Kamen Rider Geats: Let The Desire Grand Prix Begin

Kamen Rider Revice hasn't been on a very good note IMHO. It's not that it's bad - just tolerable in the long run. I don't find Revice horrid but I felt the finale was quite a stretched out, "Where are they now?" instead of a real finale. I decided to watch the first episode in order to give my first impression. The Battle Royale plot returns which is almost similar to that of Kamen Rider Ryuki and Kamen Rider Blade. Granted, it's been 20 years since Ryuki premiered (and I remembered it was aired on ABiaS-CBN back then). It's too early to judge the show by just one episode.

The way the opening took place almost reminds me of Kamen Rider Drive. Nene Shida (Kohaku Shida's OLDER SISTER) acts as Sara Sakurai. One of the incoming heroes, Keiwa Sakurai, goes out with his older sister to eat some tanuki soba. No, it's not made of tanuki meat. The first episode gave me an introduction to tanuki soba - something I'd want to try even if it's no secret I'm more into KOREAN FOOD. The restaurant sequel gets interrupted by a sudden attack. That pretty much reminds me of how Drive's first episode introduction was. The difference is this happens in a casual restaurant - the kind of place where I could get caught unprepared.

The recurring enemy right now is the Jyamanto. I'm reminded of one of my disliked seasons, Kamen Rider Hibiki, also in some way. The use of Japanese folklore instead of the more "Western" themes in Ryuki and Blade brings me there. The Jyamato shows up with their Pawn Jyamato and the Slug Fortress Jamato. Having giant-sized monsters reminds me of how most of Hibiki's monsters are giant-sized. It's not the first time a Kamen Rider faces off against a Megazord-sized foe. If you've watched some Showa era Kamen Rider series - you may notice it was used quite a few times. Kamen Rider Stronger and Kamen Rider Skyrider both had the Great Leader use Megazord-sized decoys to troll the heroes. 

It looks like the Kamen Riders of this show will have a clash of values. Michinaga Azuma is prestend as an anti-hero and rival to Ace Ukiyo, our hero. There's the argumentg between Michinaga and Takeshi Gotukoji. Is Takeshi really gone for good or was he just teleported? Both Keiwa and Neon Kurama both get shocked at Michinaga's seemingly callous attitude. 

The ending goes weird. Was it all a dream or was there a mindwipe? Eventually, Tsumuri (who's probably a tribute to either Smart Girl from Kamen Rider Faiz or Izu from Kamen Rider Zero-One) starts to recruit both Keiwa and Neon. It's also hinted that Ace has a crush on Neon - something I feel might become a running gag. 

Right now, I don't expect myself to be doing episode reviews. Real life is starting to cram in with hobbies. As said, blogging is just a hobby. I don't make a living out of it. Meanwhile, I feel like this might appeal to my inner child as a man in his late 30s.