said, the helmet's pretty cool and the idea of his upgrade device being his mouthpiece is... different. The cell phone gun is something we were bound to repeat eventually. I kinda like it, in a gimmicky sort of way. Like with Faiz, it's going to scream "This show was made in the early 2000's!" some day though, when we all have Ultraseven-style wrist watch TVs.
Also, Rising IXA's intro? Awesome, because it went against expectations and made the new form get introduced early on in the episode, rather than at the final battle after much build-up. And on the first go, it fails spectacularly, and ends up with Nago knocking himself flat on his ass. It works especially since it was one of those upgrades he didn't have to work very hard for (other than get teary an episode or two earlier.) Imagine if Takumi's special upgrade delivery or Tachibana's mail-order Jack Form had tanked like this.
Oh, and what happened to IXA being able to steal Kiva's weapons? He did it once, I hope he does it again, or he might as well just dump half his Fuestles.
Everything else so far is basically the same as we left it. As for the Fangire, we've gotten some cool ones lately. Lion, Seastar, Chameleon, Shark, Crab, Warthog... good stuff.
And as for the upcoming Kamen Rider Saga... not going to talk about him yet!
The Action
It's still good, mostly. A few great fights, a few just okay ones, pretty much in-line with the shows lately. I liked DoGaBaKi Form's one and only fight (especially the more conventional stunt kick) and the one at the end of #28. The fights involving the Arms Monsters are good fun too, especially the one in #30.
The Music
Still great. The OST is a favorite lately.
There's also like, a lot of ED themes now or something. Once again, I'm behind on these, and only just recently could I probably hum the first one if I had to.
Overall (So Far, Again)
My lasting thoughts on the last 15 episodes:
16) IXA gets in on the mecha action, and I shamelessly admit I went out and bought the toy soon after. Also, Rook is at his all-time meanest here, killing off supporting characters who actually had lines, personalities and were kinda likeable!
17) Nago goes apeshit!
18) DoGaBaKi form debuts... and is promptly never seen again. (To date, at least.)
19) Kengo returns, the girls have confidence issues and an Otoya-possessed-Wataru goes to a maid cafe:
All in all, a grand old time.
20) The moral of the story is a bit half-baked ("Believe in yourself and overcome your fear... but you still can't be a Rider!"), but at least Megumi gets back into form by the end. There is much hilarity to be found in IXA being forced to work with Kiva against his will, and that's a nifty double kick there. Also: Maya!
21) Blah blah blah blah fight blah blah blah fight blah blah.
22) This one's mostly important for the direction it takes Mio in. Also, an awesome subtle hint at her future; it's so understated at first I thought it was a goof-up.
23) Hey, remember Snake & Cobra from THE FIRST? These here are the 1986 versions.
24) Okay, okay, so the resolution to that plot was actually pretty good. Also, Emperor Form debuts, and almost immediately after the viewing audience questions "Why now?" Also, Jirô goes apeshit!
25) There's a lot of stuff involving Otoya & Maya, and Spider Fangire comes back. Bishop turns up here, I like him a lot so that's cool.
26) This:
27) I bloody love this one. With help from Garulu, Nago goes back in time, makes a jackass of himself, and the cliffhanger is him punching at the screen (or Otoya's face.) And Ogawa Atsushi's in it!
28) The resolution that must be seen to be believed. I kinda wish Nago had returned to an altered future where like, everybody was monkeys, but I'll take what I can get.
29) Evil Cowboy!
30) One of the most jam-packed episodes ever, with a killer twist at the end. Bring on #31!
And that's it for now. Part 3 in this series will come... uh... in the mid-late 40's. Or somethin'.
And remember:
Kiva has powerful allies.
***
Havent read today's EP review yet -i still have to watch it- and then I found the 2nd recap. As always, I lvoe your writin style, but that's another matter:-)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Kiva is a good series. I'm worried, though, coz I fear not everything will be solved in the end, if you know what I mean. Of course, I hope in Inoue but...
Anyway, great recap, makes me want to rewatch Kiva from the start in a marathon [I believe that if you watch a series like that you have a different vision of things that watchin it one EP per week]