YMMV / Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai

• Ass Pull:
  • Fifteen has the Heisei Rider Lockseed. It is never explained how or why he has it, and it only exists to make him an even bigger threat (and to sell toys, of course). Its counterpart, the Showa Rider Lockseed, also counts, where Ichigo just tosses it to Gaim so he can fight Fifteen on equal ground in #1 Arms.
  • How does Daigo turn Gabutyra into a train to combine with ToQOh? Shut up, that's how.
• Ending Fatigue: So after Shu reconciles with his parents and is able to move on, all seem to end well until the Showa Riders decide to attack the Heisei Riders one more time, as they still doubt that they can protect humanity. Then they bury the hatchet no matter which ending happens.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Mainly due to the Showa Riders being massive pricks, many fans prefer to forget the crossover ever happened. Helps that the events in the movie wouldn't change the story of Gaim even if they hadn't happened. Even Hiroshi Fujioka wanted to fix Hongo's character by helping write the next movie he would be in.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • One of the first Riders to be taken down is Kamen Rider Stronger. His actor was the most recent to pass away. And Kabuto, the Homage to him, is the one who takes him down.
  • The rarity of Kamen Riders being called as such in recent series. In this film, Hongo declares that he doesn't see the Heisei Riders as actual Kamen Riders.
  • You know that scene in Movie Wars Megamax where Gentaro and Eiji save the Seven Legendary Riders? This is their thanks.
  • It seems that one movie after this, Takumi didn't learn his lesson, since his inability to let go is what's causing the time loop in D-Video Special. However, it is implied that nearly every one of the cast from 555'' is dead so we can hardly blame him for grieving. That would mean Takumi has lost all of his friends and the Showa Riders chewed him out for mourning their deaths.
  • Hongo's reasoning for why the Showa Riders are attacking the Heisei Riders is because they let their emotions get in the way of their duties. Come the Reiwa era, and it's become increasingly common for Kamen Riders who are main characters to forsake their heroic ideals after suffering some tragedy. ^note To name a few, Aruto, Kento, Daiji, and Keiwa It's to the point where one character's entire philosophy is a broken view of what makes a Kamen Rider, which is unironically the very same view that Hongo had on the Heisei Riders of how they fight using sorrow.
• Heartwarming Moments: At the very end of the movie, as the Riders make peace and shake hands, Narutaki once more calls out "DECADE!!" Everyone looks at him, expecting yet another angry rant...only for him to smile and declare that the two generations of heroes coming together is a wonderful sight. Tsukasa nods and responds "Finally, something we both agree on!"
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • In the Tokkyuger vs. Gaim prequel, seeing the Lion Inves evolve after eating premature Lockseeds makes it look lucky for Zawame that the one time an Inves grew to Sentai-style giant monster size was when a Super Sentai team was in town with their Humongous Mecha on stand-by. Seeing how Gaim manages to handle J here, however, it looks like an Armored Rider can take on a giant just fine as long as they have a working Suika ^note Watermelon Lockseed.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: Pretty much any discussion of the film, the Super Hero Taisen series, or Shoji Yonemura's career in general is bound to be taken up primarily by the infamous Conflict Ball that gets the Showa and Heisei Riders fighting, a segment so poorly written that Hiroshi Fujioka himself stepped in to write his later appearances in the franchise, so distasted by how Hongo was written here.
• Sequelitis: It's not a controversial statement to say this is the most loathed of all the Super Hero Taisen films. Fans may be able to overlook random conflicts for the sake of it and nonsensical plots, but few could tolerate the character assassination the movie gives Takeshi Hongo and the other Showa Riders.
• Shocking Moments: The return announcements. Guys like Tsukasa, Shotaro, and even Kusaka coming back isn't amazing since they've done it several times over the years. But Takumi was a real shock since Kento Handa hasn't been back since 555 ended. And then you add in Keisuke and especially Hongo, who won't just be a voice but a physical presence for the first time in over 30 years.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Shu's goodbye.
  • Tsukasa's reactions to Den-O and Agito's defeats.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: While it's cool to see Hiroshi Fujioka in-person once more as Takeshi Hongo, most fans would have preferred to see him as The Mentor to a new generation of Kamen Riders instead of him acting as grumpy jerk towards them.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Early on, Shotaro fights Kamen Riders Black and Black RX as Kamen Rider Joker. This would have been a PERFECT time to have the on-screen debut of Kamen Rider Cyclone^note Officially, Cyclone debuted in the novel sidestory of Double, but has not made any on-screen appearances by having Philip transform alongside Shotaro. Unfortunately, this may be due to Masaki Suda's talent agency not really wanting him to be associated with Kamen Rider works anymore.
  • The Showa and Heisei Rider Lockseeds come off as this - Kouta never uses any of the Showa Arms other than the Ichigo Arms, and we never see any Rider Arms for any pre-Decade Heisei Series^note In fact, only 2 of the arms used are new - the Fourze Arms and Wizard Arms debuted in the previous movie Gaim was in!. Considering that Gaim and Ichigo fight each other at the end of the film, it would've been a lot cooler to see something like Gaim use the Ichigo Arms to fight Fifteen while the latter was using the Kuuga Arms^note First Showa vs First Heisei, or to see Gaim ZX Arms fight Fifteen Decade Arms^note 10th Showa vs 10th Heisei instead of seeing Ichigo Arms vs Gaim Arms.
  • While they get lumped in with the Showa Era shows because of Shoutaro Ishimori's involvement, the 3 Kamen Riders from the 90s movies (Shin, ZO, and J) are technically Heisei riders due to the time they were released. It would've been interesting to see them struggle over which side they should take as a commentary on this, but unfortunately that didn't happen.
  • Haruto sides with the Showa Riders. Wouldn't it have been interesting to see Amazon side with the Heisei Riders as a contrast? Not only would he have fit right in since he's the only Showa Rider that isn't a Cyborg (something he shares with the Heisei Riders), he is established to be good friends with Heisei Rider Gentaro Kisaragi/Kamen Rider Fourze.
    • Haruto himself also falls under They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character. The returning actors Ichigou, X, ZX, Faiz, Decade and Double/Joker all get lengthy moments and multiple scenes with proper introductions (Faiz and Decade especially), but Haruto joins the final fight as one of the remaining Heisei Riders, gets one scene that focuses more on X and Faiz (and Kusaka), and that's it.
  • In the first 2 Super Hero Taisen movies, the Gokaigers transformed as a team into various movie-exclusive forms^note the combos of Kamen Rider OOO in the first one, and various Metal Heroes in the second one. This movie has the ToQgers, who use mini trains called Ressha that are somewhat similar to the Ranger Keys. You'd think that there would be a scene where Den-O gives them Ressha that allows them to transform into the various forms of Den-O and have the team fight as those forms, but nope. Instead we get Daigo stealing the spotlight again.^note To be fair, Sieg/Wing Form doesn't have a train car, but they could have just as easily used the Zero Liner and have the 5th Ressha give the user Vega Form.
  • The Ending Fatigue could've been avoided if they had simply had Takeshi Hongo reveal that he was only putting on an act to fool Badan as part of a plan he had made with ZX, and reveal that he actually respected the Heisei Riders just as much as the Showa ones.
  • Schwarz's cameo would have been far more interesting if he had also participated in the big battle and fought the Toqgers or even Den-O.
  • The post final battle between the Heisei and Showa Riders would be a lot more enjoyable if it had just been the Showa Riders issuing a friendly challenge to the Heisei Riders to test their skills, instead of just deciding to fight them for the sake of it.
• Unexpected Character:
  • Well, everyone figured Decade would be returning, but who honestly expected Faiz, X, ZX, FREAKIN' Hiroshi Fujioka on-camera as Ichigou and Kaixa?
  • A new character this time, Kamen Rider Fifteen. While common in summer movies and Movie Wars, a spring film having a Kamen Rider of its own isn't something which usually happens, especially after Super Hero Taisen started.
  • Three words, Generalissimo of Badan. Particularly since he shows up as a giant undead Tyrannosaurus whose head splits open to reveal his trademark three-eyed human skull.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The fight between the Showa and Heisei Riders was presumably intended to be a case Both Sides Have a Point, with it being up for the audience to agree with or against Hongo's point. Instead, to pretty much all viewers, fans, and even Hongo's own actor, it just makes the Showa Riders look like callous jerks shaming the Heisei Riders for mourning their lost friends and loved ones.

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