Series Kamen rider meet vampires
First of all, this serie is MY FAVORITE of the entire franchise. Even if isn't the best, i always would chose it instead of others.
The Story is great. divided in, mainly, two POV. Wataru's POV in th epresent and his father's POV in the past. the plot in 1986, in many senses with a Foregone Conclusion, is about how otoya met Wataru's mother, which relation he has with the fangires and many important plot points that aren't explained in the main plot. The plot in 2008 is about wataru trying to make a violin like his father's at the same time that he fight against fangire's and suffer a Generation Xerox. This plot is heavily affected by the events of 1986 and shows the resolution of some of the plots of 1986.
The characters are...different. I think my favorites are Otoya and Jiro, both of 1986. Otoya is one of the most charismatic characters in the Kamen Rider Franchise, he is a Decoy Protagonist, he is The Obi Wan, he is just some kind of The Aragorn, and evenso we want to see HIM using the belt, transform into Kamen rider and kick the ass of the Big Bad. Jiro is a were-wolf who start as a combination between Anti-hero and anti-villain who just help Otoya because he seek revenge against the fangires. He is Badass, he is a strong character who acts as The Mentor for Wataru in 2008. He start hating Otoya but slowly starts to fall for his charm and become his friend.
Someones say that Wataru is just some kind of Expy of Ryoutaro but i disagree. Ryoutaro was a Butt Monkey who doesn't have any kind of self-confidence. Wataru has a lot of confidence, if not he wouldn't go to kick asses the way he does. the problem is that he has No Social Skill. his only human friend go to school, his best friend is a bat and his mother abandon him when he was a child, it isn't strange that he can't talk properly in front of people. in the whole serie, his Heroic BSOD aren't something that appear just from nowhere, are the amount of a lot of things that make ask himself why he is fighting.
I think the message in the serie is that the destiny isn't something unavoidable and we make our own choices...but sometimes we don't want to change it. we chose to accept our destiny and do what we have to do, sometimes we chose to Screw Destiny and do what we have to do.
If i have a complain is the sometimes childly comedy but it isn't that bad.
Series In the past and the present, break the chains of fate, Kamen Rider Kiva!!!
Like Kabuto, when I first saw the opening and designs for Kiva, along with a few select scenes, I thought, "Holy crap! This looks freaking awesome! I totally want to watch this!" While it wasn't as amazing as I expected and didn't live up to a lot of its potential, Kamen Rider Kiva is still a fun series.
The plot revolves around the Fangires, a vampire esque race who live off of human life force. Wataru Kurenai is a rather silly, timid young man, who can transform into Kamen Rider Kiva with the help of his robotish bat friend. Yes, it is weird. The plot, overall, was really good in theory, but the execution of it left a lot to be desired. It seems like Kiva is in the shadow of the wildly successful Den-O, and was trying to borrow a lot of its silliness and humor. It actually detracts a lot from the series which I find really disappointing, because there was so much potential for greatness in its story and premise, and it just falls a little bit short. There are still a lot of really cool moments, especially near the end, but it almost feels like a competent fan trying to write a Kamen Rider series. It'll be good, but it generally won't have that same level of polish.
I like the characters. Wataru does remind me a lot of Ryoutaro in how he develops, again, taking influence from Den-O, although his changes were a lot more abrupt and jarring, especially near the end. Nago Keisuke, Kamen Rider IXA, was a badass who suffered from a lot of "comedic" character development. All the other supporting characters were pretty cool, and Wataru's dad, Kurenai Otoya, is seriously a fantastic character. I just love that guy. There is quite a bit of derailment for the sake of comedy, which is okay if the comedy works for you.
The suits and designs are the best part of Kiva. Kamen Rider Kiva's Emperor form is one of the best designs ever. Although yes, it was rather ineffectual by the end. Kamen Rider Ixa's initial form was kind of clunky looking, but when he achieved Rising form? DAMN, that was awesome. Saga and Dark Kiva were good looking too.
Does Kiva break the chains of fate? Almost. It's still a really good series, but it doesn't follow up on a lot of its potential. As a Kamen Rider series, it's pretty damn fun to watch if you're bored, but it could have been a whole lot better.
Now then, I've gotta go get in shape. Time to IXACISE!
Series Kamen Rider : Vampire Romance
I'll admit this review might be biased since I can't stand to watch the entire series. Kiva could be described as a vampire romance story, kamen rider version.
The romance involved too much drama for my liking and it could be dragged for several episodes. Personally, I don't like the conclusion of it either.
The series tried to be unique by having two simultaneous timeline, but it could leave the viewers disoriented.
Kiva's bulky suit seems constrasting Wataru's personality. IMO it just doesn't suit him. Same with the OP. For a show with a violin theme, the rock-esque opening seems out of place.
I watched this as I was watching Build due to Otoya's character. Otoya kinda annoys me, though.
In conclusion, try to watch several episode before deciding whether it's worth to watch. IMO there are better Kamen Rider series than this one.