I remember when I first started watching Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. For years, I had immersed myself in the world of Godzilla and Power Rangers. Once I was in college, a dear friend introduced me to the wonderful world of live-action special effects series from Japan. I was engrossed. Series after series went by and I enjoyed these shows more and more, but I dreaded this day subconsciously. I dreaded the day where I would just not like a Tokusatsu series. It almost hurts more that in recent times I have grown more interested in the riders than Sentai. I can say that I gave Kamen Rider Gaim every chance. I watched and re-watched all of the movies, and key parts of the show. While there are elements and characters I like and ones that are objectively impressive, the series itself is an unfocused mess that I wanted to end at way too many points.
The first problem you'd think I would have would be that the powers are based off of fruit. While I did find this distracting at first, I honestly got used to it and there were designs that were pretty cool. The problem with a fruit theme doesn't come from anything aesthetic. Even that theme sort of fits once we enter into the realm of the "forbidden fruit". The problem is, there are many characters who I try to take seriously but get disillusioned so quickly when a bad-ass line and henshin sequence is immediately followed by a high-pitch and overly cheerful "BANANA!". Strange powers can work if they are done right and for many of the henshin sequences, I found the accompanying voices and the fruits falling on people's heads, way too out of place for how "serious" the series was trying to be for the majority.
If one were to simplify the problems of Kamen Rider Gaim, they could probably narrow it down to three main elements: unlikable and numerous characters, a lack of proper character growth and an overall unfocused narrative. These all factor together to create a mess that could have been fixed with a whole new approach to the writing of the series.
From a reviewing point of view, I will attempt to be as objective and neutral as possible with this series. However, from a fanboy perspective, this series makes me want to drown in a pool of various fruit juices. So the occasional tangent will be there. Needless to say, spoilers are a-plenty.
Characters
Kazuraba Kouta (Armored Rider Gaim): Henshins using Orange lockseed among many others. The main protagonist of the series. One could describe him as naïve and a tad show-boaty, but good hearted. Based solely on the first 10 or so episodes, I would say that is an accurate description of his character. Kouta stumbles across the belt almost entirely on accident when he and another character, Mai, are looking for the captain of the Team Gaim dance troop, Yuya. Kouta's early motivation for accepting the belt can be attributed to his desire to change. before the series, Kouta lived a good life but felt somewhat unhappy and unfulfilled. The ability to Henshin into armored rider Gaim allows Kouta the excitement he wants and allows him to be more useful to his friends' dance team and those around him. I was suckered in by his character very early on as during episode 2, he does things with the belt that I know many tokunuts, myself included, would totally do if they had a rider belt. Just total fanboying galore. Kouta started as a good character but the development he went through, or I should say DIDN'T go through, was a major factor in hindering him as a character, overall.
Kumon Kaito (Armored Rider Baron): Henshins using banana lockseed among a few others. The Leader of Team Baron, the rival dance team to Team Gaim. Kaito believes in power as an absolute and seeks to rule through conquering and subjugation. The interesting thing about Kaito is that he is a good guy, despite these being common traits of a villain. This is because Kaito is not very prideful and respects anybody with strength. Be that strength, raw physical power, tactical prowess or emotional fortitude. I would debate that Kaito is the most developed and most complex character in the entire show. He is a rival to Kouta and will only ever fight him fairly. One of the things that offends him the most is the weak shooting the strong in the back.
Hmmm....if I go at this pace for all of the armored riders we will be here all day...here's all you need to know about the rest of them
Kureshima Takatora (Armored Rider Zangetsu): henshins using melon lockseed. Projects leader and overseer for the Yggdrasill corporation research and development team. Fairly stoic individual who can sometimes act rashly but typically has good intentions and has the whole of humanity in mind.
Kureshima Mitsuzane (Armored Rider Ryugen): Henshins using grape and Kiwi lockseeds. Cares for his friends, though his judgement became clouded as people close to him were physically and emotionally affected by the battle with the inves and the actions of Yggdrasill.
Jonouchi Hideyasu (Armored Rider Gridon): Henshins using acorn lockseed. Jonouchi is a bit wily and calculating. He is rarely the first to jump into the battle because, as we find out later, he is ashamed of his own weakness and indecisiveness. These weaknesses are somewhat overcome under the tutelage of another armored rider.
Hase Ryoji (Armored Rider Kurokage): Henshins using pinecone lockseed. Ryoji is pretty simple minded, but is constantly out to prove himself and run wild no matter what happens to himself
Oren Pierre Alfonzo (Armored Rider Bravo): Henshins using Durian lockseed. Oren is an ex-mercenary turned Pattisier. He believes the riders in the inves game aren't real fighters and are in desperate need of a lesson of how things are supposed to be. As the situation gets more dire he takes on somewhat of a mentor role to the younger riders, even taking Jonouchi on as an apprentice pattisier (though that was initially meant as a "rehabilitation" than an apprenticeship)
Zack (Armored Rider Knuckle): Henshins using Walnut lockseed. Zack is the number 2 in Team Baron's ranks and looks up to Kaito, willing to follow him wherever. Zack's admiration is not blind, though. He is willing and ready to stop Kaito when he believes he is doing wrong and is always open to help those around him.
Sengoku Ryoma (Armored Rider Duke): Henshins using Lemon energy lockseed. Creator of the Sengoku Drivers and Genesis Drivers used by the riders to henshin. Seeks to attain the power of god using his creations and strong mind. Ryoma is very clever and observant but his selfish goals and ideals rarely put him on fairly cooperative terms with anybody.
Lock Dealer Sid (Armored Rider Sigurd): Henshins using cherry energy lockseed. Deals out lockseeds to beet riders with the ulterior motive of Yggdrasil using the beat riders as test pawns for the belts. Sid is very cunning, but can be a bit too greedy at times.
Minato Yoko (Armored Rider Marika): Henshins using Peach energy lockseed. Ryoma's subordinate and member of Yggdrasil. Very complacent about being a follower so long as she is following the right person. Toko desires to support the future ruler of our world and has only seen Sengoku Ryoma and Kumon Kaito as worthy for the job.
Takatsukasa Mai: Number 2 dancer in Team Gaim. she occasionally offers the emotional support and stability that our main characters need. chosen to be the bearer of the forbidden fruit and is burdened with the choice of who will get that power.
DJ Sagara: The enigmatic announcer for the inves game. It is later discovered that Sagara has no physical form as he is the personification of Hellheim, able to create lockseeds among many other fantastic feats.
These are just the main series riders and the non-riders that greatly affected the story. There are more characters but for the purposes of my review they serves little to no importance.
I would like to point out that many of the characters above are memorable and develop nicely over the course of the series and it's movies. The problem is, the characters that don't are the ones that are in the forefront, directly moving the story forward most of the time. By far, the biggest offender of this is Kazuraba Kouta. The problem with Kouta is that he does not change at all. It is okay for a character to maintain key character traits, but they still have to grow and mature over time. One familiar example for us would be Gai from Gokaiger. To date, Gai is a happy-go-lucky sentai fanboy, but compared to when we first saw him, he is much more mature and ready to heed the call to action. For Kouta, I see very little if any difference between Kouta at the beginning and Kouta just a few episodes before the climax. Kouta is always naïve, trying to find a peaceful solution no matter what. On paper this sounds endearing, but if negotiations didn't work the first time your friend shot you in the back or when a mindless inves is after you, it won't work the next dozen times. The only reason Kouta progresses through the story is because another character provides him with the powers necessary at that time. None of Kouta's powers are things he has earned or taken for himself. except arguably his base form and Jimber peach, which I will admit the way he took that lockseed was clever.
Whereas Kouta didn't change at all. this next problem child changed too much. Mai constantly shifted between all the "dere" subtypes at one point or another. Early on in the series, Mai dismissed Kouta as part of Team Gaim since he "walked out" only to accept him the very next episode and dismiss him again shortly after that. Mai will occasionally offer emotional support and good advice but it is always countered by just as much whining and getting in the way. The only consistent trait we get out of her is her desire for everything to be peaceful again. Her desire to dance? That is just a footnote. Possible Romance with Kaito that actually had progression? Abandoned right away. Whether or Not Mai trusts Michi after he starts to act on his own and inevitably betray them? Sometimes she does, and sometimes she doesn't. The fact that I can't pinpoint an exact character besides small facts is a huge strike against the series considering how "important" they tried to make her.
I mentioned above that Mai was chosen to be the earth's bearer of the forbidden fruit. She would choose who gets the power of a god. This had no bearing on her character as she was convinced by another character that fate had already chose "this person" and she had no real say in the matter, and she just accepted it rolled with the punches. This person was DJ Sagara. The problem with DJ Sagara is that he claims to be an observer but drives the story immensely by meddling with the riders and Yggdrasill. Whenever times get tough for Kouta and he has to use his brain or accept a harsh reality in order to defeat a foe, DJ Sagara appears and gives him a new power! Sagara is the catalyst for all of the negative or nonexistent character development in the show. By providing Kouta with power constantly, he removes the need for Kouta to mature with the changing story. By convincing Mai there is only one person to give the forbidden fruit to, he denies the heroes an easy solution. Worst yet, since he is the incarnation of Hellheim itself and has shown to have powers over time and space to some degree (yes, really) he has the power to stop everything from the beginning but he doesn't. Sagara is painted as a mentor to the heroes when he is in every way, the villain. The only needed proof is that he admits to being the snake that corrupted Adam and Eve, but he's the good guy?
Plot
Allow me to summarize the plot like so:
episodes 1-11: The riders are introduced and lines are drawn between them. All of the beat riders are after trying to win the inves game with the exception of Armored Rider Bravo, who has his own plans. After discovering Hellheim, the source of the lockseeds and monsters used in the inves game, the riders begin to learn more of this other world and start to suspect that Yggdrasill is not quite on the up and up with this inves "game" as they once thought.
episodes 12-24: Yggdrassill makes it's move. The beat riders used in the inves game are revealed to have been made solely to test and further develop the belts. New riders appear and start to act against the beat riders. It is discovered that Yggdrasill is after this "fruit of knowledge" within Hellheim and is the reason they have been keeping these portals open. In addition to the new riders, the wild beasts of Yggrasill are no longer contained in the inves game and are beginning to slip through the cracks between worlds.
episodes 25-33: It is discovered that Hellheim used to be an fully stable civilization, only to be corrupted by the toxic plants and fruits that grow. These fruits altered the ones who consume it, turning them into monsters. The only place the fruit of knowledge can grow is in this deepest reaches deadly and toxic environment. An ethical debate takes place within Yggdrasil regarding whether or not to let Helheim take over the planet. Yggdrasil can mass produce enough belts to save roughly 10% of the whole population and there are those who view this as a way for humanity to evolve. Meanwhile, it is discovered that some of the creatures in Hellheim show intelligence along with the ability to command the creatures and plant life there. These "Overlords" as they are called, have were gifted these powers by the being there who ate the forbidden fruit and have since gone corrupt.
episodes 34-44: Yggdrasil has fallen apart from the inside out and The Overlords have started attacking earth, as well as doing a bit of infighting themselves. One by one the Overlords start rampaging only to be thwarted by Kouta who was given a lockseed forged from a portion of the forbidden fruit. Kaito gets wounded by and overlord and gets badly poisoned by the toxins of Hellheim which he keeps at bay with his Armored Rider form. Eventually all of the overlords are beaten and Mai is entrusted with the Forbidden Fruit from Hellheim to give to the "chosen one" or "last one standing" or, as I like to call it, "He whom the plot deems necessary at the time".
episode 45-46: The poisons have overtaken Kaito, but due to the balancing effect of the belt, instead of becoming a monster, Kaito has kept his intelligence and gained the power to control the Hellheim plants and beings, essentially becoming an overlord. Coincidentally, Kouta's increased exposure to the forbidden fruit has granted him the same abilities only without warping his physical appearance to that of a monster. As the last two "candidates" for the fruit of knowledge, their ideals have become conflicted and now the two must fight to see who will attain the power of god. Kouta comes out on top and chooses to save the earth by taking the remnants of Hellheim as far away as possible and starting anew in an attempt to make the Hellheim sustainable and the earth safe. Everyone says their goodbyes and everything goes back to as close to normal as can be.
episode 47: a movie villain returns and the remaining riders must gather the few remaining belts and lockseeds to stop them. The remaining characters make their peace after defeating this enemy and beginning to rebuild their hometown to its former glory.
If it wasn't made obvious by reading the above description, the ultimate goal of the series shifts often. Compare this series to Kamen Rider Hibiki, another rider I did a
review of. From beginning to end, Hibiki's goal was to defeat the Makamou. No matter the character drama, this never changed. Kamen Rider Gaim on the other hand cannot decide if the ultimate goal is to; a) obtain the forbidden fruit b) stop the advance of Hellheim C) Stop the corruption of Yggdrasil or D) dance. Episode by episode this changes so flippantly to the point where sometimes the two "goals" intertwine or contradict the other.
Some would argue that obtaining the forbidden fruit or "Fruit of knowledge" is the ultimate goal from beginning to end. That is impossible since nobody knew about the fruit of knowledge until about a third into the series. stopping the advance of Hellheim is another candidate for ultimate goal, but the only times we see a crack opened up beyond the normal means, Yggdrassil is there shortly after to contain and seal the crack. Throughout the whole show there was only two instances of people dying and relating it back to the cracks to Hellheim. Both cases were the fault of those who died and in both cases Yggdrassil seemed to have some level of control over it. So stopping the "advance of Hellheim" seems pretty easy since the big, bad Yggdrasil corporation has it under control.
Speaking of them though, the corruption within the company does show the most promise and is what kept me tuned in for the early parts of the series before it became a chore just to watch. Hints were scattered everywhere in the beginning that the inves game is more than what it appears to be and Yggdrasil knows whats' going on. I will praise what I can, and despite the first 10 - 12 episodes needing to be heavily trimmed down, there was some genuinely good buildup for what was to come. The problem is, everything revolving around the corruption in Yggdrasil and the inves game was addressed properly in the first half of the series, then was immediately scrapped for more "important" storylines. Only Sengoku Ryouma and Kureshima Mitsuzane started acting like dicks so they had to bring back the corruption idea? I would have preferred they brought back the whole dancing thing. At least that was a defining feature of some of the characters sometimes...when they weren't playing Pokemon: Fruit's Basket edition.
The second half of the series revolved around these characters called "overlords" and to be frank, they are some of the worst villains I have ever seen. They don't have a sensible Hierarchy so I can't tell who is stronger than who, or if they are all the same strength, save for one. Their motivations, much like the story's, shift episode by episode so it is hard to get a read on whether or not they see earth as a threat, want to conquer it, or just don't care. Worst yet, Their existence makes no sense in the convoluted lore in this story. The overlords were given power by their leader, Rosyuo, who had obtained the forbidden fruit and wished to use it to repel the plants. It is discovered late in the series that Hellheim is the ruins of their civilization so they were unable to fully repel the plant life. This was partly due to the fact that once they got power, the overlords saw themselves as superior and began infighting and killing off people, leaving only 6. This is literally an impossible story considering what is the true nature of Hellheim and the Forbidden Fruit.
According the DJ Sagara, the fruit has the power to either destroy a world with the plants of Hellheim, or save the current world be severing the ties with Hellheim. This is proven to be true by the end of the series. DJ Sagara also claims that the plants of Hellheim are unable to express malice and don't deliberately attack. This is debatable. It seems that many worlds have been exposed to Hellheim and have suffered the same fate as the Hellheim we see, but it all seems to be because of excessive infighting and inability to properly contain the toxins. On paper this sounds like the Overlords, but there are a few cracks in this story. For one, the Overlords never used the fruit to stop Hellheim or let it take over to rule it. They chose to empower a select few so that they could control and fight off the monsters of hellheim so they can continue to live peacefully. That is a very strange third option. It's not like the fruit goes away either, Rosyuo still has the fruit during Kamen Rider Gaim so it is entirely possible for him to fix his planet. Rosyuo does wish to be reunited with his love and his people. The plants of Hellheim have grown over his old civilization, but he has the ability to move the plants away from it and make it habitable, like he originally intended to do but doesn't?
There are only two ways the Overlord's story can work. One way is if Rosyuo is unaware of the powers at his command and the other way is if Rosyuo's powers, and the powers of the forbidden fruit in turn, are not great at all. It can't be the first one since we see Rosyuo control the plant life and wipe the floor with Kaito and Kouta back to back without breaking a sweat as well as express very deep insider knowledge of how the fruit of knowledge works. It also can't be the second one since the whole ending to Gaim and whatnot. In short, the overlords make no sense because the means of their creation go against the possibilities of the fruit of knowledge.
To the Story's credit, it did not choose to end with the Overlords. Instead, the choice was made to end the series with the built up battle between Kouta and Kaito. Despite the hate, I must give this series credit. The climax and the ending were decent, to say the least. There is honestly something familiar to accurately compare the story. Like eating an unripened fruit: Everything looks fine at first and perhaps the first bite is to your liking. As you eat more, it gets tougher and tougher. There is very little flavor or substance, on the whole, until the last bite in the center, in which you get the last bits of flavor it can offer. You then begin to question why subjecting yourself to that was a good idea in the first place.
Overall thoughts
I do not like Kamen Rider Gaim. The bad points are too numerous and too prevalent. I didn't talk in details about the movies, but they are in the same category of bad. I keep thinking for a way to make Gaim better and the first thing I would do is remove the Overlords and any possible sentient thing in Hellheim from the story. If I can think of a way to fix Gaim I will probably make another post about it in later months.
Would I recommend Gaim? Absolutely not. If you are a long time Toku fan and your curiosity is at a peak, at least go into this with lowered expectations. Was there any good in Gaim? Yes, the side characters were enjoyable and the Gaim Gaiden specials that revolved around the individual side characters were actually a pleasant watch and did everything in their power to flesh out the world they were in. While not the biggest indicator, it is arguably the most obvious the series is bad, when you have to look away from the main story for the good bits of character and plot.
Fortunately it is time to move on to more pleasant things. Kyuuranger is starting and some good March movies are just around the corner. Let's make March a great month for Tokusatsu and monster movies you bunch of Tokunuts! This is the Kaiju Kidd signing out.
