I have something to admit - I enjoy tokusatsu (live-action Japanese sci-fi shows). Not just any tokusatsu, no, but Kamen Rider. It isn't my fault, either - I was forced into it by some evil (wonderful) horrible (fantastic) woman, and I've been addicted ever since. The most recent season, Kamen Rider Kiva, is finally down to its last 9 episodes, and we all know what that means... new Rider series! Kamen Rider Decade marks the 10th anniversary (hence "decade") of the Kamen Rider series taking place in the heisei era (current era in Japan), and many rumors are floating around at this time. The most consistent rumor I've heard is that it will be card-based (like Yu-Gi-Oh!), but let's hope it won't turn out as crappy as the aforementioned anime. Maybe they'll have stronger female characters this time around, because Kamen Rider Den-o (the one before Kiva) had good chick characters. Kiva, on the other hand, has the two most common Japanese female stereotypes: loud and obnoxious, and timid and softspoken. However, there is one amazing lady to make up for it, and she's one of the strongest characters in the whole series - Maya. Too bad she's got an eyepatch and lives in a cave now. Outside of that, they probably try to keep it simple as far as character backgrounds and personalities go because of the audience Kamen Rider is aimed at (younger boys), so I can't expect much (unlike Den-o, where the main actor channeled five very different characters - can you tell I liked that one?). I am absolutely pumped to see how Decade will turn out, and I hope they have a happier plotline this time around because I'm tired of walking away from Rider depressed.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sometimes I like to pretend I'm still 10.
I have something to admit - I enjoy tokusatsu (live-action Japanese sci-fi shows). Not just any tokusatsu, no, but Kamen Rider. It isn't my fault, either - I was forced into it by some evil (wonderful) horrible (fantastic) woman, and I've been addicted ever since. The most recent season, Kamen Rider Kiva, is finally down to its last 9 episodes, and we all know what that means... new Rider series! Kamen Rider Decade marks the 10th anniversary (hence "decade") of the Kamen Rider series taking place in the heisei era (current era in Japan), and many rumors are floating around at this time. The most consistent rumor I've heard is that it will be card-based (like Yu-Gi-Oh!), but let's hope it won't turn out as crappy as the aforementioned anime. Maybe they'll have stronger female characters this time around, because Kamen Rider Den-o (the one before Kiva) had good chick characters. Kiva, on the other hand, has the two most common Japanese female stereotypes: loud and obnoxious, and timid and softspoken. However, there is one amazing lady to make up for it, and she's one of the strongest characters in the whole series - Maya. Too bad she's got an eyepatch and lives in a cave now. Outside of that, they probably try to keep it simple as far as character backgrounds and personalities go because of the audience Kamen Rider is aimed at (younger boys), so I can't expect much (unlike Den-o, where the main actor channeled five very different characters - can you tell I liked that one?). I am absolutely pumped to see how Decade will turn out, and I hope they have a happier plotline this time around because I'm tired of walking away from Rider depressed.
