tl;dr
Kamen Rider Os

Kamen Rider Os

So they've done the press conference announcing the next Kamen Rider series, in this case OOO or Ozu (yes, like Faiz).

I kind of bailed early on in Double due to lack of interest and just not really getting into the story at the time, and I never did get caught up, but now I'm... let's say cautiously excited for the new installment. The main reason is that the main writer is Kobayashi Yasuko, who is responsible for Ryuki (my favorite Rider series), Den-O, Shinkenger (which I love), and Timeranger (which I haven't seen but have heard great things about).

I'm not crazy about the suit design, but it looks better than the initial magazine scans led us to believe, so we'll see.

And obviously, the cast was announced, the characters introduced, etc, and here I'm intrigued by a couple of things.

Firstly, Hine Eiji, who will become Ozu, played by Watanabe Shu (who kind of looks like Murai Ryota, I think). I'm intrigued because of the description of the character as a  guy with no earthly attachments. You couple that with the outfit and I find the character type they're going for intriguing on paper, both because of personal interests and because, well, I've liked other characters that fit the mold, and it amuses me to think of such a type as a main rider.

To put it another way, my actual reaction when it registered was "Hippie yoga dude? Hee!". And yes, I realize that it's probably more of a zen thing they're going to, but look at all the Oms  all over his tunic. And also the fact that it is a tunic.

← I also find this  guy interesting. Because... there is a type of character I like, and just from the visuals, I'd tentatively say this guy might fit that type. And also, again, because of the character description. His name is Godo Shintaro, and he is an employee of the Mysterious Foundation backing Ozu. He is a former police officer, is loyal to the Mysterious Foundation, but doesn't trust Ozu and sees him as a rival. And he is taciturn and blunt and not very sociable (and there's my confirmation of the type). So basically he sort of sounds like a moody version of Kabuto's Kagami, and so, yes, intrigued.

Neither of these guys look as old as I prefer my Riders to be (Shinji, Yaguruma, etc), but they look around the same age as the Decade crew, so that's fine.

Miura Ryosuke is also in it, whom people love but whom I haven't seen in anything but his brief stint in Decade last year, so there's that too. And his character's description reminds me of Hajime.

Also, apparently there's some chick in a pirate costume, and a magical vending machine. :D

Comments

  1. greatfountain
    I should not be as excited as I am about a transforming vending machine-motorcycle, but I am. :l I'm tentatively excited about this now, since the suit looks much better in person and the characters sound A++ :D/ (And the pirate chick *___* I always love ridiculous cast members~)
    1. Mati
      Yeah, I'm like BRING ON THE VENDING MACHINE! And Kamen Rider Chitose! (I think pirate chick... runs a cosplay cafe or something?)
      1. greatfountain
        This whole thing should be hilarious and ridiculous, but somehow I'm just completely stoked~ Well, until I remember that that means Double is ending and I have to make appropriate 'D:' faces. (I think that's what I've heard too? Either way, she looks like a good side character. I like good side characters!)
        1. Mati
          I think it's that the characters sound potentially interesting, so a little thing like the vending machine? Just comes with the territory, having to suspend disbelief for a little silliness. Miura Ryosuke's character sounds really cool, now that I've read up on him. ...I always meant to catch up on Double and somehow never did. Hrm.
          1. greatfountain
            Yeah, if we had a series with characters that sounded like the usual Rider fare I'd probably be a little more leery of a transforming vending machine. He does, I'm getting so excited now~ It's not meant for everybody, but I really do recommend it. I had a period where I was bored with it, but after forcing myself through it things improved.
            1. Mati
              Well, I think it's more the main dude that sounds very different from typical rider fare. Appropriate when you consider who's writing, I guess. I assume that at some point I'll marathon Double. I didn't dislike it (I just disliked Akiko :3), I just wasn't into it enough to keep up on a week to week basis.
  2. Deki
    Hino Eiji is so hippie, he'll be an interesting character! (and probably my fave one) Btw, you've metioned about their ages, I know that Watanabe Shu is 18, he looks like 20, but it isn't a bad thing. Then Chiba Yudai from Goseiger is 21 and looks younger than me... ok, we have a problem there, Japan!
    1. Mati
      Well, and Tsukasa is meant to be 20, isn't he? And that's fine. And yeah, the idea of a hippie rider amuses me no end. XD
  3. didi
    i... am a year behind on the kr front. (and even though it took me quite a long time to get my hubby to start watching it, now he's way ahead of me on the current runs... so i've been hearing about the latest news from him XD). you've got my attention with the transforming vending machine and the pirate chick. i'll cross my fingers on character-like!
    1. Mati
      Hey, I'm a year behind too, since I dropped Double early on! Although I more or less heard stuff from the flist about it, so I know who characters are in general. The pirate chick actually runs an "international" cafe or other, and dresses up in costumes from "different countries". :D;
      1. Leah
        ... There a pirate *country*? :o (But she looks awesome, so I guess it's okay :3)
        1. Mati
          I'm guessing it's supposed to be french in this case. But hey, it's Japan, so who knows?
          1. didi
            this is assuming that she is dressing up as an international pirate... (then again, in a kids' show, she might not be dressing up in international pirate's landing wench outfits..) XD
            1. Mati
              Also, Viking Horn!
  4. Leah
    I actually liked the rider outfit because it immediately reminded me of a character from one of my favorite Shin Megami Tensei games: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8559/shinmegamitenseinocturn.jpg Hitoshura from Nocture :o
  5. Tofubeast
    Oooosh, I just saw this all today and got a little bit excited for the new series. The plot seems like a throwback to the old Showa series, with a few new twists in it. I totally stopped watching W as well--I think it was when they were still trying to figure out what kind of show W was going to be. ...Wantanabe Shu looked kinda like a cross between Murai Ryota and Kimi-chan to me. Ohgodthat'sbadisn'tit. D : I'm kind of interested to see how a rider whose personal constitution is "to have no purpose" would work out. Also, the rumors of a sea-themed secondary rider are making me go : DDD
    1. Mati
      kinda like a cross between Murai Ryota and Kimi-chan to me. Ohgodthat’sbadisn’tit. D : …Hahaha. I don’t see the resemblance to Kimi-chan, but that’s a hilarious thought. It’s not so much to have no purpose as it is to have no attachments, which is a purpose in and of itself. And I haven’t heard these rumors! :O