Kamen Rider Decade is interesting

Though I should probably say Tsukasa Kayoda is interesting since that's his actual name but we'll get onto that after we talk about what Kamen Rider is. As you'll note from the picture above he seems to be some form of armoured super hero in the vein of power rangers or maybe a very confused Iron-man Rip off. Kamen Rider was a franchise I often liken to Doctor Who as both share a lot of qualities. They are well thought of pop culture science fiction adventure shows, aimed at a similar age bracket. They are both more than 40 years old, both stopped in the 1990s but returned in the 2000s and both had questionable special effects, something Doctor who has grown out of but Kamen Rider is unfortunately still burdened with.

Kamen Rider was what started Power Rangers and shares the creator, Shotaro Ishinomori, Kamen Rider started 5 years before 'Super Sentai,' the show who's fight scenes and costumes were bought and used for the western show Power Rangers. Kamen Rider has not had as much luck coming over the sea and only two attempts at westernising it have been made, Masked Rider, an attempt in the 90s that fell through quickly and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, a reworked version of Kamen Rider Ryuuki with a vastly different story line.

Decade is the 10th Rider of the 2000s reboot, also known as the Heisei Era, (the pre 2000s are commonly called the Showa Era,) and has a fantastic premise. His gimmick was that he travelled to alternate universes to gain the power of the Riders in those universes as he tried to regain his memories. Yeah, amnesia, cliché but it proves a very good driving force. He spends two episodes in the universe of each of the other Heisei Riders and even visits the worlds of some of the Showa Riders before he ends up in the Rider War world, a world where all riders are colliding in a war that threatens to destroy the worlds. It's an amazing driving force that gives the series weight from the start.

It makes the whole show a massive, colourful, varied crossover as the tones of the previous shows carry over. The Kamen Rider Agito episode is serious and dark and the Kamen Rider Den-O episode is silly and frantic. It gives the character Tsukasa a lot to work with and it brings out some important characteristics. He is very non-committal about this quest of his, he doesn't know why he's traveling the universes and while he does his best to do good if things start going south he'll make as little effort to fix things as possible. He's one of those too cool to care types that normally I don't care for, it's good that that's all a façade.

Tsukasa is actually a very understanding person who cares deeply for many people and while he may not get on with them from the start, recognises and respects the other Rider's reasons for fighting. He Will protect Kuuga's smile while he protects the worlds, he fights for the flawed love of humanity, he fights for camaraderie and for peace. There is a very emotional point in every other episode where Tsukasa learns the other rider's motive and uses it to inspire both himself and the rider mid-battle that never gets old, no matter how many times he repeats the same process

"Wataru believes in the law, that human and fangire can live together. But you gave up. You lost to your own weakness and forsook the law. But he fights for those who believe. That's not a dream, that is the qualification of the King!"

This adds to Tsukasa's image as a leader of the Riders, he unites the Riders against their common foes with his dimension hopping powers, he has a charisma about him that inspires those around him to join in battle and more than one time he has led the riders into battle as a whole and it's an impressive affair every time.

Another great choice in the show was the character of Kamen Rider Diend or Kaito Daiki who serves as something of an anti-hero, not evil, just greedy. He shows up now and then to either fight Decade or help him. He knows about Tsukasa's past and serves as an additional encouragement for Tsukasa to continue his quest. Everything in the series is either a very cool crossover throwback or something that pushes Tsukasa along his journey through the decade whether he wants to go or not and it gives him a lot more depth than you'd expect from someone who is essentially a glorified power ranger.

Above his charisma he also has something else going for him, his strength. Since he can use the same powers as the previous Riders he is effectively their equals and betters in some cases by using powers that the others are weak against. This gives him an over powered feeling that he never truly exploits until the final handful of episodes that, again, adds to his image as the Rider who would lead the others into battle.

Kamen Rider Decade is a show that not only continues the long running Kamen Rider name admirably but it improves on some of the other series by making it very clear that Tsukasa is flawed and needs the friends he makes just as much as they need him. He tries, he screws up, he gets depressed, he smiles and he kicks ass, all while flaunting that magenta colour scheme.

Kamen Rider Decade is an interesting character because despite how often we are reminded that he leads these legendary, inhuman figures, the Kamen Riders, we can still see him as a human.

Kamen Rider as a franchise is worth delving into if you can get past the costumes and effects, it has a good mix of silly, childish, serious and dark series and can be very entertaining in the right frame of mind. Once again, Leave a comment for questions, suggestions and requests.

I leave you with some advice, always remember where you put your towel.