Kamen Rider Decade (2009)

This is a show which shoots itself in the foot with its own gimmick. Which is maybe a bit strained etymologically, but trust me on this.

As the title suggests, Kamen Rider Decade celebrates ten years of modern Kamen Rider, with a plot which sees its protagonists switching from world to world, experiencing the different universes and opponents (and, of course, the Riders and their powers!) from Kiva, Ryuki, Den-O et cetera.

Unfortunately, it comes up severely lacking, especially when compared with last year's offering, Kamen Rider Kiva.

If you love tokusatsu shows, there's guaranteed to be something in here to entertain you, what with the diverse assortment of Riders and monsters, but the world-switching is horribly badly done, and the swift succession of different plots and casts of characters makes it difficult to care too much about any of them.

The central characters who travel between worlds also suffer somewhat from this, as the constant need to introduce and explain every new world (each with its Riders and villains and regular humans) reduces their scope for development significantly. Although I confess I'm rather smitten by female lead Mori Kanna as "Natsumikan" - she's cute, she's funny, and she has some great outfits! This is basically a show for Kamen Rider fanatics, who want to see "which rider would win if..." or "which monster is more badass?". And it's very much a kids' show, whereas Kiva provided enough story and character alongside the comedy and fights to generate more of a family feel. So while this show IS fun, there's really nothing more to it.

I actually wanted to comment on Kamen Rider Kiva (a superb series which I was utterly addicted to for the whole of 2008!) but it doesn't seem to be listed on IMDb... however, if you get the chance, watch Kiva rather than Decade!

UPDATE: Well, the series finished... and even though the storyline is left hangin until the theatrical movie release, I have to admit that the last story-arc was more compelling and that the action and character development did in fact both improve.

However, having by now seen two episodes of the new KR show, Kamen Rider Double (or Kamen Rider W), I'm still forced to say that in my opinion, Decade is a bit weak. So... watch Kiva or Double instead! Sorry to the fans who rated me un-useful, it's just how I feel.