#Kamen Rider Dragon Knight

[tokucosplay]

DeeQueng (@deequeng1) | TikTok

[sailorgokaidecade]

All Millennium-Era (Heisei + Reiwa) Kamen Riders:

Yusuke Godai (Kamen Rider Kuuga)

Tetsuya Sawaki/"Shoichi Tsugami" (Kamen Rider Agito)

Shinji Kido (Kamen Rider Ryuki)

Takumi Inui (Kamen Rider Faiz)

Kazuma Kenzaki (Kamen Rider Blade)

Hitoshi Hidaka (Kamen Rider Hibiki)

Souji Tendo (Kamen Rider Kabuto)

Ryotaro Nogami (Kamen Rider Den-O)

Wataru Kurenai (Kamen Rider Kiva)

Tsukasa Kadoya (Kamen Rider Decade)

Shotaro Hidari & Raito "Philip" Sonozaki (Kamen Rider Double)

Eiji Hino (Kamen Rider OOO)

Gentaro Kisaragi (Kamen Rider Fourze)

Haruto Souma (Kamen Rider Wizard)

Kouta Kazuraba (Kamen Rider Gaim)

Shinnosuke Tomari (Kamen Rider Drive)

Takeru Tenkuji (Kamen Rider Ghost)

Emu Hojo (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)

Takumi Katsuragi/"Sento Kiryu" (Kamen Rider Build)

Sougo Tokiwa (Kamen Rider Build)

Aruto Hiden (Kamen Rider Zero-One)

Touma Kamiyama (Kamen Rider Saber)

Ikki Igarashi (Kamen Rider Revi) & Vice (Kamen Rider Vice)

Ace Ukiyo (Kamen Rider Geats)

Hotaro Ichinose (Kamen Rider Gotchard)

[coffeetime88]

Merry Christmas to me from me

🎵 KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT! TOGETHER WE CAN FIGHT THE FIGHT! SO LET'S RIDE!🎵

[elcaminodelsanto]

[haveyouseenthistoku]

[birdhouseblogredux25]

Kamen Rider Kuuga Vol. 1 Review (Spoiler-Free)

Hello my name is BJ short for blue Jay and welcome to the Birdhouse blog where superheroes themed after bugs riding on motorcycles are still and always will be super cool. For today's review, this is going to be a little different in contrast to my last two reviews as those were mainly anime reviews talking about Futari Wa Pretty Cure. This time I will be reviewing a manga on the Kamen Rider series.

For some added context, I've known about the Kamen Rider franchise for a very long time when I got into Power Rangers. My first introduction was Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, the American adaptation of Kamen Rider Ryuki. I entered the KR series by watching Amazon Rider, and in 2023, I finished watching Kamen Rider 01 (plus the movie). So, my knowledge of this series is decent enough. But I always wanted to watch more content related to the franchise. So, truth be told, while I was at my local Barnes and Noble, I came across the first volume of Kamen Rider Kuuga, so I want to share it with all of you in my spoiler-free review of the first volume.

Summary

In this story, we follow our two main characters, Kaoru and Yusuke. Kaoru is the detective for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. He goes by the code of swift and absolute justice on evildoers. Yusuke, on the other hand, is a young man who helps others, wishing to see people smile through the toughest of times.

These two will cross paths as strange encounters with the mysterious group of monsters causes mayhem in the city. They then meet a mysterious hero who's also caught in the fray, a masked warrior who fights against these evil creatures. Our two unlikely protagonists intertwine with the masked hero to see who shall carry the burden of Kuuga.

🪲Story📖

The story begins with introducing the characters and the world which does a solid job of giving us more characterization for both the supporting cast and our main characters. The manga does not shy away from gore and body horror, but not too much of it that'll make you scream, but just enough to get your skin crawling. But what it has when it comes to the horror elements comes in with the mystery behind the horror. While we can see that monsters are the reason behind the many gruesome attacks in the city, there's an air of mystery to them, each having its unique monster design, while also trying to figure out why they're hunting down humans in the first place. It gives you a sense that there is more to the story, especially the mystery of the masked hero Kuga. The only nitpick that I have is that the middle half of the story gets rushed. It feels like there should be more to the action sequences than just the panning shots of the cougar and the monster fighting but not feeling too much of the impact. However, this is the first volume, so I do give it a passing sense that in the next volume the story's pacing might improve.

🏍️Characters🪲

The main highlights of the first volume are our two titular characters, Yusuke and Kaoru. These two goofballs are two peas in a pot. In the first three chapters, you get to know them and their personalities. Kaoru is a man of action who's all about swift justice and not letting any bad guy get his way. He's the more professional of the two, whereas Yusuke is more laid-back and always wants to help others out even if they don't ask him to. He has that golden retriever energy when you think about it.

That balances out the serious professional personality of Kaoru. They both makeup for it in their different ideals. Especially in how they view heroism in the pursuit of saving people. Kaoru became a detective because he made a promise to someone he cared about to protect others who don't have the strength to do so, but after facing the monster and Kuga for the first time it shakes his resolve, making him more scared and confident in his goal to save people; this is a similar case with Yusuke, as he went on a journey traveling around the world seeing many different people and cultures. He seeks not only happiness for himself for a fulfilling life but also a fulfilling life to help others in the most difficult of situations.

It puts into perspective how nicely the writing helps characterize two individuals with different personalities and different views of heroism, making both characters interesting and having us, the viewers, wanting to know more about their back story for future volumes.

🪲Artwork & Atmosphere✏

The art style is created by Hitotsu Yokoshima, their art design and how they draw their characters is quite sharp. The big highlight of Yokoshima’s work is how he does his line work to emphasize a character's movement and posture for how they carry out the actions in each panel. The sharp line drawings help with the depths not just with the character designs and facial expressions but also give a good composition when showing scenes of a character in high distress.

In terms of the manga panels, there's a nice ebb and flow to the narrative, helping to build up the scale and directing your attention towards the panels with a burst of energy with each action sequence. My only nitpick with the manga panels is that they need some better flow to climactic scenes as it feels like the characters have an awkward time positioning themselves to end the conflict, which also explains why the middle half to the end of the manga feels rushed when re-reading. And that's just for the fight scenes with Kuuga; for the mundane scenes, it flows naturally through the conversation of the characters.

 But even though this is a nitpick, it's something I would like to see improve for future volumes, which makes me even more interested to see how Yokoshima's art can evolve later in the series.

🪲Adaptation🎬

Kamen Rider Kuga is an adaptation of its live-action counterpart. While the characters in the manga have similar names their designs are very different from their live-action counterparts, which is understandable given that this is a manga and will have anime attributes that fit into the world of the manga adaptation.

I remember watching Kuuga a long time ago, but I never really finished it. I only watched 5 episodes before going straight into Kamen Rider 01. Despite the difference in adaptation, I like that it doesn't have to follow the live-action storyline beat for beat as it cements itself to be its own original story. It's a cool retelling that not only older fans of the Kuuga series can enjoy, but it’s also for newer fans of the series, let alone for the whole Kamen Rider franchise as a first introduction.

🪲Conclusion🪲

Overall, I had a great time reading the first volume. It was short and straight to the point, it even caught me off guard with the emotional points, especially for the last few panels which I will discuss in another post, because I never thought it would make me teary-eyed. As I stated this is a good way for anyone who wants to read Kuuga, so I hope this spoiler-free review helps you feel a little interested in Kuuga but any other adaptation from the Kamen Rider franchise.

I can't wait to read the second volume and share my thoughts in a review for the future.

I give Kamen Rider Kuuga Vol. 1 an 8/10!

[lowder-the-koopa]

Lowder Reviews: What's Next 3: Kamen Rider Edition

More future proofing

[strdstwanderer]

I would so love if Netflix gets Stephen Ford to play Dalton in the Drum Island arc of One Piece.

For those who may not know, Stephen Ford played Kit Taylor in CW's adaptation of Kamen Rider Ryuki called Kamen Rider Dragon Knight.

This is particularly important to me since Mackenyu has not only acted in Kamen Rider Drive, but has also acted with Kamen Rider Den-O star, Takeru Satoh for Ruroni Kenshin.

[bluearc009]

Double Dragon Knights

To be a Dragon, you've gotta be strong! Humble, never braggin'.

Always fight for right battling wrong, with the power of the Dragon.

Live the code, the Code of the Dragon!Fight for right, the Might of the Dragon!With the mark, the Mark of the Dragon!

Live the code, the Code of the Dragon!

Never intentionally harm another! Do not battle if you can avoid it.

Kit and Adam are Dragon Masters now!

The Dragon Master was born with the mark...Of the Double Dragon!

Live the code, the Code of the Dragon!Fight for right, the Might of the Dragon!With the mark, the Mark of the Dragon!

Live the code, the Code of the Dragon!

[figurecollection]

[kaisericeman]

I’m in the middle of a rewatch marathon of Kamen Rider:Dragon Knight, so here’s a sketch of my favorite Rider, Torque/Zolda.

[tokucosplay]

Caption this.

[sailorgokaidecade]

All Female Kamen Riders (Version 2.0):

Miho Kirishima (Kamen Rider Femme)

Rina Abe (Kamen Rider Delta)

Rena Kurumi (Kamen Rider Muez)

Natsumi Miwa (Kamen Rider L'arc)

Akira Amami (Kamen Rider Amaki)

Shiori Shinagawa (Kamen Rider Shuki)

Yuri Aso & Megumi Aso (Kamen Rider Ixa)

Natsumi Hikari (Kamen Rider Kivala)

Seed of Life from the Universe/"Nadeshiko Misaki" (Kamen Rider Nadeshiko)

Mayu Inamori (Kamen Rider Mage)

Yoko Minato (Kamen Rider Marika)

Touka Akatsuki (Kamen Rider Iduun)

Masako Suzuka (Kamen Rider Sylphi)

Kanon "Mion" Fukami (Kamen Rider Kanon Specter)

Alia (Kamen Rider Dark Necrom Pink)

Jaye (Kamen Rider Dark Necrom Yellow)

Poppy Pipopapo/"Asuna Karino" (Kamen Rider Poppy)

Alpina/"Tsukuyomi" (Kamen Rider Tsukuyomi)

Izu (Kamen Rider Zero-Two)

Yua Yaiba (Kamen Rider Valkyrie)

Naki (Kamen Rider Naki)

Sofia (Kamen Rider Calibur IV)

Reika Shindai (Kamen Rider Sabela)

Sakura Igarashi (Kamen Rider Jeanne)

Hana Natsuki (Kamen Rider Aguilera)

Neon Kurama (Kamen Rider Na-Go)

Sara Sakurai (Kamen Rider Hakubi)

Sae Ganaha (Kamen Rider Lopo)

Yukie Yaginuma (Kamen Rider Letter)

Beroba (Kamen Rider Beroba)

Rinne Kudo (Kamen Rider Majade)

[neomansubs2024]

[tokusongs]

"Let's Ride", OP of Kamen Rider Dragon Knight (2009). Performed by Cage9.

[precurioser]