Heisei Kamen Rider Poll, Discussion, and All-Around Good Time.

[ryujin]

Kabuto is my no.1, just loved it from start to end, i'm a sucker for super fast characters like the Flash & Quicksilver, and that counter kick was so bad-ass, it's like, i'll just kick ya in da face when you come at me and that's all she wrote lol!

555 is my no. 2, no much reason really, just enjoyed watching it.

I was deciding on whether Decade or Drive as my no. 3, but i went with Drive because i loved the characters all in all, specially the weirdness of Go and Chase's friendship, even the bad guys were great, man, Heart was just so cool to be ignored, good story overall.

I'd give OOO a special mention because for me, it had the best climactic ending, that medal blackhole was epic.

[ViRGE]

Hey, a best Kamen Rider series poll. This should be easy!

*sees that you can only pick 3*

Damn you, Decade BreadToku! It's good to have limits. But 3 makes things especially hard for me.

1) Gaim. This is the closest modern KR has come to a perfect series. The characters are well-developed (even the female Rider is half-decent, and hiring a stuntwoman to fill the role was a brilliant move) the story pacing is consistently good, the twits are interesting without leaving the audience incredulous, etc. It wasn't always a perfect 5 every episode, but it was always interesting. And the ending was especially interesting, since they laid out everything necessary for Kouta to subvert "the plan" in an logical manner.

2) Fourze. This was a hard second pick, but it's pretty much impossible not to love Fourze. Gentarou's optimism is downright infectious, and it plays well off of the other supporting cast members. Who, I might as well add, are in one of the rare series where they're all properly developed and given useful things to do. It all paid off nicely in the finale as well, where framing the final battle around their graduation made for a damn good hero speech.

3) Ex-Aid. This battled it out with W for my top 3. While it wasn't a perfect series, I absolutely adore the video game theme and how it was effectively used here. It wasn't just slapped on as a generic theme; everything from the hero designs to certain character motivations had games woven in, and effectively so. Plus there we so many good characters, especially on the villain side with Dan (the best evil ham!), Masamune (cold, calculating evil), and Parado. There were also a lot of memorable fights there - not only pretty much any fight that unveils a major new Ex-Aid form, but also the roller blade fight, and the one where Taiga professes his feelings to his (underage) patient while standing in a fountain. (Also, Excite is still the best damn theme song thus far!)

And while it doesn't make the top 3, W gets a shout-out. The quasi-noir theme was a ton of fun, as was Shotaro's half-boiled nature. Drive was also quite cool, with the series making great use of the secret identity (including when it stopped being a secret), and Yongou remains the best tie-in movie by a country mile.

[Gai Yuuki]

My personal favourite is Ryuki because it mixed in a perfect way kamen rider, yugioh and highlander. I could easily say W and Ex-Aid which I voted as well, or Build that I coudn't because we only have 3 votes. Perfect shows for me

[Kuchiri]

Blade - Amazing climax. It was amazing plus all the characters had well define plots instead of being there.

Gaim - Still probably the best Toku to introduce to new fans.

Build - Amazing Dynamic between the main cast. With some hiccups.

[decade368990]

1) Kuuga. I was inspired by the story to grow up. I was always mocked for not being realist. After watching the series, I finally smile and got to understand how to live life happily like Godai Yuusuke even though my ideas can often go against people's expectation. Since then, I bought quite a long of toys relating to Kuuga. On 2017, I bought myself a RAH Ultimate Kuuga as home decoration.

2) Agito. Same with what Takenoko mentioned; the characters are so fun and unforgettable, the mystery, and the sci-fi. The story definitely revolutionize the Kamen Rider franchise. Inoue Toshiki was allow to maximize his creativity in his scripts, so that the story doesn't have to follow the Showa Rider formula.

3) W. Not much to say, but still it's a compelling series with a make sense story that flow fluidly.

[BreadToku]

Picking just three was very hard for me too, but just three votes to me seemed to be the wisest option for interesting results. To little and I feel like only or two shows would stick out, and more than three would lead to a rather inflated list that doesn't say as much.

Though I didn't put it in my own top three, I'm glad Fourze is fairly high-up there, as I consider it the most 'feel-good' show of them all. In fact, I'm pleasantly surprised to see just about every series is at least one person's favourite or up there on their list. Well, except for Zi-O, but I chalk it up to both being the newest and also, uh, being Zi-O. I still say I like that show overall even if I put it as my second-worst.

[takenoko]

3) Ex-Aid. This battled it out with W for my top 3. While it wasn't a perfect series, I absolutely adore the video game theme and how it was effectively used here. It wasn't just slapped on as a generic theme; everything from the hero designs to certain character motivations had games woven in, and effectively so. Plus there we so many good characters, especially on the villain side with Dan (the best evil ham!), Masamune (cold, calculating evil), and Parado. There were also a lot of memorable fights there - not only pretty much any fight that unveils a major new Ex-Aid form, but also the roller blade fight, and the one where Taiga professes his feelings to his (underage) patient while standing in a fountain. (Also, Excite is still the best damn theme song thus far!)

/me gets in a video game fight over Ex-Aid.

98 votes cast and still, the one series not to be given any love is Zi-O. Did we peer pressure Zi-O fans away?

[BreadToku]

98 votes cast and still, the one series not to be given any love is Zi-O. Did we peer pressure Zi-O fans away?

It just got a vote but considering the timing, a cynical part of me can't help but think it was given a vote either out of pity or for contrarian's sake. I won't doubt anyone claiming that Zi-O is in their top three though.

[Aeikozz]

1 Decade (including Zi-o since it's Decade Season 2) 2 Kabuto and 3 Hibiki cause they did him dirty and have been trying to make up for it since
I kinda don't think of zi-o as his own rider and more like an extra character of Decade.

[Dengar]

I was going to say, "but Decade doesn't drive the plot" but then again, aside from the finale, he never drove the plot in his own series either.

In that regard the whole series can be seen as one giant two episode Decade arc.

[ViRGE]

155 votes. Wow, this poll exploded today! (And W is the clear benefactor)

[takenoko]

Pfft, that's recency bias for you!

I like how Zi-O and Ghost are still 1 each and Wizard is the runner up at 2

[FishFaceL]

I’ve been meaning to make an account for a while now and I’m just using this as an excuse. lol

My number 1 has to be Gaim. It just has everything I’m looking for in a tv-show. Great story, perfect pacing and storytelling, very effective twists and good characters. (Micchi is a well written character. Fight me)
Number 2 is Build which has many of the same qualities. I especially loved how much focus this show put on actually explaining stuff. And again great plot and characters.
My third vote went to Kuuga. I just love the lore and the slow but consistent storytelling of this show.

[KamenRiderAsh]

Third favorite for me is W. Loved the dynamic between Philip and Shoutarou. The Accel story arcs were another added plus.

Second is Kuuga. Yusuke's character resonated with me a lot. The laid-back innocence of wanting to protect people's smiles was simplistic enough of a character trait for me. The suit design is also my second favorite. The mysteries surrounding the Grongi drew me in, and I loved their gibberish language.

Hands down, my top favorite is OOO. Eiji's character was similar enough to Yusuke's that the show instantly took off for me. Usually, it takes me a couple weeks before I can decide whether I like a season or not. The relationships between Eiji and Ankh, Eiji/Ankh/Hina, and (SUBARASHI!) Kougami's eclectic personality were the icing on the cake. See what I did there? Tajador is the best suit design of the Heisei era, even with the childrens' TV budget CGI wings. The soundtrack, sound design, story beats (yes, even the anniversary stuff), plot twists-- everything made it the perfect season for me.

[Ghost23]

For me it's Kabuto first, Mainly for the cheery good morning of the "emoto". W would be second with the detective taking just about any case and the hysterics of his new boss is funny as hell. Kuuga third, a laid back hero increasing the number of skills what's not to love.