So the show doesn't have the original hero but we have a mature Kiriya. It's also interesting that half of this arc takes place during the Heisei era (which ended on May 1, 2019) and the second half starts in the Reiwa era. There's only a few more Rider watches left. So what have we collected so far? Woz announces there's four more watches and looks like there's three left considering this show's arc. Kiriya isn't a full Hibiki yet but later the previous Hibiki acknowledges it when the Hibiki watch appears. The heroes must undergo training with drums -- though I'm a bigger fan of the Korean drum dance than Japanese drums. Hehehehe too much K-Drama?
I admit this is still way better than what the Decade version of Hibiki does. It tries to tie in loose ends even if I want to view most Kamen Riders as self-contained these days. The appearance of two guest characters from Hibiki is better than having A.R. Hibiki who's nowhere near the man the original Hibiki is. The story having moved foward also involves a former classmate of Sougo who wants to become an Oni in Kamen Rider Hibiki. I just love how the more mature Kiriya manage to show how he's improved several years since Hibiki appeared. It's been 13 years since the show ended so much has changed in the atmosphere, right?
Hello. My apologies if I did not air my comments on your past posts, as, like you, I am taking my own time to watch the remaining tribute arcs, and it looks like Mouri is doing a better job than Shimayama, so I hope he writes throughout the final episode.
ReplyDeleteI admit that the Philippine dub of Hibiki is not up to par compared to Blade, but did watch it since at that time downloading was not the trend yet.
Compared to the 2005 airing, the Zi-O airing does a good job though I would prefer at least more episodes instead of being restrained to 2-parts.
Thankfully Kiriya is portrayed as less spoiled here unlike the 2005 version, and yet I did not like the fact that he assumes 2 separate Oni forms (kyoki and hibiki).
I feel that Toei did not exert efforts in trying to persuade Shogeki Hoshokawa to reprise his role of Hibiki, unless he is fully booked like what happened to Masaki Suda.
Thankfully Todoroki is there, though it would be nice if Zanki appeared even as a spirit, as the Hibiki arc lacked some characters (due to Ibuki's actor being busy in Ryusoulger, and Asamu's actor retired last year).
Looks like Mouri found the right approach in having the past riders voluntarily surrendering their rider powers thru the ride watches instead of losing their memories, which I feel this is what Shimoyama should have done from the start, as the past 30 or so episodes caused quite a confusion in terms of continuity and plot.
Next stop, Kiva. It's safe to say that neither Wataru and Nago won't be back, as Jiro and Yuri Aso will be the ones to fill the gap, so I'll see how this would fare should the IXA suit appear, and how the Kiva Ride watch appear given that Wataru won't show up.
@ Mask Rider Roy
DeleteTBH I may get somewhat upset whenever the lead Rider doesn't appear but it's still WAY BETTER than what Kamen Rider Decade did by creating A.R. Riders. TBH I'm getting Gokaiger vibes here. I was even afraid that Zi-O might end up becoming the Megafart of Kamen Rider but it didn't.