Kamen Rider W - Series Thoughts

Kamen Rider W/Double. Is it the perfect tokusatsu show? No, but it’s a damn good one, and I’d argue one of the best, old or new, with the ranks of DaiRanger, Liveman, and Agito.

I will say it’s the perfect Rider show. Does that make it the best Rider show? I haven’t seen BLACK and haven’t finished Kuuga, so we’ll just have to see. But for now, it’s my favorite Rider series of all time – and also one of the best television shows in general.

And for very good reason. Double is a show that wasn’t afraid to take chances and rip at your heartstrings, whether it was to cry or to feel good about how the characters interact. As you’ll learn quickly, each character is an important part of either their arc or the story at large.

You really do grow attached to the characters and when the emotional moments happen, they happen for a reason, not for the sake of inserting emotion. To give you the gist of the show, it’s about a detective and his partner, and together they create a team that rivals the best of friendships.

Is it a realistic show? No…but Transformers is not a realistic movie. So if you come into this thinking that stuff is gonna blow up and you can turn off your brain then yeah you’re pretty ignorant. This show will make you think, for better or…well, just better.

Double also has a lot of great comedy moments that never seem forced or overbearing, something a lot of Japanese shows lack. It’s smart comedy, and not there because it’s shoehorned in. It does have a bit of slapstick, but it’s smart slapstick - again, not found in 99% of anime.

Double’s strongest points are its themes of friendship and family, and most importantly, its narrative strength. The characters that need to grow develop so well that you feel sad to let them go. The writing was top-notch for what it was and more, and the plot points are developed so well that you don’t care whether or not it was obvious what was coming next.

I would have to say one of my favorite things about Double is that it sits very comfortably in its own world, without too much influence from other shows. Double can fit in to crossovers, but all its extras and movies are specifically tailored to Double, and they're all great. Double could even be a not-Rider series and it would work as an awesome show anyway.

At the end of it all, you feel good. You feel great, even. You never feel cheated or feel like you wasted your time, because it really is a show worth all the time you invest into it.

To sum it up, I’ll quote Lynxara:

“W built up strong characters and a whole new approach to setting in a Rider show, while also reinstating Riders as unambiguous heroes (for however long that lasts). It is a series well worth a viewer's time and, I think, among the first shows I would recommend to a friend who wanted to understand what Kamen Rider as a franchise was really about.”

There hasn’t been a tokusatsu show like this for a long time, but the writers managed to make a show consistent, entertaining, and fantastic.

Shoutarou and Philip will protect Fuuto for as long as they have to. And that is truly what it means to be hard-boiled. Oh, and the last three episodes? Absolutely amazing. Those are what Rider is all about.

So, it’s time to count your sins!

Verdict:

10/10

My favorite tokusatsu show, bar none.