upcoming series Kamen Rider Wizard - september 2012

[LordSpleach]

It's not great but I like it so far. I don't think the buddybots are going away anytime soon though.

[odin]

It is so-so for me, the choreography is pretty cool to look at, the effects are nice as well as the powers but the story does not catch my interest yet, I'm holding on to it cause on the recent episode the gave more depth on why wizard has a very strong will which at least convinced me to like him a bit more, but to be honest the series has been a little too kid friendly, even more than Fourze which managed to give it a good balance and wen it wanted to get serious it REALLY got serious, with wizard I'm not really feeling anything with it yet, maybe it will get better soon I hope, don't anything else to watch so I will probably keep watching it casually.

[*Jess♥]

re: choreography, I think maybe we are spoiled by gobusters?

gobusters has some incredibly fights and great action. wizard has not got any good choreography that i have noticed. but I'll take your word for it, I understand the choreography may be good and perhaps i don't focus on it as much as the storyline.

yeah it is sad that it is all we really have. kamen rider is kamen rider and if this is current kamen rider, we don't have any other kamen rider.

[Toku Warrior]

I can't even stand to watch Wizard at all. I was hoping for a bit more of a darker tonned series like Kuuga or Agito but, instead, we get this crap. I can't even get passed episode 4. Kamen Rider is just slowly circling the drain and soon, it'll go away for another 10-15 yrs before they make a new series if this trend keeps up.

[Matt Bellamy]

Pretty much in the same boat with a lot of people... Very very VERY MEH.

I liked the Suit design for the most part, but it certainly is very plain.

But the Rider System is too much like a mix of 000's and Den-O... And the way the belt talks is annoying.

The backstory does seem dark, but much like Kiva they don't seem to want to go that route at all. And it's a shame... My favorite rider series are all darker and more serious.

[odin]

I'm still watching it and I think i found the mayor flaw that this series has and that is the supporting cast they are practically useless compared to the other rider series, they where interesting and useful and only 2 characters on wizard do anything and is not that much, if you don't have a good supporting cast a series can get boring no matter how stylish and badass the hero is, even Fourze did this better although that was pretty much the series point, the supporting cast.

Edited November 26, 2012 by odin

[*Jess♥]

thanks for the update.

I would like to watch a current kamen rider series, but I certainly don't want to watch trash.

I was thinking of checking up on it to see if it had improved but sadly it seems it hasn't?

that is a real shame.

I don't even mind if there is minimal story and just a monster of teh week, as long as that weekly stand-alone story is interesting in and of itself.

shows like kamen rider ryuki had periods where the main story didn't really move along. but even those individual episodes had interesting plot twists and turns that made it interesting and worth watching.

even shows like gaoranger had interesting individual episodes.

[Purgstall]

My problem with Wizard is that it feels like nothing is at stake here. I'd like to see Haruto fail to stop one of the Phantoms from making the Gate fall into despair and the Phantom takes over. Its kinda dark, I know, but I feel that it would help Haruto develop as a character. Oh and Shunpei annoys the piss outta me. The rest of the supporting cast are ok with me (not terrible, but not spectacular either).

[*Jess♥]

I tried watching a bit more and I think it sort of picked up, but I stopped watching because I was starting to feel a little depressed.

it's a shame because some of the events that actually happened were quite powerful, it was very impressive.

the subject matter though... it is bleak. I mean how much more bleak can you get than people falling into the depths of despair?

it had potential to be very uplifting but they don't seem to be hitting the right notes.

[odin]

Agreed, it feels like they where trying to go to a similar route to Ozu but it just doesn't cut it yet and it does not help that the supporting cast in my opinion are the weakest of a rider series so far I mean look at fourze, sure Yuki was practically useless but the rest of the group was interesting and did their part on helping fourze in various ways and they did not even have to fight in wizard they are just there, only half of them do something and the other half just get in the way and do lots of slapstick, like I said before, I will just continue watching this casually whenever I can.

Edited December 10, 2012 by odin

[LordSpleach]

I think Wizard finally showing the meat that you guys are hoping for. Haruto just received his Land Dragon power up

from a phantom

, and the new rider, Beast

needs to feed on phantom energy in order to live

Edited January 26, 2013 by LordSpleach

[odin]

Yea, I really like Beast's design, his character is a bit silly but his motivations are 100 times more interesting than wizard BUT I still stand that the series is a bit lackluster and part of it is due to the supporting cast being uninteresting also...I don't know why but it does not feel like a rider series, even the fourze movie when gentaro asks if he is a Kamen Rider he automatically asks what is that as if he has never heard of one and this is from a canonical world where riders are well known and meet from time to time, honestly the only thing that is actually keeping me from not watching this series entirely is because of Foundation X which have been plotting in the shadows on every rider series since W, I am expecting them to appear on this season as well but don't expect them to do much since wiseman does not seem like the type to get help from other organizations, I just hope the stakes are raised soon cause this is getting pretty boring wizard winning every single time, it just diminishes the villains credibility and makes them seem like a joke.

[LordSpleach]

Well about Foundation X, I'm wondering the mysterious phantom we just saw in the last two episodes. He's only shown his human form, and he seems to be interested in

having Haruto's powers evolve. It's probably about the dragon phantom that still is awake inside him.

As for Beast, he reminds me of Zeronos in a way, because he has a Catch-22 with using his rider belt.

 

I still have to watch Fourze, but it wouldn't surprise that Haruto would be confused by the Rider term. His series only refers to him as a Mage.

[odin]

I know but ever since decade the world of each hesei series was merged meaning that after W and all the events on the movies where probably well known throughout japan at least so it seems weird that he doesn't know what a Rider is even tho he never addressed himself as one.

about that mysterious phantom, my guess he is working with wiseman, probably his strongest phantom I still doubt that they would work alongside Foundation X although I could be wrong.

Edited January 27, 2013 by odin

[LordSpleach]

You could be right about the Phantoms not want to work with Foundation X. I could see one of two scenarios:

 

A) Rouge phantoms who work with X to usurp Wiseman.

 

B)Foundation X capturing phantoms for experiments.

[*Jess♥]

I had a look at that beast you guys referred to.

I just want to know why they are sticking with such insulting design processes?

This is why I can't get into Kamen rider easily these days.

 

The design processes for the series from faiz through decade, had an elegant and thoughtful design procedure. The designers clearly gave though to the themes of the show and created a costume design that was sympathetic to the show and also sympathetic to the viewer.

But since then, the designs have gotten more and more haphazard. They seem to be favouring gimmicky shapes and moulded plastic that doesn't seem sympathetic at all. this beast guy? how does his costume lend credence to what he does, where he comes from, what story he is supposed to tell?

I mean, it is quite insulting isn't it? if his suit is supposed to represent magical energy in the form of a beast, then where is the fur? beasts created by magic are not likely to look like moulded plastic. how is that design respectful or sympathetic to me? If I were to imagine a magical beast, I would be thinking of shimmering fur. If the suit is supposed to represent a man made object, then it needs to be represented in a way that suggests stress management etc. padding or plate armour, chitin etc. I see none of this.  I see no evidence of how this is even remotely realistic and as such, it is impossible to take it seriously. This is different from super sentai as they have an established convention of Applied Phlebotinum.

[odin]

Yea, I do agree that it would have been nice to add some fur and not make it so shinny cause Wiseman says that he is an "Ancient Wizard" maybe give him a bronze color instead of gold? but considering that Beast uses powers from other animals such as a Dolphin and a Hawk so I don't know how that would have worked, I'm actually satisfied with his design aside from his helmet which looks an awful lot like Ozu's Ratorata combo helmet only without the spikes.

 

I don't know if you have seen the episodes he is in but his in but the story he is trying to tell is told by making him always have the belt on since it is always consuming his mana and if he does not devour phantoms mana through his belt he will eventually die which is interesting for a Megamax era Rider. Also while I do agree that the Megamax era Riders (that is what I call the riders from W to Wizard since they officially joined forces during that movie) have not had the best designs they do at least convey the theme that they are portraying, I really don't know in what other way you could have made Fourze without making him look like Super-1 which is also a space theme rider and to me Ozu has one of the best designs of the franchise that is kept in the realm of simplicity, sure it is no Faiz or Kabuto but it is still a great design and tells its story great and not all the ones from faiz through decade did that, take for example Hibiki, I did not know that the theme was about Ogres and Music of all things until I read the summary. Overall what I'm trying to say is that they are not all bad, at least in my opinion of course since we all have different tastes I can agree that Wizard is the series that looks less like a Rider series aside from Hibiki.

[*Jess♥]

well since ozu was based around mummy's, ancient civilisations etc, I was expecting something that had an ancient feel. the textures and trimmings of the costume should have had something to go with that theme, but instead it looks like spandex and plastic moulding. if the suit was made in modern times, then it could look like modern armour plating, or if it was made in ancient times then it should have the look of old plated armour or leather armour etc. if it was purely the mystical power of the medals then the suit should have had some mystical trimmings and something related to greed and riches.

I think in terms of reflecting upon the theme of the series, it just barely stuck with the theme of OOO, by having a round breastplate and using the three different elements. sure, one could argue that the trimmings are made to represent bas relief that could be seen on ancient temples etc. but in fact due to the colours and placement, more resembles electronic circuitry and just doesn't work very well.

 

sorry to take it off topic though. this is about wizard

 

it is a shame because i have seen some fan art of wizard that looks quite interesting.

here is what I am thinking.

he is a wizard. he uses magic. the source of his powers come from a crude ring that was created by that guy. my thoughts firstly go directly to the chestplate type thing that he wears. where does that come from? what type of magic would result in this kind of thing. we would have to see the protagonist as a master of conjuring in order to craft something so specific. the cloak, I can understand. this kind of thing is common among magicians.  the mask, I can kind of sort of understand. it is based on the gem itself. but the fixtures and fittings of it, look very technological. where does the technology come from? I didn't notice any references to magi-tech in the story. it just doesn't really fit. Wizard would have been far more believable if it had a design that more resembled Kiva.

[Toku Warrior]

Okay, at first I didn't really like this series as it seemed to drag along at a very slow development rate, but after the introduction of the 4 Dragon Forms, it started to get interesting. I love how its going to the point that, the more magic and power that Haruto draws out from himself and his inner Phantom, 'Dragon', the closer he comes to possibly destroying his old self and becoming a Phantom in the process.

Medusa is just a complete b***h but that's why I like her so much. She has so much potential and it seems that she will probably play a bigger role as time goes on.

Wiseman, this guy just creeps me out. I actually think he might have some connection to the White Mage but that's just my speculation.

Gremlin is a nice character and it's cool to see a villain who sneeks around and uses both sides to his own advantage. Haven't seen that done properly in Kamen RIder for a good while.

Phoenix, I LOVE THIS GUY! Arrogant and a pure badass. And his Phantom form is really well designed.

I loved the final climactic battle that he had with Wizard. Just goes to show that there are just some villains that you will need to pull out all the stops to defeat even midway through a series.

Kosuke Nitou / Beast - Now this is a Rider form that I love. Haven't seen a Rider form for a secondary Rider this nice since...well...Kabuto. Tasuku Nagase, who plays Kosuke, does the character very well though I really don't get his extreme love for mayonaise. A really well designed Rider and fun to watch.

How he tried to act like a Mahou Shoujo in episode 24 was just hillarious.

The other characters we already know a lot about but these are some of the ones I've not seen talked about much by those that I talk to about Kamen Rider. So far, the series is now starting to impress me and I find it much more enjoyable than Fourze. Sure, Wizard has its ups and downs, the suit design of Wizard still being somewhat...well, not to my liking. But I'm getting used to it and the flow of the story.

[LordSpleach]

Interesting development from episodes 26-27:

 

 

Medusa's Gate's name is Misa Inamori, and she had a twin named Mayu. Medusa personally drove her to despair BUT Mayu kept her phantom at bay just like Haruto, and The White Wizard collected her to become a new Mage!

 

I think this series is finally coming into it's own.

[Toku Warrior]

OK, I thought I'd share this for those who haven't seen it. But since TVN hasn't released their own subbed version of it (though Over-Time might have already), I'm going to place the following video within a spoiler tag for safety on my own part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdE1Ze52sSw

[odin]

Yea, it is an awesome form but I think it is as of now too much overkill considering what happened on this weeks episode, he is just like a freaking terminator now aside from that the show is just barely holding my interest I really want to like this show but there are barely any risks and consequences not to mention the badguys are really incompetent in my opinion, the only real threat was pheonix and his arse was rider kicked to the freaking sun! wiseman and gremlin better start doing constructive things soon. also

 

the white wizard says as the infinity form appears that something troublesome has appeared meaning that haruto was not meant to have that form perhaps wish makes me wonder what his motives are and at the same time makes me think that he really is Wiseman. 

[Toku Warrior]

well, I look forward to there being more revealed about the White Mage.

[odin]

I have decided that Wizard is by far the worst series I have seen so far (I have not watched all of them tho), the series really lost its potential with the theme it had, I'm just watching it now cause I want to know how it ends but frankly nothing that has happened has really given my any excitement, a hero is only as good as the villains and they have done squat, sure there is the philosopher stone thing but nothing has been explained yet just that it requires a lot of mana to make it. The villains are lame cause wizard is overpowered I mean seriously Infinity style is broken as hell (and now I hear that he is going to have a new form soon that mixes infinity with all dragon) the only villain that was actually threatening was phoenix and the dude got rider kicked to the sun for his troubles, wizard has not gotten any serious loss and Beast who I like has been reduced to a sidekick, i hope they can manage to salvage this series with the episodes that are left.

[*Jess♥]

haven't watched any of it since episode 6 or so. really have no motivation to watch. it didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities.

seems you think the same thing even now.

recently I find little value in any japanese tv. except akibaranger of course.

 

 

thanks for the update anyhow