Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

  Halloween is just around the corner and Kamen Rider Agito is hitting its 20th anniversary. Phew, that's real fast and I was only 15 going 16 at that time! Now, it's time to really do a ramble on the nightmare fuel in the show. Agito is considered by some as Toshiki Inoue's Magnum Opus while others consider it to be Chojin Sentai Jetman . Kamen Rider Faiz is apparently Inoue's favorite season since he even appeared at the end of it - a series with much potential but it did slowly burn Inoue out. I feel it's time to actually talk about why Agito is a good series with its ambitious nightmare fuel and not just with how Kamen Rider Kuuga is one good scare . Personally, I want to think of Agito as a sequel to Kuuga . I think the lore of the two shows can be seen in the same Universe. One threat is over and another begins. The Grongi were defeated some time ago. Now, the Lords appear and mysterious murders take place. Here, Shinichiro Shirakura and Inoue (all before Shir...

Well, it's the end of Kamen Rider Zero-One as a TV series as concerned. However, like Kamen Rider Zi-O before it - it's going to have a follow-up movie. Zi-O purposely did the reset button for this purpose - they were planning a movie called Kamen Rider Zi-O Next Time - Geiz Majesty .  So, I'd like to do some thoughts first on the series. So you've noticed I haven't been doing episode reviews. Not to mention, my love for Japanese stuff has slowly dwindled (in favor of South Korean stuff) hence another reason why I'm no longer guest-writing for JEFusion and quietly left some time ago. How the series went was that some plots were rather slow (such as the five-part competition was worth ten episodes) or how Yua herself got stuck with Gai Amatsu for a long time. Then you've got some random plot twist where Isamu's parents are still alive rather than dead. Gai goes from villain to anti-hero and I really just feel it's not that developed. This is coming fr...

It's no secret that my favorite Heisei era Rider is still Kamen Rider Agito (though Kamen Rider Kuuga tends to fight with it in my head). I was thinking of how disappointing A.R. Agito is. Like really why is this world's Agito of all characters a HOMELESS VAGRANT? I really saw the Agito arc first before seeing the masterpiece that's Agito. Sorry Agito haters but I really can't accept all your over-biases against Agito. The whole Agito arc here is a mess. My whole beef here is just where's the Overlord of Darkness when you need him to reboot the world? In fact, I would gladly invite him over to the World of Agito and have the whole show reboot itself. Start that whole operation reboot and get everyone in that world to have nightmarish deaths like that happened in the finale arc of Agito! The Agito here was the original operator of the G3 operation system but became a vagrant. I really thought the whole loser image was taken way too much. Sure, Kamen Rider Den-O...

So I'm bit back on track after catching up with Kamen Rider Zi-O. I actually wanted to resume my Kamen Rider break because I want to check out other new school stuff but this one is again another nostalgia. Yes, it's Kamen Rider Agito -- perhaps one of those puzzling, mysterious Kamen Riders that inserts several plots and layers of revelations that would get me to sit down wanting more. Then I think about how I wish it were still a direct sequel to Kamen Rider Kuuga -- the whole reason why Toei decided not to do is just stupid IMHO. Come on, did Destron's appearance make the work of the first Kamen Rider for naught? I thought it'd be nice if Yuusuke saw danger coming again but seeing Agito makes him smile once more -- confident that someone else will do his job even when he's no longer around. Now back on topic on the Kamen Rider Agito arc of Kamen Rider Zi-O! Is it me or do I tend to have an extreme favoritism towards the episodes written by Nobohiro Mouri? Gr...

After rewatching some classic Heisei Kamen Rider series and remembering Gaim around two years ago,  I felt like some Kamen Riders were very atypical in some way. What were they? Here they are. Warning there are spoilers ahead so read at your own risk! Kamen Rider Agito  Kamen Rider Agito's entire season first appeared to be typical. The Lords appeared to be a bigger threat than the Grongi but they seemed very selective about who lives and who dies. The Grongi had more indiscriminate killings than the Lords who were simply trying to keep the balance. Long ago, two Lords were involved in the creation of humanity. One was the Overlord of Light and the Overlord of Darkness who both carried the Yin/Yang symbol. Like Prometheus and Epimetheus, they were involved in the creation of mankind but both of them couldn't agree on anything. One day, Light decided to give the Seed of Agito to humanity with Darkness feared would only cause humankind's destruction.

While doing a Kamen Rider Agito rewatch, I thought that some cast members weren't all that good. So I'd submit this wishful thinking post with Hojo's casting. So what's my beef? Sorry Yamasaki, you just aren't cut for Hojo... Considering that Hojo's meant to be the show's conflict, I thought Jun Yamasaki wasn't really ALL THAT good in carrying that part. Sure, he's meant to heckle or to add conflict to the show but the actor isn't all that good. Here's what Shogo B'Stard has to say about the actor himself: While I'm talking about the G3 side of the show, I'd like to say that there's really only one thing that I think can be tedious upon Agito rewatches: Houjou's antics. It's really depressing to find out that Inoue considered Houjou his favorite character in the series, but I guess not all that surprising since he does favor asshole characters like Kusaka and Kiriya. (Some would say Gai, but those people sho...

So it's been some time since I've been calling Kamen Rider Decade as something that's almost as awful if not just as awful as Saban's Masked Rider. I'll try to address this new issue called the controversy of the possible connection between Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Agito. Here's something I thought could be possibly used from The Center of Anime and Toku : You're free to enjoy Agito as a continuation of Kuuga if you so wish, or imagine it takes place in a parallel world, if you so choose. I appreciate this may sound like an asspull , however, so I guess I would say that while Agito takes place '2 years after #4 destroys the Unidentified Lifeforms', it is not a sequel to Kuuga, so take to the show with that in mind.

In Kamen Rider Agito, I thought it does also stem from the ancient myths of olden times with the idea of both the Overlords. The Lords were supposedly the holy protectors of humanity along with two Overlords - Light and Darkness. Both twins existed in harmony for a time until it came to the creation of man. In the Greek myths, that would remind me of two titans namely Prometheus and Epimetheus who were twin brothers responsible for the creation of man . Remembering my Greek mythology class, both twin brothers were in charge with creating man so I wonder if there's anybody above the two Overlords. Based on the tapestry, it seems there is a high god who would be equivalent to Zeus. The name Prometheus means forethought and the name Epimetheus means hindsight or afterthought. Lacking foresight, Epimetheus wasn't able to give anything positive to man while the other animals evolved overtime. Prometheus was depicted as ingenious and clever while Epimetheus was depicted as foo...

Hojo is one character in Kamen Rider Agito I have mixed reactions towards because he frequently derailed the G3 Unit.  I just thought he's the show's version of Naoto Takizawa and many times, I wanted to strangle him yet I can also relate to him.  So what did I think of Hojo?  He's a very skilled detective of sorts but he has selfish agenda towards himself and mass jealousy towards the G3 Unit, which I can relate to because I can be the jealous type whenever somebody got the position I thought I deserved.  Note that this opinion came in after I watched Timeranger from start to end (painfully under Portugese subs and I had to rely on my little knowledge, synopsis, etc.) and some bad quality videos. I felt Hojo should have been closer to this guy... Naoto Takizawa! Sometimes, I tend to think Hojo is either a result of bad writing or two, he should have been Kamen Rider G3 FROM THE START.  I always felt that he should have been, "Well I'm G3, I'm the hero!...

Kamen Rider Agito tempts me get Shakespearian with the question, "To evolve or not to evolve?" So what's the whole point? Agito is really a show with evolution written all over it. The tapestry apparently explains human evolution with two forces involved. The Overlord of Light and the Overlord of Darkness were responsible for overseeing human evolution. The tapestry has this supreme god ruling over mankind and out from them came the Lords and the humans. The Lords were once humanity's protectors. In the non-canon Kamen Rider Decade, the Lords were once enemies of the Grongi and created Kuuga as its champion. In the canon of Agito, the Lords were made to maintain humanity's balance so after they reached a certain stage of evolution, the Overlord of Darkness thought that it would be enough. But the Overlord of Light had other plans which caused the major conflict in Agito's story. Agito starts off with the story of murders of specific people. We don't k...

Just a bit of art here... Kamen Rider in the Heisei era started tackling human evolution, a topic not so touched upon in Kamen Rider Black. I did notice that while Kuuga had some hits on human evolution, the idea was taken into a huge leap in Kamen Rider Agito. Agito was a Kamen Rider series that focused on the concept of human evolution, except it dealt with it in a theistic manner. The beginning of Agito felt like a mixture of several Middle Eastern mythos like the Lords look like the gods of Egypt, the concept of dual forces (Light and Darkness represent both day and night) and the concept of man's evolution. The whole question in Agito between the two Overlords is... to evolve or not to evolve, that is the question. The Overlord of Light wished to bestow the power of Agito upon some people while the Overlord of Darkness viewed that human evolution had reached its peak. Kamen Rider Faiz was yet another series to tackle on the concept of evolution. Unlike Agito, Faiz foc...

Kamen Rider Agito has a very unique execution to an otherwise weird plot. Ryuki may have had potential but thanks a lot to executive meddling, the story couldn't go on to be better. So what do we think about Kamen Rider Agito's story? It's not a very typical Kamen Rider story of good vs. evil, rather we see a lot of complex characters along the way. Trying to understand the characters is no easy task in Agito. I mean, Shouichi the main protagonist has nothing known about his very past until later in the series. All that is presented (at first) is just your amnesiac hero who could transform into Agito. You do have the question of just who in the world is this guy and how did he get involved? Then you have Ryou who became Kamen Rider Gills, who again is another mysterious character who is involved in a very complicated case. While most Kamen Riders had some of their origins revealed at one to two episodes, we really don't know anything about the protagonist at first, ...

Three times the charm.. before Inoue practically undid himself in Kamen Rider Faiz! After the success of Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Agito became the second Heisei Kamen Rider era.  Kuuga provided the framework, now it was time for yet another show that would try to return a lot of stuff.  Yet part of it was very atypical and part of it was typical with how the show ran from start to end.  The style of Agito is a show that has a lot of woven mysteries, conflicts and complex plots. So how does that all count in?  When you think of it, you definitely know nothing of the main protagonist who just becomes Agito.  We don't know anything about the man who is called Shouichi in the show.  He's just an amnesiac young man who suddenly feels the need to protect humanity one way or another, while living in a family that's not his own namely Professor Misugi who was taking care of his late stepbrother's children.  Along the way, there is the mysterious Ryo...

Way before Toshiki Inoue sucked pretty bad and practically undid himself, there was a time he actually wrote some good series namely Chojin Sentai Jetman and Kamen Rider Agito.  Now why is Kamen Rider Agito practically his Magnum Opus?  So yeah I'm looking at Fantasy leader and Shogo and some other fans... who may have other reasons why Agito kicks ass. Here's my reasons: The hero's story isn't exactly told immediately but it slowly unwraps itself.  So in the tradition where Inoue goes from recycling old plots to adding new stuff, Agito just exactly that!  For one, Agito is an amnesiac who is trying to figure out his past.  He was currently known as Tsugami but later, we figure out his real name was Tetsuya. Complex storylines that unwrap itself in such a way among the characters.  Now I wonder if Toshiki Inoue burned himself out in the process of writing Kamen Rider Agito's beautifully written storyline.  Every story keeps you wanting to see m...

Well Arakawa did a good job in presenting the mold for Kamen Rider allies (well I think he had taken Black RX's concept and smoothened it), Inoue managed to turn it to another direction in Agito.  Here's what I think of them... Makoto Hikawa- As a secondary rider for the Heisei era, I say he is really good.  While I don't like the whole G3 trailer thing since it's quite inconvenient but man he has some very cool weapons.  For me, I thought this guy was a comic relief that didn't become too silly to the point plot is ruined.  So he's clumsy and sometimes that gets on my nerves but I like him. XD Ryo Ashihara- I felt like he is a tribute to Kamen Rider Amazon which is cool.  But unlike Kamen Rider Amazon, he does tend to get feral and going crazy.  I really feel sorry for this guy and just thinking about him, he is a pretty disturbed person.  But good thing he got better. Toru Hojo- Well he's what I'd call I'm mixed on him since he is rivals w...

Yup that's Toshiki Inoue and I wonder if he's even related to one of my favorite actresses Mao Inoue.  I was reading the post at Them's Fighting Words about Inoue and endings .  Now here's my share.  I don't know what other critics like Fantasy Leader or That Chick will think or comment, well I could accept if they disagree or agree but here's my two cents: Warning!  Spoilers ahead! Kamen Rider Agito- So far this is his BEST ENDING.  Okay I don't like Toujou (but then again, most of his actions are clearer to be more of not knowing much or being skeptical, or just following rules) and later he was tolerated.  For me, while the ending did have some WTF that is that very HIIIIIIIGH jump that Agito did to defeat the Lord of Darkness from killing off the human race, it was in fact a very passable finale.  So nobody's pointlessly killed (unlike Gai Yuki's death was really lame in Jetman).  In fact, the ending is pretty passable, meets better stan...

I've done reviews on Kamen Rider Agito, Kamen Rider Faiz, and Kamen Rider Ryuki now for a run-through on them. Where was he good at and where did he mess up? Well, it's time for a critique summary of these things: Kamen Rider Agito Definitely Toshiki Inoue's masterpiece well-written from start to end. Everything in this series was what I'd call finishing the work that Naruhisa Arakawa started with Kuuga. With how the mysteries and complexities were written together with characters that aren't there for just being there and then dying for dying's sake, this is his top masterpiece. For the finale, I pretty much think that it's passable but not awesome since that whole "I can jump that high do that rider kick." against the Overlord of Darkness can make anybody go O_o in some way. However, nobody was getting unnecessarily killed except if it was for plot and everything was close to perfection. Overall, too bad Inoue didn't maintain this kind o...

So I'm done discussing about Kuuga's starting the revolution .  So I can't even call Agito perfect but it did manage to really help strengthen the revolution that Kuuga started via Toshiki Inoue who sadly later didn't write works as good as this one. =(  Moving on, what do I say really made Agito improve where Kuuga left of with some diamonds unearthed?  Kuuga started the bounty, Agito did the finishing job on the remaining diamonds. I should star with the allies.  Arakawa began rubbing off the rough surfaces Black RX left behind leaving some shine but too bad, as said we can't really get anything 100%.  So Inoue managed to maintain the roles of allies while adding some varnish of deeper involvement that is backstory-wise finishing my estimate of 20% of the dullness of what Naruhisa Arakawa wasn't able to able to remove so he finished the job.  The best part has to be Mana's backstory and the Agito seed people getting woven, that is making Arakawa's ...

If there are two series in the Heisei era that started it all, it's Naruhisa Arakawa's first job as a headwriter and how he wrote Kamen Rider Kuuga and Toshiki Inoue's best work Kamen Rider Agito.  Now let's take a look at how these two series managed to create a revolution: First there's Kamen Rider Kuuga.  Kuuga began to define the new seasons, introduced the "realistic approach" to where the hero doesn't immediately master his new forms, removed the silly monster plot of the weeks that we love about Tokusatsu but gave a nice substitute, made most battles a two-parter and began to interweave the characters together.  It's too important a prototype not to be credited even if there were others that I like better but still, Kuuga is the molding of Heisei era that's too important to ignore.  I guess most of the writers or even Toei is ignoring the mold that is Kuuga.  What really I think is a major part of the mold is the "realistic appro...

Well since I feel like I haven't given Kamen Rider Kuuga enough credit so I'd like to credit it for actually defining the basic styles of how to write Heisei Riders. The way the multiple forms are introduced. Kuuga avoided the being too episodic and decided to focus on introducing these forms in a way that is more "realistic". Yuusuke doesn't immediately learn to use these forms and plus, each form carries a plot tied to the story better done than when it was during the days of Black RX. Each of the forms were handled in a J-Drama fantasy style for me. So pretty much, Arakawa doesn't want the hero to be "high and mighty", rather to be "more human" which I think is good, so pretty much the template left by Black RX with multiple forms was put to good use. The allies are far more involved. Okay we got that introduced in Black RX but it was a rough draft, Kuuga had its time to let the allies become more involved as a better mold to th...