All Riders Vote

[Mikadius]

Den-O's popularity was mainly because they hit a winning formula after stumbling for a couple seasons. Kabuto is seriously underrated, but the fact that the title Rider is an asshole and you spend most of the show rooting for the Secondary Rider is what made it fall flat for a lot of people (and Westerners couldn't keep up with the heavy wordplays). But Den-O had some humour aimed at both kids and older audiences, a pretty decent mystery (but nowhere near as good as the one in Agito), and a large cast of characters that somehow remained balanced out.

Well that's interesting since I though Den-O humor was too "for kids", and I'm a guy who enjoys watching american cartoons and sentai (tho not every season)
Also, I thought Tendou was a high point in KR main heroes! He's so over-the-top cool that it almost never fails to be either hilarious or actually cool. No idea why would you root for the blue rider guy, I don't actually remember him doing much relevant besides whining and being angsty

[takenoko]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvQ5D964z6g

Luis sent me an e-mail saying that the poll is on YouTube too. Check it out!

[Ashki]

Also, I thought Tendou was a high point in KR main heroes! He's so over-the-top cool that it almost never fails to be either hilarious or actually cool. No idea why would you root for the blue rider guy, I don't actually remember him doing much relevant besides whining and being angsty

Soji was purposely written as being egotistical and self-centred. As the series goes on, you begin to learn more about why he's that way, but the attitude put a lot of people off early on. Meanwhile, they put an early emphasis on Arata - his reasons for fighting, his pure heart, etc. They wanted to show how a person is strong because of their heart, not their attitude. Arata was supposed to become Kabuto, hinting that he's actually the focus of the story right from the beginning. And when he finally becomes Gatack, it's only after a trial by fire in which he persists through all of the pain and fear. A lot of kids who are bullied can really relate to Arata, and the eventual reveals about Soji's past help to illustrate that even bullies have sad stories behind them.

What caused the show to be so unpopular was the fact that the title character wasn't actually the focus and we were seeing the show through the eyes of a secondary Rider who was SUPPOSED to be the title character. As with a lot of things in the series, there's a tonne of deep philosophical meaning to this unusual angle that most people never got. Personally, I still think to this day that Kabuto was a great series, but it's one you have to really think about between episodes to get the real treasure behind the story. While I would certainly not suggest making this a child's intro to Kamen Rider, it's one parents should sit down and watch with their kids and actively discuss afterwards. The amount it can resonate with a child's own experiences in school and life as a result is quite profound.