My Updated Kamen Rider Rankings

Since I did an updated list for Sentai, I figured its time to do an updated one for Kamen Rider. Keep in mind that I've been more into Sentai than rider. So there probably isn't gonna be as many new series on this list. With that being said, there has been a slight shift since last time so I guess a new list is warranted. Since the last one, I've finished Gaim and Amazons. Drive and Ghost will not be talked about because I dropped both of them before the 25 episode mark. Den-O will not be mentioned even though I saw half of it since I haven't seen any more of it since the last list. With that out of the way, lets get right down to it.

7. Kamen Rider Amazons:

It took a while but I finally found a series I dislike more than Faiz. Yes, that is a big statement to make since only season one is done and its only 13 episodes. It tries so hard to be dark, edgy, and serious that it ends up being overly angst-y. I don't tend to like the "Life sucks, deal with it!" mentality in superhero shows unless its done really well. It got to the point where I was only watching it to riff it with a friend. Pretty much the main positive I have for this series so far is Alpha's suit. Omega's bike is the most irritating bike I've seen so far. It will not stop roaring whenever its on screen. After a while, my friend and I were constantly telling it to shut up whenever it showed up. Its also this extremely generic lion roar even though the bike is lizard themed. The fight scenes were outright boring and lacked any sense of brutality which is pretty bad for a modern take on Amazon. It doesn't really feel like the show has any weight to it. I legitimately don't expect Mamoru to survive season two and I'm honestly a bit surprised he survived season one given how bleak the tone was.

6. Kamen Rider Faiz, Decade, and Kiva:

Yeah, all three share the same spot but I'll start with Faiz. I've actually softened up a bit on it this series since the last list. It does have some good ideas but the execution makes some of them frustrating. The drama built around misunderstandings or mis-communications still annoys me because it can be solved so easily. I still love the rider suit and monster designs. I love all the little gadgets that the belts have. I get what they were trying to do with Kiba's heel-turn near the end but it really could've been handled better. It comes off as a bit annoying and its placed at a bit of a bad spot for me given everything that happens near the end. I like the Orphenocs in concept but the execution was kind of lacking. I also kind of wish they had a little more variety in their color scheme.

I still don't like Decade and my thoughts on it haven't changed much from last time. I still think it gets lost in all the world hopping to the point where it forgets the driving force of the show. It also doesn't help that the show doesn't have a concrete ending. Due to that, it left so many questions unanswered. In a way, thats good because it means an infinite number of stories to tell and its a way to always bring Tsukasa back for cameos. However, the downside is that those stories can be kinda tainted because well its Decade. Any questions that the Decade movie and the crossover with W answer vary between the two. So we really don't get to know a lot regarding Decade. I still have no idea what Narutaki is.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Kiva. So why is it being ranked? Its because I don't think the last third is going to be able to change my opinion of the show all that much, especially given what I've heard happens near the end. It falls into a lot of the same pitfalls as Faiz. So much so that an entire love triangle is built on miscommunication. I can't stand Otoya and he is probably going to end up on my least favorite rider character list whenever I redo it. Pretty much the only things I like about it at this point are the suits and the music. With that being said, Kiva's default suit should've been sent back to the drawing board. I like its design but its the weight thats the problem. It apparently caused the suit actor to have back problems because most of the weight is in the chest. I absolutely love the stained glass look for the Fangires.

5. Kamen Rider Wizard:

I'm still very mixed on this series. I liked the aesthetics, particularly the designs for most of Wizard's forms, and some of the background music. The battle music sounds, for lack of a better phrase, like a magical symphony. The main form I don't like design-wise is Infinity due to it looking too plastic-y. There are some nice ideas in the show but the execution is questionable. Its one of the few shows I've seen where a villain reveal has shattered one of the fundamental rules of its universe and nearly made the plot collapse in on itself. I don't really remember much action-wise outside of some sword-play. Also if you notice, Wizard never actually throws a punch in his fight scenes. I'm guessing its because they didn't want to break the rings on his hands.

4. Kamen Rider Gaim:

I like this show, not as much as I did when I first finished it but I enjoyed it for what was. I'm indifferent on the suits with the exception of Pineapple Arms. The flopping shoulder pads can get distracting. Other suits have that problem as well but it is a lot more noticeable on pineapple arms. At one point, Pineapple Arms shoulder pads swung and bounced off the chest-plate of the suit. With that being said, I think the shoulder pads for Ryugen Grape Arms look good. The dueling philosophies are a nice touch but unfortunately, some don't get touched on much. The other downside is that due to the number of riders, some get shoved to the side. I'm actually one of the people in the fandom who is glad Micchi didn't die. In my opinion, it would've been him getting off too easy. He has to live with what he has done and with his friends no longer trusting him. The show flat out admits that he burned a few bridges that he might never be able to repair.

3. Kamen Rider W:

I enjoyed this show a lot and my opinions of it haven't actually changed much from the last list. I love the detective style it has to it. The Dopant designs are great and they are able to capture some of the more abstract concepts will in their designs. Some of them have a nice of nightmare fuel to them. The action is absolutely fantastic. I still love the mix and match ability for the form changes. Luna Trigger is still my favorite out of all W's forms. Museum is probably one of my favorite villain organizations. Weather Dopant is probably my favorite villain in the show. The dude manages to hit Long levels of creepy for me. Shotarou and Philip play off of each other rather well and I liked Accel's subplot. Philip's search pose has actually become my thinking pose. The rider suits for the show look great, especially all of W's forms. They really made sure the colors for all W's forms worked regardless of combination.

2. Kamen Rider Ryuki:

One of the more divisive early heisei series but I like it. I will admit its a heavily flawed show and I don't really defend its flaws that much. So why is it ranked this high for me despite being so flawed? Honestly, I can't put my finger on why I like it that much. Something about the show just speaks to me. I just can't help but look back on it fondly even knowing all its problems. I like the mirror beasts designs. I like that it shows what happens when people the wrong people get a hold of this kind of power which is honestly an interesting idea even if it likely wasn't the show's goal. I still like how each episode ends on a cliff hanger and leads directly into the next episode. Granted it does making marathon-ing it rather difficult since there really isn't a clear point to take a break from it. I'm still indifferent to the ending. I like all the rider suits except for Zolda's which is hilarious because he is actually my favorite rider in Ryuki.

1. Kamen Rider Fourze:

Yeah this one has over-taken Ryuki since last time. This show just hits that sweet spot for me and it really makes me happy. I know a lot of people in the fandom will say that it lays on the friendship stuff too thick. At its core however, I see it as a show about how one person can help people through their problems. I think the high school setting works well with that as well. The Kamen Rider Club is probably my favorite group of characters out of all the rider series I've seen so far. I love the designs for the Zodiarts with Sagittarius being my favorite of them. I like the rider suits in the show with Meteor Storm being the main exception. The helmet looks so weird to me that while watching the show I began referring to Meteor Storm as "Pikachu States". Cosmic States is still my favorite rider final form because I like how it ties all the switches together and sums up Gentaro's personality.

My Favorite Kamen Rider Characters

Well since I did a least favorite/most aggravating Kamen Rider characters list, I think its time I do one that is more positive. Time to show you all the characters I look up to or think it would be cool to just hangout with.

4. Shotaro and Philip from W:

Of course the hard-boiled detective pair was going to make this list. These two hold the same spot because they legitimately feel like one whole character to me and they have some great chemistry. The way they play off of each other is fun to watch. Shotaro is the goofier of the two with Philip being the more naive one. Shotaro is also the more rash of the two with Philip having to provide a bit of insight and thought during some of the early fights. Philip apparently has a habit of getting engrossed in researching things to the point where its all he can think about until he knows everything about it. Both of their roles are actually summed up rather well in the end of the Money Dopant arc.

3. Kouta from Gaim:

I like him because of his ideals. He believes in a world where you don't have to step on other people to get what you want out of life. The man is a true hero as even in the face of terrible odds and danger he does not deter from his chosen path. Its was nice seeing him grow as a fighter and hero as well as finding his own reason for fighting other than just helping his friends. Even in the darkest of times, he never gave up hope, even going so far as to sacrifice his very humanity to save the world. Seeing everything he went through was sort of heart-breaking but it makes him very endearing to me. He is also pretty forgiving and understanding when it comes his friends. He forgave Micchi even though Micchi essentially tried to sell out the entire human race when Helheim invaded.

2. Kiba from Faiz:

Now you're probably thinking "Wait! Why is a Faiz character here? You don't like Faiz!"but hear me out. Faiz was a dreary and depressing show for me but Kiba was the one ray of hope in the show and he is the main thing I am still able to like about Faiz. Kiba was a guy who lost everything. His parents died in the car crash that left him in a coma and while he was in the coma, his girlfriend left him. The guy basically died during the coma and became something that was no longer human, yet the man still found the will to cope with his new situation. When other Orphenochs carelessly tossed away their humanity and kept telling him to let go of his, he refused to do so. He stuck to his ideal of "I may be dead but I'm still human". He even went so far as to urge fledgling Orphenocs to hold on to what they once were and telling them that they were only monsters if they chose to be. Unfortunately, Inoue made him do a complete 180 during the final arc that made no sense given who Kiba was. I like to remember him for what he was before that though. In light of his actor's death, my thoughts go out to his friends, family, and fans. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He shall be missed.

1. Gentaro from Fourze:

You all had to have seen this coming. If you know me then you know just how much I love this character. The guy is just a fun overly energetic goofball who likes making friends. He is the ideal of friendship personified and he fits the message of Fourze perfectly. Gentaro is what I view the meaning of friendship to be. He is always there for anyone no matter what their problems are. He shows how friendship can help even the most messed up of people. Take the kids at Ama High for example, a lot of them were going through some very bad problems even if they didn't physically show it. Some of them sought out the switches power as a way to solve their problems. Gentaro saw the problems they were going through and helped them through it even if they had just tried to kill him. He never gave up on any of them. That is true friendship right there. Some people will complain that Gentaro doesn't grow as a person but in all honesty, it is fine that he stays the same. It isn't his role to be changed by people, his entire purpose is to help others grow and overcome their problems.

My current Kamen Rider rankings

I figured it was time for me to hammer out a list like this sooner or later so I'm going to rank all the riders I've seen so far. At the time of this post I have seen Ryuki, Faiz, W, Decade, Fourze, Wizard, 1/4 of Amazon, half of Den-O, half of Kiva, one episode of Hibiki and have seen 9 or 10 eps into Gaim. For the purposes of this list, I am not counting Gaim for now because I'm not really sure where I stand on it this early. I won't be counting Amazon either since I've only seen 1/4 of it. Hibiki will also not be on this list since I haven't seen past episode one. Kiva and Den-O will get a separate section from the completed series. I will most likely do an updated list once I finished more rider series.

5. Kamen Rider Faiz/Kamen Rider Decade:

I'll start with Faiz first. Well how do I put this one? This show earned this spot for the simple reason that I didn't particularly care for any of the characters outside of Kiba. The way it handled the characters is the big problem I had with the show. I found it really difficult to support any of the three riders. Shuji/Delta was a crybaby the entire time even to the point where he almost died because he refused to fight. Kusaka/Kaixa just infuriated me throughout the entire show if you saw my "most aggravating rider character list" then you already know why I hate the guy so I'm not going to repeat myself. Inoue seems to like Kusaka alot to let him do what he does with little to no repercussions, it also leads to a plot-hole involving him later in the series. Takumi/Faiz isn't necessarily a bad character, he just wasn't a lead character that I could get behind. Of the three, he is the one most I'm neutral on. Kiba was my favorite character in the show due to his drive to hold on to his humanity while others carelessly tossed away their attachments to their human-selves. He even went so far as to urge fledgling Orphenocs not to turn their backs on what they once were. The heroes in general seem to have some major communication problems and don't really seem to trust each other enough to tell them that something is wrong other than when Orphenocs are attacking. To make matters worse, they took Kiba the one character I actually liked and made him do a complete 180 near the end just to increase the already depressing and dreary mood in Faiz. He was a ray of hope in the dreary world of Faiz but Inoue just had to do that to him. Coupled with that and the personalities of its riders, Faiz's ending is also less than satisfactory. It has an alternate ending in its movie "Paradise Lost" though that ending is about on par with the series ending for me.

Decade:

This show is on par with Faiz for me because of one simple reason: The Story. The overall story of Decade is supposedly about stopping the worlds from colliding but it just gets lost in all the jumping from world to world. It is ultimately forgotten about until the last few episode when Shocker completely comes out of nowhere. It had potential and interesting but they just didn't know how to handle it. To top it all of the story doesn't get finished in the series, it gets dragged into Decade's movie. Like Faiz, I don't really care for many of the characters. Tsukasa is just someone I absolutely cannot get behind as a hero thanks in large part to his arrogant attitude. The only episodes I found particularly memorable were Ryuki's world, Amazon's world, and Black's/Rx's episodes. I think it would've benefited more from being a 50 episode long series so they could have time to explain things more clearly. Its really a shame the series has so many issues because I do like Decade's suit a lot. It also has one of my favorite theme songs in the franchise.

4. Kamen Rider Wizard:

It was a little more enjoyable than Faiz and Decade for me. For the most part, I found it boring and with a gaping plot-hole involving the Carbuncle Phantom near the end. Its plot progression is slow for me and it is badly paced with most of it being filler. Its Dragon Style arc is my least favorite arc in the show because it did nothing at all for its story and felt more like it was just toy-spamming. I don't hate this show and at most I'm indifferent to it. I don't really care for its concept of magic and I think Magiranger handled it better with their concept of magic being tied to courage. It worked much better because their magic grew stronger as they grew as people and it helped developed their characters while with Haruto, his magical strength is dependent on how many rings he has. I found Kousuke and his life or death situation to be more interesting than Haruto. Its really a shame that the show bored me like it did because I actually like Wizard's and Beast's suit designs. The Wizard/Gaim special actually poses an interesting question in regards to Wiseman: The magic stone in the special held an alternate universe and in the show the magic stones came from Wiseman, so does that mean Wiseman could create alternate universes?

3. Kamen Rider W:

I did enjoy W quite a bit. I really liked the concept of his form changes and how he can mix and match them using the memories. My personal favorite form in W is Luna Trigger. The story was awesome and I really liked the concept of the un-refined memories acting like drugs and getting their users more addicted to the power as shown in the story of the Bird Dopant. I like the chemistry that Shoutaro and Phillip have and how they play off each other. I've even caught myself doing Phillip's search pose when I get stressed out and need to cool my head. I know a lot of the fandom would find Akiko annoying but I actually like her character. Accel was awesome and I really liked his tale of revenge with the Weather Dopant. The Weather Dopant is one of the creepiest villains I've ever seen. He is at Long's level of unsettling for me and his performance made my skin crawl. The Dopants themselves had some really nice variety in terms of designs and abilities. Before watching this series I didn't think it was possible to create an interesting/convincing monster with powers based around money.

2. Kamen Rider Fourze:

I know some people will be a bit shocked to see that I ranked Fourze above W but the truth is that Fourze just hits the sweet spot for me. Yeah its goofy and cheesy but it works pretty well for what they were going for, at least to me. While I normally hate the power of friendship concept and the shounen goofball archetype (I've seen it used in far too many anime and it very rarely works out for me), they did relatively well with Gentaro in my opinion. Gentaro is actually one of my favorite riders, he has that personally that makes it so you just can't help but take an interest in the guy. Unlike others in his archetype that usually come off as perfect (the most recent example being Daigo from Kyoryuger), he does have legitimate flaws in his character that help make him an actual character. He is loyal to a fault and values his relationships with people above all else. Cosmic States sums up his personality rather well in my opinion. While people like to complain that Gentaro didn't get enough focus, I don't mind that because in all honesty he doesn't need it. His development took place before the series even began and as such he is used more as a jumping board for the other characters to get their development. I like the Kamen Rider Club members and how they grew from meeting Gentaro. I like both Fourze's and Meteor's suits and I enjoyed Meteor's character arc a lot. I think the high school setting in Fourze worked rather well with when combined with the space motif for Fourze. Like with Wizard, the overall plot-progression is slow but the main difference with Fourze is that the characters had more than enough energy to them so I didn't notice it. Overall Fourze is a very simple series with a very simple but heart-warming message: If you stick by your friends, you can overcome anything.

1. Kamen Rider Ryuki:

Come on, you guys saw this one coming. This one is hands-down my favorite Kamen Rider series and it is usually the first series I recommend to people. It is one of the most unique rider series I've seen. What I like most about it is that its not only the monsters that the riders have to worry about, its a rider fighting for his/her life against other riders, all in an attempt to gain their hearts' desire. Each rider has their own arguably justifiable reason for being in this fight, with the exception of Gai who is just a jerk because he is bored and Ouja who just wants to wreck stuff though Ouja's reason is way more forgivable because he adds a great sense that he is a threat to everyone involved. Zolda's reason for fighting is the most heartbreaking for me as unlike the others, he is quite literally fighting for his life. Like a lot of the early Heisei riders, it does an excellent job creating an unsettling atmosphere. The way it handles transitions between episodes really helps add to the mystery of why they have to fight each other. Each episode has a cliff-hanger style flow to them that left me wanting to watch more and more. I remember saying one day that I was only going to watch 3 episodes for that day and those 3 episodes turned into 6 or 7. Though I'm not going to pretend this show is perfect, it does have a few problems like the ending and Odin but its definitely worth the ride for any Kamen Rider fan. Not all of the riders in the picture appear in the series: Ryuga and Femme only appear in the movie "Episode Final" which is an alternate ending for the series. Verde only appears in the "13 Riders Special". When I heard Gaim was going to have a similar rider war concept I thought "Sweet! I'm sold already!" but sadly I don't feel they're executing it rather well. I still don't get why people are making Ryuki/Gaim comparisons this soon. All they have in common at the moment is that they have riders fighting each other and that is about it.

Series I've haven't finished yet: It should be noted that since I haven't finished either of these series yet, these are only my thoughts as they stand at the moment. My overall thoughts will likely change once I actually get around to finishing these two series.

Kamen Rider Kiva:

This one will be more detailed than the others and will include slight spoilers since we're doing this one on the podcast. I'm somewhat indifferent to this series at the moment. I don't exactly like it but I don't exactly hate it. I've seen up to episode 37 and I honestly don't get why the fandom loves Otoya's comedic antics so much (though he has somwhat grown on me since his introduction). I find him to be kind of annoying, but not so annoying that I might end up hating him. I actually prefer Wataru over Otoya because he is that timid hero type and its really been nice to see him open up to people more. I don't like Nago because he reminds me too much of Kusaka from Faiz, especially when he provoked that frog/toad Fangire into attacking people just so he could have an excuse to kill it. He also has a "holier than thou" attitude that does nothing but aggravate me, though he has gotten a little better in that regard. I absolutely love the use of the stained glass look on the Fangire designs. There are two love triangles in the show, one that happens simply because Otoya doesn't tell Yuri whats going on. The other only happens because the characters suffer from Faiz syndrome where the pivotal character doesn't want to tell the other two a single thing. Yeah I get it, she has that shy timid personality but even with that I think Inoue could've come up with something to get her message across instead of her hiding it from the other two for the sake of drama. The reasoning for why King and Queen do their respective roles in the Checkmate Four doesn't really make much sense to me. Namely why loving humans is illegal or why they want to stop humans from advancing when they can just steal the advancements and apply them to Fangires. Having two stories being told in different times is actually a good idea but all the cutting between the two stories kind of breaks the flow of any fight scenes that are happening at the time and at certain times it doesn't really feel like it needs to happen.

Kamen Rider Den-O:

Like Kiva, I've seen about halfway into this series. The series is about on par with Kiva, though the comedy can be grating at some points. My favorite of the Imagin is Kintaros. The only suit design I don't like in this show is Gun Form and even then I can't quite put my finger on exactly why I don't like it, something about it just seems off. I was kind of hoping that Zeronos would be a more serious rider to help balance out the comedy angle of the show but unfortunately that isn't the case from what I've seen so far. What initially attracted me to this series is its music. I like how a lot of the music used in the show is multiple versions of Climax Jump and Double Action. Double Action Wing form is my favorite piece of music next to the theme song. I'll have to pick it up again at some point.