Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

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Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by OOOKaiser »

So with Gaim being finished last week. What are your guys thoughts about it? Remember all those ridiculous rumors for Gaim? How about the expectations for the series? I'm interested to know what your thoughts are on this.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by [kuronogantzryu] »

From the first preview alone, I honestly thought it was going to be corny/cheesy, from the way Kouta looked to the fruit motif. As the series progressed though, I became quite enthralled with the storyline and the dynamic between characters. As someone once said, this feels like a drama with Kamen Rider as just another element of storytelling.

The finale is quite satisfying and after 47 EPs, I seriously want a sequel. I love this series like I love Hibiki's first half: the focus on each element (characterization, drama, plot, etc.) is equal and IMHO, neither one overpowers the others. While I personally would've imagined a different ending, the current, overall state of Gaim is why it's my second favorite series.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by takenoko »

I don't really follow rumors. I only vaguely remember hearing things like Gaim was ending early or was getting preempted and stuff like that. What rumors were there?

I admit, the first episode didn't impress me. There was too much going on and there really wasn't much to latch on to. It seemed like a regular Rider show first episode but without anything cool or interesting.

But that changed real quick. I know people are aware the writing is good, but Urobuchi's dialogue is really thoughtful and well-written too. The characters seemed like real people. We had Kouta scared shitless when he faced Zangetsu. There was real emotion here, and that was great. People cried on screen, there was acting. Deaths actually mattered. It was as if a Rider scenario happened in the real world.

Aside from Mai turning into a plot device in the end, I loved the whole thing. I'm sure I can find something else to nitpick, but for the most part I liked all the characters and the story. And like any good story, I'm glad it had a beginning and a decisive ending. Not to steal from Dr. Maki, but stories are only good when they come to their conclusion. And the story respected my time, and didn't reverse everything that happened in the last second.

Oh wait, I do wish they had spread out the forms more. The beginning of the series was one new form or rider after another. And in the end, Gaim rarely used his strawberry and pineapple forms. He ended up with like 10 forms while some people didn't even have two. I loved Gaim's designs though. With the haori overcoat for the Jimber forms, the badass samurai armor for Kachidoki, and the noble-looking Kiwami Arms.

Good music too. Looking forward to getting my CDs and listening to them.

The one thing that's a pity is all the series interruptions. With the crossover with Toqgers (actually that special was okay) the boring one with Kikaider (was there another?) it seemed like there were too many unnecessary things going on this year.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by dancercotillion »

I really appreciated how all the Riders, even the jokey ones like Oren and Jounouchi, had consistant characterization and none of them were EVIL. Micchi's heel turn was frustrating, but it actually made a lot of sense with the motivations stated in the show; just like his new tweener-turn in the finale. Even (or maybe especially) Kaito, everything he did absolutely feels true to his hatred of bullies and hatred of the corrupt system which allows bullies to rule by fiat.

Even Sid and Ryouma weren't inexplicably black-hearted villains, they were just assholes. Ryouma was arrogant and thought that, if he did not think of it, then it was invalid and worthless; this eventually became megalomania, where he thought he was the only one smart enough to properly use the Golden Fruit. Sid, I think, was very much like Kouta and them as a kid, but when he grew up he discovered the dreams he had didn't mean anything to the world and it left him bitter and resentful, which is why he seemed to take so much pleasure in messing with those innocent kids and leaving them lip-deep in shit.

Takatora was probably the noblest character on this entire show. Thinking that the only way to save humanity was to drive it nearly to extinction, he assumed the moral weight of that all on himself and suffered for however long under the idea that he would go down in history as a monster. Could you deal with that? I don't think I could. I think I would break; maybe that's what happened to Micchi. And now Takatora's martyr complex rises again as he assumes responsibility for repairing all the damage his people did. What a great man. What a good man.

And who can forget the deep significance to Bandou-san? Truly, a pivotal role in this conflict.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by takenoko »

Hey, someone's got to take care of the teens and feed them fruit and hire them in his bar and... Wait, does Bandou ever interact with any grown ups in this series?! That Bandou, always acting as a surrogate big brother for teens whose families are kidnapped by monsters, or missing, or killed by their own hands.

That reminds me though, I thought for a while that Bandou was also a part of the Yggdrasill conspiracy. Since he saw Hase and reacted just a bit too early to him for my tastes. But I guess that was just him being observant.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by AxemYellow »

This show was seriously excellent. I was expecting it to be good and it met that expectation.

Honestly I felt that starting with W, the KR series was sinking into being too kiddie or too comedic or too simplistic (or something like that). This series pulled KR back up into complex characters and plot lines and a general serious tone. Now it didn't really reproduce the pre-Den-O KR tone, but I'm not sure that would be possible these days. Anyway I definitely found this to be the best series since OOO and infinitely better than Wizard (pun intended).

I did out my math and found this series is now my 3rd favourite Kamen Rider series, which is really saying something.

Thinking back on it, I'm not super fond of most of the cast, but Ryouma was a great villain. The music was really notable. Generally I really liked the atmosphere (which is something that has been lacking for quite some time in KR).

The story was okay, but very well executed. Aside from the few tie-in episodes, there was very little filler and the plot was very tight, to an extent I've never seen on children's television. This was notable, as more seemed to happen in the first seven episodes than in the entirety of many other shows.

Let's see, not much else to say, except that I wish there was more variety in the characters' wardrobes; Kaito should have dressed differently after leaving Team Baron for instance.


Anyway, great series overall. I'm looking forward to rewatching Kamen Rider Gaim in the future. Hopefully the crossover movie with KR Drive won't ruin the characters.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by takenoko »

W wasn't all kiddy. There were some serious grim sub plots in the story.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by AxemYellow »

I found W aggressively comedic compared to previous KR series. I actually found Den-O to be the more serious/darker series. (I know a lot of people love W, but I could never figure out why. Their tastes must be different than mine.)
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by TokuCasual »

My thoughts? Gaim is a fantastic series, with cool characters, interesting plot and a nice mythology behind it. Awesome villains, Ryouma being my favorite. Lots of twists and turns throughout. Great pacing. This definitely rank high on my KR list.

Actually, Gaim is my favorite KR series, in term of story. That I've seen.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by dancercotillion »

AxemYellow wrote:I actually found Den-O to be the more serious/darker series.
*sputters comedically*
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by squashy »

Gaim has been a wild drive (lol and to think next season is Drive). I guess the most notable thing about how Gaim is different from some previous series is that it totally ditched the 2-ep arc formula. Coupled with a good writer like Urobutchi and we had ourselves incredibly immersed in the flow of the show. Cliffhangers mean nothing if you know the next episode is gonna fix everything, Gaim didn't let that happen.

Characters are great. Such a good variety of personalities and ideologies. Most of the main characters are really well tied with each other. The character development shined too. Nevertheless the females aren't handled very well later on, at this point it's kind of a Kamen Rider trope :/

This show completely nailed the mood. W is a case of achieving a great balance between seriousness and lightheartedness, Gaim, on the other hand, plunged right into suspense and kept on delivering. Fighting sequences are awesome, the sonic arrow fights are surprisingly nice to watch. Suits grow on you, though yet again finals forms are used way too often (Kouta should be obvious, but Kaito, man he barely used his Mango Arms).

The ending feels satisfying, at least to me. After all the horror and crises, the show managed to wrap up every character's story and leave a positive message.

Thank you TVN for your work on this fantastic show :) hope the following years we will be seeing more quality shows like this.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by Flying-gg »

Everything have been said (and well said) about the writing and dialogue but I would add the good acting. To be honest I don't watch toku for the quality of most actors (who go from okay to awful) but for once most actor was quite good, not spectucalur but convincing.
I didn't expect a lot for this show givent the fruit theme and street dancing thing but it grows on me pretty quickly and I'm pretty sure I will rewatch it in the future like I've done many time for Faiz, Blade and the first season of Garo.
And finally they get ride of that two episode format which was a pain, since it made everything so predictable and boring.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by locuas »

i feel safe to say, the same way writers have been inspired by showtokusatsu shows(such as Ultra seven, The original kamen rider or Blak and some of the best super sentai series) Gaim will mark a fountain of inspiration for future writers for new Kamen rider series as well as inspire an entire new generation of writers when the time come for them to come up with new ideas. as welll as being a breath of fresh air for a franchise that had started to feel running on auto, to be honest (seriously, wizard was bassically strict formula and then plot twist at the end that doesn't really make sense). And, while i don't think Urobuchi is the sole reason this hjappened, i think the writing was very solid and everything else reflected that.
The scripts were rich and actors and directors had a lot to work with than, say, wizard's somewhat lackluster acting. A good actor can't fix an awful script, but a good actor (which i think Gaim's entire cast qualify as, this may be one of the best casts in a while) can make a lot with a very good and rich script(and i think if there is something Urobuchi can't be denied is that their scripts are not lacking content)
But most importantly, it did challenge it's viewers. It was not afraid of throwing punches and shattering expectations. It was not afraid of bad things happening to it's characters and having character's go bad. When Zangetsu met the inves king for the first time. That part of that one episode gave me more than most of the gates in wizard.
Of course, i don't think all kamen rider series should be just like this (As much as i like Kiva, i admit, i think the drama was ridiculous at times). But this show tried to be different than previous ones and, more important, it tried to be more than just another kamen rider series they make every year and it showed.
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by AxemYellow »

It seems that most of us liked this series, but I'm wondering what the reaction was from the Japanese audience. Does anyone here know how favourable it was?
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Re: Kamen Rider Gaim Series thoughts

Post by takenoko »

Dunno, the ratings only go up to episode 17:
http://www10.atwiki.jp/shichouseiko/pages/549.html
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