How Kamen Rider Drive Got Me Interested With Watching The Rescue Police Trilogy AND Sci-Fi Crime Drama

 

It's no secret that I got critical about Super Sentai last 2013-2016, I was in denial about me being a fan of Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, and that I soon enjoyed Kamen Rider more than Super Sentai. However, I find myself detached from Kamen Rider Gotchard presumably due to the extremely young cast. I could recall a conversation where me and a person compared the newer Kamen Rider to a telenovela. Kamen Rider Drive was something that I'd call sort of a dream come true. The whole series might be compared to Knight Rider or Automan for its inspiration. 

Drive isn't exactly the best Kamen Rider series there is. I think the best entries are Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Agito. I think the worst is still Kamen Rider Decade. Drive started off as a rather campy series. Shinnosuke Tomari is pretty much a comical character but he has a dark secret that gets unveiled midseason. The show featured the dangers of unethical experimentation, parents who you literally need ot cut ties from, and it's really hard to talk about the show WITHOUT spoiling anything.

Drive would lead me to watch the more mature Rescue Police Trilogy

The show was a fun ride. What I can't deny is that Drive led me to watch Toei's Rescue Police Trilogy. Sure, Metal Hero has been canceled but somehow, never forgotten. I feel that Toei's decision to cancel Metal Hero had to do something with reviving the Kamen Rider franchise. Toei did try to revive Kamen Rider with some movies - with Kamen Rider Shin as some kind of failed experiment. It was nice to finally get fansubs of the Rescue Police Trilogy namely Tokkei Winspector, Tokyuu Solbrain, and Tokosou Exceedraft. Exceedraft was supposedly independent but ended up reconnecting with the previous two installments during the finale.

Winspector was pretty much also inspired by Knight Rider and Automan. Unlike Drive - the Rescue Police Trilogy belonged to the 1990s. That means the shows would contain more eyebrow raising moments than one expects. Winspector also aired alongside Chikyu Sentai Fiveman - a show that nearly ended Super Sentai. Eventually, 1999 rightfully ended with the sibling sentai Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive since the Metal Hero franchise was canceled but never forgotten. Winspector was so good that I got interested to even finish the rather strange series Exceedraft. 

The urge to watch sci-fi crime drama was something I never had until Drive?

As for crime drama, it's a mixed bag between Chinese (both from China or Taiwan), Japanese, and South Korean shows. I confess the first crime drama I actually enjoyed was Kill It - which is South Korean. I would watch any crime drama from either China, Taiwan, Japan, or South Korea. These have psychological effects and require a stronger stomach. Sure, I can't stomach torture scenes but I can handle crime scenes. 

Sure, my favorite crime dramas usually focus on the realistic angle. However, I enjoyed Tunnel which was a time-travel cop drama. I've watched are Awaken which policemen try to crack down a group of mad scientists trying ot create a serum of eternal youth.I wanted to drop either which at first. I'd say I credit Drive for actually motivating me to watch sci-fi crime drama. I said, "If I could enjoy Drive then why not these?"

Though, I still prefer the more realistic fiction for legal drama. However, sci-fi crime drama can still be very entertaining.